LESS than two months after he quit Thurrock Council's ruling cabinet - citing 'irreconcilable differences' with leader Cllr Rob Gledhill - Stanford-le-Hope councillor James Halden is back in a top job. One that will give him an allowance of £10,714.11 to add to his members' allowance of £8,570.88.

And it appears that councillor Sue Little - who very publicly voted against the rest of the cabinet last month on the controversial list of possible sites for housing redevelopment - has paid the price with her job!

In January Thurrock Nub News reported on the shock departure of Homesteads councillor Halden who said: "There are a number of irreconcilable issues with the Leader of the Council and he asked me to step down as a result.

"I am of course heartbroken to give up the post I've poured my heart and soul into for years, but I am touched by the colleagues who have offered me their support, but I would say 'keep calm and carry on'. Let's focus on serving the people.

"As for the future, I will sit as a loyal backbencher within the Conservative group and look forward to supporting some very talented Conservative candidates at the next election. Read more Here

Yet, just a few weeks later, Cllr Halden will take his place at Wednesday's (11 March) cabinet meeting as Cabinet Member for Social Care.

And absent from the cabinet will be Cllr Little - who has nevertheless paid tribute to the new cabinet member for children and adult social care - which encompasses her former remit.

At the last meeting of the cabinet she rebelled against its plan to seek consultation on 20 authority owned sites for social housing, preferring to stand up for her local ward. She was the only cabinet member to oppose the proposals.

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But despite having left office in the wake of that decision, she took to social media to say: "I am extremely pleased for you James, back where you belong.

"I am sure you will really enjoy the portfolio as I did. I know you will continue the work particularly with the children - they are joyous."

A full statement from the ruling Conservative group says: "Homesteads councillor James Halden has been invited to return to the Cabinet, now as Cabinet Member for Social Care."

Cllr Halden said: "It's an exciting job to take on. Care for the elderly is the very first subject I spoke about in the chamber when I was elected in 2010, and setting up the corporate parenting committee to fight for looked after children was my first major council motion in 2011. To return to lead the adult social care and child social care departments is a great responsibility and honour.

"We are in a string position. Under the Conservatives our finance plan has wiped out Labour's £30 million black hole and raised circa £30 million extra for frontline services while maintaining the lowest council tax in Essex.

"I want to use this solid foundation to drive us forward, certibly as we take our recent "good" rating in areas like children's services and aim for outstanding.

"In adult services, I want to look at better use of technology in social care to help out older population enjoy the benefits of modern life. We need to focus on adding life to years, not years to life.

"In children services, i want to make sure we bridge the gap between the troubled teams team, youth offer, youth offending, special educational needs and early years teams to ensure every single child has a fair go in life.

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"Of course, the great priority at this time is making sure out social services is battle ready to keep functioning during the coronavirus situation.

"I am eagerly getting to work with the cabinet team."