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 18 October 2023.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2023 were 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 5.00 pm on Thursday 16 November 2023.

To receive any questions from Members of the Council. Deadline for notification is not later than 5.00 pm on Thursday 16 November 2023.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources

Report of Carol Fox, Health & Safety Manager

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet note the Council’s health and safety performance over the preceding year as set out in the Appendix to this report and raised any issues as appropriate.

Lead Member – Councillor Gwilym Butler – Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources

Report of Ben Jay, Assistant Director of Finance & ICT (Deputy s151 Officer)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet note the following:

a.     That at the end of Quarter 2 (30 September 2023), the current expected level of savings delivery is £38.0m

b.     That savings not yet confirmed, and so under further review to assess deliverability, amount to £13.4m.

c.     That demand-led services are forecasting significant budget pressures of £22.2m in the year, which are likely to continue into the coming year.

d.     The result of A-C above with no further actions is a forecast overall overspend of £32.393m.

e.     That it is assumed for planning purposes that

•  90% of the total savings will be delivered (so £8.2m further delivery expected) and

•  short-term funding will be identified to enable sustainable demand management approaches to be implemented in social care services (total: £20.5m), with necessary plans prepared to enable this.

f.      The resulting forecast at quarter 2 is therefore a likely overall overspend of £3.6m once key management actions, set out above, are implemented. This will leave the General Fund balance at £23.4m, within the target range of £15m- £30m.

Lead member – Councillor Gwilym Butler - Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Resources

Report of Ben Jay, Assistant Director of Finance & ICT (Deputy s151 Officer)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet reviewed the position as set out in the report –

1.     Noting the summary of the wider economic environment and the Council’s borrowings and investments set out in Appendix A

2.     Noting the performance within prudential indicators for quarter 1, 2023/24 (Appendix B)

Lead Member – Councillor Rob Macey – Portfolio Holder for Culture and Digital

Report of James Walton, Executive Director of Resources

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet Members:

1.     Reviewed and considered performance dashboard information alongside this exception report.

2.     Noted progress to date in achieving the outcomes of The Shropshire Plan (TSP) and comment as appropriate.

Lead Member – Councillor Dean Carroll – Portfolio Holder for Housing and Assets

Report of Lucy Heath, Clienting and Commissioning Manager (Housing)

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet received the report and raised any issues as appropriate on the performance, activities and operations of Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing and proposals for refreshed governance arrangements.

Lead Member – Councillor Lezley Picton – Leader and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Improvement and Communications.

Report of Sam Williams, Assistant Director – Workforce and Improvement

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet –

1.     Adopted the proposed protocol attached at Appendix 1 t

2.     Signed up to the Safe Ageing No Discrimination (SAND) Covenant, as the first to be considered under this protocol, with the following provisos:

· that assurances be given by SAND to seek to support work across the Protected Characteristic groupings of Age and Sexual Orientation, recognising depth and diversity within these groupings as well as their particular field of working with older people;

· that officers engage with SAND itself and share and develop joint good practice with other advocacy organisations, to complement engagement efforts with and for all Protected Characteristic groupings.

Lead Member – Councillor Rob Macey – Portfolio Holder for Culture and Digital

Report of Sarah Dodds, Feedback and Insight Team Leader

RESOLVED:

That

a)    Cabinet noted the implications of the new code for the Council’s complaint handling process and identified a Member specifically responsible for complaints

b)    Cabinet approved (with amendments if appropriate) the draft response to the LGSCO consultation set out at Appendix B.

To note that the next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 13 December 2023.