Agenda item
Motions
The following motions have been received in accordance with Procedure Rule 16:
Minutes:
Motion received from Councillor David Vasmer and supported by the Liberal Democrat Group
North West Relief Road Inquiry
1. The original cost of the North West Relief Road was £71m in 2019 and, on this basis, the Government pledged funding of £54m with a clear warning that any cost increases would be the responsibility of Shropshire Council. That meant the total cost to Shropshire Council at that time was estimated at £17m.
2. In 2021 on the basis of the Outline Business Case the cost of the NWRR was estimated at £81m meaning that the cost to Shropshire Council had now risen to £27m
3. Before Christmas Shropshire's External Auditor confirmed that the cost of the NWRR had now gone up to £178m and Shropshire Council's contribution to £124m
4. The Environment Agency were never happy about the route of the road since a major roundabout junction was placed directly over ground from which much of Shrewsbury's water is drawn and have therefore been very reluctant to support the application because the spillage of any toxic substance would make the ground water unusable while piling work could also damage the town's water supply
5. The NWRR will be a major contributor to the release of carbon which was underestimated when the road was first planned. Recently Shropshire Council has been forced to admit that the contribution has more than doubled from 26,711 tonnes of carbon to 55,904. Originally it had been estimated that the scheme's impact could be mitigated by 2030 but now Shropshire has asked the Northern Planning Committee to revise a condition so that it has until 2050 to offset the road's emissions.
6. A substantial amount of money has already been spent on a road that does not have planning permission or an approved Full Business Case. In the current budget there is provision for £44.8m to be spent on the NWRR
7. That Shropshire Council has commissioned utility diversion work before the NWRR has secured a decision planning notice or a commitment from the Government for extra funding.
This Council Notes
1. Shropshire Council has failed to hit numerous deadlines so that a road that was originally planned for completion in 2020 has not been started
2. Recently Shropshire Council's External Auditor was highly critical of Shropshire Council for failing to make plans in the event of the Road being cancelled and for failing to oversee the planning and preparations for the Road properly.
This Council will appoint a North West Relief Road Inquiry, funded from the development reserve and the invest to save reserve which contain in total £7.9m.to consider:
1. Management of the project
2. The decision-making process
3. Whether there was sufficient scrutiny and challenge within the Council
4. Whether there was effective separation of powers between the Council as a developer and as a planning authority
5. Whether alternative options were considered, both with regard to traffic mitigations for the town – especially given the additional travel demands likely to result in the South East of Shrewsbury from planned development in the Draft Local Plan, and with regard to the possibility of Government funding not being forthcoming.
6. Whether a review of the road was undertaken once the Council had agreed to reach carbon net zero by 2030?????????????
This was seconded by Councillor Rob Wilson.
By way of amendment Councillor Julian Dean proposed the following be added to the motion:
Council further resolves to require the administration to develop ‘off-ramp’ proposals between now and the end of April that will protect the council taxpayers of Shropshire from potential financial burden of a failed project whilst addressing the need for improved transport infrastructure and travel options that will reduce congestion and provide opportunities that are not car dependent.
In particular, the administration should request discussions with the Department for Transport that put forward Shrewsbury Moves proposals and proposals to improve some edge of town roundabouts as alternatives to the North West Relief Road such that continue to protect council tax payers from potential repayment of money already spent, and highlight to Government how Shrewsbury Moves in particular aligns with a sustainable transport future for the town and county in a way that the North West Relief Road does not.
Councillor Vasmer indicated that he was willing to accept the amendment.
By way of amendment Councillor Rosemary Dartnall proposed that the paragraph – “This Council will appoint a North West Relief Road Inquiry, funded from the development reserve and the invest to save reserve which contain in total £7.9m.to consider” be amended to read ”This Council will appoint a North West Relief Road Task and Finish Group.to consider”
This was seconded by Councillor Tony Parsons.
On taking a vote Councillor Dartnall’s amendment was not supported.
On taking a vote Councillor Vasmer’s motion as amended by Councillor Dean was not supported
Motion received from Councillor Bernie Bentick and supported by the Liberal Democrat Group
This Council Notes:
1. The decision of the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (STW ICB) to announce the GP Out of Hours Contract preferred provider status to Medvivo in preference to the existing operator, ShropDoc.
2. The extension of the standstill period after announcement of the preferred provider due to challenge of the procurement decision.
3. That Medvivo is a profit generating enterprise that is a subsidiary or partner of the multinational HealthHero organisation which markets Telemedicine.
4. That ShropDoc is a well known and respected not for profit local service,?with almost 30 years’ experience and an outstanding CQC rating.
5. That a local petition called “Save Our Shropdoc” gained over 12,000 signatures in 10 days.
6. That as Medvivo/HealthHero advertise that they are Telemedicine organisations, from available information it is unclear how they will provide the same volume and quality of service, at a lower cost than the current contract, while also making a profit.
?
This Council Resolves to ask the STW ICB:
1. If the contract has not been issued, to?halt?the current procurement process?until further scrutiny has been carried out on the timings of the previous contracts, to whom they were awarded, to confirm the precise amount of any reduction in the value of the proposed contract and how this will affect the existing service provision.
2. Whether the contract has been awarded or not, to fully engage with Shropshire's residents and health watchdogs before drawing up any revised contracts for GP and related Out of Hours Services and any new services.?
3. To report every 3 months?to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on how the Out of Hours contract is performing, including the number of referrals into Secondary Care, face-to-face Primary Care Centre consultations, home visits and telecare consultations, plus the volume and type of any complaints and adverse outcomes.
4. To provide detailed information of how the contract handover period will be managed and the governance systems in place to assure quality of service, avoid delays and avoid patient harm due to the new provider’s unfamiliarity with providing an Out of Hours service in Shropshire, its health systems and its geography.
By way of amendment Councillor Elner asked that the words “every three months” in paragraph 3 be replaced with “regularly”. Councillor Bentick indicated that he was willing to accept this.
On taking a vote it was RESOLVED:
That the Council ask the STW ICB:
1. If the contract has not been issued, to?halt?the current procurement process?until further scrutiny has been carried out on the timings of the previous contracts, to whom they were awarded, to confirm the precise amount of any reduction in the value of the proposed contract and how this will affect the existing service provision.
2. Whether the contract has been awarded or not, to fully engage with Shropshire's residents and health watchdogs before drawing up any revised contracts for GP and related Out of Hours Services and any new services.?
3. To report regularly?to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on how the Out of Hours contract is performing, including the number of referrals into Secondary Care, face-to-face Primary Care Centre consultations, home visits and telecare consultations, plus the volume and type of any complaints and adverse outcomes.
4. To provide detailed information of how the contract handover period will be managed and the governance systems in place to assure quality of service, avoid delays and avoid patient harm due to the new provider’s unfamiliarity with providing an Out of Hours service in Shropshire, its health systems and its geography.
Motion received from Councillor Rosemary Dartnall and supported by the Labour Group
Local Government Pay.
A FULLY FUNDED, PROPER PAY RISE FOR COUNCIL AND SCHOOL WORKERS
This council notes:
· Local government has endured central government funding cuts of more than 50% since 2010. Between 2010 and 2020, councils lost 60p out of every £1 they have received from central government. Research by UNISON has shown that councils across England, Wales and Scotland are facing a collective funding shortfall of more than £4bn by the financial year 2024/25 and a cumulative funding gap of £8bn by 2025/26. The last Government’s ‘levelling up’ pots of money did little to help
· Council and school workers kept our communities safe through the pandemic, often putting themselves at considerable risk as they worked to protect public health, provide quality housing, ensure our children continue to be educated, and look after older and vulnerable people.
· Since 2010, the local government workforce has endured years of pay restraint with the majority of pay points losing at least 25 per cent of their value since 2009/10. Staff have endured the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.
· At the same time, workers have experienced ever-increasing workloads and persistent job insecurity. Across the UK, 900,000 jobs have been lost in local government since June 2010 – a reduction of more than 30 per cent. Local government has arguably been hit by more severe job losses than any other part of the public sector. There has been a disproportionate impact on women, with women making up more than three-quarters of the local government workforce.
· Recent research shows that if the Government were to fully fund the unions’ 2025 pay claim, around half of the money would be recouped thanks to increased tax revenue, reduced expenditure on benefits and tax credits, and increased consumer spending in the local economy.
This council believes:
1. Local government workers keep our communities clean and safe, look after those in need and keep our towns and cities running.
2. Without the professionalism and dedication of our staff, the council services our residents rely on would not be deliverable.
3. Local government workers deserve a proper real-terms pay increase. The Government needs to take responsibility and fully fund this increase; it should not put the burden on local authorities whose funding has been cut to the bone and who were not offered adequate support through the Covid-19 pandemic.
This council resolves to:
A. Subject to paragraphs B and C below, support the pay claim submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers for an increase of £3,000 on all pay points.
B. Call on the Local Government Association to make urgent representations to central government to fund the NJC pay claim.
C. Write to the Chancellor and Secretary of State to call for a pay increase for local government workers to be funded with new money from central government.
D. Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and consider practical ways in which the council can support the campaign.
E. Encourage all local government workers to join a union
The was seconded by Councillor Caroline Bagnall.
On taking a vote the motion was not supported