Agenda item

Any Items referred from other committees will be circulated as soon as they are available.

A       Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - IT Capital - Purchase of Laptops

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the capital programme for IT spend is amended as detailed in 7.4 Table 2 to enable IT to progress the procurement of laptops for staff to facilitate more effective home working arrangements. The net impact is an increase in spend in 2021/22 of £55k as detailed in 7.5 and shown in Table 3;

(2)       That £50k of the capital is bought forward into this year’s budget so that the IT Manager can progress the procurement of the first batch of laptops so that delivery to staff can happen at the earliest opportunity.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)       To enable a continued agile way of working which has been brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, increasing flexibility and business continuity resilience and ensuring a future proofed approach;

(2)       To avoid additional capital costs associated with a requirement to increase Microsoft licences where users have a personal computer in the office and an NHDC provided device at home;

(3)       To respond to feedback from the staff survey regarding the need for staff to be provided with equipment that have cameras and microphones to enable council wide participation in meetings and similar activities;

(4)       To enable the procurement, build and distribution of laptops to take place ahead of the new financial year, considering supplier lead in times and scheduling of resources in the IT team.

B       Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - Investment Strategy (Capital and Treasury) Mid-Year Review 2020-21

RESOLVED: That the position of Treasury Management activity as at the end of September 2020 be noted.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

(1)     Cabinet is required to approve adjustments to the capital programme and ensure the capital programme is fully funded;

(2)     To ensure the Council’s continued compliance with CIPFA’s code of practice on Treasury Management and the Local Government Act 2003 and that the Council manages its exposure to interest and capital risk.

C       Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - Covid-19 Leisure Contracts Recovery

The Chair advised that this referral would be taken with Items 13 and 15.

Audio recording – 40 minutes 24 seconds

A          Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - IT Capital - Purchase of Laptops

The Executive Member for Finance and IT presented the referral from Cabinet regarding IT Capital – Purchase of Laptops, which was considered at the meeting held on 15 December 2020.

He advised that:

•        This was regarding the reprofiling of the IT budget to purchase equipment:

•        The Council had been working remotely for approximately 10 months and some staff were not equipped to take part in virtual meetings as current desktop equipment did not have cameras, microphones etc.

•        It was important that staff and councillors were adequately equipped;

•        The issuing of laptops instead of desktop equipment would enable more mobile working and would result in savings in license fees, which have to be purchased for each set of equipment.

Cabinet recommended to Council:

(1)     That the capital programme for IT spend is amended as detailed in 7.4 Table 2 to enable IT to progress the procurement of laptops for staff to facilitate more effective home working arrangements. The net impact is an increase in spend in 2021/22 of £55k as detailed in 7.5 and shown in Table 3;

(2)     That £50k of the capital is bought forward into this year’s budget so that the IT Manager can progress the procurement of the first batch of laptops so that delivery to staff can happen at the earliest opportunity.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, Councillor Sam North seconded and it was:

RESOLVED:

(1)     That the capital programme for IT spend is amended as detailed in 7.4 Table 2 to enable IT to progress the procurement of laptops for staff to facilitate more effective home working arrangements. The net impact is an increase in spend in 2021/22 of £55k as detailed in 7.5 and shown in Table 3;

(2)     That £50k of the capital is bought forward into this year’s budget so that the IT Manager can progress the procurement of the first batch of laptops so that delivery to staff can happen at the earliest opportunity.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)       To enable a continued agile way of working which has been brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic, increasing flexibility and business continuity resilience and ensuring a future proofed approach;

(2)       To avoid additional capital costs associated with a requirement to increase Microsoft licences where users have a personal computer in the office and an NHDC provided device at home;

(3)       To respond to feedback from the staff survey regarding the need for staff to be provided with equipment that have cameras and microphones to enable council wide participation in meetings and similar activities;

(4)       To enable the procurement, build and distribution of laptops to take place ahead of the new financial year, considering supplier lead in times and scheduling of resources in the IT team.

B       Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - Investment Strategy (Capital and Treasury) Mid-Year Review 2020-21

The Executive Member for Finance and IT presented the referral from Cabinet regarding Investment Strategy (Capital and Treasury) Mid-Year Review 2020-21, which was considered at the meeting held on 15 December 2020.

He advised that:

•        Table 2 detailed the capital spend, including the amounts in relation to property investment, which had been deferred due to the current economic conditions;

•        Table 3 showed that the Capital programme would be funded from S106 receipt, grants and contributions from capital reserves and there would be no requirement to borrow;

•        There had been changes to borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board with the lower interest rates being accompanied by restrictions on borrowing meaning that borrowing could not take place if the project was being undertaken purely for yield;

•        Paragraph 8.10 detailed the impact of Covid-19 and the economic downturn on cash investment rates

•        Paragraph 8.12 detailed all the current investments held by the Council as at 30 September 2020.

Cabinet recommended to Council:

(1)     That the position of Treasury Management activity as at the end of September 2020 be noted.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, Councillor Sam North seconded and it was:

RESOLVED: That the position of Treasury Management activity as at the end of September 2020 be noted.

REASONS FOR DECISION:

(1)     Cabinet is required to approve adjustments to the capital programme and ensure the capital programme is fully funded;

(2)     To ensure the Council’s continued compliance with CIPFA’s code of practice on Treasury Management and the Local Government Act 2003 and that the Council manages its exposure to interest and capital risk.

C       Referral from Cabinet: 15 December 2020 - Covid-19 Leisure Contracts Recovery

The Chair advised that this referral would be taken with Items 13 and 15.