Agenda item

Capital, Investment, Treasury Management Strategies 2022/23

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance

 

(appendices to follow)

Minutes:

In the absence of Cabinet Member Finance and Assets, the Leader introduced the item, reading from his prepared statement. Members approved the 2022/23 HRA and General Fund budget at the March meeting, and the Prudential Code, which acts as a professional code of practice to ensure capital gains are affordable, now required the Council to approve a capital strategy on an annual basis ahead of the forthcoming financial year. In addition, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities introduced new treasury management reporting guidance and the requirement to produce a separate Investment Strategy.

For 2021/22 a revised and updated set of strategic documents was approved by Council - the  Capital Strategy, Investment Strategy, and Treasury Management Strategy – and council-wide consultation took place to reflect our collective vision for the use of assets and resources to drive the town’s post-pandemic economic recovery. These have been reviewed again in light of 2022/23 budget changes and the recently revised Asset Management Strategy approved by Council in February, including a commitment to review and divest from the 4% of our £7m pooled funds exposed to oil and gas to align with our climate priorities.

She also presented for approval the council’s Minimum Revenue Provision statement, setting out how repayments of our borrowings would be calculated, and the amount of voluntary overpayment the council continued to make.

CBC made a formal response and attended a roundtable event relating to the recent government consultation on changes to the capital framework relating to Minimum Revenue Provision, including the use of capital receipts to repay debt. The consultation has not published its conclusions but no changes would be introduced before 1 April 2023 and these would not be applied retrospectively.

She told Members that there has been no structural changes to these documents, but they had been updated to reflect the budget.

The Cabinet Member Climate Emergency noted that the strategy refers to the council’s ‘long-term’ commitment to divesting from oil and gas, whereas the climate action plan wording refers to this being ‘at the soonest possible moment’, or words to that effect.  He suggested that this should be reflected in the discussion and any documents in future.

One Member congratulated everyone involved in the document – the subjects are not easy but the document is clear, succinct, readable with good photography.  He felt this complemented the exciting and ambitious content of the capital programme – affordable housing, investment in infrastructure, the Minster, the cyber park.  He said the council should be very proud.

There was no debate, so the Leader summed up, agreeing with the Member’s comments, and putting on record the thanks of the Cabinet Member Finance and Assets to Gemma Bell, the new Deputy S151 officer who has taken the documents and made a difference to the direction of travel.

She hoped that Members would approve the recommendations.

RESOLVED (unanimously) THAT the following recommendations be approved: 

·         The Capital Strategy 2022/23 at Appendix 2;

·         The Investment Strategy 2022/23 at Appendix 3;

·         The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2022/23 at Appendix 4; and

·         The 2022/23 MRP Statement at Appendix 5.

Supporting documents: