Is this the end of local democracy? Mayor expresses dismay as Shropshire Council meeting cancelled

More important decisions are now trusted to an official or a small number of council cabinet members.

Critics say it means the influence and importance of the gathering of Shropshire's full council have diminished – and has contributed to the cancellation of this month's meeting.

Decisions to be made at Shropshire Council are discussed by committees dedicated to specific service areas. Once policies and plans are approved by the committees, they are passed to cabinet, made up of portfolio holders from a range of services.

The final decision on all council matters is still officially taken by full council, the 74 members elected from across the county.

But since more delegated powers have come in, critics say the role of full council has become less high profile. Now a small number of councillors sitting on a scrutiny committee look at decisions made and only refer contentious issues to the full council for debate.

And staffing reductions mean almost all planning applications will not be decided by councillors in future, with at least 96 per cent of decisions delegated to unelected officers. The shift is controversial, with critics saying it is affecting local democracy and that many decisions are being made without being aired in public.

They say it is also a contributing factor in the decision to cancel November's Shropshire Council full meeting, which was due to be held at Shirehall on Thursday.

Shropshire Council changed the rules in June to allow senior councillors to make more decisions and it recently followed Telford & Wrekin Council in passing more power to planning officials.

Council leader Keith Barrow said: "Giving cabinet members more delegated powers just means we can get on with things.

"It is a change from the traditional council approach of having to wait for a cycle of meetings to tick along before we can do anything.

"The council's work will be open to public scrutiny in the same way, and wide-ranging issues will still go to cabinet meetings, but it's common sense to cut bureaucracy where we can to speed things up.

"I'm sure a lot of people get frustrated at how long it can take councils to do anything, and this will make us much more responsive and businesslike."

But Labour's Councillor and town mayor Jon Tandy branded the decision to cancel November's full council meeting a "disgrace" and said there were important issues affecting the county that could have been debated.

The authority currently faces £80 million of cuts over the next three years, with £41.5m to be slashed in 2014/15. And 1,700 workers will have to leave the council in order to cut the wage bill by £55m.

Councillor Jon Tandy said: "I think it's a disgrace they've cancelled the meeting because we are all elected to represent people's views. I was elected by 10,000 people.

"We are having major changes taking place and they say we've got nothing on the agenda. Is this the end of local democracy?

"Cabinet members are making the decisions without going to the elected members and I have to read in the Shropshire Star what's going on in my ward.

"It is another nail in the coffin for local government and local accountability. We've just spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on elections. If the elected members don't get to debate for the best interests of their ward members what's the point? It's a massive issue. They say the meeting has been cancelled to save money but you can't put a price on democracy and accountability. I see it as getting rid of democracy."

Councillor Roger Evans, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Shropshire Council said: "It is a pity that when this council is facing some of the largest financial cuts ever, whilst also reducing the number of staff it employs, then the next meeting is to be cancelled due to lack of business. Council should be the sovereign body when issues like these should be debated and decisions made, not as an adjunct to cabinet." Alan James, Unison branch manager for Shropshire, was due to give a presentation on the living wage campaign at the meeting.

He said: "It's just staggering. Shropshire Council is coming before its greatest ever transformation. It is losing 50 per cent of its staff, it has got services going left right and centre and it is saying there's nothing to discuss. Now should be the time we see democracy in its finest with debates over the future, and they're cancelling a meeting saying they have nothing to discuss. It's shocking."

But leader of the Independent Party, Pauline Dee, said cancelling Thursday's meeting was "the right decision", but added: "It's disappointing that we won't have the meeting because it's always good to hear the reports from the portfolio holders. We've got 74 members coming from across Shropshire from as far afield as Cleobury Mortimer, Oswestry and Ludlow.

"I'm coming from Wem and that's 26 miles there and back. When you add up everyone's mileage it's a lot of money. We're desperate to save money at the moment."