Issue - meetings

That the Committee notes the draft Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2019/20 and confirms that there are no matters to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet on 17 December 2019.

The Finance Manager (Technical Accountancy) presented the draft Treasury Management mid-year report for 2019/20 to recommend to Cabinet.  An update on Quarter 2 activities was also shared for information along with a reminder of the forthcoming Treasury Management training session.

In a summary of the key points, two new long-term loans had been taken out to fund the Capital Programme at a time when interest rates offered financial value.  In Quarter 2, an unforeseen increase in Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) borrowing rates had limited impact on the revenue budget but took away opportunities to take advantage of fixed lower rates as the Council had done previously.  In response to these changes, balanced consideration would need to be given to long-term financing options at lower rates from the market with increased charges and lead-in times.

Sally Ellis asked about planning to respond to any further increase in borrowing rates from PWLB.  The Finance Manager said that the increase impacted the cost and viability of national priorities across the whole of Wales and that officers were working with the Treasury Management advisors to assess borrowing from the private sector.

The Chief Executive spoke about the impact of external factors on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy and the need to work through aspects of private sector borrowing with advice from Wales Audit Office colleagues.

Following comments by Councillor Johnson on readiness for Brexit, the Finance Manager said that in the absence of clarity, the main concerns were ensuring liquidity in the event of any disruption to financial systems which reflected the Council’s cautious approach.  The Chief Executive spoke about planning contingencies on a national level.

Whilst praising the report, Allan Rainford referred to the reduction in capital spend in 2018/19.  The Finance Manager said that continual forecasting would take account of any slippage between years to inform borrowing decisions.  On another question, she confirmed that the debt maturity profile was monitored in accordance with the Treasury Management indicators.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee notes the draft Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2019/20 and confirms that there are no matters to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet on 17 December 2019.