Agenda item

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Director of Finance which presented the strategy for 2021/22 Treasury Management activities including the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement, the Annual Investment Strategy and Prudential Indicators together with linkages to the Capital Strategy.

Members were informed that the Council was required through regulations supporting the Local Government Act 2003 to ‘have regard to’ the Prudential Code and to set Prudential Indicators for the next three years to ensure that the Council’s capital investment plans were affordable, prudent and sustainable. It was also required to produce an annual Treasury Strategy for borrowing and to prepare an Annual Investment Strategy setting out the Council’s policies for managing its investments and for giving priority to security and liquidity of those investments.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2017 (the Code) required the receipt by full Council of a Treasury Management Strategy Statement.

The Strategy for 2021/22 covered two main areas.

Capital Issues

•      The Capital expenditure plans and the associated Prudential Indicators

•      The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement

Treasury Management Issues:

•      The Current Treasury Position

•      Treasury Indicators which limited the treasury risk and activities of the Council

•      Prospects for Interest Rates

•      The Borrowing Strategy

•      The Policy on Borrowing in Advance of Need

•      Debt Rescheduling

•      The Investment Strategy

•      The Creditworthiness Policy

•      The Policy regarding the use of external service providers.

The report outlined the implications and key factors in relation to each of the above Capital and Treasury Management issues and made recommendations with regard to the Treasury Management Strategy for 2021/22.

Cabinet noted that the Audit Committee, the body charged with the detailed scrutiny of Treasury Management activities considered the proposed Treasury Management Strategy report at its meeting on 21 January 2021. It was also presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Performance and Value for Money Select Committee on 28 January 2021. Both the Audit Committee and the

Overview and Scrutiny Performance and Value for Money Select Committee were content to commend the report to Cabinet.

Options/Alternatives considered

The Council was required to comply with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Code of Practice on Treasury Management the Council and has no option other than to consider and approve the contents of the report. Therefore, no options/alternatives were considered.

RESOLVED -That the following be accepted and recommended to Council:

1. Capital Expenditure Estimates as per paragraph 2.1.2 of the report.
2. Minimum Revenue Provision policy and method of calculation as per Appendix 1 of the report.
3. Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) Projections as per paragraph 2.2.4 of the report.
4. Projected treasury position as at 31 March 2020 as per paragraph 2.3.3 of the report.
5. Treasury Limits as per section 2.4 of the report.
6. Borrowing Strategy for 2021/22 as per section 2.6 of the report.
7. Annual Investment Strategy as per section 2.10 including risk management and the creditworthiness policy at section 2.11 of the report.
8. The level of investment in specified and non-specified investments detailed at Appendix 5 of the report.