Shropshire Star

Shropshire Council budget of £563m approved although opponents call it a shambles

Shropshire Council has set its budget for the next financial year after an amendment was rejected.

Published

Members of the council approved the proposed budget of £563.35 million for 2017/18 – which will also see millions of pounds of reserves and one-off funding used to keep services running.

The budget will see £40m used to plug gaps in the authority's budget over the next two years.

The proposal was approved after a Liberal Democrat amendment covering street lights, schools and sites of community concern was rejected.

Council leader Malcolm Pate said: "We have not sat still. We have realised Shropshire needs to move forward. We are also not being gentle on our own Government over the grossly-unfair funding formula. I don't think there can be much debate that when the Conservative Government won they inherited a dreadful financial position from Labour.

"It is going to take a decade to repair the financial damage done by Labour."

Despite being approved by 42 votes to 14, some opposition councillors were concerned bythe plans.

Liberal Democrat leader Roger Evans said: "I have a sense of déjà vu.

"What a mess, what a shambles. Some things never change. Year on year, the same old story, the never ending story.

"Here is a budget with no real planning, no new initiatives and no long term ideas. It contains no plans on how to tackle the challenges facing this council.

"There is a reference about launching seven more so-called key strategic documents. That is all this cabinet seems to do. No actions, just issue strategy after strategy after strategy."

Labour leader Alan Mosley said: "It has been described as a fantasy budget – unfortunately it is all too real.

"The consequences will lead to people suffering for years to come.

It could have been worse. We could have been talking about implementing red savings but we are not because they have been 'put off'. I simply can't accept this is a budget that can be approved."

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