Thurrock Council is celebrating International Women's Day with a week of staff learning that recognise the main theme of Embrace Equality.
Cllr Deborah Arnold, Deputy Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "Thurrock Council wants to lead by example and that is why we are celebrating International Women's Day by hosting a week of staff learning around embracing equality.
"In all that we do we want to make sure that women and girls have the resources and opportunities they need to achieve equality of outcome.
Residents and their families at 3 council-owned tower blocks in Chadwell St Mary are benefiting from a newly improved community room and brand-new community pantry initiative, thanks to a collaborative partnership between Thurrock Council and Kensa Contracting.
Thurrock Council is reminding residents to dispose of food and kitchen waste in their grey or green refuse bin and only use the brown bin for garden waste.
Brown bin collections will continue as frequently as possible but may not take place on the normal scheduled day. The advice the council is giving residents is to put their bin out on their scheduled collection day and leave it out until it is collected.
Thurrock Libraries launched a book amnesty this week, giving residents with overdue library books the opportunity to return them to any library before Friday 24 March and pay no late fees.
Upon returning the items, all late fees will be removed and the individual's account reopened so they can borrow further items in the future.
Residents and school children have planted memorial trees in South Ockendon under the Queen's Green Canopy initiative to remember the late Queen Elizabeth II.
At a meeting of Full Council on Wednesday 1 March, Thurrock councillors approved a council tax increase of 7.99%, plus a 2% adult social care precept. The changes will take affect from 1 April 2023.
Cllr Mark Coxshall, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "The decision taken tonight reflects the seriousness of our position. This increase is sadly necessary if we are to secure the future of this council. It is a step we need to take to recover financially and to ensure we can continue providing much needed services for our most vulnerable residents.
Nearly three-quarters of pupils who are expected to begin secondary school in Thurrock this September have been offered their top school choice.
Results announced today (Wednesday 1 March) revealed that 73.5% of students will be able to attend their most preferred school, with 88.7% of children being allocated one of their top 3 preferences.
Thurrock Council's home care service Caring for Thurrock has received a 'Good' rating across all areas following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in February 2023.
The service, which provides personal care to people living in their own flats and houses, was rated Good overall and in 5 areas relating to safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness and being well-led.
School children across Thurrock have seen their winning poster designs transformed into banners after taking part in a competition to highlight the importance of active travel on their school journey.
Thurrock Council's Road Safety Team launched an active travel initiative with 8 schools in October 2022 to promote ways to travel sustainably and help reduce congestion around schools in Thurrock.
Since June 2022, the Mayoral Roll of Honour – launched by the Mayor of Thurrock, Cllr James Halden – has recognised 26 individuals and groups for their inspiring work to support others in the community.
The initiative encourages residents to nominate charities, businesses, individuals and community groups whose work has gone above and beyond to service Thurrock in extraordinary ways, making the borough a greater place to live, work, learn and play.