The Head of Financial Services has submitted a report to present the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24 together with the Prudential Indicators for 2023/24 to 2026/27.

Cabinet is recommended to:

Recommend that Council approves:

1.      The Treasury Management Strategy 2023/24 as set out in paragraphs 29 to 78 of the report and the Prudential Indicators for 2023/24 – 2026/27 as set out in Appendix 2;

2.      The Borrowing Strategy 2023/23 at paragraphs 52 to 54 of the report;

3.      The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement at paragraphs 55 to 57 which sets out the Council’s policy on charging borrowing to the revenue account;

4.      The Investment Strategy for 2023/24 and the investment criteria as set out in paragraphs 58 to 77 of the report and in Appendix 1; and

5.      The Treasury Management Scheme of Delegation at Appendix 4.

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a report to present the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for 2023-24 together with the Prudential Indicators for 2023-24 to 2026-27.

Councillor Ed Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, introduced the report and strategy, and highlighted that the strategy involved a judgement as to how the Council’s money was invested, and the balance between risk and reward.  It also required choices to be made about the impact of the Council’s investments on the wider world.  The ethical investment policy was set out at paragraph 77; a new Environmental, Social and Governance policy had also been added (Appendix 3).  In treasury matters the Council was obliged to deliver a financial return wherever possible; however, investing sustainably could often be the right choice financially, and so the Council also needed to be mindful of ESG indicators.  This was an area which was expected to develop positively over time.

The Head of Financial Services drew attention to his duty under professional codes of practice to undertake investments on SLY principles (Security, Liquidity and Yield), as set out in the report.

It was noted that recommendation 2 of the report required correction to read ‘The Borrowing Strategy 2023/24 at paragraphs 52 to 54 of this report’.

Cabinet resolved to:

Recommend that Council approves:

1.      The Treasury Management Strategy 2023/24 as set out in paragraphs 29 to 78 of the report and the Prudential Indicators for 2023/24 – 2026/27 as set out in Appendix 2;

2.      The Borrowing Strategy 2023/24 at paragraphs 52 to 54 of the report;

3.      The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement at paragraphs 55 to 57 which sets out the Council’s policy on charging borrowing to the revenue account;

4.      The Investment Strategy for 2023/24 and the investment criteria as set out in paragraphs 58 to 77 of the report and in Appendix 1; and

5.      The Treasury Management Scheme of Delegation at Appendix 4.