Shropshire Council still faces major financial risks despite progress, auditors warn

Shropshire Council is still facing significant financial risks, auditors have warned, despite signs of improvement in how its finances are being monitored.

An extraordinary meeting of the full council was held on Thursday, November 5, when members considered Grant Thornton’s interim auditor’s annual report.

The report largely focused on the 2025/26 financial year, when the budget had been set by the previous Conservative administration.

Grant Thornton said the council faced significant financial sustainability and delivery risks during that period, blaming a poorly constructed budget, a failure to deliver planned savings and weak financial management arrangements.

Avtar Sohal, from Grant Thornton, said the picture was now improving.

"The financial monitoring and data we're getting is more robust than it has been previously," he said.

"We are seeing some capacity strengthening within the team, so we are seeing those green shoots to recovery."

But the report also says the council remains exposed to significant financial risks and has a substantial medium-term funding gap.

Conservative group leader Councillor Dan Thomas said his party accepted its share of responsibility, but not the way the situation had since been described politically.

"We must not confuse activity with achievement," said Councillor Thomas.

"The independent report identifies nine significant weaknesses, leading to two statutory recommendations and seven key recommendations.

"But, crucially, it also says that the council remains at an early stage of its improvement journey and that financial sustainability will take time to achieve.

"That is not a completed recovery. It is barely the beginning of one. And the financial position remains extremely serious.

"We must own our part in that history. But we should also be honest about the whole of that history because the last Conservative administration did not simply sit back and allow these pressures to build.

"Between 2021 and 2025, we delivered record levels of savings. In our final year, working alongside our officers, we delivered proportionately more savings than any other council in the West Midlands.

"We took difficult decisions, knowing they weren’t popular, but knowing they were the right thing to do. We did that because leadership is not about telling people what they want to hear. It is about dealing with the world as it is, making choices and taking responsibility for them.

"But let us not rewrite 16 years of public service as 16 years of failure. The Conservatives must answer for the decisions we took. We do.

"But after 18 months in control, the Liberal Democrats must answer for theirs. They cannot claim that every sign of progress belongs to them, while insisting that every continuing failure still belongs to us.

"We support the recommendations because the council must recover, and the consequences of failure would be felt by residents across Shropshire.

"But support does not mean silence; we have played our part in the collaborative budget process, the same one the leaders of the current administration walked away from in opposition.

"The Conservatives will accept responsibility for the decisions taken while we were in office and expect the new administration to do the same."

Council leader Councillor Heather Kidd said the current administration was not complacent and that reducing reliance on exceptional Government support was one of its biggest challenges.

“Our aim is to achieve a balanced and resilient financial position that protects essential services, delivers value for money and enables us to move out of the Best Value Notice as soon as possible," she said.

Chief executive Tanya Miles said there was still a large amount of work ahead.

"I don't want us to be defensive about these findings, but I do think it is important to recognise the journey we have been on," she said.

"The report largely looks back at 25/26 which was an incredibly difficult year for the council, financially and organisationally."

"They [Grant Thornton] recognise the change in leadership, stronger corporate oversight, improving financial grip, and the early signs of recovery. But that doesn't take away the seriousness of this report.

"It is my job to lead this improvement, to make sure we maintain the pace and to hold people to account where we're not delivering what we have committed to do. I also want us to continue to welcome external challenge."