Agenda item

Officer: Lisa Taylor

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To recommend Council approve

1.     The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2020/2021 as set out in the report including the recommendations:

a.     That the Council takes up borrowing requirements as set out in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

b.     That for the reasons detailed in paragraph 4.14 of the report, opportunities for debt rescheduling are reviewed throughout the year by the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer) and that she be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and in conjunction with the Council’s independent treasury advisers, to undertake such rescheduling only if revenue savings or additional cost avoidance can be achieved at minimal risk in line with organisational considerations and with regard to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as set out in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019/2023.

c.     That delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, to make any necessary decisions to protect the Council’s financial position in light of market changes or investment risk exposure.

2.     That the Council adopts the Annual Investment Strategy as set out in sections 4.16 and 4.17 of the report.

3.     That the Authorised Limit (required by Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2003) as set out in paragraph 4.10 and as detailed in Appendix C of the report be as follows:

  2020/2021                2021/2022              2022/2023

£1,840.757m            £2,038.506m          £2,085.274m

4.     That the Council approve the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix C of the report.

5.     The Annual Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement (required by the Local Authorities (Capital Financing and Accounting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008SI 2008/414) as set out in Appendix D of the report. 

6.     That the Council’s authorised counterparty lending list as at 31^st December 2019 as set out in Appendix E of the report and the rating criteria set for inclusion onto this list be approved.

7.     That the Council adopts the Capital Strategy Statement set out below in section 3 of the report.

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources noted that the report found that the council was within all of the prudential indicators. The council was borrowing money for a number of programmes, however it was stated that most of these programmes had their own income stream and so were not a burden on the council’s finances.

Concerns were raised by some Members that the council was borrowing £1b and the figure was expected to rise to £2b. In response, the Cabinet Member stated that there was a mix of borrowing being undertaken by the council; including asset investment which generated annually £6.5m of revenue and Brick by Brick which was developing much needed housing and was providing dividend payments to the council. The Cabinet Member suggested that it was important to look at the wider context of the benefits that were associated with the borrowing streams.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To recommend Council approve

1.     The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2020/2021 as set out in the report including the recommendations:

a.     That the Council takes up borrowing requirements as set out in paragraph 4.5 of the report.

b.     That for the reasons detailed in paragraph 4.14 of the report, opportunities for debt rescheduling are reviewed throughout the year by the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer) and that she be given delegated authority, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and in conjunction with the Council’s independent treasury advisers, to undertake such rescheduling only if revenue savings or additional cost avoidance can be achieved at minimal risk in line with organisational considerations and with regard to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as set out in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019/2023.

c.     That delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance, Investment and Risk (S151 Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, to make any necessary decisions to protect the Council’s financial position in light of market changes or investment risk exposure.

2.     That the Council adopts the Annual Investment Strategy as set out in sections 4.16 and 4.17 of the report.

3.     That the Authorised Limit (required by Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2003) as set out in paragraph 4.10 and as detailed in Appendix C of the report be as follows:

  2020/2021                2021/2022              2022/2023

£1,840.757m            £2,038.506m          £2,085.274m

4.     That the Council approve the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix C of the report.

5.     The Annual Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement (required by the Local Authorities (Capital Financing and Accounting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2008SI 2008/414) as set out in Appendix D of the report. 

6.     That the Council’s authorised counterparty lending list as at 31^st December 2019 as set out in Appendix E of the report and the rating criteria set for inclusion onto this list be approved.

7.     That the Council adopts the Capital Strategy Statement set out below in section 3 of the report.