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Contact information

E-mail

customer.service@shropshire.gov.uk

Telephone

0345 678 9000

Postal Address

Shropshire Council
Shirehall
Abbey Foregate
Shrewsbury
Shropshire
SY2 6ND

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Shrewsbury Room, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6ND

Contact: Jane Palmer  Senior Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

100.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

101.

Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

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.

Minutes:

None were declared.

102.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 89 KB

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 7 November 2018.  TO FOLLOW

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 7 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

Minutes:

Responding to a Member’s query, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services explained that all public questions and the answers provided formed part of the formal record of the meeting and were included in the Minute book.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 7 November 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

103.

Public Question Time

To receive any questions or petitions from members of the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is no later than 24 hours prior to the start of the meeting.

Minutes:

A question had been submitted by Mr S Mulloy who was not present at the meeting.  It was noted that the response to the question would be sent to Mr Mulloy after the meeting.

104.

Member Questions

To receive any questions of which members of the Council have given due notice, the deadline for notification for this meeting is 5.00pm on Friday 23 November 2018.

Minutes:

A question from Councillor T Huffer and the response was circulated at the meeting.  The question related to charges incurred for the use of the Ludlow Youth Centre.  Members noted that the question and response would be included as part of the formal record of the meeting.

105.

Scrutiny Items

To consider any scrutiny matters from Council or from any of the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.

Minutes:

There were no scrutiny items for consideration.

106.

Treasury Strategy 2018/19 - Mid Year Review pdf icon PDF 152 KB

Lead Member – Councillor D Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Finance

 

Report of the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [s151 Officer]

 

Contact: James Walton      Tel: 01743 258915

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That the position as set out in the report, be accepted.

ii)            That it be noted that any changes required to the Treasury Strategy including the Annual Investment Strategy or prudential and treasury indicators as a result of decisions made by the Capital Investment Board will be reported to Council for approval.

iii)           That the updated MRP Policy, as detailed at Appendix D to the report, be approved.

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented a report from the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [s151 Officer] detailing the mid-year review of the Council’s treasury management activities. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That the position as set out in the report, be accepted.

ii)            That it be noted that any changes required to the Treasury Strategy including the Annual Investment Strategy or prudential and treasury indicators as a result of decisions made by the Capital Investment Board will be reported to Council for approval.

iii)           That the updated MRP Policy, as detailed at Appendix D to the report, be approved.

107.

Financial Monitoring Report Quarter 2 - 2018/2019 pdf icon PDF 282 KB

Lead Member – Councillor D Minnery – Portfolio Holder for Finance

 

Report of the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [s151 Officer]

 

Contact: James Walton      Tel: 01743 258915

 

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 2 [30 September 2018], the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of £1.287M;

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

iii)           That the suggested management action that could be taken to reduce the forecast overspend to nil, be considered.

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Finance presented a report from the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance [s151 Officer] setting out the projected revenue expenditure for the whole of 2018/19 as at Quarter 2 and set out the capital expenditure up to the end of Quarter 2.  He drew attention to the management action that had been identified to potentially bring down the overspend position to £1.287M. 

 

The Leader added that every effort was being made to reduce the effects on local people; he stated that he had confidence in this and next year’s budget position.  The Chief Executive stressed that all decisions were jointly made through close liaison between Officers and Cabinet and thanked everyone for their efforts.

 

Other Members commented on overspends in Adult Social Care and Children’s Services and were concerned about the introduction of the Friday ‘lock out’ of staff from Shirehall.  The Chief Executive gave assurances that all issues relating to the working from home initiative would be assessed and addressed and the Council and its staff would continue to adapt to new ways of working.

 

Responding to Members’ queries regarding the Council’s purchase of Shrewsbury shopping centres, the Chief Executive stressed that this was a long-term investment, a profit was being made and the Centres were currently being managed by an offshore Trust.  The Leader stressed that the Council had invested within its own area; authorities that had purchased outside of their own areas had received negative comments from CIPFA.

 

The Leader agreed the benefit of holding a Member workshop in the New Year in order to fully brief all Members on the Council’s Shopping Centres project.  This was agreed by all.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That it be noted that at the end of Quarter 2 [30 September 2018], the full year revenue forecast is a potential overspend of £1.287M;

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

iii)           That the suggested management action that could be taken to reduce the forecast overspend to nil, be considered.

108.

Quarter 2 Performance Report 2018/2019 pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Lead Member – Councillor S Charmley – Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Commercial Support

 

Report of the Chief Executive

 

Contact: Clive Wright          Tel: 01743 258675

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That the key underlying and emerging issues in the reports and appendices be considered;

ii)            That the performance portal be reviewed and any performance areas to be considered in greater detail or referred to the appropriate Scrutiny Committee be identified.

Minutes:

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Corporate and Commercial Support presented a report from the Chief Executive on the Council’s performance against its key outcomes for Quarter 2 2018/19.  He drew particular attention to challenges being addressed in increases in Looked After Children [LAC] that reflected, but was below, the national average.  He also made reference to the increase in complaints relating to highways and waste management and the reduction in library visitors.  Members acknowledged the level of volunteer support to services that amounted to over 20,000 hours and paid tribute to those who gave willingly of their time.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People explained the growth in demand for children’s services that added to the service provision costs.  He believed that there were limited measures that could be put in place to address the service provision costs and stressed that the overspend related to statutory duties.  He stressed that the services provided by the Council were good and there were no easy solutions to the budget problems in this area.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Adult Services, Health and Social Housing commented on the performance relating to the delayed transfer of care and paid tribute to the Integrated Services Team that was a finalist in a National award.  

 

Whilst acknowledging the positive activities that were taking place to encourage both physical and mental wellbeing, a Member urged that steps be taken in future to improve youth service provision that had been significantly reduced in recent years.  Another Member commented that areas outside of Shrewsbury had particularly suffered and youth provision in some rural areas had almost disappeared.  The Leader commented that he had attended the Youth AGM recently where positive comments had been made.

 

The Leader paid tribute to Shrewsbury Town Council and other Parish and Town Councils throughout the county for taking on additional responsibilities; he believed that some areas were better dealt with at a local level, issues surrounding the ‘county lines’ problem being such an example.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That the key underlying and emerging issues in the reports and appendices be considered;

ii)            That the performance portal be reviewed and any performance areas to be considered in greater detail or referred to the appropriate Scrutiny Committee be identified.

109.

Plan for Shropshire - Council Plan 2019/20 to 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 118 KB

Lead Member – Councillor Peter Nutting – Leader of the Council

 

Report of the Chief Executive

 

Contact: Clive Wright          Tel: 01743 258675

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That Part 2 of the Corporate Plan containing the Vision, Priorities and Themes/Issues for 2019/20, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved;

ii)            That the next steps as detailed in paragraphs 5 to 7 of the report, be endorsed;

iii)           That the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee be requested to set up a Task and Finish Group to consider and recommend the measures and milestones for the new Corporate Management Framework for 2019/20 onwards that relate to the new Corporate Plan.

Minutes:

The Leader presented a report from the Chief Executive on Part 2 of the Corporate Plan 2019/20 to 2021/22 containing the draft Vision, themes and actions for 2018/19.  Cabinet noted that the Leader and Deputy Leader had taken on the responsibilities within the Economic Growth Portfolio.

 

Responding to a Member’s question, the Leader commented that the scrutiny process would work to its own timescales in establishing the recommended Task and Finish Group.  

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)             That Part 2 of the Corporate Plan containing the Vision, Priorities and Themes/Issues for 2019/20, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved;

ii)            That the next steps as detailed in paragraphs 5 to 7 of the report, be endorsed;

iii)           That the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee be requested to set up a Task and Finish Group to consider and recommend the measures and milestones for the new Corporate Management Framework for 2019/20 onwards that relate to the new Corporate Plan.

110.

School Place Planning pdf icon PDF 105 KB

Lead Member – Councillor N Bardsley – Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People

 

Report of the Director of Children’s Services      TO FOLLOW

 

Contact: Karen Bradshaw  Tel: 01743 254201

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

That the first [informal consultation] phase be launched for a new school in the west of Shrewsbury, under the Government’s ‘free school presumption process’, on land secured from developers for this purpose.

Minutes:

The Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People presented a report from the Director of Children’s Services providing an overview of the next phase of school place planning focussing on the requirement to increase the provision of primary school places in north Shrewsbury and a new school in the west of the town.  Cabinet also noted the process for commissioning a new school and the first stage of the process to initiate a consultation process with key stakeholders.

 

The Service Delivery Manager, Learning and Skills, gave a short Powerpoint presentation explaining the proposals in greater detail and the ongoing issues relating to school places in Shrewsbury.

 

Members were delighted that additional school places would be provided and wholeheartedly welcomed the proposals.  A Local Member, who was also a School Governor, welcomed the proposals and anticipated that they may also help to alleviate ongoing traffic issues in parts of the town.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the first [informal consultation] phase be launched for a new school in the west of Shrewsbury, under the Government’s ‘free school presumption process’, on land secured from developers for this purpose.

 

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