Decision details

Purpose of Report

To review and to recommend to the Council the adoption of the 15 statutory prudential indicators and 8 local indicators for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25 together with the 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy.

Decision

(1)                  That the Council be recommended:

(a)      to adopt the prudential indicators, as detailed in section 4.1 and appendix 1 of the report.

(b)     to approve the Treasury Management Strategy (including the treasury management prudential indicators and the Investment Strategy), as set out section 4 and appendix 3 of the report.

(c)     to approve the Minimum Revenue Provision policy in Appendix 2 of the report.

(d)     to adopt the Treasury Management Practices in Appendix 4 of the report.

(2)         That the extract of the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 1 February 2022, as set in Appendix 5 of the report, be noted.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

None.

Reasons for the Decision

The report set out the operation of the Council’s prudential indicators, its treasury function and its likely activities for the forthcoming year which incorporated the following elements:

• Prudential Indicators – There would be reporting against the statutory prudential indicators together with local indicators, in accordance with the requirements of the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice.
• Minimum Revenue Provision Statement – There would be reporting in accordance with the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy, which set out how the Council would pay for capital assets through revenue each year (as required by regulation under the Local Government Act 2003).
• Treasury Management Strategy – This set out how the Council’s treasury activity would support capital decisions, the day-to-day treasury management and the limitations on activity through treasury prudential indicators. The key indicator was the Authorised Limit, the maximum amount of debt the Council could afford in the short term, but which would not be sustainable in the longer term. This was the Authorised Borrowing Limit required by Section 3 of the Local Government Act 2003 and was in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code.
• Investment Strategy – This was included in the Treasury Management Strategy and set out the criteria for choosing investments and limiting exposure to the risk of loss, which was reported annually in accordance with government investment guidance.