Apologies had been received from Councillor Cecilia Motley.

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.

No interests were declared.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2023 were confirmed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2023 were confirmed 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 5.00 pm on Thursday 7 December 2023.

There were no public questions.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council. Deadline for notification is not later than 5.00 pm on Thursday 7 December 2023.

Members’ questions had been received from the following:

Councillor David Vasmer, read on his behalf by Councillor Roger Evans, in relation to part-night lighting. By way of a supplementary question, Councillor Evans asked what the process was for taking a complaint forward to improve the safety for residents. The Portfolio Holder would speak to Andy Wilde and provide a response after the meeting.

Councillor Ruth Houghton in relation to road safety around Norbury Primary School. By way of supplementary question, she asked whether there was adequate revenue resources in the budget to maintain any 20mph measures that are installed.

Councillor Joyce Barrow, in relation to Oswestry Innovation Park. In response to a supplementary question, the Portfolio Holder confirmed that infrastructure would be in place by 2025 with spine roads being in place in the next 12 months.

Councillor Nick Bardsley, in relation to trees affected by the North West Relief Road development. By way of supplementary question, Councillor Bardsley sought clarification as to whether oak trees are endangered as had been stated. It was stated that the Ecology Team would provide a response.

Councillor Julian Dean, in relation to the North West Relief Road. Following the response from the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Dean requested confirmation that the Council would commit to having funding and a business case in place before any damage was done to trees on the site. The Portfolio Holder advised that correct procedures would be followed and although it was regretful that nine trees would be lost, they would be replaced with ten times as many.

The questions asked and written responses are available from the web page for the meeting Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 13th December, 2023, 10.30 am — Shropshire Council

Lead Members – Councillor Kate Halliday – Chairman of the Task and Finish Group & Councillor Joyce Barrow – Chairman of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Report of Tom Dodds, Scrutiny Manager

RESOLVED:

To accept the recommendation 1 to 8 set out in section 7 of the report and provide a response and action plan for their delivery, to the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Joyce Barrow, Chair of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, presented the report and the following recommendations from the task and finish group:

1.     That Shropshire Council, as the Local Planning Authority, should

· Adopt Grampian Conditions in Shropshire to ensure that new developments will be joined to appropriate infrastructure and access to treatment works with the sufficient current and future capacity in place.

· Promote the requirement for grey water systems and rainwater capture as part of new housing developments, reducing the use of drinking water to water gardens and clean cars. As part of this, Members recommend that the feasibility of introducing supplementary planning documents (SPD) should be explored and progressed.

2.     That Shropshire Council, as the highways authority, should proactively engage with and encourage Severn Trent Water in their progression of works that will increase the separation of rainwater run-off from wastewater, including highways runoff, thereby helping to reduce the risk of overwhelming sewage infrastructure and treatment works.

3.     That more monitoring of the health of rivers and waterways needs to take place:

· Severn Trent Water should increase the frequency of monitoring and reporting to once a week and ensure that testing occurs before and after releases. This data needs to be made available and the results made visible and easily accessible and understandable e.g. using trend charts and maps.

· System partners, including Shropshire Council, should work with citizen scientists to identify and put in place mechanisms that will allow them to continue to deliver and develop testing and monitoring that enhances the picture of what is happening beneath the surface of rivers and waterways.

4.     That Shropshire Council is a ‘Place Leader’. Within this there are a number of roles and actions that the Council should take to enable communities to help contribute towards improving river water quality:

 · Identify and provide access to small grants or accessible funding such as through initiatives like civic social crowdfunding that can be used to enable communities to take forward work that results in improved river water quality e.g. funding equipment and lab testing of citizen scientists work, and funding the River Health Checker app.

· Supporting and enabling initiatives and applications for Bathing Water Status.

· Assessing the feasibility of managing the River Health Checker App and promoting its use locally with stakeholders in the system and communities. Softer recommendations

5.     That system partners confirm shared outcomes and objectives in relation to river water quality and the environment and use these to jointly and consistently lobby Government to realise a regulatory framework and requirements that encourages water companies and other stakeholders who are part of the system, to target and achieve the best environmental outcomes.

6.     That local representatives, including Shropshire Council, should work closely with Severn Trent Water to inform how and where the recently announced investment to reduce sewage pollution takes place. This should include enabling and ensuring the engagement between agencies and with local communities and help to realise the greatest benefit for the environment of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

Lead Member – Councillor Julian Dean – Chairman of the Task and Finish Group

Report of Tom Dodds, Scrutiny Manager

RESOLVED:

To prepare a report from Cabinet to the next meeting of the Transformation and Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee setting out its responses to the various Recommendations made by the Capital Task and Finish Group.

The Chair of the Capital Strategy Task and Finish Group presented the report and the following recommendations:

Recommendation 1 – Realistic Capital Project Timelines, avoiding slippage and improved reporting of delivery, progress and impact

· That the planned timescales for the delivery of capital projects should be made on robust forecasts to help identify realistic programme and project plan timescales to deliver the Shropshire Plan priorities and the transformation of the council.

· That measures (including KPIs) which evidence capital being used to meet the revenue challenge and demonstrate the impact of slippage of capital projects and programme on the council’s budget and future service delivery, should be developed and reported as part of the quarterly financial reporting.

· The importance of accurate planned timescales for capital projects and the avoidance of slippage in their delivery and the realisation of related financial and non-financial benefits should be reinforced.

· That this focus should form part of Getting Leadership Right.

Recommendation 2 – Local member awareness and input.

· Local Members should be notified, at the earliest possible stage, by the relevant senior manager in the operational directorate about emerging proposed capital projects in their area, helping to utilise their knowledge of the communities they represent, and identify issues and delays that could be avoided at the earliest opportunity.

· That the collation and presentation of the Capital Strategy and Programme should include the confirmation that Local Members have been notified about the projects proposed for their Electoral Division or their electoral area, where projects might be in a neighbouring division but potentially impacts on theirs.

· That a mechanism for issues to be raised with the relevant Portfolio Holder should be also put in place, providing a member-to-member route.

Recommendation 3 – Systematic review and learning from capital project delivery.

· That there is a systematic and robust process of review for capital projects to ensure that learning is identified that can be used to inform future projects. This review should be undertaken by Officers directly involved in the capital project, with input from local members and the Cabinet Member, and take place at the appropriate time to ensure that both the process and the realisation of the planned benefits can be taken account of. There needs to be transparency through a more open process which includes this assessment and feedback loop.

Recommendation 4 – Establish an ‘opportunity register’ and central external funding team.

· That the council should establish an opportunity register that sets out a pipeline of projects that enable the delivery of the council’s priorities, including projects identified by communities and partners such as the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. There should be a corresponding register of known grant funding opportunities that can be used to match with projects.

· That the council should establish a corporately located External Funding Team that looks across all funding opportunities to the council and local stakeholders, with the expertise and capacity to identify the relevant funding opportunities to deliver the projects in the pipeline.

Recommendation 5 – Geographic visualisation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities

Report of James Walton – Executive Director for Resources

RESOLVED:

To agree and recommend to full Council the recommendations below. Subject to agreement by Cabinet, full Council are asked to approve these recommendations.

3.1. To approve, in accordance with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 the revised discretionary power to levy a Council Tax premium of 100% in relation to dwellings which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than one year (but less than five years) i.e. reduce the minimum period for the implementation of the premium for long term empty premises from two years to one year and the resulting inclusion of 798.32 Band D equivalents in the taxbase calculation. This includes an additional 456.55 Band D equivalents as a result of the amendment to reduce the minimum period to one year and 341.77 Band D equivalents in relation to the existing policy for dwellings which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years (but less than five years).

3.2. To approve, in accordance with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 the revised discretionary power to levy a Council Tax premium of 100% in respect of second homes from 1 April 2025.

3.3. To approve the publication of a notice regarding the new discretionary Council Tax policy awarded in respect of unoccupied and substantially unfurnished dwellings and second homes within 21 days of the determination

3.4. To approve, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Shropshire Council as it’s Council Tax taxbase for the year 2024/25, as detailed in Appendix A, totalling 119,191.17 Band D equivalents.

3.5. To note the changes to the Council’s localised Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme in 2024/25. The scheme is attached at Appendix B.

3.6. To note the Council Tax Support Scheme amendments detailed in Appendix B have no impact on the taxbase determination.

3.7. To note the exclusion of 8,237.19 Band D equivalents from the taxbase calculation as a result of localised Council Tax Support.

3.8. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy of 0% in respect of second homes (other than those that retain a 50% discount through regulation as a result of job related protection) and note the inclusion of 759.79 Band D equivalents in the Council Tax taxbase calculation as a result of this discount policy.

3.9. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy to not award a discount in respect of vacant dwellings undergoing major repair, i.e. former Class A exempt properties.

3.10. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy in respect of vacant dwellings, i.e. former Class C exempt properties, of 100% for one month i.e. effectively reinstating the exemption and the resulting exclusion of 132.23 band D equivalents from the taxbase calculation.

3.11. To note continuation of the “six week rule” in respect of vacant dwellings, i.e. former Class C exempt properties.

3.12. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy to levy a Council Tax premium  ...  view the full decision text for item 85.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities presented the report which outlined the Council Tax discount policies, Council Tax Support Scheme and the Collection Rate and the impact of these on the taxbase.

RESOLVED:

To agree and recommend to full Council the recommendations below. Subject to agreement by Cabinet, full Council are asked to approve these recommendations.

3.1. To approve, in accordance with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 the revised discretionary power to levy a Council Tax premium of 100% in relation to dwellings which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than one year (but less than five years) i.e. reduce the minimum period for the implementation of the premium for long term empty premises from two years to one year and the resulting inclusion of 798.32 Band D equivalents in the taxbase calculation. This includes an additional 456.55 Band D equivalents as a result of the amendment to reduce the minimum period to one year and 341.77 Band D equivalents in relation to the existing policy for dwellings which have been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years (but less than five years).

3.2. To approve, in accordance with the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 the revised discretionary power to levy a Council Tax premium of 100% in respect of second homes from 1 April 2025.

3.3. To approve the publication of a notice regarding the new discretionary Council Tax policy awarded in respect of unoccupied and substantially unfurnished dwellings and second homes within 21 days of the determination

3.4. To approve, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by Shropshire Council as it’s Council Tax taxbase for the year 2024/25, as detailed in Appendix A, totalling 119,191.17 Band D equivalents.

3.5. To note the changes to the Council’s localised Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme in 2024/25. The scheme is attached at Appendix B.

3.6. To note the Council Tax Support Scheme amendments detailed in Appendix B have no impact on the taxbase determination.

3.7. To note the exclusion of 8,237.19 Band D equivalents from the taxbase calculation as a result of localised Council Tax Support.

3.8. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy of 0% in respect of second homes (other than those that retain a 50% discount through regulation as a result of job related protection) and note the inclusion of 759.79 Band D equivalents in the Council Tax taxbase calculation as a result of this discount policy.

3.9. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy to not award a discount in respect of vacant dwellings undergoing major repair, i.e. former Class A exempt properties.

3.10. To note continuation of the discretionary Council Tax discount policy in respect of vacant dwellings, i.e. former Class C exempt properties, of 100% for one month i.e. effectively reinstating the exemption and the resulting exclusion of 132.23 band D equivalents from the taxbase calculation.

3.11. To note  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities

Report of James Walton – Executive Director for Resources

RESOLVED:

To agree the Treasury Strategy activity as set out in the report.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities introduced the report which informed Members of the treasury activities of the Council for the first six months of the financial year.

Thanks were given to the treasury management team.

RESOLVED:

To agree the Treasury Strategy activity as set out in the report.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities

Report of James Walton – Executive Director for Resources

RESOLVED:

3.1. To approve the recommended budget strategy for 2024/25, with council-wide target levels of spending reduction for pay and non-pay, noting that the identified targets are a minimum requirement, and that consideration must be given to exceeding these wherever possible.

3.2. To note the focus on improved efficiency in all areas to minimise the resident impacts; and to use sources of customer contact information to identify if and when residents are adversely impacted and what can be done to minimise this.

3.3. To note the outlook to 28/29 for revenue budgets and agree the measures proposed to manage within available revenue resources.

3.4. To note the reserves position to 25/26 and approve an approach prioritising corporate management of all reserves including replenish general reserves whenever possible, with a target minimum level of £20m.

3.5. To agree the proposed format set out in the appendix to this report for the budget consultation with residents and instructs Officers to proceed with the consultation.

3.6. To note the benchmarking information provided.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Corporate Resources and Communities introduced the report which set out how the estimated budget gap of £49.8m is comprised, and the measures proposed to manage that position effectively, whilst maintaining and improving the valued services we provide for our residents.

Members’ attention was drawn to the increased in-year demand, particularly within the People directorate, where demand cost and mitigation works are to take place over the next 12-18 months. Members emphasised that colleagues within the directorate were in no way being blamed for the present financial challenges and expressed confidence in their ability to continue to deliver.

A request was received for further information on the demand mitigation measures to allow for them to be seen and debated.

Concern was raised regarding recruitment and retention of staff in social care. Although this was a national issue, the Council had been increasing person productivity with schemes such as two carers in a car, and would look to invest in preventative care as well as improving the experience of recipients of care.

Members noted that the budget consultation would give an opportunity for residents, partners, businesses and council employees to comment on the budget proposals; the results of which would be reported to Cabinet and Council alongside the final budget proposals, to help inform Councillor’s discussions.

RESOLVED:

3.1. To approve the recommended budget strategy for 2024/25, with council-wide target levels of spending reduction for pay and non-pay, noting that the identified targets are a minimum requirement, and that consideration must be given to exceeding these wherever possible.

3.2. To note the focus on improved efficiency in all areas to minimise the resident impacts; and to use sources of customer contact information to identify if and when residents are adversely impacted and what can be done to minimise this.

3.3. To note the outlook to 28/29 for revenue budgets and agree the measures proposed to manage within available revenue resources.

3.4. To note the reserves position to 25/26 and approve an approach prioritising corporate management of all reserves including replenish general reserves whenever possible, with a target minimum level of £20m.

3.5. To agree the proposed format set out in the appendix to this report for the budget consultation with residents and instructs Officers to proceed with the consultation.

3.6. To note the benchmarking information provided.

Lead Member - Chris Schofield - Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services

Report of Eddie West - Planning Policy and Strategy Manager

RESOLVED:

That

3.1 Cabinet agrees the Annual Infrastructure Funding Statement included as Appendix 1 to this report for publication before the end of 2023.

3.2 If required, delegated responsibility be given to the Executive Director of Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services, to agree any necessary amendments to the Annual Infrastructure Funding Statement before its publication.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services introduced the report which provided the developer contributions (Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 Planning Obligations) which Shropshire Council has received, allocated and spent during the reported year (between 1st April 2022 and 31st March 2023), and provided an Infrastructure List which sets outs the infrastructure projects or types of infrastructure which Shropshire Council may fund wholly or partly by the CIL.

The Planning Policy and Strategy Manager advised members that the revised Place Plans would be coming back to Cabinet in the new year. An exercise had been carried out with town and parish councils to consider their aspirations for future infrastructure projects which have influenced the infrastructure list provided. It was noted that there was strict criteria for the use of CIL monies.

Members were advised that projects within parishes could now be tracked on the member portal and it was hoped this could be rolled out to town and parish councils shortly.

Members noted that town and parish councils were able to use their neighbourhood funds through the crowdfunding scheme to double their money which could give further opportunities for projects. Members were encouraged to contact Sarah Dodds if their parishes wanted further information.

RESOLVED:

That

3.1 Cabinet agrees the Annual Infrastructure Funding Statement included as Appendix 1 to this report for publication before the end of 2023.

3.2 If required, delegated responsibility be given to the Executive Director of Place, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services, to agree any necessary amendments to the Annual Infrastructure Funding Statement before its publication.

Lead Member – Dean Carroll – Portfolio Holder for Housing and Assets

Report of Steve Law - Head of Property & Development

RESOLVED:

That

3.1. Cabinet approves the principle of a 90 year lease.

3.2. Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Head of Property and Development to finalise terms of the lease and complete the transaction.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Assets presented the report which sought Cabinet approval for a revised Community Asset Transfer of The Old Abattoir, Bishops Castle to The Bishops Castle & District Community Land Trust for use as a community food bank.

Members’ attention was drawn to an error in the preliminary section where the proposed transfer duration is noted as 125 years, and not the correct proposed term which is 90 years.

Members welcomed the proposal which would benefit many people in the Bishops Castle area.

RESOLVED:

That

3.1. Cabinet approves the principle of a 90 year lease.

3.2. Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Head of Property and Development to finalise terms of the lease and complete the transaction.

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

Members were advised that the exempt report had been deferred and therefore there was no requirement to exclude the press and public.

Lead Member – Dan Morris – Portfolio Holder for Highways

Report of Andy Wilde – Head of Highways

REPORT TO FOLLOW

This item was deferred to the next meeting.

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting was Wednesday 17 January 2024.