Agenda item

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

9A. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – REVENUE BUDGET OUTTURN 2021/22

RESOLVED: That Council approves the net transfer from earmarked reserves, as identified in table 9 of £8.123 million.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)     Members are able to monitor, make adjustments within the overall budgetary framework and request appropriate action of Services, who do not meet the budget targets set as part of the Corporate Business Planning process;

(2)     Changes to the Council’s balances are monitored and approved.

9B. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – INVESTMENT STRATEGY (CAPITAL AND TREASURY) END OF YEAR REVIEW 2021/22

RESOLVED:

(1)       That Council approves the actual 2021/22 prudential and treasury indicators;

(2)       That Council notes the annual Treasury Report for 2021/22

REASON FOR DECISIONS: 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.

9C. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – ANNUAL REPORT ON RISK MANAGEMENT AND QUARTERLY RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE

RESOLVED: That Council notes the report.

9D. REFERRAL FROM FINANCE, AUDIT AND RISK 15 JUNE 2022: FINANCE, AUDIT AND RISK ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22

RESOLVED: That Council notes the report.

REASON FOR DECISION: To provide Full Council with assurance as to the effectiveness of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

Audio Recording – 1:55:56

9A. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – REVENUE BUDGET OUTTURN 2021/22

Councillor Ian Albert presented the referral and report from Cabinet in respect of the Revenue Budget Outturn 2021/22 and highlighted points including:

·                page 111 referred to specific comments from Finance, Audit and Risk and one decision recommended to Council to approve a net transfer from earmarked reserves;

·                The full papers detailed £172,000 carry-forward requested for specific activities that would now take place in 2022/23; this would take the total carry forward requests up to £712,000, reducing the impact on the General Fund down to around £800,000 underspend;

·                The papers accounted for the impact of COVID-19 on funding particularly in leisure and car parking, which totalled £1.65 million after deducting any grant funding and sales, with that impact recovered from the council's reserves around £770,000;

·                Council funding towards Stevenage Leisure Ltd was less than expected and it was good to see that leisure facilities were recovering well, while there was still work to do;

·                Table 9 in the main reports detailed movement in earmarked reserves that required Council approval, with the main movement referring to the reserve of funding from DLUHC to provide business rate relief during the pandemic. There was still residual funding that would need to be released in future years and the special reserve was being released over time to reduce the pressure on the general fund;

·                The revenue monitoring report noted that movement from funds would be subject to final confirmation of a figure from DLUHC on business rate pooling and final release of grant funding which could lead to a later adjustment of the required net transfer but that the recommendation to Council at this stage would remain as in the report.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, Councillor Keith Hoskins seconded and on the vote it was:

RESOLVED: That Council approves the net transfer from earmarked reserves, as identified in table 9 of £8.123 million.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)     Members are able to monitor, make adjustments within the overall budgetary framework and request appropriate action of Services, who do not meet the budget targets set as part of the Corporate Business Planning process;

(2)     Changes to the Council’s balances are monitored and approved.

9B. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – INVESTMENT STRATEGY (CAPITAL AND TREASURY) END OF YEAR REVIEW 2021/22

Councillor Ian Albert presented the report and referral from Cabinet on 21 June 2022 in respect of the Investment Strategy (Capital and Treasury) End of Year Review 2021/22 and highlighted points including:

·                The sale of surplus land had increased reserves during the year which stood now at £7.7million;

·                There was one technical breach of the Treasury rules that had been previously reported;

·                The Council continued to manage its surplus cash by prioritising security and liquidity before considering yield.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, Councillor Terry Tyler seconded and on the vote it was:

RESOLVED:

(1)       That Council approves the actual 2021/22 prudential and treasury indicators;

(2)       That Council notes the annual Treasury Report for 2021/22

REASON FOR DECISIONS: 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.

9C. REFERRAL FROM CABINET 21 JUNE 2022 – ANNUAL REPORT ON RISK MANAGEMENT AND QUARTERLY RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE

Councillor Ian Albert presented the referral and report from Cabinet on 21 June 2022 in respect of the Annual Report on Risk Management and Quarterly Risk Management Update and highlighted points including:

·                He thanked the Service Director – Resources and the finance and risk teams who make sure the Council has secure budgets which are managed carefully and assured against risk;

·                This report was the last in this format before moving to the new Council Delivery Plan-led format in quarter 1;

·                All members but particularly members of FAR and O&S had a standing invite to attend the internal Risk Management Group meetings.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed, Councillor Terry Tyler seconded and on the vote it was:

RESOLVED: That Council notes the report.

9D. REFERRAL FROM FINANCE, AUDIT AND RISK 15 JUNE 2022: FINANCE, AUDIT AND RISK ANNUAL REPORT 2021/22

Councillor Keith Hoskins presented the referral from Finance, Audit and Risk on 15 June 2022 in respect of the Finance, Audit and Risk Annual Report 2021/22.

Councillor Keith Hoskins proposed, Councillor Clare Billing seconded and on the vote it was:

RESOLVED: That Council notes the report.

REASON FOR DECISION: To provide Full Council with assurance as to the effectiveness of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.