Leader defends Shropshire Council over talks criticism

The leader of Shropshire Council said today he was ‘disappointed’ that councillors felt they were being kept out of the loop on key decisions.

Keith Barrow said councillors continued to be a vital part of the authority’s decision making process.

His comments came after the leader of Shropshire’s Liberal Democrat group, Nigel Hartin, criticised the authority for leaving its members ‘in the dark’ over plans to share key services with Worcestershire and Staffordshire county councils.

The partnership will provide services including fostering, adoption and residential care, education services to schools, IT, contract management and economic growth. The scheme was announced at the Local Government Association Conference held in Birmingham on Wednesday.

Councillor Hartin claimed councillors had not be given a chance to discuss the proposal. But council leader Keith Barrow defended the announcement, claiming it had been discussed several times.

“Shropshire Council has been working with Staffordshire and Worcestershire County Councils for over a year now to find ways we can work together and deliver real value for money for all our residents.

“This has been discussed at numerous forums during this time and the launch event earlier this week is the culmination of this,” he said.

“Local councillors are, and will continue to be vital to this process and I am greatly disappointed that Councillor Hartin doubts whether this is the case.”

Councillor Hartin had claimed the manner in which the announcement was made raised questions about ‘whether the administration is serious in its push to make councillors community leaders’.

He said: “I would suggest this is much more difficult to do if councillors are kept in the dark.”