Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

It was resolved to note the Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26 and to recommend its approval by the Full Council.

The report of the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer incorporating the Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2025/26 was presented for the Executive’s consideration.

The report was introduced by Councillor Robin Williams, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Member for Finance and Housing who explained that the Council is required to produce and publish an annual Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS) before the start of each financial year and in doing so has to have regard to the requirements of the CIPFA Prudential Code and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice. The TMSS outlines the Council’s approach to managing borrowing, investment and cash flow in the forthcoming year and sets out the proposed prudential and treasury indicators which ensure that the Council’s borrowing and investments are managed responsibly. Councillor Robin Williams confirmed that the TMSS for 2025/26 was scrutinised and subsequently recommended by the Governance and Audit Committee at its meeting on 11 February, 2025.

The Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer advised that the Council’s investment strategy remains unchanged for 2025/26 in prioritising the security and liquidity of deposits over yield. In terms of borrowing the Council has for some years been using its cash reserves to finance capital expenditure instead of taking out external loans because with interest rates relatively high it has been more cost effective to do so. However, it is envisaged that over the lifetime of the strategy the continued use of reserves to balance the revenue budget and the use of the HRA to fund capital expenditure will reduce the Council’s cash balances significantly meaning there will be less scope both to borrow internally and to invest and an increased level of external borrowing will have to be undertaken in order to fund the Council’s capital programme.  This is reflected in Table 7 of the strategy which shows the anticipated levels of internal and external borrowing in the years to 2028/29. The Prudential Indicators at Appendix 11 ensure that the Council’s borrowing is affordable and remains within the set boundaries.

The Executive acknowledged the report and the work associated with it and also recognised the importance of the strategy in ensuring that the Council’s resources are handled sensibly and sustainably and that the Council does not overextend itself in meeting its capital expenditure needs.

It was resolved to note the Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26 and to recommend its approval by the Full Council.