Issue - meetings

At its meeting on 8 January 2020 the Executive Committee considered a suite of reports in respect of Treasury and Capital Management and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the following strategies and policies be ADOPTED:

·         Capital Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Minimum Revenue Provision Statement 2020/21.

·         Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21.

·         Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Policy 2020/21.

61.11         At its meeting on 8 January 2020, the Executive Committee had considered a suite of reports in respect of Treasury and Capital Management and recommended to Council that the strategies and policies be adopted. 

61.12         The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 72-105.

61.13         The Chair of the Executive Committee proposed the recommendation which was seconded by the Vice-Chair.

61.14         A Member questioned why the 2021 debt was higher than in previous years. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that, in October, a report had been considered by the Council which approved further expenditure on the Council’s commercial property portfolio; this anticipated £15,000 spend in the current year and the rest the year after which was what the figure in the report related to. In terms of checks and balances on the spend of that funding, Members were advised that the Commercial Investment Strategy set out how the investments were made. Treasury advisors were used to undertake due diligence and make recommendations and the Commercial Investment Board was made up of six Members who supported the decision-making process.

61.15         Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the following strategies and policies be ADOPTED:

·         Capital Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Minimum Revenue Provision Statement 2020/21.

·         Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21.

·         Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Policy 2020/21.

To consider and make a recommendation to Council for the approval of a range of policies and strategies relating to treasury and capital management.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that the following strategies and policies be ADOPTED:

·         Capital Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Investment Strategy 2020/21.

·         Minimum Revenue Provision Statement 2020/21.

·         Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21.

·         Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Policy 2020/21.

69.1           The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 139-172, explained that the Council was required to adopt a range of strategies and policies before the start of the financial year in order to provide clarity on the plans for the financial management of the authority in the forthcoming year. The documents were attached to the report as Appendices A-E and the Committee was asked to recommend to Council that they be adopted.

69.2           The Finance Manager explained that there were five strategies and policies in total that formed the suite of documents which needed to be approved. Two were new requirements introduced in 2019; the Capital Strategy and the Investment Strategy. The Finance Manager briefly explained that the Capital Strategy showed how capital expenditure, capital financing and treasury management activity contributed to the provision of local public services and the risks involved; the Investment Strategy referred to non-treasury investments such as commercial property investments and set out how the Council invested and the risks; the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement showed how the Council set aside revenue funding for the borrowing undertaken for capital purposes; the Treasury Management Strategy set the framework within which the day-to-day and strategic treasury activities were operated; and the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Policy – the information contained within the report was incorrect but the appendix was correct – set out that the Council had one new intention for the use of flexibility over capital receipts to support transformational projects in 2020/21 which was £40,000 to support service reform feasibility work within the waste collection and recycling service area.

69.3           Members were advised that this was a statutory requirement rather than legislation so the Council could deviate from it as long as it could provide an explanation. In terms of the Investment Strategy, the Council had chosen not to follow the guidance in respect of borrowing in advance of need; the full explanation was set out within the Strategy but, essentially, Tewkesbury Borough Council did borrow in advance of need for its commercial property purchases as, without that income, it would not be able to balance its budget. The Council remained prudent in its treasury and capital activities so was not really the type of authority the government was targeting with these rules.

69.4           Having considered the information provided, it was