Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Gwilym Butler. 

Apologies were also received from Councillor Steve Charmley (he was able to join the meeting remotely and did not vote)

Members are 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.

None were declared.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 July 2021

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 21 July 2021 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 21 July 2021 be approved as a correct record.

To receive any questions from members of the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification is not later than 10.00 AM on Monday 6^th September 2021

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive any questions from members of the council.  Deadline for notification is not later than 5.00 PM on Friday 3^rd September 2021

Member questions were received as follows:

Councillor Julian Dean – regarding unaccompanied asylum seeking children being accommodated in the Council’s area and the Council’s future commitments in this regard. Councillor Dean wished also to place on record thanks and praise for the tireless efforts of Shropshire Supports Refugees.

Councillor David Vasmer – regarding the current funding levels for the North West Relief Road, any request submitted to Government for additional funding and publication and availability of the full Business Case for this project.

Councillor Tracey Huffer – regarding the ongoing restricted use of Ludlow Youth Centre under Covid regulations, the capital value of the building and its retention by the Council during the current Administration.

The full questions and answers are provided on the webpage for the meeting: http://shropshire.gov.uk/committee-services/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=130&MId=4230&Ver=4

There were no scrutiny items for consideration.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Resources

Report of Executive Director of Resources attached

Contact:  James Walton 01743 258915

RESOLVED:

That the position detailed in the Annual Treasury Report 2020/21 be accepted.

The Leader presented the report outlining the Council’s treasury activities for 2020/21, including the investment performance of the internal treasury team to 31 March 2021.  

She drew attention to the performance of the internal treasury team being 0.40% per annum above benchmark during the last three years.  It was also noted that the team had delivered an under spend of £3.21 million mainly due to Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) savings following the Council’s review of the policy and interest payable savings.

RESOLVED:

That the position detailed in the Annual Treasury Report 2020/21 be accepted.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Resources

Report of Executive Director of Resources attached

Contact:  James Walton 01743 258915

RESOLVED:

That the position detailed in the Treasury Management Update Quarter 1 2021/22, be accepted.

The Leader presented a report outlining the treasury management activities of the Council during the first quarter of 2021/22. She stated that the treasury management team dealt with £170M of the Council’s investment and £304M of borrowing. During the first quarter of 2021/22 the team delivered a return of 0.17% that equated to over £100,000 income to the Council and exceeded the benchmark by 0.25%.

RESOLVED:

That the position detailed in the Treasury Management Update Quarter 1 2021/22, be accepted.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler  – Portfolio Holder for Resources

Report of Executive Director of Resources TO FOLLOW

Contact:  James Walton 01743 258915

RESOLVED:

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 1 (30th June 2021), the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of between £2.591m and £9.731m, with early estimates projected at £7.331m;

ii)            That the impact of this on the Council’s General Fund balance be considered; and  

iii)           That a budget virement of £0.932m from Highways to Environment and Transport be approved, as set out in Appendix 7 to the report.

The Leader presented the first quarterly Financial Monitoring Report for 2021/22 covering the period April 2021 to 30th June 2021. The report outlined the main variances from the original General Fund budget and mitigating plans to bring expenditure in budget by year end.  It was noted that this entire period was delivered within the context of continued Covid-19 restrictions and implications from national lockdowns dating back to 23 March 2020.

The Leader commented that projected revenue figures were difficult to estimate and the overspend was anticipated between £2.5M (this figure assumes more Government funding for Covid expenditure and the loss of income) and £9.7M (this figure assumes suppressed demand as a result of Covid 19 and no further Government funding).  She added that £3.1M, 24%, of savings had been delivered or were being delivered on an ongoing basis, 6.7% of the Council’s budget had been delivered in the first Quarter and £7.6M ringfenced grant had been received.

In response to questions from Councillor Vasmer, the Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Assets made the following points:

·         The current position of the Adult Social Care and Childrens’ Social Care budgets was an underspend of £315,000.  The position for the following year may result in a £10M deficit but it was hoped that this would be partially met by one off Government funding.

·         The Council’s capital programme was delayed by both affects of the pandemic and by the huge global shortage in construction materials and the skills needed to work on site but full delivery of the programme was nevertheless anticipated.

·         Cost increases would lead to higher costs but contingency plans were built into every project and would be considered on a project to project basis to meet any such delays and/or costs.

The Executive Director of Resources committed to provide a response to Councillor Vasmer and to Cabinet members regarding ways of achieving the one off savings of £16.147M.

RESOLVED:

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 1 (30th June 2021), the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of between £2.591m and £9.731m, with early estimates projected at £7.331m;

ii)            That the impact of this on the Council’s General Fund balance be considered; and   

iii)           That a budget virement of £0.932m from Highways to Environment and Transport be approved, as set out in Appendix 7 to the report.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Resources

Report of Executive Director of Resources TO FOLLOW

Contact:  James Walton 01743 258915

RESOLVED:

i)             That the emerging features detailed in the Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 1 2021/22 be considered;

ii)            That both the appendix and performance portal be reviewed to identify any performance areas that Cabinet may wish to consider in greater detail or refer to the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee.

The Leader presented the Quarter 1 performance report showing progress against outcomes within the Corporate Plan: A Healthy Environment, A Good Place to do Business, Sustainable Places and Communities, More People with a Suitable Home, Embrace our Rurality, Care for those in Need at any Age and Your Council.

She explained that the compilation of the new Corporate Plan, ‘The Shropshire Plan’ would provide a new focus to performance monitoring reports throughout the year.

Responding to Councillor Vasmer, she confirmed that The Shropshire Plan would be considered by scrutiny before being considered by Council.  Finally, responding to comments made by Councillor Buckley, the Leader agreed that more information on climate change implications was needed in future Council reports and that, as this report related to performance, implications resulting from a reduction in recycling rates and road maintenance issues would be dealt with elsewhere.

RESOLVED:

i)             That the emerging features detailed in the Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 1 2021/22 be considered;

ii)            That both the appendix and performance portal be reviewed to identify any performance areas that Cabinet may wish to consider in greater detail or refer to the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee.