Transcript

Please stand for the arrival of the Speaker and the Mayor. Can I welcome you all to this Council meeting of the Borough of Telford and Reakin? I'll pass you on to the Speaker, Arnold England. Welcome, members. Press the right-hand button. A reminder, this meeting is being recorded and live-streamed on the Council's website. To indicate to speak, press the right-hand button. That isn't your opportunity to speak at that point. I will be aware of who has indicated to speak. When it is your turn, the microphone will then show a continuous red light. Please do not push the button again. Once you are in the queue, it will take just take a few seconds after being called upon for your microphone to go live. When you are finished speaking, you need to push the right-hand button to turn off your microphone. As usual, members must be present, and I remind you of this, for the entirety of an item, including the debate. And if you leave during an item of business, you will not be able to vote on that item. I have just been informed that Father Ravi Bosco is not here, sends his apologies, so we will just move on. Can I ask the Democratic Services Officer to inform of any apologies received in advance? Speaker, we have apologies from Councillor Karen Blundell, Elise Davis, Sean Davis, Tom Shanker, Lindsay Parker, Peter Scott and Derek White. Thank you. Are there any declarations of interest? If there are any, please press the right-hand button on your microphone to indicate that you want to speak. No. Okay, thank you. Item four. Can I have a proposal to confirm the minutes from the Council meet? Sorry. Press the right-hand button. Thank you. Can I bear the apologies, please, for Councillor Steve Burrell. Sorry, what's that about? Apologies of Councillor Steve Burrell. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Got that. Where are we? All right, we've done that. So, item four. Can I have a proposal to confirm the minutes from the Council meeting held on the... Councillor Bentley? Say again? You knew that very well. I know. Yes, all right, carry on. Right. Right, so... Someone going to move them? Councillor Bentley, you moved them. Yes, I moved them. Yeah, you didn't press the right button, so I didn't hear you very well. Oh, sorry, I've been on the mic. Oh, you can turn it off now, because I've heard... Okay, you can hear me. It gives me great pleasure to move those minutes on your behalf. Many thanks. All right. Is there a seconder? All right, Councillor Carter, second. All right, can I have a show of hands, please? All those in favour? Excellent. Thank you. Any against? No abstentions? Thank you. That's carried. All right, move on to item five, leaders' report and announcement. That will be Councillor Carter. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Since we last came together as a full councillor back in July, we've continued to witness the uncertainty and conflict that continues throughout the world. It is essential at these most difficult times that we focus on what we can control, what we can influence, that we dedicate increased effort into making sure our response is the best it can be, that we remain positive in our outlook and that we continue to lead by example. When it comes to this Chamber and our role as councillors, it is vital that we recognise, if nothing else, that we're all human beings trying to achieve the best for our communities and that we will never walk away from demonstrating unity during these ever more uncertain times. Over the last few days, we have remembered those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our communities across the generations at Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Services in the borough. This time of remembrance is a sobering occasion for us all and brings into greater focus the cost of war. In my mind, it also brings into focus the values of sacrifice, of service, of selflessness, and common commitment to a far greater cause. It was with great sadness that this councillor lost councillor Chris Turley over the summer following a period of ill health. It's the first time that we've managed to meet as a council since he passed away and I would ask that for a few seconds we remain silent as a mark of respect to councillor Turley. Shall we stand, please? Chris Turley was someone in service to our armed forces and in service as a councillor who demonstrated those values. Chris was a wonderful man and a valued member of this council and I was pleased to see the armed forces flag was flown to honour Chris's Distinguished Armed Services career too. I know that he was proud of this borough and I know that we can all learn from his way of doing things and it is the least I can do as leader of the council to ensure we do our very best by all residents regardless of their background or their beliefs. Because, folks, too much debate focuses on difference rather than what unites us. Our residents from all cultures and walks of life are what makes our borough such a special place to live and work and I saw that first hand in the recent flash floods where different communities came together. In that moment of crisis appeared the very best of human nature with residents, local faith groups, local volunteer groups working with the emergency services and our council to ensure we supported those in need. From the council officer who volunteered to drive the coach to evacuate residents to the refuge centre to the local imam who arranged for his mosque to provide food to those at that refuge centre to the volunteers from the search and rescue service who waded through water to check on affected households. I thank everyone who played their part. And it is those kind of examples that should inspire us to be better and I'm determined that we will continue to progress our vision to make Telford and Reakin the best place to live, work and do business in for each and every resident. And that's why in the last few months we've done many things including opening a raft of family hubs to support families across the borough, created additional school places across the borough including Lawley Village Academy. It's why we've made progress with Station Quarter including the Quad, a new learning and start-up business centre which welcomes its very first learners in September. It was a great honour to welcome Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, the Princess Royal who officially opened the Quad a few weeks back and as fortune would have it was back in Telford almost exactly 40 years since she officially opened Telford Ice Rink. We've also recently extended our £2 fares on seven council-run bus services that carry over 350,000 passengers per year. We will continue to ensure green waste is collected at no charge for residents and will make free parking on many thousand parking spaces across the borough as well as keep council tax as low as we can. And vitally, as part of our pledge commitments we've protected and helped the most vulnerable in our community. This has included warmth, support for pensioners this winter. One of the first things I asked our council team to do was get in touch with over 600 pensioners who are entitled to claim pension credit but weren't doing so. We've also announced that we'll use almost 600,000 household support funding to provide nearly 6,000 local pensioners with £100 to support them through the winter. And over the coming weeks we'll continue to ensure older residents and the community know about the wide range of support and offer from the council and our trusted partners through the cold winter months. Folks, we're living through undoubtedly challenging times but I want to make this assurance to everyone. Despite some of the difficulties we face with the right ethos and ethics we have plenty of reason for optimism as we head towards Christmas and a brand new year which we hope will bring further opportunities and success as we continue to deliver our vision to protect care and invest to create a better Telford and Reekin. Thank you. Thank you, Leader. I now move on to Councillor Ian Priss. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the many engagements that has taken place since the last council meeting in July all of which are noted in the list that's been circulated. These engagements are not only an honour for me to attend but it's also a reflection of the vibrant community and its ongoing growth and unity. Since July, both the Deputy Mayor and I have had the privilege to attend a large number of events across Telford and Reekin. This summer, for instance, the Balloon Festival will be one of the highlights. I want to extend my sincere thanks to the event team for organising this fantastic activity. It's events like this that bring us together and remind us of the strength and spirit within our community. I also have had the pleasure to attend the opening of seven new businesses which is always heartening to witness new ventures unfolding out there and creating opportunities for residents and boosting our local economy. On a personal note, some of you may know that I had to postpone my charity launch due to an uninspected injury. I was very much keen to see you all there but please keep a watch for the new date in the new year. I'd love to see you all there. I'd also like to extend my gratitude for the Deputy Mayor Eileen who's represented me on numerous events in my absence. Her dedication has been invaluable. I've had the honour of joining many of you at our remembrance services across the borough. These services are a powerful reminder of the sacrifice made by those who fought for our freedom. It was moving to see our communities come together and reflect and pay tribute to those who have served. As we approach the festive season I'm excited about the engagements ahead and the opportunity to connect with more residents. Celebrating our achievements and supporting the community initiatives. Thank you for your continued support and it's been a privilege serving you as Mayor so far. Thank you. Thank you Mr Mayor. Thank you Mr Mayor. Right we now move on to Item 7 questions from councillors. We have six questions this evening. I would like to remind members that questions are circulated in advance and are also available in front of you. There are 30 minutes allowed for these questions so I would encourage members to be mindful of this so that everyone can ask their question. Right Councillor Serda is not here so I ask if Councillor Bill Tomlinson would like to move that question. Thank you Mr Speaker. As stated under the civil enforcement of parking conventions a scheme Telford and Rican Council adopted in 2022 the council appears to have enforcement powers to address traffic obstructions and pavement parking under sections 62 and 92. Can the cabinet member responsible for enforcement clarify if the council does indeed have such enforcement powers and will neighbourhood enforcement officers take action against offenders particularly in well-known hotspots such as those found in my ward of Newport South. Councillor Overton Thank you Councillor Tomlinson for your question on behalf of Councillor Yankee. Members of this council will be aware that the council has a range of enforcement powers that supports both residents and businesses while taking those who don't play by the rules to task. While legal orders exist such as double yellow lines or other parking restrictions which includes pavement parking the council's neighbourhood enforcement officers can and do enforce where contraventions are found. Our enforcement officers work hard to ensure where residents restrictions apply they are adhered to and penalties issued where necessary. Members of this chamber will be familiar with the successful partnership we have in place with partnering town and parish councils across the borough. It is disappointing that early this year Newport Town Council and I believe Council Yankee decided to cut their enhanced enforcement package as part of the community action team partnership we have available. This could be a contributory factor to the hotspots Council Yankee outlines. With that in mind and considering my response to the question I hope ward members from Newport are supportive of further discussions with the Town Council to increase the enhancement package and make a tangible difference locally. I know that thanks to Labour Council Rachel Keane the Town Council are keen to look at now extending this provision. Councillor Tomlinson do you have a supplementary question? Okay thank you we'll move on. Councillor Eade would you ask your question to Councillor Lee Carter and can I remind you to use the right button please. Yes thank you thank you Speaker. Following on from questions I raised at the full Council meeting of Thursday 29th of February to the then Cabinet Member for Economy and Neighbourhood Services who is now the leader of the Council concerning severe flooding at Church Aston would Councillor Carter give an update on the outcome of promises he made in response to my questions? Thank you Councillor Eade for your question. I know your commitment locally is an important issue. since your previous question earlier this year I can confirm that with my oversight the Council has relentlessly continued to work with the landowner representatives to push for a solution at the earliest opportunity. We had regular contact from the point of the February Council meeting which resulted in assurances being given that work would start in April. It quickly became clear that the landowners were not acting with a required pace hence why we then issued a letter before action in July that stated the Council would actively progress enforcement action utilising the relevant powers of the Land Drainage Act if a robust and timely plan to resolve the issue was not implemented. As a result I can confirm the landowner set out a number of actions and associated timescales. I've been personally tracking progress of these actions on a regular basis to ensure a satisfactory outcome is achieved at the earliest opportunity. Last week the landowner confirmed that they are on track to complete the improvement works in November and have appointed a contractor. The slight delay this time has been associated with the harvest in October. I just want to assure you that myself and this chamber, sorry I want to assure you and this chamber that the Council will continue to ensure this work will be undertaken and if not we will take the most robust legal approach we can using the powers at our disposal. I understand that officers have been keeping you informed on progress but if you need any further updates I'll ensure these are provided. Okay thank you. Councillor E do you have a supplementary question? Can I first of all thank Councillor Carter for his involvement in this to try and get this issue resolved which is having quite a devastating effect on local ward members. The owners and their tenants have indicated that field drains would be repaired by October 25th or after the crops have been harvested from that field. As both of those trigger points have now passed and indeed new crops were sown on November 3rd after the original crop was harvested it seems to indicate no real intention of repairing the damaged field drains. Consequently I wonder if Councillor Carter would confirm that following on from what he's just said that this Council will act within the legal powers it has to take enforcement action against the field's owners and if necessary commission the necessary work involved and recharge the landowners for the cost of any works accordingly and whether that could be done as a matter of urgency certainly with the onset of winter. Thank you Councillor It's really disappointing that in this instance a private landowner has not appeared to do what they've told us that they will do. That's why we've put the most robust legal approach that we can in place. I'll pick that up as a matter of urgency this evening in fact to make sure we do that and we'll pursue every avenue that we possibly can to get those owners to do the work they've promised to do. All right thank you. Okay did you hear that Councillor Carter? Thanks for that reply. Okay I wish to invite Councillor Doug Moore to ask his question of Councillor Harington and can I remind you to press the right hand button. Okay yes by how much will the 31st of October budget measures increase annual employment costs for Telford and Reakin Council based on the current number of employees? Thank you Councillor Doug Moore for your question. There will be no additional cost as the government will be funding it. Do you have a supplementary question Councillor Doug Moore? Yes so will that support be extended to the council contractors or are we going to end up with extra costs and therefore a reduction in services? There won't be a reduction in services no. All right thank you. All right I wish to invite Councillor Turrell to ask her question to Councillor Carter please can I remind you to use the right hand button. Thank you Mr Speaker. This council will recall I raised the issue of the ongoing environmental issues at the Potters Landfill site at Granville at our previous meeting on the 18th of July. Residents do continue to suffer. Please can the leader write to the Environment Agency and the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to review the operation and licence of this site. I won't read out the rest of the question because I think it's summarised in there. Thank you. Right thank you Councillor Overton. Thank you Mr Speaker. Thank you Councillor Turrell for your question and your commitment to working with the council to resolve this concern for residents. I will answer as a lead cabinet member for environmental protection. I'm sorry to hear residents are continuing to report offensive odours from this site to you. The council is in regular contact with the Environment Agency who are the lead agency for landfill operations such as Red Hill. The Environment Agency confirmed that they inspected at the end of November and continue to actively regulate the end of October that is and continue to actively regulate the operator under the permit. I would encourage residents to continue to report odours directly to the Environment Agency. Back in March the council wrote to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who may at the time have been focused on other priorities but I'm more than happy to write to the Labour government and ask for their support in dealing with landfill challenges to what we have here in our borough. Councillor Tirell, do you have a supplementary question? Thank you. Is this also an opportune time to review the planning application which was granted with regard to the operation of the site until 2030? I'm referring to the decision notice in November 2021. Does the site continue to comply with the conditions of that decision notice? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Tirell. I am sure that if the site didn't comply with the decision notice that our planning enforcement team will be on to that. I will speak to them to make sure that they are checking on that as well. Thank you. Councillor Tirell, would you like to ask your question of Councillor Vickers? Thank you Mr Speaker. The Procurement Act 2023 came into force on the 1st of October and aims to reset EU based law and simplify public sector tendering procedures. The introduction of the Act followed a lengthy period of public consultation which commenced with the publication of a green paper transforming public procurement. I'll skim over this because I apologise it is quite long in the interest of saving some time to get to the point. I'm referring to the British Chamber of Commerce Procurement Tracker which is based on various data and that revealed that just 20% of direct procurement was awarded to SMEs last year. This Act places a shift from pure economic values to social values and other factors. This means considering the wider benefits for the community such as creating local employment opportunities, carbon emission reduction using a local supply chain. given that the Chancellor in her budget sought to place the highest increased tax burden on employers and business, what can this Council do to support our local businesses to ensure our local economy thrives? In particular also creating opportunities for less traditional business entities. Thank you. Thank you Mr Speaker and thank you Councillor Tyrell for your question. The new Procurement Act does remove bureaucratic barriers for smaller local businesses meaning they can potentially compete for more procurement opportunities. These procurement opportunities will have better visibility to enable small and local organisations to search for potential future business more easily. The procurement team are currently undertaking a programme of change to ensure the requirement of the new Act are complied with including greater transparency of opportunity for local businesses. This includes revising documentation and signposting training opportunities to all Council staff. This will help ensure staff comply with the new Act which in turn should offer greater opportunities for all local businesses. In addition the Council is currently refreshing its social value offer to ensure the Council is realising its maximum social value which will include local opportunities and benefits including support on climate change action measures, employment and upskilling local people. Thank you. Councillor Tyrell do you have a supplementary question? Thank you for that answer Councillor Vickers. I'm pleased to hear that this has prompted a review of those new procedures and new possibilities for local business and beyond traditional businesses. Can I ask what percentage of Telford and Reking contracts or how many were awarded directly to local SMEs within the borough and how do we see the provisions of the Act changing that in the future? I accept you may need to come back to me on that. Thank you Councillor Tyrell for your question. I will find out the exact figure and get back to you on that. But I've got to say I do find it a little surprising that you're asking about business support given that the Conservative group on this Council has never supported this Administration's Pride in a High Street programme which has been a huge success. 367 grants awarded to support small businesses, 65 new start-ups on our high streets and we're booking the national trend on empty shop units by a mile. Time and time again councillors from the Conservative group bring questions to this chamber in an attempt to score cheap political points. When it comes to delivering for the people of Telford and Reking they simply are not interested. All right. Thank you. I'd like to invite Councillor Giles Luter to ask his question to Councillor Vickers and again Councillor Luter can I remind you to use the right hand button to speak. Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd like to ask Councillor Vickers after working with the Council to help reinstate Council run bus services from my ward to Wellington Centre and the Princess Royal Hospital, I welcome the Council's decision to cap council run bus service fares with just £2 for adults and £1 for children. Can you confirm how many residents across Telford and Reking will benefit from the continued two fare cap? I'd like to begin by thanking Councillor Giles Luter for his question and for all of his hard work successfully campaigning for a new bus route between his ward in Arkell to the Princess Royal Hospital and Wellington Town Centre. Members of this council will recall the bold decision this Labour administration took over two years ago to tender new bus services to ensure we have well connected communities from rural and urban residential areas connecting with key education and employment destinations as well as links to the Princess Royal Hospital and local centres including Wellington, Maidley and Newport. Despite opposition from the Conservative group on this council we have now seen seven council operated bus routes with fares capped at £2 for adults and £1 for children and this fair structure was up and running long before the previous government introduced the national fare cap in January 2023. Since December 2022 our bus routes have completed over 350,000 passenger trips with patronage increasing month on month. The 100 or the Work Express as it's known connects residential areas to our main employment sites and runs from 5am in the morning to 11pm at night. A resident told me recently that on introduction of this service alone they save £100 a week on travel costs to work. Fast forward two years and that same person has saved the money which has been used as a deposit to buy their first home. It's more than just buses, fares and passenger trips. These routes are the arteries of our borough and I'm proud that this Labour administration continues to support our residents and local businesses as we maintain our focus on improving connectivity for all. This council also welcomes the new Labour government's £1 billion funding boost for buses in areas like Telford and Reakin as well as their commitment to local authorities to allow them to take buses back, take control of buses back into their control in the future. Councillor Luter, do you have a supplementary question? No, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Thank you. Right, I now move on to item eight, cabinet decisions made since the last meeting of the council and again I would remind members that these should be questions of clarity only on items marked as key decisions on the report. Are there any questions of clarifications? That's not debate from members. Right, no questions of clarity, thank you. Item nine, I would like to invite Councillor Hannington to propose the financial monitoring report. Thank you, Mr Speaker. This financial monitoring report provides the latest information in relation to the projected out-term position for 2024-2025 against the approved budget. Nationally, councils continue to face extreme challenges with unprecedented pressures driven by high costs and high demand for services, particularly in adult social care, children safeguarding school travel assistance. The projected year-end revenue position is summarised at 4.1.8 in the report. Before use of contingencies, we have a projected overspend of 4.498 million at year-end. Fortunately, due to our good financial planning and management, we have a one-off contingency earmarked specifically for social care pressures of 1.959 million, which together, with the use of part of the general budget contingency, brings the overall position into balance. The general budget contingency will have a residual balance of 1.4 million after meeting the in-year pressures. The key pressure continues to be adult social care, which is currently showing additional investment being required of 4.3 million, relating to the cost of providing care packages across all client groups. The service continues to work on delivering care, which maximises prevention and independence where possible, prioritising looking after the most vulnerable in our community. It is pleasing that we have not had to use any of the budget strategy reserve, which remains at 21.7 million. The capital programme totals 102.4 million. Schemes are in progress and spend is currently projected to be in line with budget at year-end. Appendix C shows the changes to the capital programme, which includes new allocations, slippage into future years, and environments. These require formal approval at full council. Despite the pressures identified, we are in as good a position as possible due to our strong financial management and budget planning. The council has an excellent track record of managing its financial position, and work will continue during 2024 to 2025 to manage budgets effectively and address in-year pressures. I move the recommendation. Right, thank you. Councillor Overton, will you second? I formally second, Mr Speaker. Okay, thank you. Are there any questions or comments relating to the report? Councillor Tomlinson, are you... Yes. Am I supposed to stand, Speaker? I never can remember. Yes. The Constitution says yes. The Constitution says yes, I am told. Then I will. I can't remember you saying. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I commend the local authority on being able to balance its budgets. And it was also an honour and a privilege today to be at the Employee Awards, where members of the financial team were awarded special awards, particularly part of their efforts, to keep us all on track. And I think it's wonderful. It was wonderful going to those awards. And I commend the authority on doing that. Each local authority up and down the country has got the same financial pressures, pretty much. We've managed to hold ours instead. You've only got to look at our neighbours in Shropshire. We might be some of the decisions their Conservative administration have made, not to mention the retail investment, which may not look so good as it used to be. So not just how badly it can go. So I really am grateful for what we've done. I'm also hoping that whether you believe it in or not, that we're all going to write to Father Christmas or maybe the chance of the Exchequer to see what we do get when a budget settlement comes with the Labour government now in charge. It has been generous with regards to the NHS and extra funding for that and a system that was broke. But we're all aware that the particularly adult social services and children's as well, that those really are really needed of cash. Otherwise, it's going to be down to us to try and find out where we come from council tax to fund those. So as much as we can to influence that decision to help us out as a local authority, I really would appreciate. But I welcome the report that's before us. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Are there any other comments? Councillor Doug Moor. Thank you. Yeah, just a couple of questions. On page 8, 5.3.2, it says, there is a contingency amount held centrally for contractual and pay inflation. Could you give us the amount that's the size of that contingency and also an up-to-date on the amount of money that's held back to pay equality between the sexes? And also just to comment that the budget measures are going to increase care costs. So the overspend on social care is going to get significantly higher in the years to come. Thank you, Councillor Doug Moor. I'll come back to you with those figures. In terms of adult social care, we are continuing to closely monitor the situation and the service is working on delivering care which maximises prevention and independence where possible, prioritising looking after the most vulnerable in our community. All right. Thank you. Councillor Overton, do you wish to say anything? No? All right. Thank you. Councillor Hannington, do you have anything to add? No? Thank you. Right. Members are asked to approve the recommendation set out in paragraph 1 of the report. Can I show of hands in favour, please? Thank you. Any against? Any against? Abstentions? Two, three, four? Right. Thank you. That is carried. Right. Moving on to item 10. I would like to invite Councillor Morgan to propose this item. That's the Treasury Management Annual Report. Happy to propose. Thank you. Councillor Hannington, would you like to second? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I second the report. Okay. Thank you. Are there any questions or comments relating to the report? None? None. Okay. Councillor Hannington, would you like to add anything? No. Thank you. Councillor Morgan, do you have anything to add? No. Thank you. Can I have a show of hands in favour, please? Thank you. Any against? Abstentions? A number? All right. That is carried. Thank you. Thank you. We now move on to item 11, recommendations from committees and boards. I would like to invite Councillor Thomson to propose the recommendation. Proposing the review of the statement of the gambling licensing policy, it is statutory requirement to review the Council's statement of gambling licensing policy every three years. With the current gambling policy due to expire on the 31st of January 2025, the review has been undertaken by the public protection and the revised document has been considered by the licensing committee on the 24th of November, where it was approved and to go before the full council for adoption. A consultation was carried out between the 22nd of July 24 to the 23rd of September 24. No representations received from any consultees or members of the public. The policy, if approved by full council, will be published on January the 6th, 2025, and will take effect from the 31st of January 2025. Thank you. Mr Speaker. All right. Thank you. Councillor Handley, you have the... You wish to second? Yeah, I'll second that. Okay, thank you. Are there any questions or comments on the report? No? Oh. I can't see your microphone, so I didn't know you were... I think you should go to Specsavers, too. There are other opticians. It's an oversight of mine, because I have a gambling licence. Very good. Do we note that? Yeah, so... Do you want me to address it, or...? Yeah, go on, then. So, Councillor Bentley, if you're disclosing an interest, I'd advise you to leave the room and not participate any further, and not participate in the vote and return once this item's concluded. Okay, thank you. Are there any other questions or comments? No? Okay. Councillor Handley, do you wish to add anything? Thank you. Councillor Thompson, do you have anything to add? No, I don't have any comments, but Charles Opticians in Open Gates is excellent opticians as well. I've already done that. I've already done that. Okay. Okay. Right, can I have a show of hands in favour, please? Thank you. Any against? None. Any abstentions? Right, that is carried. Yes, go on, call him in. Okay, item 12 is Notices of Motions. 12A, can Councillor Middleton move the motion as detailed in the agenda and shown on your desks? Thank you, Mr Speaker. This council fully recognises the challenging economic situation after 14 years of Conservative government. This council fully supports the new Labour government in dealing with the £22 billion black hole left in the Treasury finances by the Conservatives and understands that tough decisions need to be taken. Following the announcement that only those in receipt of pension credit will continue to receive winter fuel payments, we are concerned that some pensioners that are just above the threshold of being able to claim pension credit may be the most disadvantaged. That is why the Labour Council has decided to provide £100 supermarket vouchers to nearly 6,000 pensioners across Telford and Reakin from the Household Support Fund. To ensure the support is available for our most vulnerable residents, not only those on guaranteed pension credit, but those that are just above the threshold. This council over the last couple of months has worked hard to ensure pensioners are aware of what benefits they're entitled to. We have written to 600 residents that we know are entitled to claim and supported them to access and apply for pension credit, which has seen a much higher than usual uptake in claims as a result. We have been out into the community settings and supported pensioners to see if they're entitled to claim and will be attending more venues scheduled in soon. We have updated the pensioners' financial assistance booklet and delivered it to many community settings and to our 75 customers who use our home delivery library service. We have uplifted funding to Age UK to provide an extra member of staff for four days a week until the end of the year, helping pensioners independently check if they're eligible to claim pension credit, which entitles them to free prescriptions and winter fuel payments. We'll also be investing to Telford Energy Advice Line for another two years to help people reduce their bills and support them to be more energy efficient. We will continue to be on the side of pensioners and support helping them claim what they're entitled to, and we'd encourage people to claim by the deadline to receive winter fuel payments, which is the 21st of December. We ask this government to take steps to support pensioners to keep the triple lock, and the state pension has increased every year. I move this motion. Thank you. Councillor Overton, do you wish to second? I'll second and reserve my vote to speak. All right, thank you. Are there any questions, comments? All right. Councillor Paul Davis. Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you to Councillor Middleton for putting forward this motion. Addressing a $22 billion gap in public finances is certainly a huge challenge for the government. It's not a situation that they should have had to inherit, but I am of confidence they will tackle it, despite the difficult choices before them. Our priority here in Telford and Reakin, however, is to continue to support our residents in the best way that we can. Our pensioners are no exception. So I'm pleased to see that this motion before us this evening, I'm confident that the dedicated efforts of our officers and partner organisations across the borough will support our pensioners by keeping them informed of changes, by ensuring that those 6,000 pensioners are offered those £100 in vouchers, and furthermore that our pensioners are supported to complete an independent eligibility check for pension credit. This Labour administration's response is a clear demonstration of our ongoing commitment to work for and on behalf of our residents, and it should be applauded. I urge all pensioners that haven't already checked their eligibility to contact Age UK or attend the many future community sessions that are being put in place. I know that Councillor Cook and I will be directing pensioners across Haygate and Park in our wards to check their eligibility, as I'm sure others will also do. It's particularly important to reach as many pensioners as possible, with the deadline to claiming pension credit being December 21st. Members, this motion truly upholds the values of this Labour administration's commitment to protect, care and invest for our residents, and I encourage everyone present to support it. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Karen Tomlinson. Thank you, Chair. Obviously it was a great disappointment that this had to happen, but I'm glad that there are things being put in place by this Council. What we're a bit concerned about is the people who are just above that threshold who can't get pension credit. Now, I work a lot with a lot of old people, and a lot of them don't do Facebook, and unless you actually do a flyer and put it through their front door, and a lot don't attend a lot of Age UK or any lunch clubs or whatever, some are housebound, some just don't want to go to some of these activities. So it's just a concern, really, that how are we going to actually reach some of those people who are above that threshold who can't have pension credit? How are we going to check that they are eligible? How do we contact them? I understand what Councillor Davies has said, but unless we physically go around delivering leaflets to people to let them know, a lot of them will only actually read hard copies and can't do IT, I'm afraid. So that's just a concern of ours. Thank you. Councillor Bill Tomlinson. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I really welcome the initiative that the Council have made to give this money out. It's very much welcome to those people. When I've had to get involved in the past with my mum, who sadly passed away now, and my auntie, when councils had more money, which unfortunately they haven't now, they actually had, in Birmingham and in Walsall, welfare rights departments, which basically helped people to claim certain benefits, not necessarily from the council, but from the DWP. And as the council saw it, as long as they can get the money, it helps the council out in paying for its services. So I am really grateful that we are, at least through Age UK and through the promotion material that we can do, that we can try and encourage people, as many people as we can, to claim pension credit. But there is one other one, which many old people aren't aware of, and we can help them, or at least make them aware of it, when they, if they do get into our system, and even if they don't, we can try and make them aware. And that's attendance allowance. Attendance allowance is payable when you need help and support in your home, for things like shopping or washing, all these things, which social services don't necessarily cover, but the government will pay it out. And I know Age UK in the past, locally where we lived, have helped people fill out, because very often these days they're online, and that scares a lot of people from even starting off. It certainly does me. I have to ask my wife to go anywhere, if it's online, because I'm a dinosaur. Maybe a friendly dinosaur, but a dinosaur nevertheless. But, so, as much as we can, if we could help also steer people, not only with pension credit, but attendance allowance. People are often completely unaware, A, that they can claim it, if they are receiving support in their own home, and, B, the actual activity of making these claims. I mean, somebody once said to me that the pension credit form has got 197 separate questions, which you can imagine, if you're of a certain age, it's daunting. So, as much support we can give to elderly people, particularly, to claim all these allowances that they are entitled to, which don't cost us a penny, and it helps us support the services that we've got, I very much welcome that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Okay, thank you. Councillor Doug Moore. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This motion is inaccurate on several points. To start with, it states, this council fully pledges to do all it can to support local pensioners. It is supporting in some ways, but if that were true, and that it fully pledges, well, then it would pledge to end the winter fuel, to reinstate the winter fuel payments immediately. The heartless Labour government, supported by the administration, doesn't even give pensioners the chance to budget for this lost payment by stopping it immediately. The administration then cries crocodile tears and throws Telford and Regan pensioners a few quid to shut them up, which, quite frankly, is shameful. Yes, the triple lock does increase the state pension, but not for another six months. In the spring, Telford and Regan pensioners will have to survive the winter first to benefit from that. The motion says that the council recognises the fictitious £22 billion black hole. Well, who should we believe? The independent office of budget responsibility, often quoted by Labour politicians before the election as being reliable source and independent, who say that the true figure is less than half that. Or do we believe the administration, with their wealth of financial experience? I know who I believe. Surely, with such large sums involved, it would be prudent not to spend money on unproductive pay rises for public workers, if you're in the hole, the advice is to stop digging. Mr. Speaker, I propose an amendment to the motion, changing the second paragraph, sorry, the third paragraph, to amend that this council asked the leader in the cabinet to write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, asking that the winter fuel allowance be reinstated in full. Will the proposer and seconder not support that? Thank you. Yes, I'm advised that the deadline for the amendment was 2 p.m. today, so that's not acceptable. Okay, we will move on. Councillor Tim Nelson. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll just reiterate the observation made by my colleague Councillor Doug Moore in respect of fully endorsing £22 billion black holes. I mean, he mentions the Office of Budget Responsibility. Obviously, to not fully endorse the £22 billion is essentially to take the word of the head of the OBR. And he was asked about financial black holes. And he replied, I am an economist, not an astronomer. So much for cosmology. As for unidentified public liabilities, the OBR reported a figure of £9.5 billion, not £22 billion. So the motion appears numerically wrong and can't be supported on that basis. The difference between the two figures relates to money this government has spent on public sector pay awards. No matter the origins of the pay awards, nor the levels advised, this government chose to spend the money. Mr. Speaker, I do not know individually how well off or otherwise the pensioners in my ward are. I suspect many of us. We may not know individually how well off all our pensioners are. Likewise, the pensioners in our respective constituencies. You may perhaps join me in agreeing that some of them will save up for things all year, including going without other expenditures to provide for some reward of their own choosing. Upon which they wish to spend their own money. Will you, therefore, Mr. Speaker, also join me in my frustration that one of our colleagues should take it on himself to decide how his residents should spend their money? Doubt them for taking a modest and well-earned holiday in Benidorm or Porto. And then it sounded like comparing them with being as rich as Lord Sugar. This was shameful. And indeed, Sir Keir Starmer has said only today that he is not about to say to people how they should live their lives. And to reiterate again what my colleague, Councillor Doug Moore, has said, if the Council is sincere in its pledge to do all it can for local pensioners, that includes all pensioners, it should call on the Government to restore universal winter fuel allowance. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm disappointed but not surprised that a member of the opposition is now trying to divert attention away from the dire financial situation that the last government left our present government in and all of the pensioners that would actually be involved in that last 14 years of disastrous conservative rule. I do, however, completely support this motion. I think this is a really important piece of support for a number of pensioners across our borough. I took part in some advice sessions myself to speak to local pensioners to ensure that they were able to claim all of the various support that they were entitled to, such as pension credit, and they were very grateful for that support. And I'm sure this £100 will go a long way to ensuring that they are more secure this winter. I just want to add that obviously on top of this £100, there are a number of other services that people use to make sure that we can support our local pensioners. Not only from the borough council, but also from town and parish councils, council of pride funding. I know many of us use our pride funding to support various sort of sessions that people use through the winter. And lots of other sources. So I thoroughly support the motion. I thank Councillor Middleton for bringing it. Councillor McClemmons. Thank you, Speaker. I welcome this motion tonight and wholeheartedly support it. It reminds us all that this administration remains on the side of residents. And I'm pleased and reassured that we remain committed to offering support and advice to elderly residents who would qualify for pension credit and currently not claiming it. And I would like to thank my Cabinet member, Councillor Kelly Middleton, and all the officers in the benefits team for all their hard work in ensuring that we continue to support our vulnerable and elderly pensioners. They have done an amazing job in a very short time and have gone above and beyond. I run a welcoming space at Alston Community Centre every Tuesday morning and would like to thank our pension credit advice team for coming along last week to the Centre to offer their support to Alston College pensioners who came along to seek advice. They were all very appreciative of the help given. But let's be clear, even senior Conservatives admit Labour is having to clean up the mess they left behind. And I'll say yes with a 22 billion black hole or whatever number anyone wants to come up with. But that's after 14 years of mismanagement, chaos and division, and with so many Prime Ministers that I've lost count. At no time during that 14 years did the Conservative opposition of this Council challenge or question their own government. They just rolled over and let it happen. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Eade. Is this working? Yeah, so it is. I find myself in the unlikely position of actually supporting Unite and Trades Union, which are implacably opposed to what we've just been speaking about. But where to start and respond to this motion is a real problem. As while broadly agreeing with the sentiments expressed within the final paragraph of the motion, it is clearly not enough. It doesn't go far enough. The remainder of the motion is sheer hypocrisy, with little more than trying to put a gloss on what is the most shambolic and worst government that I've ever seen. Who have instigated, who have instigated, who have instigated eye-watering levels of borrowing and taxation. The list of issues concerning credibility, truthfulness, competence, seem endless and range from trying to destroy family farming and endanger food security, something not even mentioned in the Council's local plan, despite it being two-thirds rural. All of this is followed by two-tier freebies, two-tier policing, two-tier standards, public sector and private sector being set against each other. Despite promises to the contrary, VAT hikes could see 3,000 schoolchildren flood into other schools, something which may adversely affect children with special educational needs. And, of course, is a broken promise on the level of students' fees, which at one point were actually going to be cut. Order, please, order. And was stated as such by the current Prime Minister and his Chancellor. National insurance hikes on employers is a tax on jobs and will simply hit employment, including the so-called working people, whoever or whatever they may be. And, of course, wages, company profits, employment and especially growth, something Starmer and Reeve pledged would pay for expenditure on public services. Councillor Ead, there's been a point of order. Could you, yes, you wish to make a point of order? I just thought it would be useful if you actually talked about the motion. Instead of doing a polity-political campaign during the full council, talk about the motion we're talking about. Okay, that's not a point of order. Thank you. However, and this is a choice made by the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, it is a truly vindictive and shameful debacle over winter fuel allowance, with which I find sad, staggering, brutal, horrifying, and something which Labour's own figures forecast could cause 4,000 deaths. And for what? It is a cheaper-to-blanket benefit such as fuel allowance and the savings that the proposals... Would you please wind up? Well, I was interrupted. I was rather hopeful you might give me a bit of a... We take an account of the interruption. Okay. I personally hold in utter contempt those cowardly MPs who voted in favour of this truly rotten piece of work. And for what? You know, a mythical black hole, which clearly doesn't exist. I'm sure there are Labour members here... Okay, can you finish now? ...who are extremely unhappy with this situation, and I urge them to join in and join with Unite, join with everybody. This is clearly a wrong policy. Thank you. Your time is up. Thank you. All right. Councillor Morgan. Thank you, Mr Speaker. There's some words there that really hypocrisy, incompetence. I'm just astounded, to be honest. We all know that there was an overspend projection. The OBR said £9.5 billion to February. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but we've got until July, we had more year left than we did money. And that £22 billion has been accounted for many, many times. The Conservatives have dined out for 30 years on a playful letter that was put in a drawer of the next Chancellor to say there was no money left. 30 years is all we've heard. We've been in government for less than 200 days, and we keep hearing the same attacks over and over again. And you've abstained on every single financial decision since I became a councillor. You cannot decide to say that we are... It's shameful that we're helping pensioners with what Kelly has put forward. I mean, the amazing hard work that she's put in, and everybody has put in, and you're saying it's shameful, but you've abstained against every financial decision that we have made. It's not on. And I genuinely... The scaremongering that's gone on today is absolutely horrifying. It really is. Right, thank you. Councillor Shirley Reynolds, you can remain seated. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I was hoping you were going to say that. And I can only just reiterate the shameful comments after the behaviour and the actions of the former government for the last 14 years, and the comments I'm hearing from down the bottom of the chamber. I just can't believe it, really. This government, new Labour government, does face a £22 billion black hole which they've been left with by your party. But we, this Labour administration, will continue to support our residents. We will provide help and assistance in many ways, whether that's through council tax reduction, emergency welfare resettlement assistance, household support fund, emergency welfare assistance, discretionary housing payments, council tax hardship schemes, the Telford Energy Advice Services, the discounted swimming, our happy, healthy, active holiday scheme, urban games, children leisure facilities and activities for £2, our concessionary travel scheme, our free car parking across all our borough towns, our free collection of green waste. I think that's happening somewhere else. Oh, no, it's not. And all, of course, we've got the lowest council tax in the region, even though we face severe cuts of over £150 million from your previous government. These all provide direct support to residents, but we also provide additional targeted funding which help residents with the excellent work of the Telfast Crisis Support Centre, the Citizens Advice, and Age UK. But our help and support does not stop there. We work with our partners and third sector agencies, and this might be through providing calm cafes, veterans' cafes, youth clubs, warm and welcoming spaces. We only heard tonight of a new youth club that's just opened up in Alston. These happen at various community venues. I could go on, but sadly, we should note that the funding for all these activities were not supported by our Conservative colleagues in our budget. It's the Labour government that introduced the winter fuel payments, and these continue for all pensioners in receipt of pension credit. We're working hard to ensure all pensioners who may be eligible will get that support. We've been raising awareness, telephone lines, we've been writing to residents, we're conscious that people don't all go through technology, we've held roadshows to help, and we actually help them complete the forms. This Labour administration has also pledged to provide 6,000 pensioners with our support vouchers throughout the winter to help the most vulnerable residents. We are on their side, they know that actions speak louder than words, and I'm hoping the opposition will support our next budget, a budget which will continue to protect, care and invest, providing support for our residents in so many ways. I do welcome the increase in the state pension by up to £170 a year, and the extension of the Household Support Fund. I encourage the government to assess the support which can be provided to those just above pension credit, but I therefore support the motion. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Overton, do you have any brief comments? Thank you, Mr Speaker. This council is doing all it can to support our older residents. We now know that the Conservatives hid the true state of the country's finances, as independently stated by the Office of Budget Responsibility, which they keep quoting. With a £22 billion black hole, and despite knowing this, campaigned at the election offering uncosted pledges, that was an utter disgrace. And who knows, maybe we would be in a better place if they hadn't squandered billions on dodgy PPE contracts to their friends. So it's their crocodile tears that they quail foul when the new Labour government tries to fix the foundations of the mess they left behind. And they're doing what they need to do to balance the books. But tough decisions have been needed to fix the mess, and that is why this Labour administration here will always be on the side of our residents as we have been since 2011. Since the announcement on winter fuel, we have been proactively contacting pensioners who we believe are eligible to sign them up to pension credit, plus signposting them to other areas of support, like improvements to their home to make them warmer. We are maintaining our leisure and travel discounts, and more importantly, giving 6,000 pensioners a £100 shopping voucher. It shows our commitment to protect, care, and invest. We are a cooperative council that cares, and we know, despite the difficult decisions being taken to balance the country's finances, we have a government that cares too. The increase in the pension next year by up to £420 will do a lot to help our pensioners. The extension of the household support fund is another positive step. But as this motion shows, we'll always be the voice of our residents. So we'll encourage our government to make sure that pensioners who may just be above the pension credit threshold feel they are supported too. I second the motion. Thank you. Councillor Middleton, but before that, just remind Councillor Bentley, the debate is finished. We are now into the responses. It is... It has to take part in the debate. It is... It is finished. Thank you. Councillor Middleton. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Just on a couple of points. Councillor Tomlinson, letters are being sent from both ourselves and DWP, so people will be contacted in writing as well, so they'll have that letter through the post. But I would also urge family members, friends and neighbours, anybody, to sort of support pensioners who maybe struggle with technology, supporting them to do the independent checker. So there is... I think it's a sort of community effort here to make sure everybody gets to apply. Also, Councillor Dougmore, I'm really quite... Well, I'm not shocked, but I should be. That you think £100 is a few quid. It actually just shows how out of touch you are, and I'm not surprised as a result of that that the Conservatives have done so much damage to the budget. If you think £100 is a few quid, and I'm sure our residents will be quite surprised about that. And as well as giving £100, we've paid for welcoming spaces, we've gave more money to food banks, Age UK, support pensioners, warm home scheme. So it's a package of support, it's not £100, which incidentally, I think, and I'm sure my colleagues would agree, is a lot of money, and it will make a huge difference to pensioners. It's just quite unfortunate you don't support that. Somebody with four bathrooms who doesn't think four bathrooms is a lot, so I'm not surprised. But anyway, thank you. All right, thank you. Can I have a show of hands in favour of the motion, please? Thank you. Any against? Thank you. Any abstentions? Okay, the motion is carried. Thank you. All right, if I can ask Councillor Tyrell to move her motion, please. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Following the government's 2024 budget... Sorry. Can you get back? I'll start again. Following the government's 2024 budget on 30th October and the 25 billion increase in the billion increase in the employer national insurance contributions to 15%, a reduction in the secondary threshold from £9,100 to £5,000 due to be implemented by April 25. This council confirms its commitment to support employers in Telford and Reakin. Telford and Reakin council continues to recognise that this borough is home to a high proportion of SMEs and start-ups and that this council will support employers to ensure they continue to create quality employment opportunities within the borough. This council recognises that by creating a healthy economic environment for employers, this in turn supports households with quality employment and remuneration and ultimately increasing household economy creating a thriving local economy. This supports the council's policy of everyone benefits from a thriving economy. Combined with the increase in the national living wage and the other measures associated with the make work pay agenda, businesses are being asked to shoulder the brunt of the tax burden. I move this motion. Thank you. Councillor Doug Moore, do you wish to second? I don't mind to speak. Do you second it? Yes. Thank you. Okay. Any comments, questions? All right. Councillor Vickers. Thank you, Mr Speaker. This Labour administration has a proud record to stand on when it comes to supporting businesses across Telford and Recon. Given that our Pride and our High Street programme has supported 367 businesses to date, including 65 start-up businesses on our High Streets. Whilst we will be supporting this motion tonight, I find it deeply hypocritical that the Conservative group now want to talk about businesses. The same Conservative group that voted against our Pride and our High Street programme at every opportunity they have had, which, if they had their own way, would have seen hundreds of small businesses miss out on vital support. The same Conservative group that stood by their disgraced former Prime Minister who is reported to have said F business during the pandemic. The same Conservative group who would like to see us dragged into Shropshire Council and the bankruptcy that would come with it. This Labour administration has a proud record of being on the side of both residents and businesses in our borough. We all understand the government have to make difficult decisions as a result of the previous Conservative government leaving a 20th £22 billion black hole in the public finances. And as the Conservative group leader is keen on quoting Outside Bodies tonight, Paul Johnson from the IFS said, and I quote, the £22 billion black hole was obvious to anybody who dared to look. Well, clearly they didn't. They can't wash their hands of any responsibility and pretend it has nothing to do with them. It is their mess and this new Labour government is cleaning it up. Mr Speaker, rather than playing politics each and every time they come to this chamber, I urge them to work constructively with this administration to deliver on the priorities that residents and businesses have across Telford and Reakin. Thank you. Councillor Thomas. Thanks, Mr Speaker. There's two things here that really do worry me and the first is for residents in Telford and Reakin who are unemployed at the moment and I really do worry that jobs may go off the market and what else can we do as a council to support them? I think that for me is the number one thing which has come out of this is how can we help and support residents looking for employment, get back into work when we could see a loss of jobs which I think we probably will. My second concern is around what indirect impact is it going to have on revenues for the council to support with services and if companies do look tight on their belts to deal with extra cost could we see shops vacant could we see thatchure units not taken up or companies not want to expand whilst they reserve their costs which could directly have impact on revenue on services. For me it's how do we monitor that and how can we support when that happens? Biggest thing for me is supporting people in jobs, keeping them in employment and I know we do a great job as a council to do that but what else can we do going forward because I think that's going to be a real real issue for me in the borough. Thank you. Councillor Nelson. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm very briefly I'm very encouraged to hear from Councillor Vickers that the Labour Group are going to support this motion which is presented in the spirit of collaboration by my colleague Rachel Terrell. I'm not sure what the evidence Councillor Vickers has that we or I stood by the ex-NP who he refers to and used that very unfortunate and inappropriate and in fact wrong statement regarding business and we aren't and I'm not really in a position to share with the Labour government the feedback that the Conservative government had from me personally but I've still got the texts on my phone I can't share them I'm afraid because of the non-family nature of the frustration that I and we have felt over the years and I don't think that at the moment anyone in the Conservative Party is necessarily saying that every instant of the 14 years we did a good job because we plainly didn't and you quoted Quasi Quarteng this evening in respect of that particular budget and then lastly well we're probably not going to use Paul Johnson as a fully objective observer in respect of budgets thank you thank you Councillor Overton please thank you Mr Speaker we welcome this motion because this Labour administration has always worked hard to put businesses first and to be seen to be on the side of business and to support them as a business winning business supporting council we have done our utmost to support businesses through Brexit Covid and even the damaging Liz Trust budget which damaged our economy and increased costs for all this council will support employers to ensure they continue to create quality employment opportunities within the borough during the last nine years the Telford Land Deal a partnership with Holmes England and the March's Local Enterprise Partnership has delivered the sale of 34 commercial sites such as Ortonwood West and created almost 3,000 jobs in total in 23-24 it delivered 381,000 square foot of floor space which is expected to create 240 new jobs the council's Thrive Telford program is also committed to supporting employers and creating new employment opportunities the fund is supporting businesses people and skills and helping to boost productivity pay and jobs as my as council Vickers said the council's primary high street program also supports our independent local businesses and regeneration and revitalization of our high streets creating new employment opportunities the program has created 388 new jobs 367 business grants have been awarded 65 new business have opened in what previously empty units we have been supporting businesses big and small and we recognise that we're creating a healthy economic environment for employers this in turn supports households I'll be supporting this motion because I know we will continue to support businesses as we have a past and current record of doing that and maybe it would have been good if the Conservatives opposite had cared so much for business when Liz Trust wrecked the economy and did so much damage to business and the UK as a whole and if they want to ask silly questions about what we can do to support businesses they can support our budget next year when the measures in it which have created all these opportunities we spoke about tonight so don't ask silly questions don't abstain just vote for our budget Councillor Doug Moore do you have the right to comment yeah thank you Mr Speaker I welcome the support that the council gives to businesses both large and small in the borough but the thing is is that we were told that things are going to get difficult because the 30th of October budget we were told was a budget for growth the only budget the only growth that this budget is going to deliver is unemployment empty shops and factories if we're not careful and also reduce the spending power of those of all residents including those that are fortunate to still have jobs here in Telford and Reakin we've benefited from the last 14 years of a conservative government we have been blessed with a steady stream of new and growing small businesses we've been breaking ground for entrepreneurs with the substantial government grants that we've received and that this council has spent well Mr Speaker these good times look to be over already after the first three months of a Labour government today's unemployment figures have increased have meant that unemployment has increased and the rate at which earnings are rising has slowed down on top of this small businesses are preparing for increased employment costs announced in the budget this will reduce the growth of such businesses and stifle the entrepreneur spirit we see here in Telford and Reakin the effects of this budget will be felt just as keenly in the larger businesses speaking of which the large supermarket chains are already costing the effects as millions of pounds which ultimately will be passed on to residents the national insurance hike will also have added cost to local schools and healthcare providers and these haven't been budgeted for and it may be very nice for the council to get bailouts from the government to mitigate the costs but is that going to be extended to all the healthcare providers to try and reduce the overspend in social care and also to the schools who have got no idea as to what help and how much these costs this increasing cost is going to be it's not a budget for growth it's a budget of decline and here in Telford and Reakin we will feel the absence we will feel the effects of this for years to come if we're not careful the leader tonight said he wants Telford and Reakin to be a great place to live work and do business in and hopefully he and his administration will support us in mitigating the negative budget measures thank you Councillor Turrell do you want to use your right of reply no thank you okay can I have a show of hands in favour of the motion please all right any against any abstentions that's unanimous thank you right Councillor Tim Nelson you have a motion yeah Mr Mr Speaker there is an amendment that's been put in I believe there's an amendment put into my motion yes it has to be formally moved first and seconded and then we can go on to the amendment I move the motion you move it seconded I have Councillor Turrell listed as seconding yes right the amendment is available in front of you Councillor Overton will propose the amendment sorry you accept the amendment right yeah we need to do it formally so could you move and second the amendment please thank you Mr Speaker we move this amendment to recognise the hard work that this Labour Council has done to promote good bus usage with the subsidised bus services that has helped people get to work schools and hospital this Labour Council is keeping the £2 bus fare on these council services to encourage bus travel that is because we are on the side of our residents the council services have been a major success and we will continue to support bus travel it also helps us reduce our carbon footprint which my council next to me was very happy about with over 350,000 completed passenger trips it would have been nice to see some praise of our services by this motion but it shows that they don't like praising this Labour Council on keeping our ticket prices at £2 but no another Tory motion that just wants to be negative to this end following these successes we have already fed into the new Labour government's bus consultation as we are keen to see improved public transport in our town and we know with the right resources and powers we can do just that we of course would like to see all bus services at the same ticket price but sadly the Conservatives broke the economy they had the true state of our finances from the OBR and now it is up to the Labour government to fix the economy and fill the £22 billion black hole left by poor economic management and I'm sure the Labour government would love to do more but their hands have been tied because it was a Conservative government which ultimately damaged the economy and created a cost of living crisis whilst in power and it is now up to Labour to fix it and move the amendment thank you is that seconded formally there we go we're on thank you Mr Speaker I'm proud to be part of a Labour administration that has led the way on accessible transport and improved bus provision across Telfton Reakin since December 2022 our council bus routes have completed over 350 000 passenger trips and we continue to see patronage rise month on month we have capped our fares at £2 per adult and £1 per child which has provided hundreds of residents with access to affordable transport across our borough whether that to be get to work college school to hospital appointments or even to visit friends and family it is great to hear tonight that the Conservative group are now in favour of our £2 cap and now endorse the work this Labour council has been doing to improve connectivity for everybody across Telfton Rican I'm sure residents will find it rather surprising given the Conservative group on this council voted against the £2 fair cap at every single opportunity they have had rather than playing politics they should work constructively with this administration as the new Conservative leader promised when he came to his place and deliver on the priorities of people across this borough Mr Speaker I do not underestimate the financial challenges this new government faces given the previous Conservative government left a £22 billion black hole in the public finances and left the Treasury in complete ruin but I would encourage the new Labour government to freeze the new fair cap for the duration of this parliament to ensure affordable public transport is available for all those who need it but also to assist residents in being able to make greener travel choices to assist in our efforts to tackle the climate emergency we have already heard the positive impact our policies are having on residents lives this evening with one resident benefiting from our fair cap to the extent he was able to save enough money to put a deposit down on his first home with countless more residents being able to save hundreds of pounds every single month that's the difference a Labour council makes in Telfton Rican and while the Conservatives are busy just across the border in Shropshire dragging their council into bankruptcy we're getting on with delivering the meaningful change our residents want to see and I'd urge all of my colleagues to support the amendment to the motion tonight councillor Nelson we bring you in after the debate yes okay are there any comments observations councillor Davis thank you again mr speaker it was a comment really that I wanted to make I live in rockwood iron village which I think qualifies me as being rural considering the number of fields that are around me I have benefited personally as have residents in that village with the addition of the bus services and bus routes that were put in by this labour administration I further welcome the capping of the fares and I would only ask that we look to see if there's a way to introduce additional services perhaps additional times because it has been an absolute lifesaver for residents in my area thank you councillor to the seconder do you wish to speak thank you councillor nelson thank you mr speaker well this group promised collaborative constructive opposition and I can't tell you how much I enjoy having my words fed down my throat by councillor vicars I envy being more like the dinosaur end of things that Bill described and I can't tell how much I'm looking forward to having my words fed down my throat by councillor vicars part of that collaboration and I've said this expressly in this chamber is that where we see improvements to policy or viable alternatives we will propose them my motion called for attention of two pound fair cap was just such constructive and positive suggestion and I'm delighted that the council announced after my motion was submitted that it was taking up on the two pound cap for its own six services according to it's entire common sense for the council to engage with the government regarding the opportunities that may arise from the bus bill such as enhanced provision or franchising and my motion was proposing just this we are equally pleased and encouraged that the council takes up our proposal to write to the PM and Secretary of State the wording of the consider alternative proposals of course could also include retaining the two pound cap that the request to freeze the cap albeit at three pounds goes beyond the government's time limited cap and what we can give to this council's proposal regarding freezing long term we will indeed I would be happy to add my signature to any such letter the leader was looking to propose as appropriate we note once again that the council uses its muscle to mangle opposition motion rather engaging in debate we would ask the council to heed the words of their leader that he wishes to usher in a new and less confrontational style which I've seen not much of from the far end of this chamber this evening I look forward to opportunities where we can involve a motion together for the good of all residents we shall vote in favour of this motion recognising it for excellent evidence that the council has listened to concerns expressed in a conservative motion well knock me over with a feather thank you okay thank you we now move to a vote regarding the amendment all those in no you can come in afterwards okay I'm advised that the constitution is clear a secondary of the motion you cannot speak at this moment we will move to the vote all those in favour please show any against abstentions right that is unanimous thank you right are there any now we have the substantive motion are there any comments questions yes yeah councillor vickers you're throwing me a bit you have your right of reply all right are you doing this now okay all right then speak thank you mr speaker and I welcome that the councillors voted for this motion tonight and I just feel that councillor nelson needs correcting it was not a suggestion from their group a late night tip off and a last minute petition doesn't count as a suggestion it's the policy of this labour administration and that's what we will continue to do and deliver for our residents okay councillor Bentley okay councillor overton do you wish to exercise your right of reply no on board mr speaker no we can go straight to vote okay all those in favour of the substantial thank you any against any abstentions that is unanimous thank you that's carried oh i'd like to thank you all for attending the next meeting of the council will be on the 23rd of january 2025 all right enjoy the festive season and have a happy and healthy new year thank you please stand for the departure of the mayor and speaker oh you