Updates from Council Meetings on Thursday 18th July

Shifnal Local Insight Report

I recently received an interesting report produced by SALC (Shropshire Association of Local Councils) containing a report on Shifnal.

Shifnal is a relatively prosperous area with low rates of deprivation, crime and unemployment in comparison to Shropshire and the national average.

Financial Information from Shropshire Council

It was the last meeting of full council before the August break, and as usual there were several annual reports received including Finance and Audit.

NB. The full agenda and reports pack for the meeting at 10am on Thursday 18th July can be found here https://shropshire.gov.uk/committee-services//ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=125&MeetingId=5018

There has been a lot of concern from Councillors and the general public about the state of the council’s finances, particularly as there have been bad news stories regarding Birmingham City Council after it effectively declared bankruptcy https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68476173.

At our neighbouring authority, Telford and Wrekin Council, have liabilities of £239 million, with current assets of only £79 million and total reserves of £50 million, meaning that T&W council are heavily in debt (£110 million in debt even if they sold all current assets and used 100% of their reserves). https://www.telford.gov.uk/downloads/file/27503/draft_statement_of_accounts_2023_-_2024, page 57/58 Reserves and Balance Sheet.

Shropshire Council is particularly vulnerable to the increasing costs of adult social care due to its aging population and increasing children in care costs:

The key factors affecting the year end position for overall service delivery were:

• Activity in Children’s Services was higher than anticipated when setting the budget. The increase in costs was partially offset by a contribution from the General Fund Balance.
• The service is bringing forward plans over the short to medium term to manage demand pressures. This includes the overhaul of Early Help, ensuring families get the support they need at the earliest possible stage. A new children’s home, the fourth since 2020, reducing the use of private providers. Investment has provided support to children to return home from care, with lasting changes in place to keep families safely together. Work with schools and transport partners, enables more children to attend schools close to their homes.
• Activity in Adults’ services increased when compared to budgeted levels, with costs of placements also increasing resulting in a significant cost pressure. Again, this was partially offset by a contribution from the General Fund Balance
• The service continues to implement demand management plans including a new joined-up partnership approach to help people recover more quickly after a stay in hospital and a virtual care project using assistive technology to connect residents to a virtual care team to aid independence.

Donington with Boscobel and Albrighton Parish Councils

Shropshire Council has been undertaking a Community Governance Review of 5 areas within Shropshire.

The Final Proposals have now been published and will be considered by the Council at its meeting that is scheduled to be held on Thursday 18 July 2024. 

https://shropshire.gov.uk/committee-services/mgAi.aspx?ID=23640#mgDocuments

It is proposed that the Parishes of Albrighton, Boscobel and Donington be merged to form a single parish, known as the Parish of Albrighton and Donington, represented by a single Parish Council.

It is proposed that the Parish of Albrighton and Donington have three wards –
Albrighton East (with 5 Councillors), coloured blue on Plan A, below; Albrighton West ward (with 6 Councillors), coloured red on Plan A, below and Donington and Boscobel ward (with 4 Councillors), coloured green on Plan A below.

St. Andrews Primary School

I have been contacted by a manager at Shropshire Council with an update on St. Andrews Primary School:

“The school is going through a rebuild and as part of that rebuild we are looking to put a pedestrian access into the school, as well as a crossing on the A464 to allow children from the housing estate to access the school on foot. Construction will take place once the building work has finished and the pedestrian access will open the same time as the new school opening.

We are already aware that there are issues on Park Lane. We are working with the school and with the Department for Education to see what we can do to alleviate the pressure on the school. The school have told us that some of the hedging needs to be trimmed back to allow access to the footpath, so we are currently discussing how to combat that with them.

I will keep you updated as discussions progress with the new building of the school.”

Fixmystreet

If there are issues you want to report (like graffiti, fly tipping, broken paving slabs, or street lighting), please use https://www.fixmystreet.com/. These reports are picked up by Shropshire Council officers. For example, I recently report a broken road sign in Innage Croft:

If, for whatever reason, you are unhappy with the response from the council then please contact me at ebirdshropshire@gmail.com or ed.bird@shropshire.gov.uk (my official Shropshire Council email address).