the population of our district went up by 6% in 10 years, slightly less than the national trend. But Castle Point next door had an increase of only 1% (though they still have a much higher population density than Rochford)
There’s a big increase in the number of over 65s – up by 21% in 10 years. And if you are in the over 65 age group you may be encouraged to know that….
…There’s also a big increase in the number of the over 90s !
At the other end of the age spectrum the number of children under five years of age has dropped by 2%
The number of children aged between five and and fourteen has dropped by 6% !
For the rest of the population (aged between 15 and 64) there’s been a 5% increase.
Children aren’t spread evenly across each street in the district – things go very much in cycles! In a new development, you have few children in the first few years, then lots of kids, then a decline….
Anyway , I wouldn’t worry about little silver scooters, my prediction is that whistles are going to be this summer’s new topic of conversation….
Could be worse than whistles….remember way way back in 2010 when the dreaded vuvuzelas were predicted to spread everywhere as the next big thing?! Thank heaven for small mercies.
Cllr Seagers, are you able to throw any light on the reasons why EEC will not tell taxpayers why they chose to spend £5.1m on trips abroad, bar bills etc. I have written to Mr Stephen Castle but he has not responded.
Rayleigh Resident
Don’t you think District Councillors have enough to do keeping Rochford District Council expenditure within the tight constraints of its own ever shrinking budget?
Why should I have any idea what the background to the relative minutiae of Essex County Council spending may be relative to its huge budget? And no, not for one moment am I suggesting that such absolute total amounts are trivial, but explaining the what/when/how/who of the alleged information was allegedly requested by and from and then allegedly refused to, would have been a good starting point if anyone wanted to explore it further. If the stated nature of the information allegedly refused is any guide, I suspect a poorly drafted FoIA request may have been responsible for the alleged refusal perhaps?
Rayleigh Resident
Having now searched back and found what may be the roots of this claim, I see it is related to a £5.1m spend over 27 months on charge cards, of which it appeared only £90K was spent as the Daily Telegraph and Brentwood Gazette headlines so misleadingly implied, reflective of the increasing desperation in the Press to sell copy, was £5.1m “on corporate credit cards in the last two years, including fast food, trips to theme parks and hotels in India…..”.
As Lib-Dem County Councillors seem to have known all about this when asking for an enquiry in Council, perhaps they can first enlighten us as to whether the main £5m was spent wisely and necessarily? What I do know is that few people pay by cheque or cash these days, and invoicing for payment would not be appropriate for smaller amounts in many instances of an immediate need.
If anything, it is possibly surprising if so little were spent on hotels, theme parks or fast food etc., presumably for child care, or for legitimate UK seminars or training etc. away from Essex. India? Sounds like it could perhaps be IT or call centre outsourcing being investigated.
But unlike others quoted, I would not wish to shoot uninformed from the hip, for which they may well have previous form.
From a previous post:
“Essex County Council have this week rejected having an inquiry into the spending of £5.1 million on Council charge cards.
This followed revelations in the Brentwood Gazette regarding spending £87,000 in hotels and resorts, £3,000 spent in bars, night clubs and discos, and various other items.”
As you say Colin, the public is uninformed. So I think an inquiry (which the County Lib Dems were asking for) seems a very good idea.
After all, for heavens sake, we are talking about a council where the LEADER was sent to jail on expenses issues! The County Council really has lost the benefit of the doubt on these issues, and won’t get it back by blocking inquiries.
It seems perfectly reasonable to have an inquiry and if I was a Conservative County Councillor (let alone a Lib Dem!) I’d welcome one – even if only to clear the air and for the council to move on.
If ECC believe the spending is all above board, an inquiry would show that and ECC would save face. By blocking any inquiry, they are shouting very loudly that they have something to hide!
{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}
Session expired
Please log in again.
The login page will open in a new tab. After logging in you can close it and return to this page.
onlineFOCUS uses cookies to make the site run more smoothly for you.. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
I find this stat hard to believe,
” The number of children aged between five and and fourteen has dropped by 6% ”
There seems to be millions of these kids about, mostly on little silver scooters…
Children aren’t spread evenly across each street in the district – things go very much in cycles! In a new development, you have few children in the first few years, then lots of kids, then a decline….
Anyway , I wouldn’t worry about little silver scooters, my prediction is that whistles are going to be this summer’s new topic of conversation….
Can’t wait…..
Could be worse than whistles….remember way way back in 2010 when the dreaded vuvuzelas were predicted to spread everywhere as the next big thing?! Thank heaven for small mercies.
Cllr Seagers, are you able to throw any light on the reasons why EEC will not tell taxpayers why they chose to spend £5.1m on trips abroad, bar bills etc. I have written to Mr Stephen Castle but he has not responded.
Rayleigh Resident
Don’t you think District Councillors have enough to do keeping Rochford District Council expenditure within the tight constraints of its own ever shrinking budget?
Why should I have any idea what the background to the relative minutiae of Essex County Council spending may be relative to its huge budget? And no, not for one moment am I suggesting that such absolute total amounts are trivial, but explaining the what/when/how/who of the alleged information was allegedly requested by and from and then allegedly refused to, would have been a good starting point if anyone wanted to explore it further. If the stated nature of the information allegedly refused is any guide, I suspect a poorly drafted FoIA request may have been responsible for the alleged refusal perhaps?
Rayleigh Resident
Having now searched back and found what may be the roots of this claim, I see it is related to a £5.1m spend over 27 months on charge cards, of which it appeared only £90K was spent as the Daily Telegraph and Brentwood Gazette headlines so misleadingly implied, reflective of the increasing desperation in the Press to sell copy, was £5.1m “on corporate credit cards in the last two years, including fast food, trips to theme parks and hotels in India…..”.
As Lib-Dem County Councillors seem to have known all about this when asking for an enquiry in Council, perhaps they can first enlighten us as to whether the main £5m was spent wisely and necessarily? What I do know is that few people pay by cheque or cash these days, and invoicing for payment would not be appropriate for smaller amounts in many instances of an immediate need.
If anything, it is possibly surprising if so little were spent on hotels, theme parks or fast food etc., presumably for child care, or for legitimate UK seminars or training etc. away from Essex. India? Sounds like it could perhaps be IT or call centre outsourcing being investigated.
But unlike others quoted, I would not wish to shoot uninformed from the hip, for which they may well have previous form.
From a previous post:
“Essex County Council have this week rejected having an inquiry into the spending of £5.1 million on Council charge cards.
This followed revelations in the Brentwood Gazette regarding spending £87,000 in hotels and resorts, £3,000 spent in bars, night clubs and discos, and various other items.”
As you say Colin, the public is uninformed. So I think an inquiry (which the County Lib Dems were asking for) seems a very good idea.
After all, for heavens sake, we are talking about a council where the LEADER was sent to jail on expenses issues! The County Council really has lost the benefit of the doubt on these issues, and won’t get it back by blocking inquiries.
Chris
My understanding was that this related to spending by Essex County Council OFFICERS not any elected Member.
It probably does relate to officers (but I’m not even sure about that). However Lord H’s expenses were of course sanctioned and processed by officers.
The only trip to India that I know about is this one:
https://www.onlinefocus.org/?p=1776
It seems perfectly reasonable to have an inquiry and if I was a Conservative County Councillor (let alone a Lib Dem!) I’d welcome one – even if only to clear the air and for the council to move on.
If ECC believe the spending is all above board, an inquiry would show that and ECC would save face. By blocking any inquiry, they are shouting very loudly that they have something to hide!