The Committee considered the Treasury Management Strategy, associated Annual Investment Strategy and the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy for 2023/24 along with the Capital Strategy for 2023/27.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Services) informed Members that CIPFA had updated their Prudential Code for local authorities and all local authorities had to be fully compliant with the revised code by 2023/24.

Unfortunately, the external audit process of reviewing and certificating the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts was still ongoing and due to the delay, both strategies in the report had been prepared with some uncertainty and may have to be amended once the 2019/20 external audit had concluded.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Services) directed Members to page nine of the report and outlined key headlines from the Treasury Management Strategy for 2023-24:

• A new third prudential indicator called Liability Benchmark (LB) had been added to the Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24. The Council was required to estimate and measure the LB for the forthcoming financial year and the following two financial years, as a minimum
• Section four highlighted the Capital Prudential Indicators for 2023/24 to 2025/26
• The capital expenditure net financing need for 2022/23 was £39 million
• Total external borrowing to the end of March 2023 is forecast to be £145 million .
• Future interest rates based on current predictions were listed in section eight of the report
• Affordability prudential indicators were listed in section fourteen of the report; they assessed the affordability of the capital investment plans
• A requirement of the new CIPFA code was to ensure that all Members of the local authority self-assessed their knowledge of treasury management; the Finance Team were in the midst of drawing up a self-assessment check list which would be distributed to all Members in due course.

The Assistant Director explained that a requirement of the CIPFA revised Prudential and Treasury Management Codes was to require all local authorities to prepare a capital strategy report setting out a high-level long-term overview of how capital expenditure, capital financing and treasury management activity contribute to the provision of services. The document was attached at appendix two to the report.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Services) advised that there was an additional requirement to include a Capital Receipts Strategy and that this had been added at section 8 of The Capital Strategy.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Services) advised that the Treasury Management Strategy and the Capital Strategy were both being submitted to the next meeting of Full Council as an agenda item.

Following a Members request for clarification on the Members self-assessment of treasury management knowledge, the Assistant Director (Corporate Services) explained that once responses had been received from all Members then a treasury management training session specifically tailored to Members needs would be created.

The Committee Section were currently creating a Member Induction Plan for 2023/24 which would include training in all Council Business for the new and returning Members following the May election. The Treasury Management Training session as well as How Local Government Finance Works is to be included as part of that Induction Plan.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Services) reminded members that if they had any specific queries or needed clarification on any aspects pertaining to finance that they could contact herself or a member of the finance team.

Resolved that Members recommended to Full Council that:

1)    The Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix 1 be agreed.

2)    The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) calculation on all new capital expenditure as

set out in Section 5 of the Treasury Management Strategy Statement be approved for

2023/24 and beyond in accordance with the Authority’s Capital Programme with

delegated authority given to the Director (Corporate Services) to amend as required.

3)    The Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24 as set out in Section 15 of the Treasury

Management Strategy Statement be agreed

4)    The Capital Strategy for 2023/27 set out in Appendix 2 be agreed.

5. Delegated authority be given to the Director (Corporate Services), in consultation with the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, to amend the prudential and treasury indicators as necessary as a result of the budget approved by Full Council on 21 February 2023.

6.            Delegated authority be given to the Director (Corporate Services), in consultation with the Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, to amend the Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24 and the Capital Strategy for 2023/27 as required following successful completion of the 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 final accounts process.