Issue - meetings

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources to submit a report providing a summary of the treasury activities in 2020-21.  The report also covers the actual position on the Prudential Indicators in accordance with the Prudential Code.

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council that

(1)  The Treasury Management Annual Report for 2021-22 be approved;

(2)  The actual position on Prudential Indicators for 2021-22 be noted.

Dawn Garton, Director for Corporate Services introduced the report, the purpose of which was to provide a summary of the treasury activities in 2021-22.  The report also covered the actual position on the Prudential Indicators in accordance with the Prudential Code.  It would be submitted to Council for approval under the Prudential Code requirements, with Cabinet performing the scrutiny function.

Mrs Garton confirmed that appendix A provided full details of activities and the current position.  Highlights were provided in the report.  The key areas to note were that there was no new borrowing undertaken in the year and that borrowing remained within the Council’s statutory borrowing limit. The investment return for the year was 0.82%, compared to 0.81% in 2020-21.  However, as the Council had a higher level of balances than originally estimated, due to underspending on the Capital Programme, an extra £35k of income was generated.  This had benefited both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources, Councillor Ronnie de Burle, commented that when benchmarked against the peer group, in what is still a volatile arena, the results achieved by the Council’s Treasury Management Team were excellent.  This success would help to ‘balance the books’ at the end of the year.  He thanked Mrs Garton and the Corporate Services Manager for the training Members had received on Treasury Management.

Cabinet RECOMMENDED to Council that

(1)  The Treasury Management Annual Report for 2021-22 be approved;

(2)  The actual position on Prudential Indicators for 2021-22 be noted.

Reason for Recommendations:

It is important that Cabinet are aware of the Council’s Treasury Management performance to ensure they can make informed decisions that protect the Council’s financial assets while taking regard of financial stability and potential returns.

The Annual Treasury Report is a requirement of the Council's reporting procedures.

The report meets the requirements of both the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities.  The Council is required to comply with both codes through Regulations issued under the Local Government Act 2003.