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.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 5 August 2026.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 August 2026 be confirmed as an accurate 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 12 noon on Thursday 3 September 2026.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council. Deadline for notification is not later than 12 noon on Thursday 3 September 2026.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Duncan Whitfield, Interim Executive Director (S151)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

(a)  Noted and agreed the findings, conclusions and recommendations contained within the CIPFA External Assurance Review attached at Appendix A.  

(b)  Noted that many of the recommendations align with priorities already being addressed through the Council's Improvement Plan and Financial Sustainability and Recovery Strategy.  

(c)   Noted that progress against the recommendations will be reported quarterly to Cabinet as part of overall Improvement Plan update reports. 

Lead Member: Councillor Alex Wagner, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Transformation & Economic Growth

Lead Officer: Paul Clarke, Service Director – Strategy & Change

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet considered and agreed the recommendations and actions in the Annual Customer Feedback Report (pages 34 and 35), Appendix A, to support and improve customer feedback performance within Shropshire Council.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Duncan Whitfield, Interim Executive Director (S151)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Noted the detailed position set out in this quarterly report which forecasts a favourable variation of £2.291m against the General Fund budget as set out in Table 1.  

2.     Noted that the s151 Officer continues to work with directorates in order to help them to ensure that their net expenditure is contained within their budgets and take appropriate mitigating actions where forecasts are exceeding budget.  

3.     Noted the risks identified as at 30 June 2026 as set out in section 13 of report including potential impact on the financial sustainability of the Council;  

4.     Noted the continued use of the Budget, Transformation and Change Panel (formerly the Operations Boards) and the Workforce Review Board with a view to enhancing the control of spend and authorisation of projects and the approvals to date of £ 3.127m for 2026/27 and £3.507m for 2027/28.  

5.     Noted the forecast level of savings achieved of £5.238m to date and a further £523k to be delivered by the end of the financial year, this against a target of £5m.  

6.     Noted the Capital programme and forecast outturn position as at quarter 1.  

7.     Noted the forecast General Fund Balance of £15m at 31 March 2027, in line with the Financial Sustainability and Recovery Strategy agreed by Cabinet in July 2026, which aims to increase reserves by £10m per year to £35m over the longer term.  

8.     Noted the reduced call for EFS in 2026/27 to £90m from the £121m set out in the MTFP report to Council in February 2026, the reduction being in line with the revised MTFP received by Cabinet in July 2026.  

9.     Noted that Cabinet will receive quarterly financial updates on the financial position during 2026/27, the Quarter 2 report scheduled for November 2026 and regular updates will also be available for the Budget Forum.  

10.Approved the Capital and Revenue budget virements as set out in Appendix 3 and 5.

Lead Member: Councillor Heather Kidd, Leader

Lead Officer: Paul Clarke, Service Director – Strategy & Change

The report will be to follow In order to finalise appendices for the Q1 report

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Reviewed performance at quarter 1 and confirmed any areas in the report that need action to address them 

2.     Provided feedback on the performance report that can be taken into account to improve the report format. 

3.     Proposed emerging topics or issues as appropriate to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider for inclusion in their work programme.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Duncan Whitfield, Interim Executive Director (S151)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Noted the summary of the wider economic environment and the Council’s borrowings and investments set out in Appendix A  

2.     Noted the performance within prudential indicators for quarter 1, 2026/27 (Appendix B) 

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Duncan Whitfield, Interim Executive Director (S151)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Approved the existing policy for business rates discretionary rate relief set out at Appendix A;  

2.     Noted the updated Rural Settlement List at Appendix B;  

3.     Delegated the awarding of Hardship Relief, Discretionary Business Rate Relief and Part Occupied Relief to the Revenues and Benefits Service Manager in line with approved Council policy with any appeals to the Section 151 Officer;  

4.     Approved a separate policy document for Council Tax Discretionary Discounts as set out at Appendix C;  

5.     Continue to offer council tax discretionary discounts to care leavers leaving Shropshire Council care, up until the age of 25;  

6.     Introduced a new policy to support residents with their council tax where they have to move out of their homes due to an uninsured ‘Act of God’;  

7.     Delegated decisions concerning council tax discretionary discount awards to the Revenues and Benefits Service Manager in line with approved Council policy with any appeals to the Section 151 Officer;  

8.     Instructed the s151 Officer to plan for the creation of a Council Tax Discretionary Discount Hardship Fund to enable discretionary discounts to be awarded in circumstances that fall outside of the agreed policy or where support cannot be provided by the Crisis and Resilience Fund.  

9.     Committed to review both policies in 2029/30.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Duncan Whitfield, Interim Executive Director (S151)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet noted the proposed changes below which will be subject to a formal consultation of up to six weeks that will run from September 2026 to October 2026:  

·       Retain the current tapered scheme with following adjustments:  

·       Disregard Child Benefit as an income at an estimated cost of £750k - £800k per year  

·       Retain current 20% minimum payment and maintain current protections for vulnerable groups 

·       Continue to support those impacted by 20% minimum payment with a top up from the Crisis Resilience Fund as follows

? 2026-27 (current year) – up to £80  

? 2027-28 – up to £90 

? 2028-29 – up to £100

Lead Member: Councillor James Owen, Portfolio Holder for Housing

Lead Officer: Kassandra Polyzoides, Interim Service Director – Place Shaping

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Noted the financial circumstances currently facing the Council and especially the limitations on borrowing arising from EFS commitments in at least the short and medium terms.  

2.     Noted the financial circumstances of CDL as illustrated by their most recent balance sheet and the need for the Council to act in order to maintain solvency of the company in the absence of Council funding for future development activity.  

3.     Approved the structured closure of the Company over a period of time (Section 4; Option 6) in order to minimise the financial exposure to the Council and to seek best consideration to the Council from any property and land disposals and transfers.  

4.     Noted that this decision is consistent with the requirements set out in the Financial Sustainability and Recovery Strategy agreed by Cabinet in July.  

5.     Authorised the s151 Officer with support from the Monitoring Officer to notify formally the CDL Board of Directors of the decision of the Cabinet to close the company.  

6.     Instructed the two statutory officers to bring together a governance structure which works together with CDL to ensure an orderly closure of the Company and the future management and ownership of land and property.  

7.     Approved funding for CDL to complete planning applications for London Road Phase 2 and for SUE West sites in order to maximise the future value of the sites, as housing developments as originally requested.  

8.     Authorised the s151 Officer to ensure that CDL has sufficient funding to remain solvent whilst completing planning on the schemes in progress and the sale or transfer of sites as set out in this report.  

9.     Noted the estimated cost to the Council arising from the closure of CDL and delegates to the s151 Officer and Monitoring Officer to take actions necessary to ensure that the company remains solvent.  

10.Noted that as estimated costs arising from the closure will be included within the next Medium Term Financial Plan to be presented to Cabinet in November.  

11.Instructed officers to ensure that additional and appropriate professional support and advice as necessary throughout the period of closure to ensure full compliance with company law and local government regulation.  

12.Instructed officers in consultation with the CDL Board of Directors to ensure that their tenants are kept fully informed of changes that will be made and that those tenants are in no way impacted adversely by the closure of CDL 

Lead Member: Councillor James Owen, Portfolio Holder for Housing

Lead Officer: Paula Mawson, Service Director – Customer & Communities

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Approved the HRA Policy at Appendix A developed as part of the HRA review undertaken in June 2026, and delegated authority to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the relevant Service Director, to make any minor amendments required to support implementation and ensure alignment with the approved HRA Business Plan.  

2.     Approved the 30-year HRA Business Plan 2026 at Appendix A, including its financial strategy, investment programme, and statutory compliance measures.  

3.     Noted that provision has been made within the HRA Business Plan to support potential applications for Government grant funding to increase capacity within the HRA stock. This does not constitute approval to submit a bid. A further detailed report will be brought back to Cabinet for consideration and approval before any bid is submitted, setting out the proposed programme, financial implications, match funding requirements and associated delivery arrangements. 

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Kassandra Polyzoides, Interim Service Director – Place Shaping

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Declared the Whitchurch Civic Centre and Library site, edged red at Appendix A, surplus to the Council’s operational requirements, for the reasons set out in sections 4 and 5 of this report, and having regard to the capital requirement and continuing maintenance and holding liabilities set out in section 4.  

2.     Approved its in-principle disposal, subject to the due diligence described in section 5, the financial and policy requirements in section 9, and the legal and statutory requirements in section 10, and in accordance with the Asset Disposal Policy within the Financial Sustainability and Recovery Strategy approved by Cabinet on 8 July 2026.  

3.     Delegated authority to the Service Director for Place Shaping, in consultation with the Section 151 Officer and the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Assets, to determine and implement the disposal strategy and secure the best consideration reasonably obtainable.  

4.     Noted that officers and the Portfolio Holder will continue to engage with the Members for the Whitchurch electoral divisions, Whitchurch Town Council and other interested parties as the disposal strategy progresses. 

Lead Member: Councillor Andy Hall, Portfolio Holder for Children & Education

Lead Officer: Sonya Miller, Service Director – Children & Young People

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.     Approved uplift to fostering Skills Payment at 5% increase with effect from 01/04/26.  

2.     Considered and approved increasing mileage rate paid to internal foster carers from 0.45 per mile to £0.55 per mile from 01/04/26 as per the change in government agreed figure.  

3.     Considered and approved increasing amount of mileage that can be claimed, removing the requirement for foster carers to deduct the first 30 – 70 miles weekly before claiming mileage. To commence from 01/04/27.  

4.     Considered and approve paying approved carers beyond our Care Plus rate (£640.50 with uplift), with an additional Skills payment of £250 per week for first 12 months as part of Belonging and Stable Homes Scheme, where a child is assessed to need residential care, and support work has been completed by the team around the child, and the child is ready for a family care arrangement. This payment is to incentivise Foster Carers to transition children from residential care into supportive, stable homes and recognises the skill and commitment required during settling period.  

5.     Approved the proposal to pay annual National Trust Membership for up to 100 Fostering households

6.     Considered and approved offering free parking to Shropshire Foster Carers at all our council parking venues. This is difficult to cost as this would reflect a small reduction in council income as opposed to direct cost. Should this be something that Council are prepared to support in principle a further survey can be completed to gather more data for exact car parks used by each foster carer.

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 confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 5 August 2026.

RESOLVED:

That the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 5 August 2026 be confirmed as an accurate record.

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 14 October 2026.