From 9 April to 20 May Shropshire Council is carrying out a six-week consultation on proposals to introduce an annual subscription fee of £52 for the collection of garden waste – and about the future operation of the council’s five household recycling centres.

Like councils all over the country Shropshire Council is facing unprecedented financial pressure, mainly due to growing demand for social care – and we must make £62m of savings in 2024/25.

We’re proposing to charge for green waste collections as we must look at other ways of creating income so that we can protect essential frontline services for those residents most in need.

While garden waste collections in Shropshire are currently free, 80% of English councils already charge for this service and many have been doing so for several years.

As part of the consultation, we’re also asking how we can reduce the cost of running our five household recycling centres.

We’re asking if people would be willing to pay more than £52 a year if the additional money was used to keep all five of our household recycling centres open, and for views on whether the opening times of some HRCs could be reduced.

The consultation also asks for people’s thoughts about a new permit/booking system for people visiting a recycling centre to ensure that these are only used by people from Shropshire.

www.shropshire.gov.uk/gardenwastebudget2024

Llanyblodwel’s Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Thursday 9th May at 7.00pm.

More information can be found on the APM page.

Shropshire Council has now launched a consultation into the future of the School Library Service, with schools and members of the public invited to share their thoughts. 

In Shropshire, the School Library Service (SLS) operates as a traded service, which schools can buy into, and around 65% of schools in Shropshire choose to do so.   

Schools that subscribe to the service can borrow books and artefacts relating to school topics and receive training for staff and pupil librarians.  Schools can use the service to supplement their own stocks of books and resources.   

Schools receive funding provided directly through central Government grants to ensure children and young people have access to books and other suitable education materials necessary to support the curriculum. SLS does not sell books to schools, and schools run their own libraries independently. 35% of Shropshire schools choose not to use the service, using alternatives already. 

The service has been operating at a loss for the last two financial years and the council cannot continue to fund any future deficits by SLS.  Any future service, if retained, would require more schools to subscribe to the service and to pay more.  

Like many other councils, we face a very challenging financial position and must find £62m of savings this year. This is due to ever rising demand for social care, which now accounts for almost £4 in every £5 the council spends, and rising costs from continuing high levels of inflation. 

This means we now have some very difficult decisions to make, including reducing some services, particularly non-statutory ones. In some cases, this means stopping services altogether. SLS is one such service that councils do not have to provide by law and which many other councils have already stopped operating.

The scale of the financial challenge the council faces means there will be many decisions that we have never wanted to make, so that we can continue to prioritise statutory services that support the most vulnerable people.

As part of the council’s savings plans, we propose to stop the SLS from the autumn if no other solution can be found.

We have invited schools to respond to a consultation to capture ideas, including whether they would be willing to pay more for the service, or start using the service if they don’t already, to make it financially viable for the future.  

Families and the public are also able to respond to a survey to share their thoughts on the plans. All possible options to continue the service will be explored and we welcome all suggestions.

Members of the public can share their feedback here: https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/school-library-service/ 

Consultation closes on 7 June 2024. 

INFORMATION FROM NATIONAL HIGHWAYS

We’ll be carrying out surveys to the drains to determine their current condition, along with low level maintenance work. This will ensure the drains are working as designed or help us to identify areas that are in need of repair.

We’ll work overnight, between 8pm and 6am, 25 March 2024 to 10 May 2024, Monday to Friday. Our work will be carried out as follows:

25 March to 27 March and 2 April to 5 April – Temporary traffic lights on the A483 between Mile End roundabout and the B5069.

8 April to 19 April – Full closures of the A483, in both directions, between Mile End roundabout and the A495/B4396/A483 junction.

22 April to 10 May – Temporary traffic lights on the A483 between Mile End roundabout and the B5069.

During closures we’ll install a fully signed diversion route via the A483, the A458 and the A5.

Access for emergency services will be maintained throughout.

We’ll make every effort to ensure the impact on the local community and travelling public is kept to a minimum. We always aim to work to the programme, however unforeseen circumstances or adverse weather conditions may mean changes.

I’d like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience or disruption to those living close to the work. We’ll make every effort to carefully manage noise levels and additional lighting to minimise the impact.

Further Information

If you’d like to be kept up to date with future work along the A483, please subscribe to our mailing list by emailing noreplyA483WMids@nationalhighways.co.uk.

If you have any questions, or if you would like to know more about our work, please call us on 0300 123 5000 or email info@nationalhighways.co.uk.

You can also visit our website at nationalhighways.co.uk/our-work/ or write to us at National Highways, National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park, Birmingham, B32 1AF. Please leave your feedback by completing our online survey, just scan the QR code below.

Information from Shropshire Council

All of our polling stations are:

• Wheelchair accessible or provided ramps for those that aren’t.
• Have polling booths adapted specifically for wheelchair users.
• Ballot box slot highlighted for the visually impaired to show where the ballot paper is placed.
• Have large print ballot papers which are clearly displayed inside the polling station and a copy can be given to voters to take with them into the polling booth.
• Have aids to enable blind voters to cast their vote without support (Tactile Voting Device)
• Our polling stations will also allow voters with disabilities to use any text-to-speech apps, torch, or magnifier that they have on their phone to assist them in the reading of their ballot papers, even though mobile phones are not generally permitted in the polling stations
• Companions who can provide assistance in the polling station.

If you require support in order to complete you’re vote then you can bring someone along with you, however if there is no one available then the presiding officer at the polling station is also available to offer that support.

Anyone over the age of 18 can act as a companion to assist you in the polling station. Any companion will be required to complete a declaration by companion to confirm they have assisted an elector in the polling station/voting booth.

There is also the option to arrange a postal vote (where your ballot paper is sent to you in the post 2 weeks before poll) or a proxy vote (where someone votes on your behalf) if you do not wish to vote at a polling station yourself.

If you think we could provide more help and support contact the Election team at elections@shropshire.gov.uk or call 0345 678 9015 and please let us know.

Council Proposals

Notice of Polling District, Polling Place and Polling Station Review 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN (EXEMPT AUTHORITY)

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 25, 26 and 27

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

LOCAL AUTHORITY ACCOUNTS: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS

Please note that this summary applies to all relevant smaller authorities, including local councils, internal drainage boards and ‘other’ smaller authorities.

The basic position

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act) governs the work of auditors appointed to smaller authorities. This summary explains the provisions contained in Sections 26 and 27 of the Act. The Act and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 also cover the duties, responsibilities and rights of smaller authorities, other organisations and the public concerning the accounts being audited.

As a local elector, or an interested person, you have certain legal rights in respect of the accounting records of smaller authorities. As an interested person you can inspect accounting records and related documents. If you are a local government elector for the area to which the accounts relate you can also ask questions about the accounts and object to them. You do not have to pay directly for exercising your rights. However, any resulting costs incurred by the smaller authority form part of its running costs. Therefore, indirectly, local residents pay for the cost of you exercising your rights through their council tax.

The right to inspect the accounting records

Any interested person can inspect the accounting records, which includes but is not limited to local electors. You can inspect the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records. You can copy all, or part, of these records or documents. Your inspection must be about the accounts, or relate to an item in the accounts. You cannot, for example, inspect or copy documents unrelated to the accounts, or that include personal information (Section 26 (6) – (10) of the Act explains what is meant by personal information). You cannot inspect information which is protected by commercial confidentiality. This is information which would prejudice commercial confidentiality if it was released to the public and there is not, set against this, a very strong reason in the public interest why it should nevertheless be disclosed.

When smaller authorities have finished preparing accounts for the financial year and approved them, they must publish them (including on a website). There must be a 30 working day period, called the ‘period for the exercise of public rights’, during which you can exercise your statutory right to inspect the accounting records. Smaller authorities must tell the public, including advertising this on their website, that the accounting records and related documents are available to inspect. By arrangement you will then have 30 working days to inspect and make copies of the accounting records. You may have to pay a copying charge. The 30 working day period must include a common period of inspection during which all smaller authorities’ accounting records are available to inspect. This will be 3-14 July 2023 for 2022/23 accounts. The advertisement must set out the dates of the period for the exercise of public rights, how you can communicate to the smaller authority that you wish to inspect the accounting records and related documents, the name and address of the auditor, and the relevant legislation that governs the inspection of accounts and objections.

The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounting records

You should first ask your smaller authority about the accounting records, since they hold all the details. If you are a local elector, your right to ask questions of the external auditor is enshrined in law. However, while the auditor will answer your questions where possible, they are not always obliged to do so. For example, the question might be better answered by another organisation, require investigation beyond the auditor’s remit, or involve disproportionate cost (which is borne by the local taxpayer). Give your smaller authority the opportunity first to explain anything in the accounting records that you are unsure about. If you are not satisfied with their explanation, you can question the external auditor about the accounting records.

The law limits the time available for you formally to ask questions. This must be done in the period for the exercise of public rights, so let the external auditor know your concern as soon as possible. The advertisement or notice that tells you the accounting records are available to inspect will also give the period for the exercise of public rights during which you may ask the auditor questions, which here means formally asking questions under the Act. You can ask someone to represent you when asking the external auditor questions.

Before you ask the external auditor any questions, inspect the accounting records fully, so you know what they contain. Please remember that you cannot formally ask questions, under the Act, after the end of the period for the exercise of public rights. You may ask your smaller authority other questions about their accounts for any year, at any time. But these are not questions under the Act.

You can ask the external auditor questions about an item in the accounting records for the financial year being audited. However, your right to ask the external auditor questions is limited. The external auditor can only answer ‘what’ questions, not ‘why’ questions. The external auditor cannot answer questions about policies, finances, procedures or anything else unless it is directly relevant to an item in the accounting records. Remember that your questions must always be about facts, not opinions. To avoid misunderstanding, we recommend that you always put your questions in writing.

The right to make objections at audit

You have inspected the accounting records and asked your questions of the smaller authority. Now you may wish to object to the accounts on the basis that an item in them is in your view unlawful or there are matters of wider concern arising from the smaller authority’s finances. A local government elector can ask the external auditor to apply to the High Court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, or to issue a report on matters which are in the public interest. You must tell the external auditor which specific item in the accounts you object to and why you think the item is unlawful, or why you think that a public interest report should be made about it. You must provide the external auditor with the evidence you have to support your objection. Disagreeing with income or spending does not make it unlawful. To object to the accounts you must write to the external auditor stating you want to make an objection, including the information and evidence below and you must send a copy to the smaller authority. The notice must include:

• confirmation that you are an elector in the smaller authority’s area;
• why you are objecting to the accounts and the facts on which you rely;
• details of any item in the accounts that you think is unlawful; and
• details of any matter about which you think the external auditor should make a public interest report.

Other than it must be in writing, there is no set format for objecting. You can only ask the external auditor to act within the powers available under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

A final word

You may not use this ‘right to object’ to make a personal complaint or claim against your smaller authority.  You should take such complaints to your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or to your solicitor. Smaller authorities, and so local taxpayers, meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections.  In deciding whether to take your objection forward, one of a series of factors the auditor must take into account is the cost that will be involved, they will only continue with the objection if it is in the public interest to do so. They may also decide not to consider an objection if they think that it is frivolous or vexatious, or if it repeats an objection already considered. If you appeal to the courts against an auditor’s decision not to apply to the courts for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, you will have to pay for the action yourself.

A copy of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) can be found on the Finance Page.

Llynclys Crossroads has been known to local residents as an ‘accident hotspot’ for as long as anyone can remember, and Llanyblodwel Parish Council were grateful to recently have the opportunity to meet with representatives of National Highways to discuss the outcomes of the recent safety study.

Llanyblodwel’s Clerk, Amy Jones, attended the meeting, along with Helen Morgan MP, Shropshire Councillor Vince Hunt and the Clerk and Chair of Llanymynech and Pant Community Council.

The meeting focused on the Safety Study which was commissioned by the National Highways Route Manager for Shropshire to assess possible traffic signal or roundabout options for consideration at A483 Llynclys junction following requests from stakeholders. Whilst the study is a confidential document, for use internally by National Highways, the outcome of the study was shared and concluded that the four options developed and modelled do not represent a value for money investment via the SAR and it is recommended that no further development of these options is undertaken. They confirmed that the junction continues to be monitored via the annual collision analysis for the Midlands region and if the collision numbers or severity increase further investigation be undertaken to see if further improvements are justified.

The meeting gave stakeholders an opportunity to raise questions about these findings and to push for alternative options to be explored.

The safety of the bus stop at the junction was raised and this has been a long standing concern for the Parish Council, as it is used by secondary school children on a daily basis. National Highways confirmed that there is work currently in the pipeline to improve this. The issue of reduced visibility when exiting the B road was also raised and National Highways confirmed that a further safety study would need to be carried out to look into how this could be improved, now that larger scale projects have been ruled out.

The following points were put forward to National Highways for consideration:

• Improved signage and road markings to help drivers understand the junction more clearly.
• Addressing the risk that undertaking and flashing poses.
• The speed of traffic travelling on the A495 through the junction and whether this could be dropped to 30mph?
• Engineering options including the possibility of a raised area where pedestrians can safely cross.
• The possibility of a speed camera.
• Improved lighting around the junction.

National Highways confirmed that these are all things that they will now go away and explore as the aim is to find a solution that is achievable and will reach the desired outcomes.

Llanyblodwel Parish Clerk, Amy Jones, commented: “National Highways confirmed that the information being fed into them over the years, from the community and stakeholders, has been integral to getting the project to this point, as the data alone would not have instigated a Safety Study to be conducted. Now that we are at this point, the Parish Council will continue to push for the improvements needed to make this junction safer for both road users and pedestrians”.

A new study will be conducted in the new financial year and it is hoped that by Summer 2023, there will be another report available for discussion.

Bleed control kits have been installed in all Parish Council owned defibrillator cabinets in and around Llanyblodwel, with the support of a local business. Funded 50% by the Parish Council and 50% by West Pennine Trucks in Oswestry, the kits were purchased through the Daniel Baird Foundation, a charity set up after the tragic death of Daniel Baird, who at the age of 26 years was fatally stabbed in Birmingham following a night out with friends. There was no first aid or bleed control kit available and Daniel died shortly after arriving at hospital due to catastrophic bleeding.

Chairman of Llanyblodwel Parish Council, Andrew Beckett commented: “The kits can be used in serious incidents to control bleeding and promote blood clotting. There are many ways that a catastrophic bleed can occur, such as from a stabbing, car accident or a work related injury. There is now a kit located at Llynclys Crossroads in the defibrillator Cabinet on the side of Metal World and another kit in the Defibrillator Cabinet at the Cefn Blodwel Methodist Chapel. By having publicly accessible bleed control packs, anyone can provide the necessary first aid to reduce blood loss until professional, medical help arrives. In rural areas, this could be crucial for saving a life.”

The Bleed Control Kits are located in the Defibrillator Cabinets (accessible with a code which will be given out by the Ambulance Service when calling 999) and have been registered with the West Midlands Ambulance Service.