Issue - meetings

(a)       That the draft Treasury Management Annual Report 2017/17 be noted with no matters to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet on 26 September 2017;

(b)       That the Treasury Management 2017/18 Quarter 1 update be noted; and

(c)       That additional training be organised for the Committee prior to the Treasury Management training session.

The Finance Manager - Technical Accountancy presented the Annual Report on the Council’s Treasury Management Policy, Strategy and Practices 2016/17 for review and recommendation to Cabinet.

As part of an update on Treasury Management activity in the first quarter of 2017/18, a slight increase was reported in the investment portfolio.  The position on borrowing reflected the strategy to use short-term borrowing at lower rates.  A graph showed movement on investments and short-term borrowing balances between April 2016 and June 2017.  To support the reporting cycle for 2017/18, a training session by the Treasury Management advisers, Arlingclose Ltd would be arranged for all Members in early January 2018.

The Chair highlighted the need for assurance on the ability of the revenue account to support the increasing external debt levels along with comparison with other councils.  The Finance Manager agreed to incorporate this in the next update report.  She drew attention to the recent Cabinet report on Prudential Indicators which included the percentage of revenue costs servicing long-term debt.

In response to queries from the Chair, explanation was given on the specialist services provided by Arlingclose and on the debt maturity profile where peaks reflected the loans taken out to end the negative housing subsidy system.

Councillors Paul Johnson and Chris Dolphin raised queries on short-term borrowing between councils.  The Finance Manager explained that there was a difference between managing a council’s cashflow and the budgeted position reported by councils, and referred to the graph showing movement in cash balances managed by short-term investments and short-term borrowing.

On Councillor Dolphin’s earlier comment, Councillor Glyn Banks felt that the size of the Committee was adequate.  He proposed that the Committee, particularly newer Members, could benefit from additional training prior to the Treasury Management training.  This was seconded by Councillor Johnson.  He also suggested that Arlingclose could deliver the training via a video link.  The Finance Manager explained that the contract with Arlingclose allowed for one training session per year so there may be a small cost for additional training, or consideration could be given to delivering in-house training by officers.

The Chief Executive pointed out the benefits of a smaller specialist Committee membership but said that the size of the Committee could be reviewed at the next Annual General Meeting if Members so wished.

The Interim Internal Audit Manager invited suggestions for specific themes for training which could be included on the Forward Work Programme.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the draft Treasury Management Annual Report 2017/17 be noted with no matters to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet on 26 September 2017;

(b)       That the Treasury Management 2017/18 Quarter 1 update be noted; and

(c)       That additional training be organised for the Committee prior to the Treasury Management training session.