Agenda item

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 October 2017, will consider the report of the head of finance on the outturn performance of the treasury management function for the financial year 2016/17.

The report of the head of finance, which Cabinet will consider on 5 October 2017, is attached. The Joint Audit and Governance Committee considered the report at its meeting on 25 September 2017. It welcomed the report and made no recommendations to Cabinet. The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 5 October 2017, on the outturn performance of the treasury management function for the financial year 2016/17. An addendum, circulated at the meeting and available as an addendum to the council agenda, set out revised wording for paragraph 22 of appendix C.

The Cabinet member for finance advised that the Joint Audit and Governance Committee and Cabinet had considered and welcomed the head of finance’s report and were satisfied that the treasury activities had been carried out in accordance with the treasury management strategy and policy.  The council had achieved a higher rate of return than the target income for the year primarily because of better rates on cash deposits as lending rates were higher than anticipated in the early part of the year and dividends on the council’s equity and property fund investments were higher than budget. 

The following responses were provided to questions:

·         The CCLA Property Fund had provided a good return. The council had considered investing more funds but the property prices were currently at a high level. The council would monitor the situation.

·         The investment with Kingston upon Hull City Council is a long-term investment with a fixed investment maturing in August 2020. It is therefore not possible to invest additional funds to benefit from the favourable interest rate;

·         Next year’s report will include the date of investment placements in the appendix accompanying the treasury report.

Mr William Jacobs, Head of Finance, undertook to provide an explanation for why the balance of land and property in the treasury outturn report dropped from £8.95milion at the end of March 2016 to £5.08million.

RESOLVED: to

1.    approve the head of finance’s treasury management outturn report for 2016/17;

2.    approve the actual 2016/17 prudential indicators within the head of finance’s report.