Agenda item

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

8a)       Referral from Finance, Audit and Risk Committee on 7 December 2022 – Annual Review of the Contract Procurement Rules

RESOLVED: That Council considered and adopted the proposed changes to the Contract Procurement Rules.

REASON FOR DECISION: The Contract Procurement Rules (CPR’s) are part of the Constitution (under Section 20) and must be regularly reviewed and updated as part of the Council’s governance and procurement review processes, contributing to the Council’s system of effective internal control. 

8b)       Referral from Cabinet on 13 December 2022 – Second Quarter Investment           Strategy (Capital and Treasury) Review 2022/23

RESOLVED: That Council noted the position of Treasury Management activity as at the end of September 2022.

REASON FOR DECISION: 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.

8c)       Referral from Cabinet on 13 December 2022 – Council Tax Reduction Scheme     2023/2024

The Chair advised that this item would be taken with Agenda Item 9.

Audio Recording – 80 minutes 20 seconds

8a)       Referral from Finance, Audit and Risk Committee on 7 December 2022 – Annual Review of the Contract Procurement Rules

The Service Director – Resources presented the referral and advised of the following:

·         The Committee had considered the changes in December and were happy to recommend to Council.

·         This report detailed four sets of minor changes to the rules.

·         There was expected to be a new procurement Bill later this year or into 2024, which would see major changes introduced around this time next year.

·         There were no significant changes to rules or policies in this report, but were rather about making it clearer.

The following Members asked questions:

·         Councillor Adam Compton

·         Councillor Claire Strong

In response to questions, the Service Director – Resources advised:

·         Where procurement was already underway, the current rules would be followed, rather than risk losing contracts by delaying.

·         There was regular overview of procurement from Officers and they would ensure that this practice was maintained.

·         The Council had a “go local” policy on contracts under £100k. He could not provide current statistics, but the number of contracts to local businesses was growing.

·         It was difficult with larger contracts to find suppliers or contractors locally.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Adam Compton seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That Council considered and adopted the proposed changes to the Contract Procurement Rules.

REASON FOR DECISION: The Contract Procurement Rules (CPR’s) are part of the Constitution (under Section 20) and must be regularly reviewed and updated as part of the Council’s governance and procurement review processes, contributing to the Council’s system of effective internal control. 

8b)       Referral from Cabinet on 13 December 2022 – Second Quarter Investment           Strategy (Capital and Treasury) Review 2022/23

Councillor Ian Albert presented the referral from Cabinet and advised of the following:

·         The referral was specifically about the treasury management work for 2022/23.

·         The Council invests its surplus cash, which can come from capital funding balances, revenue general and reserve, provision balances and variations in cash.

·         In first 6 months, the Council had an average balance of £59m and this was invested in line with measure set out in treasury management strategy.

·         Grant funding had been received and efforts had been made to distribute these as quickly as possible, but some delays had occurred. 

·         In first six months the council had generated around £0.3m in interest. The average interest rate at 30 September 2022 was 2.16%, at June 2022 it was 0.77%. 

Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That Council noted the position of Treasury Management activity as at the end of September 2022.

REASON FOR DECISION: 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.

8c)       Referral from Cabinet on 13 December 2022 – Council Tax Reduction Scheme     2023/2024

The Chair advised that this item would be taken with Agenda Item 9.

N.B. Following this item at 21.02 there was a break in proceedings and the meeting reconvened at 21.12. Councillor Sam Collins left the meeting during the break and did not return to the meeting.