To receive any questions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.

A petition bearing over 1,000 signatures has been received from Mr John Whitelegg on behalf of the Church Stretton Library Group calling upon Shropshire Council to retain the library on the present site and abandon plans to move it to the School on Shrewsbury Road.

The petitioner will be allowed 5 minutes to outline their case, after which there may be a debate of up to 15 minutes, maximum.

            Public Questions

The Speaker announced that two public questions had been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 15 (a copy of the report containing the two questions and respective formal responses was circulated at the meeting and is attached to the signed minutes):

a)    Mrs Rosemary Abbiss, Chairman of Shropshire Association of Local Councils (SALC) asked a question about proposals to remove the allocation of council tax support grant to Town and Parish Councils for 2015/16 and urged the Council to reconsider.

            Supplementary Question from Mrs Abbiss:

In a letter to Philip Dunne, MP, Kris Hopkins, Minister from Local Government stated:- 

“… I expect Shropshire Council to work with each parish to ensure the appropriate level of funding is passed on in order to secure the best outcome for local taxpayers.” 

How now is Shropshire Council planning to achieve this and would the Council offer a compromise and pass a proportion of the grant to local councils.”

Supplementary Answer:

Mr Mike Owen, Portfolio Holder for Resources, Finance and Support said he would consider this question and give Mrs Abbiss a written response following the Council meeting.

b)    Mr David Cooper, a Bridgnorth resident asked a question in two parts about council tax.

Supplementary Question from Mr Cooper:

My questions illustrate that in a budget of over £215m costs, and £215m income, there are many ways in which savings can be made or additional income generated.

As recently as last Thursday, the day the reports for this Council’s budget and Business Plan were issued to members, Kris Hopkins the Minister for Local Government wrote to the leaders of all billing authorities about the payment of Council Tax Support Grant to Town and Parish Councils. The full text of that letter can be found on the DCLG’s website. In it, the minister reiterated that the Government’s funding to local authorities does include an element for Council Tax Support, and that some of that is attributable to Town and Parish Councils. He made it clear that the only circumstance in which Towns and Parishes should not receive Council Tax support from their billing authority is if there are no claimants in their area.

I assume the Leader will have received this letter, so I would like to ask him as a supplementary question, to which I hope he can give a simple yes or no verbal response, whether he is absolutely sure that going against the Government’s wishes and removing £0.5m a year Council Tax Support Grant from Town and Parish Councils is the only realistic way in which this Council can balance the books?

Supplementary Answer:

Mr Mike Owen, Portfolio Holder for Resources, Finance and Support said this was an important matter and therefore he would consider the question and give Mr Cooper a written response following the meeting.

Petitions

The Speaker advised that two petitions, each bearing more than 1,000 signatures, had been received requiring a debate under the Council’s Petitions scheme.  Each petitioner was given 5 minutes to open the debate and outline their case, which were briefly as follows;

a)    Petition to retain Church Stretton Library on the present site and to abandon plans to move it to the School on Shrewsbury Road – Hazell Whitehouse on behalf of The Church Stretton Library Group, highlighted the huge response that had been made locally in support of this petition; over 1,100 signatures had been recorded to date which was approximately a quarter of the town’s population.  Mrs Whitehouse urged the Council to keep Church Stretton Library in the town centre instead of moving it to the town’s secondary school.  Its current location was ideally suited for the older population and was much more accessible than the school on the edge of town.  It was also well suited to the concept of a community hub – in the town centre amongst the attractive mix of independent retailers and cafes in Church Stretton.

Following debate by Members, Mr Steve Charmley the Portfolio Holder for Business Growth, ip&e, Culture and Commissioning (North) responded during which he thanked the Support Group for their comments and confirmed that the Council was currently consulting with local people on this matter.  He also welcomed the input of Church Stretton School.  The consultation period closed at the end of March.  He therefore proposed that no further action be taken which was seconded by Mr Lee Chapman and duly agreed.

b)         Petition to stop the proposed cuts to Shropshire’s Museum Resource Centre, reducing access from 5 days a week to between 1-3 days - Lottie James, Chairman of the Friends of Ludlow Museum urged the Council not to remove three members of staff, who currently looked after world-renowned collections at Ludlow Museum Resource Centre.  She also urged the Council to defer making more cuts and enter into talks with experts and volunteers across the region who could offer advice, ideas and volunteer manpower on the future delivery of these services across the whole of the county.

Ms James indicated the result of the planned cuts would be hugely detrimental to the access and maintenance of this vital historical, heritage, archaeological, educational and cultural resource and asked Shropshire Council to reverse their decision.

Following debate by Members, Mrs T Woodward the Deputy Portfolio Holder for Business Growth responded during which she thanked Ms James for her input and confirmed that the Museum Centre was the cornerstone to the Museum Service and that there were no plans to close the centre.  However she also indicated that the way services would be managed in the future would have to change.  The Council was already working with volunteers to remodel voluntary services.  She therefore proposed that no further action be taken and that the Council and volunteers continue to work together.  This proposal was seconded and duly agreed.