Decision details

Purpose: to recommend Council to approve the strategy

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report on the treasury management and investment strategy for 2024/25.  The strategy set out how the council’s treasury service supported the financing of capital investment decisions and how its treasury management function operated.  The strategy was required to include three parts:

·       prudential and treasury indicators, within which the council must operate;

·       an annual investment strategy; and

·       a minimum revenue provision policy statement. 

The Joint Audit and Governance Committee had recommended Cabinet to approve:

·       the treasury management strategy 2024/25;

·       the prudential indicators and limits for 2024/25 to 2026/27; 

·       the annual investment strategy 2024/25 and the lending criteria; and 

·       the new Environmental, Social and Governance Policy.  

The Cabinet member for finance welcomed the report and the Joint Audit and Governance Committee’s recommendations.  He welcomed the addition of  new environmental, social and governance policy, which would help assess potential investment options, once the priorities of security, liquidity, and yield has been assessed. 

The Cabinet member also proposed an additional recommendation to note that the section 151 officer had confirmed that he would conduct a review of investment options with the council’s treasury advisors, Link, and would report to Joint Audit and Governance Committee, the review to include the latest analysis on environmental, social and governance investment options. 

Cabinet supported the recommendations. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)        note the treasury management strategy 2024/25, prudential indicator limits and annual investment strategy, as set out in Appendix A to the head of finance’s report to Cabinet on 15 February 2024;

(b)        note the Environmental, Social and Governance Policy, as set out in Appendix E of the report; and

(c)        note that the section 151 officer has confirmed that he will conduct a review of investment options with the council’s treasury advisors Link and, in line with the Constitution, will report to Joint Audit and Governance Committee, the review to include the latest analysis on environmental, social and governance investment options;

RECOMMENDED to Council to:

(d)        approve the treasury management strategy 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A to the head of finance’s report to Cabinet on 15 February 2024;

(e)        approve the prudential indicators and limits for 2024/25 to 2026/27, as set out in Appendix A of the report;

(f)         approve the annual investment strategy 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A of the report, and the lending criteria detailed in table 6; and

(g)       approve the Environmental, Social and Governance Policy, as set out in Appendix E to the report.