The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services introduced a report setting out the Council’s Treasury Management Annual Strategy Statement (TMSS) for 2016/2017.
Assembly noted that the overall TMSS included details of the proposed borrowing limit for the year and a range of other aspects aimed at ensuring the Council had prudent and robust arrangements in place to meet all of its financial commitments and responsibilities, in line with the requirements of Section 15(1) of the Local Government Act 2003.
The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services drew Assembly’s attention to the proposed strategy changes from the 2015/16 document which included duration of risk, counterparty risk, short term borrowing and Lloyds Banking Group.
In response to questions, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services advised that there was uncertainty ahead of all Councils following the announcement of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership in the European Union.
The Assembly resolved to:
(i) Note the current treasury position for 2016/17 and prospects for interest rates, as referred to in section 6 of the report;
(ii) Approve the Council’s Borrowing Strategy, Debt Rescheduling Strategy and Policy on borrowing in advance of need for 2016/17 as referred to in section 9 of the report;
(iii) Approve the Annual Investment Strategy and Creditworthiness Policy for 2016/17 outlining the investments that the Council may use for the prudent management of its investment balances, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report;
(iv) Approve the Authorised Borrowing Limit of £800m for 2016/17, representing the statutory limit determined by the Council pursuant to section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003, as set out in Appendix 4 of the report;
(v) Approve the Treasury Management Indicators and Prudential Indicators for 2016/17, as set out in Appendix 4;
(vi) Approve the Minimum Revenue Policy Statement for 2016/17, representing the Council’s policy on repayment of debt, as set out in Appendix 5 of the report;
(vii) Maintain the authority delegated to the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to proportionally amend the counterparty lending limits agreed within the Treasury Management Strategy Statement to take into account the increase in cash from the European Investment Bank but also the subsequent decrease in cash balances as payments are made to the Special Purpose Vehicle; and
(viii) Next review the delegated responsibility in (vii) above as part of the 2015/16 Treasury Management Outturn Report to the Assembly.
Cabinet resolved to recommend the Assembly to adopt the Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2016/17 and, in doing so, to:
(i) Note the current treasury position for 2016/17 and prospects for interest rates, as referred to in section 6 of the report;
(ii) Approve the Council’s Borrowing Strategy, Debt Rescheduling Strategy and Policy on borrowing in advance of need for 2016/17 as referred to in section 9 of the report;
(iii) Approve the Annual Investment Strategy and Creditworthiness Policy for 2016/17 outlining the investments that the Council may use for the prudent management of its investment balances, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report;
(iv) Approve the Authorised Borrowing Limit of £800m for 2016/17, representing the statutory limit determined by the Council pursuant to section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003, as set out in Appendix 4 of the report;
(v) Approve the Treasury Management Indicators and Prudential Indicators for 2016/17, as set out in Appendix 4;
(vi) Approve the Minimum Revenue Policy Statement for 2016/17, representing the Council’s policy on repayment of debt, as set out in Appendix 5 of the report;
(vii) Maintain the authority delegated to the Strategic Director of Finance and Investment, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, to proportionally amend the counterparty lending limits agreed within the Treasury Management Strategy Statement to take into account the increase in cash from the European Investment Bank but also the subsequent decrease in cash balances as payments are made to the Special Purpose Vehicle; and
(viii) Next review the delegated responsibility in (vii) above as part of the 2015/16 Treasury Management Outturn Report to the Assembly.