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Heading in a new direction Carding Mill Valley in Shropshire has seen plenty of change... and now the county is about to see much more (Pic: Loopy, Morguefile) ‘We are moving Shropshire local government into the 21st century.' Those were the words spoken by Shropshire CC leader, Malcolm Pate, when he started the historic first meeting of the implementation executive, which will be shaping the new unitary authority. The executive, containing both county and district councillors, met barely a week after Parliament had laid the final orders down to create the new authority, which will start on 1 April 2009. It is being chaired by Cllr Pate, and its vice chairman is South Shropshire DC leader, Cecilia Motley. No-one underestimates the amount of work which lies ahead in preparing for the new authority, but Cllr Pate says: ‘We are all here to do one thing, to deliver services to the people of Shropshire.' As councillors began to discuss the draft blueprint for the new council, several issues came up, from the timing of future meetings to the role of the opposition leader on the new council. Councillors also agree to call the new authority ‘Shropshire Council', and it has been decided to give schools and colleges the opportunity to help design the new logo. County council chief executive, Carolyn Downs, also tells councillors that officers are looking into the issue of housing as two district councils still own their own stock, while the other three have transferred them to housing associations. Members also agreed to introduce six new local committee pilots, known as action local meetings, to devolve decision-making further. Five local committee pilots have been running in Shropshire since last spring, and provide residents with an opportunity to question local decision-makers. Each committee will also be given a budget for enhancing local services, and more will be introduced around the county as the unitary authority develops. One of the ongoing issues is the transfer of staff to the new authority, and Cllr Pate says the authority is still waiting for information from CLG. He has written to local government minister, John Healey, to clarify the situation. Speaking later, he says he is concerned because the council could lose staff who are uncertain about their future. ‘Because the CLG has been dragging its feet, it makes it hard to keep assuring staff while this fog is going on,' adds Cllr Motley. Cllr Pate says a shadow board has been meeting informally for four months, drawing up draft proposals. ‘There was a lot of opposition in Shropshire, but people are coming together now,' he says. Ms Downs says there is a ‘completely constructive collegiate atmosphere among members' of the new executive. The county chief executive says staffing structures will be looked at during the next meeting. ‘We have got to be in a position to appoint people in their new jobs by the end of this calender year,' she adds. There are still differences of opinion between the main political groups on Shropshire CC on certain matters. ‘There's an enormous amount of preparatory work,' admits Shropshire CC's Liberal Democrat group leader, Peter Phillips, who adds: ‘Everybody now accepts unitary is happening. ‘I have reservations about the way the implementation executive and its work has been conducted,' he says. ‘It has been, at times, rather hasty. I hope the implementation executive will be more open in its debates.' And Alan Mosley, Shropshire CC's Labour group leader, says: ‘At the start, there was a diversity of views. The main achievement is that the meeting has now happened. ‘The run-up to the formation of the implementation executive was not easy,' adds Cllr Mosley. ‘But I'm personally satisfied that we will be able to deliver the efficiencies and savings we predicted.'

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WHITEHALL

Shropshire shapes up for unitary status

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