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 15 October 2025.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 October 2025 be 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 12 noon on Thursday 13^th November 2025.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council. Deadline for notification is not later than 12 noon on Thursday 13^th November 2025.

To receive a verbal report from Councillor Ed Potter, Chair of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Lead Member – Cllr Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer – James Walton, Executive Director (S151 Officer)

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

A.    To ensure emergency action is continued by all Officers in the second half of the financial year to improve further the Quarter 2 forecast of a projected spend over budget of £47.069m (30th September 2025). Such action should predominantly focus on reducing spend, increasing income, delivering remaining savings and significant mitigating actions to control in-year spending pressures.

B.    To support the continued use of Operations Boards, which have been in place from August 2025, to challenge all in-year spending, and more recently have been further enhanced to bring greater Service Director scrutiny. Further details to be included in future Finance Monitoring reports.

C.    To consider the Period 6 position (as at the end of September) forecast indicative level of savings delivery of £21.304m (36%),

D.    To continue to review the projected General Fund Balance which is forecast to be negative (-£12.789m), indicating a potentially illegal financial position by the end of the financial year if proposed action does not improve this position.

E.    To continue to support, in light of the Council’s current financial position and ongoing engagement with MHCLG, the active discussions regarding Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) are continuing.

Lead Member – Cllr Alex Wagner, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Communities

Lead Officer – Jess Edwards, Business Intelligence and Insight Manager

RESOLVED:

1. To note progress to date in achieving the outcomes of The Shropshire Plan, utilising the interactive Shropshire Plan Performance Dashboard
2. To collectively review and align Shropshire’s Performance Management Framework and the associated suite of KPIs with the new administration’s priorities, Corporate Plan and the Local Government Outcomes Framework metrics.

Lead Member – Cllr Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer – Sam Williams, Service Director – Enabling

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

To note the contents of the report, particularly noting:

Good progress has been maintained during 2024-2025 on managing health safety and wellbeing across the Council. Internal Targets for 2025-2026:

• Auditing/compliance checks across Directorates.

• Procurement and delivery of Management Training course.

• Review and respond to changes that arise from restructure of teams in light of the Resizing programme.

• Staff Protection Register – implementation of corporate system to coordinate and collate risk information relating to Potentially Violent Persons and premises of concern relevant to service areas.

Lead Member – Cllr Heather Kidd, Leader

Lead Officer – Steve Law, Head of Property & Development

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

1. To agree that Oswestry Town Council undertake the final consultation to determine the preferred site.
2. To agree that a lease will be put in place for the site OTC select from those shortlisted and delegates to the Head of Property and Development in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to agree terms and finalise the lease for the agreed piece of land for a pump track and or skate park to be built based on the outcome of the consultation.
3. To agree that Oswestry Town Council carry out detailed feasibility and design work to determine what the new facility will look like.

Lead Member – Cllr David Vasmer, Portfolio Holder for Highways and Environment

Lead Officer – Hayley Deighton, Strategic Partnerships Manager

RESOLVED:

1. To note the Council’s role as part of the SVWMS Joint Project Board and in advocating for a water management approach which maximises benefits for the cross border communities in Shropshire and Powys.
2. To endorse and support the next stage of public and stakeholder consultation for the SVWMS, undertaking this jointly through the Joint Project Board.
3. To delegate to the Chief Executive, responsibility for progressing the Council’s support for the SVWMS through the Joint Project Board and agree to embedding the programme within the Marches Forward Partnership, thereby ensuring a joined-up approach to cross border working between Shropshire and Powys.

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

RESOLVED:

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 from the meeting held on 15 October 2025.

RESOLVED:

To confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 15 October 2025 as a correct record.

Lead Member – Cllr Andy Hall, Portfolio Holder for Children and Education

Lead Officer – David Shaw, Director – Children’s Services

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

To agree recommendations 1 – 5 in the report.

Lead Member – Cllr Andy Hall, Portfolio Holder for Children and Education

Lead Officer – David Shaw, Director – Children’s Services

REPORT TO FOLLOW

RESOLVED:

To agree recommendations 1 – 3 in the report.

Lead Member – Cllr Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer – Sam Collins-Lafferty, HR & OD Manager

RESOLVED:

To decide on option A outlined in Section 8 of the report. 

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 3 December 2025.