‘What a mess’ – Telford & Wrekin Council leader lays into Shropshire Council over finances

Councillor Shaun Davies said the strong position of his Labour-led council was in stark contrast to that of the Conservative-controlled authority next door, which is facing an annual funding shortfall of over £50 million and plans to hike council tax by 3.99 per cent in April.

He made the comments at a meeting of the council’s cabinet called to discuss the 2021/22 end-of-year projections and agree its next budget, including a proposed council tax freeze for the next two years.

The council is currently heading for an overspend of around £1.06m in the current financial year, which Councillor Rae Evans, portfolio holder for finance, said was down to ongoing service pressures of £5.24m and an anticipated £1m shortfall in business rates, with most of the difference to be made up by taking £5.18m from the council’s contingency fund.

Council leader Shaun Davies welcomed the report, saying: “What a stark contrast with just over the border at Shropshire Council, who are in an absolute mess simply because they have not planned for the future.

“They have not taken difficult decisions, they have got a structural deficit of tens of millions of pounds and that’s a direct contrast that’s available for residents in Telford and Wrekin.

“A Labour-controlled council with the lowest council tax in the Midlands, financially sound, delivering high-quality, outstanding and exceptional services, and Shropshire Council, controlled by Conservatives at the bottom end of the M54 – roads crumbling, structural deficit, highest council tax in the county, and raising it even higher by almost four per cent.

“What a mess they are in.”

Further comparison was drawn between the two authorities later in the meeting, when members approved the draft 22/23 budget and proposed zero per cent council tax increase for public consultation.

Councillor Paul Watling said: “It’s typical isn’t it? We are here looking at a nought per cent rise on our council tax, when we just have to look across the border and it’s a four per cent rise over there.

“What does that tell you about our position and what we’ve done? I think it says a lot.”

Councillor Davies added: “The contrast between a Labour-controlled council and a Conservative-controlled council in this county could not be clearer.”

Councillor Davies also attacked the Government for its continued cuts to council budgets.

He said: “This is not about Labour and Conservative in many ways, it’s about local and national. Locally we are on your side, against a Tory Government that is not.

“A Tory Government that is imposing more tax rises than ever before but giving less back to our residents.”

Conservative group leader Nigel Dugmore pointed out that the authority would be in “a far worse position” had the Government not provided £15m in Covid grant support.

But Councillor Davies hit back, saying: “You keep going on about this Covid Government grant. It’s not Government money, it’s our money, taxpayers’ money that we are getting back.

“£130m of Government grants have been cut from this council and you are praising and celebrating a £15m grant from the Government.

“The grants that were made available for local government were compensation – compensation for income that we lost and compensation for the higher costs of PPE, testing, diverting staff to help the national effort.

“So I can’t quite understand how anyone is celebrating a compensation grant as if it’s some type of new money.

“It was a compensation grant to replace money that we had to spend, and actually it wasn’t even enough to replace the money that we lost as a result of the pandemic.

“In fact, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, the Local Government Secretary at the time, and all the Conservative MPs in the county at the time said that they would do all that they could and money would not be an issue.

“And what do we find? The same old story of being short-changed by this Government.”