He said: "This is a shock to the governing body, staff and learners as it comes out of the blue with no warnings or consultation. Our initial view is that the potential financial gain will be out-weighed by loss of community learning, community and voluntary sector use of the facilities and the closure of community child-care facilities on site.
The event — where residents can talk with and question senior politicians and officers of the council — will be held at Lansdowne School in Lansdowne Road, starting at 7pm sharp and running for 90 minutes.
Pickles said there were councils that proved that local government could continue to support charities. Thurrock Council and Wolverhampton were both maintaining existing levels of support, while Reading was increasing it. There was no reason why others could not follow suit. "But what you and I know is that some councils aren't on the same page as these reforming councils. They don't seem to get it. And I will be frank: this is a grave concern to the government."
A MUSLIM woman told Thurrock Council leader John Kent he was "not fit for purpose" because of the lack of action over his Labour colleague, Cllr Sue Gray, who has been suspended by their party's General Secretary over an alleged racial slur.
Closure of Adult Community College, sale of Thameside Theatre, sale of Grays Beach all on cards after Tory budget victory. Labour leader gives us his reaction.
Under the Tories’ plans the number of councillor portfolio holders will be cut from ten to eight, a voluntary scheme will be introduced for Council staff to work four instead of five days with a salary reduction, a scheme to give councillors £2,000 each to spend on their wards will be scrapped and it is likely that the running of Grays Beach - and possibly the Thameside Theatre - will be put out to private tender.
However, Cllr Kent brought laughter from his own benches when he detailed the process, including its full discussion at a Corporate Overview and Scrutiny meeting on 5 October, a meeting at which he revealled Cllr Hague had been in attendance.
However, Cllr Revell went on the offensive, saying he had been called in by parents and teachers because the Council has reneged on an officer’s promise to offer support. He added: “This is a top performing school that we desperately need to encourage, but what support are we giving?
However, Cllr Kent said he hoped Cllr Amanda Arnold would do more than when she had last represented the Council on the governors, when she failed to attend any meetings
Stephen said: “Following two very hard winters, this money is particularly welcome. I believe it shows that the Government is not only able to listen to people’s concerns, but that it can act on them too. I hope that across Basildon & Thurrock we will get our fair share of this funding so that we start to see a real improvement in the state of our roads.”
Essex Police have confirmed that they are still in discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service over the e-mail. With campaigning for the local elections now a matter of weeks away, local Labour officials are keen to know where they stand.To compound matters, a Belhus resident has tabled a question at tomorrow nights council meeting. Deirdre Lodge of Stifford Road has asked "Does your administration have a clear policy regarding offensive and racial comments involving councillors?"
ON FRIDAY, South Basildon and East Thurrock MP Stephen Metcalfe had the pleasure of opening the new playground next to Orsett cricket club. Whilst there, we took the opportunity to catch up with Stephen on a number of issues including the academies and the alternative vote campaign.
YourThurrock blogger, Courtney Savage interviews Libyan-born Chafford Hundred student Sara Shaafi about the recent turmoil in Libya.
"For this month’s I blog I was going...
Activists will meet at the Moto services on the M2 at 8am and drive through the Dartford Crossing in convoy winding their way to Coryton. This will be the third attempt at a protest at the refinery. The other two protests had less than ten protestors marshalled by dozens of police officers.
Under AV, MPs will have to work harder to get and maintain our support, instead of – as some do now – taking us for granted. They’ll have to reach out to the broader community and not just rely on their historic support. You only have to look at those dinosaurs leading the No campaign to see that they want to protect their interests and resist any change for the better.
