Minutes:
(a) Councillor S A W Reynolds moved, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 7, the following Motion:
“All too often, care experienced people can suffer discrimination, stigma and prejudice in their everyday lives. As corporate parents, councillors have a collective responsibility for providing the best possible care and safeguarding for the children who are looked after by us as an authority. Our children and young people in care and care leavers have the right to expect everything from a Corporate Parent that would be expected from any good parent.
This Council will continue to put the needs of care experienced people at the heart of decision-making through co-production and collaboration and resolves that ‘looked after children and young people and care leavers’ be added as an additional characteristic in the Council’s Equality Impact assessments to determine the impact on care experienced people, alongside those who formally share a Protected Characteristic.
This Council formally calls upon all other bodies to treat care experience as a protected characteristic until such time as it may be introduced by legislation”
Councillor P R Watling seconded the Motion.
Following a robust debate, the Motion was approved unanimously.
RESOLVED - that the motion be approved
(b) Councillor A J Burford proposed the following Motion:-
“This Council agrees to formally ask the government under Schedule 10A of the NHS Act 2006 to reconsider its plans to close Telford's Princess Royal Hospital A&E and move the Consultant led women and children unit to Shrewsbury.
A plan agreed by the then Secretary of State for Health Matthew Hancock MP in his letter to the Council dated 2 October 2019.
The Council is on the side of our community and it makes no sense to make Telford the largest town in England without a full 24 hour A&E and close the consultant led Women and Children unit which was placed in Telford on compelling clinical need.
We ask the government to reconsider these plans based on affordability, clinical evidence, growing population, post covid practices and that what the public was consulted on in the summer of 2018 (where the overwhelming majority of Telford and Wrekin residents opposed the plans) has materially changed.”
The Motion was seconded by Councillor A D McClements.
Councillor Burford then moved an alteration to the Motion, with additional words shown in bold and underlined.
“This Council agrees to formally ask the government under Schedule 10A of the NHS Act 2006 and all other relevant legislation to reconsider its plans to close Telford's Princess Royal Hospital A&E and move the Consultant led women and children unit to Shrewsbury.
A plan agreed by the then Secretary of State for Health Matthew Hancock MP in his letter to the Council dated 2 October 2019.
The Council is on the side of our community and it makes no sense to make Telford the largest town in England without a full 24 hour A&E and close the consultant led Women and Children unit which was placed in Telford on compelling clinical need.
We ask the government to reconsider these plans based on affordability, clinical evidence, growing population, post covid practices and that what the public was consulted on in the summer of 2018 (where the overwhelming majority of Telford and Wrekin residents opposed the plans) has materially changed.”
The alteration was seconded by Councillor McClements.
Following a robust debate, it was, by majority, approved.
RESOLVED - that the motion be approved.