The Mayor informed the Council:-

“When I was first elected as Mayor of Brentwood, one of the events I was most excited about being part of was the Remembrance Day Parade.  The event was humbling and I was honoured to represent the Borough of Brentwood joined by the representatives from our local branch of the Royal British Legion, the military and the cadets and organisations.  Leading the parade of almost 600 people to the War Memorial and through the High Street was an occasion I will never forget and I was proud to be the Mayor of this great Town.  The service followed at St Thomas’ Church allowed us to remember and never forget those who have fought and selflessly and gave their lives to our country.  Thank you for the organisers and those who supported the event to make it the success it was. 

Thank you to all who attended my recent Charity Curry Night.  It was a great evening, and I am delighted that it raised £800 for my chosen charities.   With all your help and support I am pleased the events will to be able to raise awareness and funds to these well-deserved causes. 

We got into the festive spirit as I was joined on stage by the winners of the Mayors Christmas Card and Poem competition winners to turn on the Christmas lights at the Town Hall. It was an enjoyable afternoon of entertainment in a slightly different Lighting Up Brentwood event.  There are many festive events going on around the Borough so be sure to join in.  

I also hosted my Civic Carol Service at Brentwood Cathedral early this month which was such a great service surrounded by fellow Chain Gang Mayors and Chairman, family, friends, and Members.  It was so lovely to be joined by the impressive choir on the evening.  A great way to get into the festive spirit.   

I am pleased to confirm that the Civic Awards nominations for 2021 are open.  Please do consider nominating or spreading the word so those individuals or organisations can be rewarded for their great achievements in our Borough. 

As Mayor I have been delighted to be able to attend functions at Rochford Borough Council. As you are all aware we agreed that our Chief Executive Mr Stephenson would be the interim Joint Chief Executive with a view to bringing a further report to this Council this month.  This has not been possible, therefore I will ask the Leader of the Council to make a short statement on the process to date.  There will be no debate or questions on this matter it is purely to update you all tonight.  You will get your chance in the New Year.

As Mayor it's also been a really great experience to attend functions as well at Rochford District Council and as you're all aware we agreed that our Chief Executive Mr Stephenson will be the Interim Joint Chief Executive with a view to bringing a further report to the council this month - this has not been possible therefore I will ask the Leader of the Council to make a short statement on the process to date.  There will be no debate or questions on this matter which is purely an update for everyone tonight and you will get your chance to do this in the new year”

Cllr Hossack added this update:

“This statement mirrors a statement that was given by the Leader of Rochford Council earlier this week.  Members you'll recall that the council approved the commencement of formal negotiations, in Brentwood we did this on the 20th July 2021 and in Rochford on 28th July 2021.  Since the update members of the executive team and a small group from my group have been working on a feasibility study that we promised to explore further shared and partnership opportunities between the two councils and the appointment of Mr Stephenson as the Joint Chief Executive for the initial six-month period has also been formalised by way of a Memorandum of Understanding.  As part of that feasibility study we've been working with external experts, a company called Shared Service Architecture who have supported other councils through this process.  They have helped facilitate engagement, ensure alignment and develop heads of terms to the proposed partnership.  We have had several sessions with Shared Service Architecture to a agree desired outcomes for the partnership and to build relationships with our peers from Rochford District Council.  Through these sessions we've created a shared understanding of what we want to achieve together and how we want to achieve it.  We have also engaged with the senior leadership teams of both councils to ensure they've been included in the discussions and informed.  I am pleased to confirm that we've reached agreed draft heads of terms for a formal partnership arrangements which we will bring into an Extraordinary Council in January.  We had committed to bring back a further report proposal by the end of 2021 but the timings of these meetings and the considerable work we've been doing has unfortunately meant this will now be shared in January.  In advance of that there will be a number of sessions led by myself, Jonathan and the Leader of Rochford to brief all members and officers about these heads of terms mean.  We welcome all questions and constructive challenge at that time and our thinking will continue to develop as we go through this process.  To demonstrate our commitment to that before the Extraordinary Council meeting, we will be bringing a report to Rochfords  Review Committee on the 11th January 2022 and our Audit & Scrutiny Committee 12th January.  We will welcome the scrutiny that the committee offers on our proposed arrangements.  I am very pleased by the progress which has been made during this feasibility stage and I would like to thank colleagues from Rochford for their openness and challenge which has provided thought-provoking debate and true blue sky thinking about how we can transform our respective councils through innovation and creativity.  I am very excited about the potential for our proposed partnership and the opportunities that it will create.  I look forward to speaking to members individually about that over the coming weeks.”