Finance & General Purposes Committee

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SHREWSBURY TOWN COUNCIL
Riggs Hall
The Library
Castle Gates
Shrewsbury
SY1 2AS

To Members of the Finance & General Purposes Committee 

Councillors: A Mosley (Chair), P Moseley (Vice-Chair), R Dartnall, J Dean, N Green, A Phillips, D Vasmer & R Wilson

All other members of the Council for information

Dear Councillor

You are hereby summoned to attend the meeting of the Town Council’s Finance & General Purposes Committee scheduled to take place on Monday 26 September at 6.00 pm in the Shrewsbury Room, Shirehall in order to transact the following business.

Helen Ball

Town Clerk

 

Meeting Agenda Items

• 1APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

  To receive and accept apologies for absence

• 2DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

  To receive Declarations of Pecuniary Interest in accordance with the Code of Conduct

• 3MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

  To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 July 2022.

  Attachments:

  • 22.07.11 F&GP Minutes

• 4MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS

  To consider any matters arising from the previous meeting

• 5PAYMENT SCHEDULES

  To approve the payments schedules for the period 2^nd July to 16^th  September 2022

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 5 - Schedule of payments

• 6BUDGETING TIMETABLE FOR 2023/24

  To receive a report on the timetable for the agreement on the 2023/24 budget

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 6 - 2023-24 Budget timetable

• 7POLICIES

  To approve the following policies as recommended in the Independent Inquiry into the Sale of Land off Greenfields Recreation Ground:

  • • Asset Disposal Policy
    • Complaints Procedure
    • FOI Publication Scheme
    • Vexatious Complaints Policy

  The Community Engagement Policy will be revised following the Visioning Exercise.

  To also approve the other following policies:

  • • Data Protection
    • Business Continuity Plan

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 7 - Asset Disposal Policy (NEW)
  • Agenda 7 - Complaints Procedure (under review)
  • Agenda 7 - FOI Publication Scheme (under review)
  • Agenda 7 - Vexatious Complaints Policy (NEW)
  • Agenda 7 - Data Protection Policy (under review)
  • Agenda 7 - Business Continuity Plan (under review)

• 8UPDATE ON COMMITTEE & WORKING GROUP ACTIVITY

  To receive an update on activity of the the following Committees/Working Groups that report to this Committee:

  1. 1. Climate Change Standing Committee – 21^st July 2022
     2. Youth Services Working Group – 14^th July 2022

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 8i 22.07.21 Climate Change Minutes
  • Agenda 8ii Youth Services Minutes 22.07.14

• 9TENDER WORK

  To receive a report on recent tendering activity

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 9 - Tender Works
  • Tender Progress

• 10MARKETS UPDATE

  To receive an update on the Markets operations within Shrewsbury

• 11CAPITAL PROGRAMME

  To receive an update on the Capital Programme

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 11 - 2022-23 Capital Projects Action Plan

• 12EXTERNAL AUDITOR – 5 YEAR OPT OUT OPTION

  To receive a report on the option to opt out of the national tender process of appointing external auditor for next 5 years

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 12 -External Auditor 5 year opt out 22-23 to 26-27

• 13END OF YEAR AUDIT

  To receive details on the external audit of the End of Year Accounts by the external auditor and approve the formal publication of those accounts

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 13 - AGAR YE 22 (section 3)

• 14DITHERINGTON COMMUNITY CENTRE

  To receive accounts for the year end 31^st March 2022

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 14 - Ditherington CC YE 22 accounts

• 15MOTIONS FROM FULL COUNCIL

  To consider the following Motions deferred from Full Council on 5^th September 2022

  1. Warm Rooms Initiative

   We know that many of our resident are facing a financial crisis this winter with the huge increase in fuel bills coupled with general inflation which hits those on low incomes hardest. Often these same residents will also struggle with social isolation. It is clear that the help being provided by the government is not enough to enable families on low incomes to keep their homes warm.

  In recognition of this a number of Councils are setting up ‘Warm Rooms’; a project pioneered in Bungay, Suffolk, which offers free, warm spaces in the town for people to spend time in, the project allows them to save money on their heating bills and also guard against loneliness. Other places are making the offer of warm rooms with activities including Mother and Toddler groups or games mornings. Pressure has also be mounting on government to provide funding for such initiatives.

  Shrewsbury Town Council does not have any suitable sites of its own for such a project, but we would welcome a such an initiative in our town. We ask Town Council officers to take the initiative to set up discussions with local hospitality businesses, community and voluntary sector organisations and officers representing key Shropshire Council sites in the town (including the Library, the Museum and Shirehall) with a view to establishing a similar project and with the aim to offer a range of sites, activities and times across the week during the coming Winter. We agree to commit £5,000 to help publicise and resource such a project.

  We further call on Shropshire Council to lead on and support initiatives to provide warm and welcome spaces for those struggling to keep their homes warm due to the price of energy during the coming winter across the county.

  https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/14/warm-banks-to-be-set-up-this-winter-but-what-are-they-16998804/

   

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 15 - Warm Rooms Proposal

• 16ENERGY EFFICIENCY SCHEME CRITERIA AND FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS

  To receive an amendment to the proposal considered at Full Council on 5th September 2022

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 16 - Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency Scheme

• 17GREENFIELDS

  To receive an update from the Group Leaders on the motion regarding Greenfields approved at Full Council on 8^th June 2022

• 18LAND MAPS

  To receive an update on actions relating to the publication of Shrewsbury Town Council land maps as considered at Full Council on 5^th September 2022

• 19COSTINGS FOR ST JOHN’S HILL OFFICE

  To receive a report on costings for 7 St John’s Hill

• 20SHROPSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

  To receive an update on a partnership agreement with Shropshire Wildlife Trust

• 21BIG TOWN PLAN & MOVEMENT STRATEGY

  To receive an update on the Big Town Plan and Movement Strategy

• 22VISIONING PROGRAMME

  To receive an update on Shrewsbury Town Council’s visioning exercise

• 23NAMING OF A CYCLE WAY

  To receive a motion from Councillor Gillam to name a cycle way Mansell Williams Way

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 23 - Proposal from Councillor Gillam

• 24RIVER SAFETY REPORT

  To receive a report on River Safety

• 25ECARGO BIKE BUSINESS CASE

  To receive a business case proposal regarding an Ecargo Bike Scheme

  Attachments:

  • Agenda 25 - Shrewsbury eCargo bike library

• 26EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

  To consider exclusion of the Press & Public on the grounds that the consideration of the following items may involve the likely disclosure of confidential information (s1(2) Public Bodies (Admission of Meetings) Act 1960)

• 27GREENFIELDS RECREATION GROUND

  To receive a verbal update on a valuation of land at Greenfields Recreation Ground