'It works in Telford!' Shropshire Council to trial evening meetings to help working councillors and 'broaden talent pool'
Shropshire Council will trial evening meetings to help its working councillors.
The motion, which will move some of the authority's meetings' start times to 6pm, was passed at a meeting of the full council today (Thursday, December 11).
Under the plan some scrutiny committees and other meetings will move to the later start times.
Currently the council's meetings take place between 9am and 5pm.
The proposal, which was put forward by a cross-party group of councillors, will be reviewed after 12 months.
Conservative group leader Dan Thomas, who represents Much Wenlock, introduced the motion, saying the current arrangements act as a block for some councillors who work.
He said: "The premise of this motion is simple, yet fundamental: every elected member must be able to fully participate in the democratic process.
"Right now, the scheduling of all our scrutiny and committee meetings, exclusively during standard working hours, is a barrier to many councillors who work full-time, who are forced to rely on employers who are generous enough to release them regularly, as mine does.
"I don’t see this as fair or sustainable for a council that wishes to be truly representative of the people it serves.
"This motion offers a sensible and measured solution, seeking to move a selection of our scrutiny and committee meetings to a 6pm start time.
"This change is essential to ensuring our council remains representative and responsive. It allows working-age members, whose perspective we desperately need in decision-making, to contribute fully.
"It is not, of course, just elected members: many times I have seen questions read out by officers for members of the public who wished to address a committee, but haven’t been able to.
"I appreciate that many members serve multiple parish councils and, like me, have young children, and childcare can be an issue in both the day and evening.
"Crucially, we are not proposing a blanket change. We are proposing a measured, collaborative trial."
'Modernise our council'
He added: "This motion is an investment in the quality and inclusivity of our democratic process. It is a necessary step to modernise our council, broaden our talent pool, and ensure that Shropshire Council truly reflects the people we serve."
Councillor Thomas Clayton (Reform UK, Shifnal North) urged members to back the proposal.
He said: "A couple of weeks ago I was able to attend the Local Government Association young councillor event and the energy in that room was absolutely fantastic, but there was a common theme throughout that event: life balance.
"When you are young you are saving up for a deposit, for a car - basically your entire life ahead of you.
"Having these committee meetings in the middle of the day, having to go to your employer and ask once again can you have an entire day off because the committee meeting is slap bang in the middle of the day is the number one issue preventing young people getting involved in local government and politics.
"Please, please can we actually address this issue and actually get people from all backgrounds, especially backgrounds working hard nine to five on a daily basis to make ends meet, to come and take part in local government?"
The council's Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Councillor Alex Wagner, said the system works elsewhere including in Telford, and should be tried.
He said: "I think it is good to have cross-party support for this and give it a go essentially. I think last term when it was proposed it was rejected out of hand. Our view is let's see how it works. It works up and down the country, it works in Telford 20 minutes away from here so it is clearly possible."
