Thurrock has only 10% of students going on to further education. With the educational maintenance allowance going, Aim Higher going and now the imposition of tuition fees, the key question is: "What hope is there for Thurrock students?"
A student who did not wish to be named said: "We've come but so many of our friends have simply decided not to go to university. Hardly any student in Thurrock go to univ. There will be even less now." We asked Jack what he thought of the police activity. He said: "I have seen small pockets of aggressive police officers, getting into protestors faces. I saw one grab a protestor by the face and throw him to the ground."
Councillor Fish put on another "embarrassing" performance at last nights cabinet where it appeared to many that he did not have total understanding of his brief. To compound matters, after reading out the proposals and savings, portfolio holder for childrens' services, cllr Diana Hale intervened and proposed alternative cuts apparently based on the concerns from elderly residents in Stifford Clays.
The gallery were delighted to hear that the Thurrock carers centre in Cromwell Road will remain open although it will be outsourced to an independent organisation in either the voluntary or private sector.
Council leader Kent told the cabinet that the reason for his outrage was "at no stage have Kent consulted us on this proposal. Considering that the proposed bridge will cut through the heart of the borough, yo would have thought they would have discussed things with us."
"If O2 can establish that there is an absolute need for a mobile phone mast in the central area of Chafford Hundred then we believe that Location 1 would be the best solution, provided that the mobile phone mast was sited equidistant from all of the residential homes - marked "X" on the peninsular of land between Warren Lane, Lancaster Road, Devonshire Road and Palmerston Rd, as show on the attached map.
Thurrock has five new gritting lorries with staff working 12-hour shifts to ensure 24-hour coverage during the worst of the weather. In addition 150 staff — from street cleansing, grounds maintenance and waste collection — with help from the Community payback team cleared snow and ice from town centres and other pedestrian areas.
Much of that is borne by the taxpayer with Thurrock Council making two contributions of £88,854 and £25,000 respectively. It also appears from the accounts that the group are assisted by only being charged £523 per year to rent their offices in the Thameside complex. The Big Lottery funded £39,235 and the PCT granted £60,802.
Under the plans, to be outlined in a localism bill, these new groups will be allowed to draw up agreed categories of development known as "neighbourhood development orders". The reforms would mean that homeowners could add to their homes without the need for traditional planning permission if they won support within their neighbourhood group.
COUNCILLOR Ben Maney (Cons) was the portfolio holder for public protection for several years. Now in opposition, Ben remains committed to ensuring that the streets of Thurrock remain safe. It has to be stressed that the portfolio holders (or shadows) are not the chief constables of Thurrock but they are a vital cog in the public protection machine.
The Prince's Trust & RBS Cost of Exclusion report goes on to show how educational underachievement in the UK costs £22 billion for a generation. This represents the impact of education on wages and employment chances and the ‘wage scar’ over a lifetime. In the East of England, one in ten 16-to-24-year-olds leave school without qualifications.
All of the money that was raised from the evening will be used to refuel the Youth Cabinet’s, Youth Opportunity Fund. The purpose of the Youth Opportunity Fund is to provide young people with the financial support to run projects of their own. This is without a doubt a brilliant service that the Youth Cabinet provide and highlights once again what a brilliant asset they are to Thurrock!!
And on Wednesday (24 November) evening’s meeting of the full council, Cllr Oliver Gerrish, portfolio holder for central services, outlined some of the ways this had been done.
He said: “The current financial situation is unprecedented and it is within this context that we must dramatically re-examine everything that we do.” He highlighted the council’s spend on mobile telephones, explaining how a saving had been achieved simply from cancelling unused mobile phone contracts.
The heavy snowfall has meant Thurrock Council has been forced to suspend all waste and recycling collections, today (Tuesday 30 November).
An inspection of road and pavement conditions was carried out at 6am this morning and in order to protect staff, other road users and third party property, the decision to suspend the service was taken.
Presenting the residents petition at full council, ward councillor Martin Healy said: “Motorists travelling southbound along Sherfield towards Grays Beach are approaching the pedestrian crossing too quickly. There are a lot of elderly residents living on Seabrooke Rise who use the pedestrian crossing and they are frightened. Some unfortunate motorists will leave it too late to stop and we fear that there will be a fatality.
