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 6 May 2026.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 May 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 4 June 2026.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council. Deadline for notification is not later than 12 noon on Thursday 4 June 2026.

Lead Member: Councillor Dawn Husemann, Chair of the Health in All Policies (HiAP) & Planning Task and Finish Group

Lead Officer: Sophie Foster, Overview and Scrutiny Officer

RESOLVED:

·       To consider and comment on the report and recommendations of the Health in All Policies & Planning Task and Finish Group attached at Appendix I.

·       To endorse those recommendations of the Task and Finish Group which relate to Shropshire Council, as set out in Section 8 of the appended report.

·       To provide a formal response to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, including an action plan setting out what will be done, by when, for recommendations that are accepted, and reasons for any recommendations that are not accepted.

Lead Member: Councillor Ruth Houghton, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health

Lead Officer: Natalie McFall, Interim Director of Adult Social Services (DASS)

RESOLVED:

To agree to transfer Aquamira Day Service to the Abbots Wood Site

To agree to delegate the practical arrangements to the Director (DASS) in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health

Lead Member: Councillor Ruth Houghton, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health

Lead Officer: Natalie McFall, Interim Director of Adult Social Services (DASS)

RESOLVED

i.           To approve the closure of Helena Lane Older People’s Day Service in Ludlow.

ii.          To delegate authority to the Director of Adult Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Public Health to implement closure through a managed transition, including Care Act assessment and/ or review for individuals and carers to secure alternative arrangements.

iii.        To approve the mitigation and support arrangements set out in this report, including active engagement with current attendees and carers, Care Act assessment and/or review, carers’ assessments where appropriate, person-centred transition planning, support to access suitable alternative provision, and monitoring during and after transition

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Clare Williams, Deputy S151 Officer

RESOLVED:

In respect of the revenue budget, to

a)    Note that the outturn variance in the year is £49.428m above budget.

b)    Note that £19.637m has been funded by EFS, leaving £29.278m to be funded from the General Fund reserves and balances.

c)     Note the consequent level of the General Fund Balance is £5.000m.

d)    Note the increase of £5.658m in Earmarked Reserves & Provisions and the resulting level of earmarked reserves of £29.812m (£25.113m is the balances held by schools are excluded).

e)    Note the £17.722m level of savings delivery achieved over the year.

f)      Note that the current combination of earmarked and un-earmarked (General) reserves of £34.069m is at a level that is below that would normally seen as appropriate for a Council of this size.

g)    Note that the MTFP sets out an agreed plan to restore these balances to more appropriate levels over time, including further requests for Exceptional Financial Support in 2026/27 and beyond.

h)    Note that £61.8m of EFS has been applied in 2025/26, some £9.6m less than what was requested originally and approved by MHCLG.

Related to ringfenced funding, to:

i)       Note the performance of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) this is an account associated with Shropshire Councils housing stock - £1.372m (5.75%) surplus outturn for 2025/26 on £23.861m turnover, and the resulting level of the HRA reserve of £13.489m.

j)       Note the £28.029m overspend for the DSG and the consequent level of the DSG reserve of £45.655m in deficit.

k)     Note that the level of school balances has decreased by £1.994m, from £6.693m in 2024/25 to £4.699m, in the financial year.

In respect of the capital programme, to:

l)       Note the net budget variations of £26.932m to the 2025/26 capital programme (in Appendix 7) and the re-profiled 2025/26 capital budget of £77.375m.

m)   Note the re-profiled capital budgets of £145.380m for 2026/27, including slippage of £15.258m from 2025/26, £129.536m for 2027/28 and £89.113m for 2028/29 as detailed in Appendix 11.

n)    n) Accept the outturn expenditure set out in Appendices 8, 9 and 13 of £68.698m representing 88.79% of the revised capital budget for 2025/26.

o)    Approve retaining a balance of capital receipts set aside of £22.309m as at 31st March 2026 to generate a one-off Minimum Revenue Provision saving of £0.363m in 2026/27.

General, to

p)    Note that these outturn results will now be incorporated in financial statements for external audit and oversight by the Audit and Governance Committee

q)    Note that the Finance risk register is subject to review and will be incorporated in the July Cabinet report that will provide an updated MTFP

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Cheryl Sedgley, Head of Financial Management & Reporting

RESOLVED:

a)    To note that new borrowing of £100m for the General Fund has been taken out during quarter 4, in line with the Treasury Management Strategy 2025/26.

b)    To note that this borrowing includes borrowing undertaken in line with the Council’s approval from government for Exceptional Financial Support for 2025/26.

c)     To note that the drawdown for Exceptional Financial Support was some £9.6m less than approved, thereby reducing future revenue costs by c £900,000 per annum over original estimates.

d)    To note the summary of the wider economic environment and the Council’s borrowings and investments set out in Appendix A.

e)    To note the performance within prudential indicators for quarter 4, 2025/26 in Appendix B.

Lead Member: Councillor Heather Kidd, Leader

Lead Officer: Jess Edwards, Business Intelligence and Insight Manager

RESOLVED:

To note the progress and position against the outcomes of The Shropshire Plan.

To approve the proposed Corporate Plan 20206-2030 Performance Management Framework (Appendix 1 and 2) and delegate authority to the Service Director (Strategy & Change) in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make any final amendments to KPIs and delivery commitments

Lead Member: Councillor Rob Wilson, Portfolio Holder for Transport & Regeneration

Lead Officer: Victoria Merrill, Highway Policy & Strategy Manager

RESOLVED:

To approve the development of an engagement and consultation strategy and associated programme of activities on the draft Local Transport Plan for Shropshire 2027-2037.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Laura Tyler, Service Director - Commissioning

RESOLVED:

To approve the Commissioning, Procurement and Contract Management Strategy (CPCM) in appendix 1;

To delegate authority to the Service Director Commissioning in consultation with the Portfolio holder for Finance to update the strategy annually aligned to any legislation change and best practice.

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

Lead Officer: Natasha Moody, Families First Partnership (FFP) Strategic Lead

RESOLVED:

1.     To note the work completed to rebalance the Children’s Services budget for 2026/27, alongside managing the additional known pressures for this financial year.

2.     To note the successful work already undertaken to safely reduce the total number of children in care.

3.     To note the nationally prescribed children’s reforms and programmes outlined in this report and the expectations they place on Shropshire Council and its multi-agency partnership arrangements.

4.     To note the investment requirements of up to circa £8million over 4 years to deliver an anticipated £21 million savings for the local authority contained in the report and instructs the Director for Children’s Services and the Section 151 officer to make arrangements to include these estimates within the councils Medium Term Financial Plan for future consideration by Cabinet with a view to approval by Council.

5.     To endorse that the Families First Partnership (FFP) requires multi-agency agreement of operating models and supporting business cases for Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection Team (MACPT) and Family Group Decision Making (FGDM), to drive earlier intervention and that these will be progressed through the relevant safeguarding partnership governance.

6.     To endorse the Council’s proposed integrated approach to deliver these reforms through a single Children’s Transformation Programme (“one plan to guide them all”), aligned to the Corporate Plan, Improvement Plan and the thematic pillars (Point 4.32) set out in the report and recommends it approval to Council.

7.     To endorse the draft Best Start in Life (BSIL) Family Hubs Delivery Plan (outlined in 4.45 of this report), including the requirement to enhance the supporting digital offer (including a GDPR-compliant registration/insight system) to enable effective engagement, communication and timely access to support for families.

8.     To endorse that progress, delivery risks and mitigations will be monitored through the governance structure described in the report (Section 8 of this report) with at least annual updates provided to Cabinet and the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

9.     To approve the proposed locations for the three BSIL Family Hubs in Shrewsbury (at The Lantern), Oswestry and Ludlow, and the proposed additional multi-disciplinary team (MDT) bases in Highley, Market Drayton and South Shrewsbury, to provide coverage across the county’s rural geography.

10.To delegate authority to approve the final BSIL Delivery Plan for submission to the Department for Education (due 12th June 2026) to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services.

11.To delegate authority for exploring and confirming premises options for Oswestry, Ludlow and the additional multi-disciplinary team bases to the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services. Ensuring that they are considered in conjunction with the current Community and Family Hub locations, on-going Council Asset review and the development of the NHS Neighbourhood programme to strike a balance between efficient use of public sector assets and effective delivery across the county’s rural geography.

12.To delegate authority to approve, on behalf of Shropshire Council, the Council’s participation in, and commitments arising from, the  ...  view the full decision text for item 14.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Steve Law, Head of Property & Development

RESOLVED

To declare St Andrews, Shifnal (in accordance with the red line plan detailed in Appendix 1) surplus to requirements and approve its disposal as a non-core asset.

To delegate authority to the Head of Property and Development, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, to take all necessary steps to progress disposal, including title resolution, determination of the appropriate disposal strategy and completion of the sale in accordance with the Council’s constitutional and legal requirements.

Lead Member: Councillor Roger Evans, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Lead Officer: Steve Law, Head of Property & Development

Lead Member: Councillor Heather Kidd, Leader

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

RESOLVED:

1.     To note the report and the progress it summarises.

2.     To provide guidance and instructions as appropriate on the Council’s plans for continued improvement and financial sustainability.

Lead Member: Councillor James Owen, Portfolio Holder for Housing

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

RESOLVED:

1.     To approve the Shropshire Housing Authority Enforcement Policy and Civil Penalty Policy, to take effect immediately, with transitional arrangements allowing the existing policies to operate in tandem for a six-month period to conclude legacy cases.

2.     To delegate to the Service Director - Communities and Customer to undertake required updates to the Shropshire Housing Authority Enforcement Policy and Civil Penalty Policy as the implementation of the Renter’s Rights Act continues, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Housing.

3.     To direct that a formal review of the policies to come back for consideration in June 2027, with any delegated changes made in accordance with Recommendation 2 should be reported to the Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Lead Member: Councillor David Walker, Portfolio Holder for Planning

Lead Officer: Eddie West, Planning Policy & Strategy Manager

RESOLVED:

1.     To approve adoption of the Design of New Dwellings SPD (Appendix 1), to provide guidance on the application of Development Plan policies and to form a material consideration in the planning application decision-making process.

2.     To approve adoption of the Design of Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD (Appendix 2), to provide guidance on the application of Development Plan policies and to form a material consideration in the planning application decision-making process.

Lead Member: Councillor David Vasmer, Portfolio Holder for Highways & Waste

Lead Officer: Andy Wilde, Service Director – Infrastructure

REPORT TO FOLLOW – This is due to more information being required

RESOLVED:

1.     To agree to approve the Motor Race Order and Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders required to facilitate the Hills Ford Stages Rally on 19–20 September 2026;

2.     In consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Highways & Waste, to delegate authority to the Service Director for Infrastructure to finalise and implement the associated TTROs and operational arrangements

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 8 July 2026.