Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Peter Broomhall, Tracey Huffer, Mike Isherwood, Kevin Turley and Paul Wynn.

Members are reminded that they must declare their disclosable pecuniary interests and other registrable or non-registrable interests in any matter being considered at the meeting as set out in Appendix B of the Members’ Code of Conduct and consider if they should leave the room prior to the item being considered. Further advice can be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

Members were reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

Councillor Jeff Anderson declared an interest in agenda item 11(b) – Motion on Consultation on car parking increases as he owned a business in the town centre. He left the room for the duration of this item

Councillor Ruth Houghton declared an interest in agenda item 11(a) Motion on Social Care Costs as she was a trustee of a charity that provided care and had a contract with Shropshire Council.  She left the room for the duration of this item.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 December 2023

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023, as circulated with the agenda papers, be approved and signed as a correct record.

To receive such communications as the Chairman, Leader and Head of Paid Service may desire to lay before the Council.

Chairman’s Engagements

The Chairman referred Members to the list of official engagements carried out by himself and the Vice Chairman since the last meeting of the Council on 15 December 2023, which had been emailed prior to the meeting.

To receive any questions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification is 5.00 pm on Friday 23 February 2024

The Chairman advised that public questions had been received from Timothy Ashton, Mike Streetly, Jamie Russell, Emma Bullard, Paul Cawthorne and Karen Pearce. A copy of the questions and the responses provided are attached to the signed minutes and available from the web page for the meeting.

Agenda for Council on Thursday, 29th February, 2024, 10.00 am — Shropshire Council

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is attached

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

It was proposed by Councillor Lezley Picton, Leader and Portfolio Holder for Policy and Strategy, Improvement and Communications, and seconded by Councillor Gwilym Butler, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities that the report of the Executive Director of Resources, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes and the recommendations contained therein, be received and agreed.

In response to a request from Councillor Roger Evans, the Chairman confirmed that he would split the recommendations in two for the purposes of voting, taking recommendations i to iv (council tax resolution) first and the remaining recommendations second.

By way of amendment Councillor Julia Buckley made the following proposal

“That in lieu of the proposed redundancies, Council enter into consultations with the trade unions and employees, to introduce 12 days unpaid leave for all staff. This would amount to an additional day’s holiday per month, and a saving of 4.6% on salaries, totalling £10.6m based on the most recent annual pay bill.

Based on the median salary, this would protect 292.68 Full Time Equivalent?jobs (including on costs at an average of 27%)

All those staff below scp 39 (band 13) would still receive a net increase on their salary following a pay rise of £1800 which has been budgeted for by the Council.”

This was seconded by Councillor Alan Mosley

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities stated that whilst he could not currently commit to this proposal, he would investigate the matter further.

On being put to a recorded vote with 29 Members voting for, 38 against and 2 abstentions as follows:

FOR:

Councillors Bagnall, Bentick, Boddington, Buckley, Clarke, Connolly, Dartnall, Davies, Dean, J Evans, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, R Huffer, Kerr, Kidd, Moseley, Mosley, Pardy, Parry, Parsons, Sherrington, Taylor, Vasmer, Wagner, M Williams and Wilson

AGAINST:

Councillors Aldcroft, Anderson, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Bird, Burchett, Butler, Carroll, Charmley, Dakin, Davenport, Elner, D Evans, Gill, Gittins, Harris, Hignett, Hunt, Hurst- Knight, M Jones, S Jones, Lea Luff, Lumby, Macey, Morris, Motley, Mullock, Nellins, Picton, Potter, Price, Schofield, Thomas, Tindall, Wild and B Williams

ABSTAIN:

Councillors Minnery and Towers

The amendment proposed by Councillor Buckley fell.

By way of amendment Councillor Julian Dean proposed the following

“Delete all from 

‘In respect of the revenue budget’ to ‘xv agree the Capital Programme as set out in Appendix 2 section 6 and Annex B to capital Strategy’. 

Delete all from and In relation to the delivery partner’  

Insert at the end:  

1.    Require the cabinet to return to full council in time to set a balanced budget with new proposals which rebalance the Capital Strategy specifically to support more investment in infrastructure that will support care for adults and children which mitigate the need for residential care.  
 

1a. Specifically the £2m identified in savings from children services to be retained by the dept and used to fund the repayments on a revised capital programme designed to enable the development of in-house residential alternatives to expensive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is attached

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

It was proposed by Councillor Gwilym Butler, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities and seconded by Councillor Claire Wild that the report of the Executive Director of Resources, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes and the recommendations contained therein, be received and agreed.

Councillor Andrew Sherrington suggested that a charge out rate for Social Care ICT equipment expertise could be levied.  It was suggested that he contact the Portfolio Holder for Social Care/Executive Director directly regarding this so they can provide a response directly.

Councillor Heather Kidd commented that some fees were capped which meant that it was not possible to get full cost recovery and asked could the Council lobby Central Government for the removal of such caps

RESOLVED: 

That Council

               i.        Note the breakdown of the total income for 2023/24 and 2024/25 and in particular that the proposed 2024/25 charges for discretionary services represent £52.822m of the £98.525m of income derived from Fees and Charges.

              ii.        To approve the charges for 2024/25 as detailed in Appendix 3 to be implemented from 1 April 2024.

             iii.        To note that as previously agreed, any changes to fees and charges proposed by Shropshire Community Leisure Trust Ltd. in relation to the outsourced leisure facilities will only be referred to Cabinet and Council for approval if the proposed increases exceed Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding November.

            iv.        To note that the proposals to increase car parking fees and charges (arising from the traffic management policies and strategies of the Council) further to the recent decision of Cabinet has been called in for further scrutiny by Councillors. This report does not supersede the call-in process; rather, the outcome of the call in process will determine the eventual charges to be levied in 2024/25.

             v.         To note that proposals in adult social care services for applying charges for telecare services and appointeeships are new proposals and will require further discussion and consultation. Proposed charges will be set on a ‘cost recovery’ basis, in line with best practice in other councils.

            vi.        To revise housing rents as follows (subject to restrictions or exemptions identified in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill)

a)    Social Housing rents for 2024/25 are increased by 7.7% from 3rd April 2024.

b)    Affordable rents for 2024/25 are increased by 7.7% from 3rd April 2024.

c)    Shared Ownership rents continue to be set at 2.75% of the outstanding capital value of the home at the time of sale and thereafter increased each April in accordance with the terms specified in the lease agreements.

d)    All accommodation charges for 2024/25 are increased by 7.7% from 3rd April 2024.

e)    Service charges continue to be set on the basis of actual cost

              vii.        To review the total estimated income from different fees and charges items, to identify which items generate the most income, and to consider whether the benchmarking already undertaken for those sources of income is placing the council in the upper quartile for charges,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Report of the Executive Director, Resources is attached

Contact:  James Walton.  Tel. 01743 258915

It was proposed by Councillor Gwilym Butler, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities and seconded by Councillor Claire Wild that the report of the Executive Director of Resources, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes and the recommendations contained therein, be received and agreed.

It was unanimously RESOLVED

That Full Council

                  i.        Approve the Treasury Strategy for 2024/25, set out in appendix 1 (parts 1-3).

                 ii.        Approve the Investment Strategy, set out in Appendix 1 (part 4) in accordance with the DLUHC Guidance on Local Government Investments.

                iii.        Approve the Prudential Indicators, set out in Appendix 1 (part 5), in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003.

                iv.        Approve the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement, set out in Appendix 1 (part 6).

                 v.         Authorise the Section 151 Officer to exercise the borrowing powers contained in Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2003 and to manage the Council’s debt portfolio in accordance with the Treasury Strategy.

                vi.        Authorise the Section 151 Officer to use other Foreign Banks which meet Link’s creditworthiness policy as required.

              vii.        Authorise the Section 151 Officer to progress and finalise the restatement and amendment of Cornovii Development Ltd loan agreements

Report of the Executive Director of Place is attached

Contact Mark Barrow Tel: 01743258919

It was proposed by the Councillor Dan Morris, Portfolio Holder for Highways and seconded by Councillor Dean Carroll, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Assets that the report of the Executive Director of Place, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes and the recommendations contained therein, be received and agreed

By way of amendment Councillor Andrew Sherrington proposed that funding only be agreed to bring the project to Full Business case and no other expenditure is incurred until it is agreed at a future meeting of Council.

This was seconded by Councillor Julian Dean

On being put to a recorded vote with 37 Members voting for, 32 against and no abstentions as follows:

FOR:

Councillors Bagnall, Bentick, Boddington, Buckley, Clarke, Connolly, Dartnall, Davies, Dean, J Evans, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, R Huffer, Kerr, Kidd, Minnery, Moseley, Mosley, Pardy, Parry, Parsons, Sherrington, Taylor, Tindall, Towers,  Vasmer, Wagner, M Williams and Wilson

AGAINST:

Councillors Aldcroft, Anderson, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Bird, Burchett, Butler, Carroll, Charmley, Dakin, Davenport, Elner, D Evans, Gill, Gittins, Harris, Hignett, Hunt, Hurst- Knight, M Jones, S Jones, Lea Luff, Lumby, Macey, Morris, Motley, Mullock, Nellins, Picton, Potter, Price, Schofield, Thomas, Wild and B Williams

Councillor Sherrington’s amendment fell.

On being put to a recorded vote with 37 Members voting for, 32 against and no abstentions as follows:

FOR:

Councillors Aldcroft, Anderson, Bardsley, Barrow, Biggins, Bird, Burchett, Butler, Carroll, Charmley, Dakin, Davenport, Elner, D Evans, Gill, Gittins, Harris, Hignett, Hunt, Hurst- Knight, M Jones, S Jones, Lea Luff, Lumby, Macey, Morris, Motley, Mullock, Nellins, Picton, Potter, Price, Schofield, Thomas, Wild and B Williams

AGAINST:

Councillors Bagnall, Bentick, Boddington, Buckley, Clarke, Connolly, Dartnall, Davies, Dean, J Evans, R Evans, Green, Halliday, Hartin, Houghton, R Huffer, Kerr, Kidd, Minnery, Moseley, Mosley, Pardy, Parry, Parsons, Sherrington, Taylor, Tindall, Towers,  Vasmer, Wagner, M Williams and Wilson

It was RESOLVED:

That Council

a)      Approves thedelegation of programme development responsibility for the NWRR together with authority to spend up toan additional  £16.981m(as set out in more detail within the table at paragraph 5.9 below) so as to enable the completion of the  Full Business Case submission, to the Executive Director of Place in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, noting that £6.667m of this will be funded by the DfT Large Local Majors Grant. The breakdown of this delegation, including contingency, is £16.499m advanceworks costs, £181,500 to deliver the FBC, and £300,000 to cover exceedance of current delegation.  

b)    Confirms, for the avoidance of doubt, that the previous total combined delegation of £27.9m was comprised of £15m (NWRR) and £12.9m (OLR).

Northern Planning Committee

Councillor Ed Potter to be appointed as a substitute member of the Northern Planning Committee

Southern Planning Committee

Councillor Roy Aldcroft to be appointed as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Councillor David Vasmer to replace Councillor Mark Williams as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Alan Moseley to replace Councillor Ted Clarke as a substitute member of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Heather Kidd to replace Councillor Bernie Bentick as a substitute member of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Jeff Anderson to be appointed a substitute member of the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Audit Committee

Councillor Andrew Sherrington to replace Councillor Mark Williams as a substitute member of the Audit Committee

It was proposed by the Chairman Councillor Vince Hunt and seconded by the Vice Chairman Councillor Brian Williams that the following amendments to committee membership be agreed.

Northern Planning Committee

Councillor Ed Potter to be appointed as a substitute member of the Northern Planning Committee

Southern Planning Committee

Councillor Roy Aldcroft to be appointed as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Councillor David Vasmer to replace Councillor Mark Williams as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Alan Moseley to replace Councillor Ted Clarke as a substitute member of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Heather Kidd to replace Councillor Bernie Bentick as a substitute member of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Jeff Anderson to be appointed a substitute member of the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

RESOLVED:

That the following changes in committee membership be agreed

Northern Planning Committee

Councillor Ed Potter to be appointed as a substitute member of the Northern Planning Committee

Southern Planning Committee

Councillor Roy Aldcroft to be appointed as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Councillor David Vasmer to replace Councillor Mark Williams as a substitute member of the Southern Planning Committee

Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Alan Moseley to replace Councillor Ted Clarke as a substitute member of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Heather Kidd to replace Councillor Bernie Bentick as a substitute member of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Jeff Anderson to be appointed a substitute member of the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

The following motion was received from Councillor Tony Parsons and supported by the Labour Group

The original motion on Social Care as set out on the agenda was altered by Councillor Tony Parsons and presented to the council as follows:

Social Care Costs 

? 

This Council notes: 

In October 2023, Skills for Care estimated that there were 1000 vacancies in the adult social care workforce in Shropshire (a vacancy rate of 81]. However, in a survey of its care provider members the average staff turnover rate over the last 12 months reported by respondents was 19%, and nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents stated that they are employing less staff than this time last year, with nearly a third (31%) of domiciliary care providers stating that they now employ less staff than a year ago. 

? 

For much of the past 12 months our local hospitals in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin have continued to face the challenge of trying to discharge people back into the community made difficult by the lack of available care. As was the case a year ago, this is not due to a lack of care providers, but their inability to recruit and retain staff the low wages they can afford to pay their staff due in part to the low fee rates payable by local authorities. 

? 

This is compounded by significant operational cost pressures over the last 12 months. Inflation as measured by CPI rose by 3.9% in the 12 months to November 2023, but for the period April-September 2023 was significantly higher, ranging from 6.7%-8.7%. 

? 

The National Living Wage (NLW) is due to increase by 9.8%, from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour, from 1 April 2024 and?whilst this is a positive move for care workers?will directly impact on care providers’ staff Put simply, if local authority fee rates do not at least cover the increase in NLW this will represent cut in fee rates.??In addition to staff costs, care providers have continued to face significant financial challenges over the last 12 months relating to staff recruitment, energy/utility costs, PPE and other operating costs including insurance, IT and staff travel. 

?? 

This Council believes: 

Both Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council had been awarded additional funding by central Government, through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), under the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund for investment in adult social care in 2023/24. Shropshire Council had been allocated an additional £2,119,773 which was used to improve fee rates together with additional investment from the Council. We await to see what funding is provided by central government in 2024/25. 

? 

Most local care providers have grave concerns regarding their financial viability and the sustainability of their business in continuing with local authority-funded care going forward without a significant increase in local authority fee rates from April 2024. Whilst Council awaits funding from the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund for investment in adult  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.

To receive any questions from Members, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2.

The Chairman advised that two questions had been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 15, and that he had also allowed an urgent question from Councillor Julia Evans. A copy of the report containing the detailed questions and their formal response is attached to the signed minutes.

Received from Councillor Viv Parry in respect of road signage to help deter heavy lorries from using Ludford Bridge.  By way of supplementary question Councillor Parry asked whether specific signs could be moved.  The Portfolio Holder requested that she email him and he would provide a response outside the meeting.

Received from Councillor David Vasmer regarding procedures for call in meetings.  By way of supplementary question Councillor Vasmer asked for assurance that Group Leaders would be consulted prior to anything being brought to Council.  The Leader reminded him that the Group Leaders were part of the Scrutiny Chairs Group who would be considering any changes before they are brough to Council.

Received from Councillor Julia Evans regarding the ICB declaration of a critical emergency.  By way of supplementary question Councillor Evans asked how the recent county wide critical care emergency in the health care system impacted on the council both financially and in capacity terms, and how the burden of care shift to the council from the NHS was affecting the council year on year.  The Portfolio Holder agreed to provide an answer outside of the meeting.

To resolve that, in accordance with the provisions of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and Paragraph 10.4 [3] of the Council’s Access to Information Rules, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items

To approve as a correct record the exempt minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 December 2023

RESOLVED: That the Exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023, as circulated with the agenda papers, be approved and signed as a correct record.