The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:

The following motion was proposed by Councillor Duncan Kerr and supported by the Green Group

A peer review of Shropshire Council last year reported that the Council’s financial position was perilous. It has got a great deal worse since then. With dramatically increasing demands for statutory services and very restricted funds good stewardship demands that Shropshire Council work as closely as possible with local parish councils who are not facing the pressure on statutory services.

Like so many of the issues now facing Shropshire Council this work could have, and should have, been done in the better times when capacity was higher. As with planting a tree, if the best time was years ago the second-best time is now.

Shropshire Council has shown it can work well with individual town and parish council on an ad-hoc basis in response to funding streams from Government. But this piecemeal approach is insufficient to meet the challenges our communities now face. Now is the time to show that this Council has a genuine commitment to work in full partnership with local councils to maximise efficiencies. It can do this by jointly developing with them a charter.

A model for this already exists in other Unitarity areas such as Northumberland Northumberland-T-PCC-Charter-FINAL-10-Jan-23.pdf. We could rightfully expect that SALC would help in the development of this.

This motion moves that Shropshire Council commit to developing a similar charter by December 2024.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Julian Dean

On taking a vote the motion was not supported.

The following motion submitted by Councillor Julian Dean and supported by the Green Group

Improving local and national performance on climate action

We recognise that local delivery of net zero is essential to the UKs commitments to net zero by 2050 and to 68% emissions reductions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

We note that the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has found that supporting a local approach for delivering net zero by 2050 would be at half the cost of a national approach and would deliver three times the financial returns to our communities. A fair transition to a local net zero economy has the potential to boost prosperity and well-being in every corner of the UK.

We further note that, when it comes to adaptation, the LGA states that “Nationally we are not sufficiently prepared for the impacts of climate change, and central government must prioritise its work with local government to close this gap.” We further note that “For many climate impacts it is the most vulnerable in society that will be most impacted and have the least ability to adapt” (CCC: The Just Transition and Climate Change Adaptation).

We note that analysis of Climate Emergency UK Scorecards on Climate Action highlight that success is aligned with:

·         A dedicated portfolio holder

·         Having a published climate strategy with SMART targets, including area-wide targets, plus effective reporting.

·         Innovative financing for climate action

·         Effective area partnerships that include key anchor institutions and influencers

·         At present the Shropshire Plan Performance Report contains no KPIs related to corporate or area wide carbon emissions, to modal shift towards active travel and public transport or to the decarbonisation of heating in Shropshire homes, as examples of potential areas for SMART targets.

At present there is no effective publicly visible partnership with public or private sector institutions working together on a green transition for Shropshire.

This Council therefore resolves to ask Cabinet to examine best practice across these areas and to bring forward proposals to develop / improve the council’s measuring and reporting against both council and area wide mitigation and adaptation targets; to include KPIs for the Shropshire Plan; and for innovative financing of projects - in particular looking at municipal bonds that can raise both finance and awareness amongst residents; and for establishing an effective and public facing partnership with anchor institutions and others, ensuring decision makers are brought together.

Council notes the Mission Zero Coalition statement that “The quickest, cheapest and fairest route to net-zero is through local authorities. As analysis has shown, local-led action could save the UK £140bn in reaching net-zero compared to a top-down approach, while delivering almost double the energy savings and social benefits”

We note the results of a recent LGA survey suggesting that 67% of councils are not confident in hitting their net zero targets.

This Council therefore resolves to ask all political parties to commit the next Government to deliver a new partnership deal between councils and government that will enable councils and local communities to accelerate local decarbonisation and adaptation. This new partnership should include:

·         Government departments and councils working together within a Local Net Zero Delivery Unit, overseen by a Delivery Board, with the authority to transform the funding and regulatory landscape.

·         A Local Net Zero Data and Reporting Framework to ensure better accountability and scrutiny. (These proposals were developed by UK100 - to which Shropshire Council belongs)

·         A local climate ‘test’ applied to all government decisions – from housing to skills - that guarantees support, rather than conflict, with local climate action (as proposed by the LGA)

Council further resolves to ask all political parties to commit to giving Local Authorities statutory duties, powers and funding to enable a Net Zero transition in line with the UKs legal commitments

Council asks our group leaders to write to their respective national parties calling on them to make these commitments.

Council asks our council leadership and our elected members to use every forum available to press the case for these changes in the relationship between national and local government to help accelerate meaningful action on decarbonisation and adaptation.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Julia Evans

Following a vote the motion was unanimously supported