Shropshire Council’s Cabinet is to consider a number of proposed changes to the council’s Council Tax Support Scheme at its meeting next week (Wednesday 18 October 2017).

Introduced in 2013, the scheme is controlled locally to help people on low incomes cut the cost of the amount they pay in council tax.

Shropshire Council is one of only a few councils across the country which still provides 100 per cent protection through this scheme. After careful consideration, and in light of the financial challenges the council is facing, the report proposes to ask more people to contribute towards the cost of delivering local services.

The report sets out four options, these include:

1. Option one – do nothing and retain the existing Council Tax Support Scheme. For the 2017-18 financial year the council provides more than £7 million council tax support to working age claimants. This option would provide no saving.
2. Option two – make changes to the existing scheme to align with housing benefit and apply a minimum award of £1.50 a week. This option would save the council £206,000.
3. Option three – make changes to the existing scheme to align with housing benefit and introduce a minimum award of £1.50 per week and apply 10 per cent minimum payment in council tax support. This option would save the council £694,000.
4. Option four – make changes to the existing scheme to align with housing benefit and introduce a minimum award of £1.50 per week and apply a 20 per cent minimum payment in council tax support. This option would save the council £1,190,000.

The report also proposes that the following people would be exempt from the proposed 20 per cent minimum payment as outlined in option four:

• Claimants in receipt of the severe disability premium.
• Claimants in receipt of the support component of Employment and Support Allowance. The support component of Employment and Support Allowance is for people with a ‘limited capacity for work’.
• Claimants in receipt of war pension exemption.

Councillors are being asked to agree upon option four as the preferred option, with the associated exemptions.

If agreed, the preferred option will be subject to a public consultation and be brought to full Council on 14 December 2017 for final approval, before potentially coming into effect from April 2018.

David Minnery, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for finance, said:

“Whilst we will ensure that the most vulnerable are protected, asking more people to contribute towards the cost of delivering local services is not an easy one to propose.

“We continue to face unprecedented cuts in central government funding, and ever-increasing pressure to maximise our own resources to pay for the delivery of essential services.

“These proposals have been carefully considered to ensure that we can continue to provide the things that matter to local people.

“It’s vital that we get things right, so the preferred option will also be considered by the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee as part the consultation.”

To read the report and appendices click here.

Small Woods are providing people with the opportunity to learn skills in traditional green wood craft (no previous experience required).  

Jane Kirby said in a recent email to us  “We are able to offer this opportunity to over 50’s and unpaid carers aged 19 – 25 who are not in work or who are not available to work in the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin areas. The programme is designed to help increase self-confidence and self-esteem, reduce social isolation and enable people to learn new skills in a supportive and relaxed environment. 

Over the course of 6 weeks people learn basic green wood craft skills; at the end of the 6 weeks people have the opportunity to sign up for a further 6 weeks to work as team with other participants to build a community bench.  The bench is donated to a local organisation of the group’s choice. The weekly workshops are held at the beautiful Green Wood Centre situated within the Ironbridge World Heritage Site”. 

The aim of the project is to address barriers to participation in activities which can improve a person’s well-being, particularly their economic wellbeing, and help them to move towards and eventually into volunteering, training /  education or employment.

Places are currently available on the Monday session 10 am – 3 pm.  Please contact us to book your place by calling 01952 432 769

A reconfiguration has allowed Shropshire Council’s Mental Health social work team to develop a new approach to the way they deliver services.

They have moved to:

The Lantern,
Meadow Farm Drive,
Shrewsbury
SY1 4NG

From their new base they will  continue to  deliver a range of interventions to the people of Shropshire. From preventative work, through short-term support to the provision of statutory functions under the Mental Health Act (2007) and Care Act (2013) they will continue to ensure that the individual is at the centre of what they do.

They will work closely in partnership with South Staffordshire and Shropshire Foundation Trust’s Community Mental Health Team and this will not change. In fact, in Shrewsbury the team are now just over the road and they will continue to co-locate as necessary in the rural areas.

To find out more about the service people can email mentalhealthsocialwork@shropshire.gov.uk or call them on their new number 01743 255895.

24 January 2017

Discounted parking is available for some patients using Shropshire’s acute hospitals – and parking is free of charge for up to 30 minutes.

The free 30 minutes gives people picking up and dropping off patients or visitors to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) or Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford an option to do so without incurring a charge if they are onsite for less than half an hour.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs RSH and PRH, is providing the update about parking at the two hospitals as some people are not aware of the free 30 minutes or the discounts available.

Julia Clarke, Director of Corporate Governance at SaTH, said: “Parking charges at SaTH are still among the lowest in the country, with people able to park for up to 30 minutes without charge, and paying only £3.50 for five hours or more. The 30 minutes without charge is useful for people who could drop off and pick up patients without incurring any parking charges.

“Patients receiving dialysis, radiotherapy or chemotherapy and people visiting hospital for issues connected with bereavement are able to park for free. Anyone needing to attend hospital regularly can buy a discounted 10-visit ticket for £8.

“The income we receive from car parking also benefits our patients. Annually, the money we receive  from car parking pays for the equivalent of 40 Staff Nurses.”

The Trust is also looking at ways to improve car parking at the hospitals, and is working on a number of initiatives to support staff to travel to work in more sustainable ways.

Julia added: “We continue to explore ways to improve car parking at our hospitals as we appreciate it can be a challenge for patients, visitors and staff.

“Both hospital sites now have an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to manage car parking.

“This system is designed to deliver key improvements, including a range of more convenient ways for people to pay on exit, including debit and credit card payments, improving the flow of vehicles to make spaces available for those who need them, increasing security, and allowing parking attendants to concentrate on helping visitors rather than enforcement.  You can also pay online once you get home before midnight on the day of your visit and make multiple visits on the day up until midnight without additional costs.  Please visit our car parking page at www.sath.nhs.uk for more details.

“During the daytime our car parks are often busy because we have a large number of outpatient clinics. Parking spaces are more readily available during the evenings and weekends, when fewer clinics are operating, so it would be a great help to patients coming for their clinic appointments, if visitors who can choose when they can visit their loved ones came in the early evening instead.”

Efforts to support staff to find more sustainable ways to travel to work include:

• Lift-sharing – SaTH runs a dedicated lift-sharing service for staff, which allows them to sign up to a system and look for colleagues they can share lifts to and from work with.
• The Trust has invested in improved facilities to encourage cycling and walking for staff.
• SaTH has negotiated discounts of up to 20% for Arriva for bus tickets for staff.