Message from Strategic Director, Emily Yule

Good afternoon,

On Sunday, I had the honour of being part of the civic party in the Brentwood Remembrance Day parade and laying a wreath on behalf of officers of Brentwood Borough Council. I was humbled to see so many members of the public lining the streets to observe the parade and pay their respects to our veterans and those who have lost their lives in conflict.

This was truly a partnership event, with many organisations coming together to make it a success. I need to make special mention of several members of our team who put in lots of hard work to support the event both on the day and in the lead up. They are: Claire Mayhew, Paul Mayhew, Zoey Foakes, Zoe Borman, Kim Anderson, Taylah Bland, Niamh Butler, Dan Cannon, Tony Wilson, Helen Dobie, Steve Pavey, Dave Nevard, Cliff Hawes, Jonathan Woodhams, Paul Smee, Luke Smee and Leona Murray-Green. Thank you all.

Sunday also reminded me of the important role we all have in public service and since joining #OneTeam at Rochford and Brentwood, just over a month ago, I have seen many examples of colleagues across the councils going over and above to provide quality services and essential support for our residents and businesses.

I have also received a really warm welcome from everyone, which I have truly appreciated. If we haven’t met yet, please do come and say hello or drop me a line – I would love to hear from you.

Rochford's Chairman, Cllr Mike Steptoe, and other dignitaries attended the remembrance service in Rochford organised by the 4th. Rochford Scouts and conducted by the faculty at St. Andrews Church.

The Annual Service of Remembrance and Wreath Laying in Rayleigh was well attended, including by CEO Jonathan Stephenson.

Hundreds of people lined the streets of Brentwood on Sunday to commemorate all those who sacrificed their lives for our country at the annual Remembrance Day Parade and service on Sunday.

Nearly 600 members of the Armed Forces; Army, Navy and Air Force, Veterans, Cadets, Essex Police, scouts and guides, public services, local charitable organisations took part in the parade that was proudly led by the Brentwood Imperial Youth Band.

The parade started at Brentwood Town Hall before marching down to Middleton Hall Lane towards the war memorial where the laying of wreaths took place and the two-minute silence was observed, before a service took place at St Thomas’ Church.

You can see all the photos and video from the parade over on our Facebook page

Our next Staff Briefing sessions are taking place next month.

You should have received email invites to attend the best date for you at Brentwood or Rochford:

📌Thursday 8 December 2pm-3pm in the Council Chamber in Brentwood

📌13 December at 11am-12noon at the Freight House in Rochford

 All sessions are open to staff to attend either site.

A final Teams session will take place on the 14 December at 3pm-4pm for anyone who wasn't able to attend one of the on-site events.

If you haven't received an email invite, please contact zoey.foakes@brentwood.gov.uk or corporate.services@rochford.gov.uk

In April this year, Revenues and Benefits staff at Rochford District Council introduced a new banded Council Tax Support scheme to assist working age residents on a low income.

The new scheme also gives residents more certainty about how much council tax they need to pay, and has resulted in fewer Council Tax Bills and complex benefit letters being sent.

Since the 1^st April the average time taken to process a new claim for a Council Tax Support claim for working age people has reduced from 30 days to 2 days!

Residents have been contacted to provide feedback on how the found the simplified online application process. The results from the survey have been very pleasing with customer’s giving an average score of 4.6 out of 5 for the application process as a whole.

This involved identifying and contacting 1836 pensioners who would be eligible for the scheme and verify their bank details.

It's been a busy year for the team but the hard work and dedication has worked out, Both schemes are great news for our residents, well done to all.

Brentwood’s project to deliver corporate laptops and access to the new Cloud Desktop 2.0 for all officers has now successfully completed roll out to the Finance, Assets and Community Service teams. 

Team members attended the Town Hall to receive their laptops and to gain access to the new Cloud Desktop 2.0, which is a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than we’ve had previously as well as providing improved functionality and flexibility.  This means it benefits not only the officers using it but also the IT team supporting them.

Communications, Fraud and HR will also migrate this week, followed by Environmental Health & Licensing.  Future roll out plans for other teams will be confirmed very shortly, so keep watching this space!

If you have any questions regarding the new Cloud Desktop 2.0 and corporate laptops, please contact your project SPOC (Single Point of Contact) in the first instance.

Thank you.

The Service Improvement Team

Tonight, Brentwood Town Hall will be lit purple for World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

Supporting this is particularly meaningful for us this year as Brentwood sadly lost a friend and colleague, Amanda Julian to the disease in September. Her daughter, Sian, has asked us to turn the Town Hall purple to raise the profile of this awful cancer and in memory of Amanda and others who have lost loved ones.

Amanda's family and friends have raised nearly £3000 for Pancreatic Cancer UK in her memory. If you would like to add your support, you can do so here.

After the success of the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the incredible amount that was raised for charities in Brentwood and Rochford, I am keen that we keep the momentum going and I’m pleased to say that two of our colleagues from Human Resources (who didn’t quite complete the three peaks due to issues out of their control 😊) have come across the London Winter Walk 2023. 

The London Winter Walk has full marathon and half marathon options, both starting and finishing at The Oval Cricket Ground. You'll take in highlights of the Thames, its historic bridges, and many of the capital’s key landmarks. 

Families are welcome, and this event is strictly walking only – so no jogging or running is allowed. You'll receive a free winter bobble hat and neck buff, rest stops with snacks, and a special medal and hot food at the finish.

We would like to enter and start our fundraising efforts for 2023 for cancer research.  There are a number of different ways to register but we would be looking to register with a small fee and then focus on raising as much money as we can for this fantastic charity.

For more details on the walk please click on the link London Winter Walk - Ultra Challenge

The walk is either on Saturday 28 January 2023 or Sunday 29 January 2023, if you would be interested in taking part, as well as helping Nichola and Zoe to the finish line this time, then please complete the Winter Walk Form by no later than Friday 25 November 2022.

A vacancy has arisen on the Fund’s Pension Advisory Board for a Scheme Member Representative, and they are looking for a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) within the Essex Pension Fund to fill this position.

All scheme members are eligible to apply, including those who are actively contributing to the scheme, those who hold deferred pension benefits, and those who are receiving payment of their pensions.

The closing date for nominations is 30 November 2022 with interviews to be held week commencing 09 January 2023. 

Interested? Please complete this online form to submit your nomination.

This year, White Ribbon Day (Friday 25 November) falls on the same week as the launch of the FIFA men’s World Cup.

There is never a better time for us to focus on the good that can come from unifying and supporting one common cause.

#TheGoal does just that, it brings men and boys together to think about how they can make a positive difference to achieve equality and safety for women and girls.

To show our support for the White Ribbon campaign, Director of Communities & Health, Tracey Lilley will be doing in-house talks about Domestic Abuse at Rochford Council Offices and Brentwood Town Hall.

• Rochford - Tuesday 22 November at 11am
• Brentwood - Thursday 24 November at 11am

Brentwood Community Safety Officers and Essex Police will also be hosting a number of events next week to engage with the public and raise awareness.

• Thursday, 24 November – Essex Police will be at the Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone train stations from 8am to engage with the public
• Friday, 25 November – Brentwood Safety Officers will be at Brentwood High Street outside Chapel Ruins between 3pm-5pm to engage with the public around Domestic Abuse and hand out anti-spiking materials and personal safety advice
• Sunday, 27 November – Essex Police are inviting residents to walk with them through Brentwood High Street and talk about things that are causing concern in the community. Residents can meet the Police outside M&S at 3pm.

You can show your support and make the White Ribbon promise here

We also need volunteer members of staff across both organisations to participate in a White Ribbon Steering group, the volunteers for the steering group will be involved with the development and implementation of a 3-year plan for our White Ribbon Accreditation, the plan will involve raising awareness and changing culture.

If any members of staff are interested in becoming part of the process, please contact isabelle.hatton@brentwood.gov.uk 

Brentwood Borough Council's housing repairs contractor Axis helps local community groups

Help with cost-of-living crisis

Lower Thames Crossing and South Essex councils to boost economy by connecting Brentwood to South Essex superfast broadband network

Brentwood shows its support and honours our Armed Forces at the Remembrance Day Parade

Council launches waste survey to reduce contamination

Congratulations to our three peak challenger Katie Fowler on receiving a distinction in her Masters in Urban Design and Planning at LSBU.

It's no doubt you like to test yourself, physically and mentally, but you've shown us that whatever you've set your mind to, you can do it! Well done!