Councillor Lee Carter was elected as the new Leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, and immediately confirmed the council's acceptance of the recommendations contained in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Telford and Wrekin. The council also approved the financial outturn for the 2023/24 financial year, and set out its capital programme for the 2024/25 financial year.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Inquiry

The Council accepted all the recommendations contained within the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in Telford and Wrekin. The council was praised in the report for its brave and revolutionary decision to work closely with survivors of CSE, with the author, Tom Crowther KC, describing the council's approach as an admirable model from which others can learn.

Mr Crowther also praised the council for commissioning the inquiry in the first place, noting that the decision to do so had not been straightforward:

If we all remember back to the process by which the inquiry was requested, and the to and fro at that time, not all of it was straightforward. Some of it was quite uncomfortable. Some of it was quite combative and confrontational. It wasn't automatically welcomed by the council.

• Councillor Tim Nelson

Councillor Lee Carter, speaking for the first time as Leader, said that the publication of the report did not represent the end of the council's work on the issue of CSE, and that he was confident we are in that place now where every member of the council could:

go to bed each night knowing that our consciences are clear and we have done as much as we possibly can

• Councillor Lee Carter

Election of Leader of the Council

Councillor Lee Carter was elected as the Leader of the Council following the election of the previous Leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, as the MP for Telford in the general election on 4 July 2024. In a speech after his election, Councillor Carter paid tribute to his predecessor and outlined his vision for the future of the borough. He promised to lead with honest determination, with commitment and hard work and to always put residents first.

Financial Reports

The Council approved the 2023/24 Financial Outturn Report and the 2024/25 Financial Monitoring Report. The outturn report showed that the council had ended the 2023/24 financial year within budget, despite significant pressures on services such as Adult Social Care and Children’s Safeguarding. This was attributed to the council's strong financial management, including the identification of savings and additional income earlier in the year.

The monitoring report set out the council's capital programme for the 2024/25 financial year. The programme includes a number of projects designed to improve the borough's infrastructure, economy, and environment. A number of schemes were re-profiled in the capital programme, including grant funded programmes where the delivery period had been extended, and new funding was allocated for schemes in Neighbourhood & Enforcement Services and Education & Skills.

Mayor's Announcements

The Mayor, Councillor Ian Preece, provided an update on the engagements he had undertaken since the last council meeting in May 2024. He congratulated Shaun Davies and Mark Pritchard on their election as MPs for Telford and The Wrekin constituencies and thanked people who had invited him to attend events both within and outside the borough.

The Mayor also highlighted two charity bike rides he would be taking part in. He will be cycling from AFC Telford United to Wembley Stadium and back in aid of Prostate Cancer UK and from West Ham’s London Stadium to the Severn Hospice in aid of the Severn Hospice.

Questions from Councillors

Councillors asked a number of questions on a range of topics, including:

• The water quality of Newport Canal
• The council's response to concerns about the Potter's Group Landfill site
• The council's commitment to free green waste collections
• Whether the consultation period for the Community Governance Review could be extended

Councillor Lee Carter provided an absolute guarantee that the council would continue with free green waste collections. Councillor Overton confirmed that he would be asking the Boundary Review Committee to consider extending the deadline for responses to the Community Governance Review to 4 September 2024. Councillor Healy confirmed that the council was working with the Environment Agency and Severn Trent Water to address environmental concerns on the Newport Canal, and that an application for Green Flag status for Victoria Park and the canal would be submitted.