Agenda, decisions and minutes

The chairman will make any specific announcements for this meeting and advise of any late items which will be given consideration under agenda item 14 (a) or (b).

Apologies for absence will be taken at this point.

[DETAILS IN THE MINUTES]

Mr Dignum welcomed the members of the public, the press representatives and Chichester District Council (CDC) members and officers who were present for this meeting. He summarised the emergency evacuation procedure.

There were no apologies for absence and all members of the Cabinet were present.

There were no late items for consideration at this meeting.

Mr Dignum said that this would be Mrs Hardwick’s final meeting as a member of the Cabinet following her decision to relinquish her role by virtue of her other commitments. He paid tribute to her competent and invaluable contribution in fulfilling the Finance and Governance Services portfolio. He had no doubt that she would continue to serve on other committees of Chichester District Council with that same ability and approach.   

[Note Hereinafter in these minutes CDC denotes Chichester District Council]

The Cabinet is requested to approve as a correct record the minutes of its meeting on Tuesday 7 November 2017, a copy of which will be circulated subsequently in an agenda supplement.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Cabinet’s meeting on Tuesday 7 November 2017 be approved without amendment.

The Cabinet received the minutes of its meeting on Tuesday 7 November 2017, which had been circulated with the second agenda supplement.

There were no proposed changes to the minutes.

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands to approve the aforesaid minutes without making any amendments.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Cabinet’s meeting on Tuesday 7 November 2017 be approved without amendment.

Members are requested to make any declarations of disclosable pecuniary, personal and/or prejudicial interests which they might have in respect of matters on the agenda for this meeting.

[DETAILS IN THE MINUTES]

Mr Dignum and Mrs Kilby each declared a personal interest as members of Chichester City Council in respect of those agenda items where it was consulted or otherwise involved in or materially affected by the subject matter, namely items 7, 8 and 9.

Mr Oakley, the CDC ward member for Tangmere, was present as an observer and, with the prior permission of Mr Dignum, addressed the Cabinet during agenda item 5. At the start of his remarks he declared a personal interest as a member of West Sussex County Council and the chairman of its Chichester South Local Committee.

In accordance with Chichester District Council’s scheme for public question time and with reference to standing order 6 in part 4 A and section 5.6 in Part 5 of the Chichester District Council Constitution, the Cabinet will receive any questions which have been submitted by members of the public in writing by 12:00 on the previous working day. The total time allocated for public question time is 15 minutes subject to the chairman’s discretion to extend that period.

[NO PUBLIC QUESTIONS WERE SUBMITTED FOR THIS MEETING]

No public questions had been submitted for this meeting.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its two appendices and to make the proposed recommendation to the Council and also the proposed resolution by the Cabinet set out below:

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION BY THE CABINET TO THE COUNCIL

That the Cabinet recommends to the Council:

(1)  To approve the Growth Deal between West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council as set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report.

(2)  To approve the appointment of the Leader of the Council and one additional member to be recommended by the Cabinet to represent Chichester District Council on the Growth Board.

(3)  To dissolve the Infrastructure Joint Member Liaison Group and subsume its role into the Growth Board.

(4)  To approve the terms of reference of the Growth Board contained in appendix 2 to the agenda report subject to comments from West Sussex County Council

PROPOSED RESOLUTION BY THE CABINET

That the Cabinet grants delegated authority to the Head of Commercial Services to agree minor amendments to the final Growth Deal document, following consultation with the Leader of the Council. 

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

That the Council:

(1)  Approves the Growth Deal between West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council as set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report, subject to the aforesaid amendments in appendix A to appendix 1 and appendix 2. 

(2)  Approves the appointment of the Leader of the Council, Susan Taylor and Simon Oakley to be recommended by the Cabinet to represent Chichester District Council on the Growth Board.

(3)  Dissolves the Infrastructure Joint Member Liaison Group and subsumes its role and terms of reference into the Growth Board.

(4)  Approves the terms of reference of the Growth Board (as amended) contained in appendix 2 to the agenda report subject to comments from West Sussex County Council

RESOLVED

That authority be delegated to the Head of Commercial Services to agree minor amendments to the final Growth Deal document, following consultation with the Leader of the Council. 

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its two appendices.

The report was presented by Mr Dignum.

Mrs Hotchkiss was in attendance for this item.

In commending the Growth Deal (GD) to the Cabinet, Mr Dignum said that the GD was between West Sussex County Council (WSCC) and CDC and had its origin in the Chichester Place Plan agreed in 2016 between those two local authorities. The purpose of the GD was to define the agreement between WSCC and CDC on the priority projects for growth within Chichester District. WSCC and CDC officers were recommending that partnership working should be focused on four major projects:

·      ChichesterCity Vision: tocomplete a transport feasibility study for the city thatsupported thedelivery ofthe Visionand the Chichester Local Plan.

·      ChichesterSouthern Gateway: to enhancethis keygateway tothe cityand delivera mixed-usedevelopment covering 30 acres whichincluded office, retail,residential andleisure uses. The Southern Gateway Masterplan had received Council approval on 21 November 2017.

·      ChichesterNorthern Gateway: toenhance this keygateway tothe cityand delivera mixed-usedevelopment whichincludedoffice, retail,residential andleisure uses.

·      Gigabit   West SussexFibre Broadband project:  toimprove digitalconnectivity inChichester. This project would be financed by a government grant specifically restricted to linking central and local government offices.

WSCC and CDC would agreeopportunities for aligningand prioritisingfunding fromall availablefunding streams,eg Business RatesRetention Scheme,Local GrowthFund, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), section 106 etc, tosupport thedelivery of the four priorities identifiedwithin theGD.  It should be understood, however, that the Growth Board possessed no executive decision powers, as was made clear in section 7.2 of the report and section 3 of the terms of reference in appendix 1, which stated that any recommendation of funding allocations would require to be taken through the appropriate CDC and WSCC decision process respectively for approval.

Therefore it was proposed that the role and existing terms of reference of the current Infrastructure Joint Member Liaison Group (IJMLG) would be subsumed into the Growth Board. This would ensure that the existing arrangements for considering spending bids and priorities for CIL as part of the preparation of the annual Infrastructure Business Plan were retained. Decisions about CIL spend would, however, remain with CDC’s Cabinet and Council.

The GD prioritieswould bedelivered througha seriesof associatedprojects broughttogether andmanaged withinan overallGrowth Programmeto beprogressed overthe nextfive years ie 2018to 2023.

The delivery of the GD would be overseen by a Growth Board of WSCC and CDC members and officers. 

He proposed that there should be an amendment to the terms of reference to allow three rather than two representatives from each of the authorities, the three CDC members being Mrs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 444.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its three appendices and to make the proposed recommendation to the Council set out below:

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION BY THE CABINET TO THE COUNCIL

That the Cabinet recommends to the Council:

(1)  The key financial principles and actions of the five-year financial strategy set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report.

(2)  That the current five-year Financial Model in appendix 2 to the agenda report be noted.

(3)  That a minimum level of general fund reserves be set, having considered the recommendations from the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee.

(4)  That Chichester District Council participates in the West Sussex 100% Business Rates Pilot for 2018-2019 if the bid is accepted by the Department of Communities and Local Government or continues to participate in a West Sussex Business Rates pool for 2018-2019 if the pilot bid is unsuccessful.

(5)  That the current resources position as set out in appendix 3 to the agenda report be noted.

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

That the Council:

(1)  Approves the key financial principles and actions of the five-year financial strategy set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report.

(2)  Notes the current five-year Financial Model in appendix 2 to the agenda report.

(3)  Approves that a minimum level of general fund reserves be set at £5m and the £1.3m provision for revenue support be maintained, having considered the recommendations from the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee.

(4)  Approves that Chichester District Council participates in the West Sussex 100% Business Rates Pilot for 2018-2019 if the bid is accepted by the Department of Communities and Local Government or continues to participate in a West Sussex Business Rates pool for 2018-2019 if the pilot bid is unsuccessful.

(5)  Notes the current resources position as set out in appendix 3 to the agenda report.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its three appendices, the third of which had been omitted from the agenda papers and was circulated subsequently in the first agenda supplement.

The report was presented by Mrs Hardwick.

Mrs Belenger was in attendance for this item.

In commending the recommendations to the Cabinet, Mrs Hardwick said that the report updated the financial strategy and plan for 2018-2019 and created the framework within which the council tax base would be set (agenda item 9) and set the scene for the budget in February 2018.

The backdrop to the strategy was the uncertain geo-political climate and reducing central government funding for local government. CDC was two years into its four-year agreed settlement with central government, so there was a degree of certainty over some parts of the funding stream, although only until 2019-2020. Thereafter retained business rates would provide an increased proportion of funding but that source and much of CDC’s other income eg from car parks and planning fees was fairly unpredictable, reflecting the state of the wider economy. Thus CDC would have to navigate through financial uncertainty into a new era outside the EU.

Appendix 2 showed the updated five-year model, reflecting the consolidated budget from the service areas, the four-year settlement and the most up-to-date estimates for the wider CDC activities including the Programme Boards and other planned savings. 

Confirmation was awaited from the government as to whether CDC could raise council tax by 2% or the higher rise (for CDC) of £5 (for a so-called Band D property) without a referendum. This higher rise was applied in 2016 and the current model assumed the higher (£5) increase this year as the government’s consultation proposed that option for at least one more year with increases of 2% thereafter. 

The model reflected various uncertainties and risks set out in para 4.16, from which she drew particular attention to (a) income from fees and charges; (b) pay settlements; (c) localisation of business rates; and (d) the new homes bonus (the parish allocation in respect of which was the subject of the next agenda item).

Appendix 1 set out the key financial principles behind the financial strategy and appendix 3 summarised the resources position, with the up-to-date position of CDC’s reserves and assets, demonstrating that CDC remained in a sound and sustainable prospective financial state.

As previously notified to the Cabinet and circulated on a sheet immediately prior to the start of this meeting, the third recommendation in para 3.3 of the report had been amended twice so that it now read:

‘That a minimum level of general fund reserves be set at £5m and to maintain the £1.3m provision for revenue support, having considered the recommendations from the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee.’

She expressed her own and the Cabinet’s gratitude to Mrs Belenger and her team.

Mrs Belenger did not wish to add to Mrs Hardwick’s introduction.

The Cabinet noted and agreed with the amended version of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 445.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its two appendices and to make the proposed recommendation to the Council set out below:

PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

That the New Homes Bonus (Parish Allocations) Policy and the delegations therein be approved.

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

That the New Homes Bonus (Parish Allocations) Policy and the delegations therein be approved.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its two appendices.

The report was presented by Mrs Lintill.

Mr Hyland was in attendance for this item.

Mrs Lintill summarised the report with particular reference to section 3 and para 7.1. The New Homes Bonus (Parish Allocations) Policy was nearing the time for renewal and the Grants and Concessions Panel, which she chaired, strongly supported its continuation for a further four years from 2018. The benefits it brought to Chichester District’s communities, as outlined in section 4 of the report, were self-evident and should continue to be made available.

Mr Hyland did not wish to add to Mrs Lintill’s introduction.

In a short discussion Mr Dignum and Mrs Hardwick spoke in support of the Policy and the recommendation. The projects it had helped to deliver had been well received in the communities. It was essential to protect the funds from government frontline cuts so that they could be dedicated to projects envisaged by the Policy.

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands in favour of making the following recommendation to the Council.    

RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL

That the New Homes Bonus (Parish Allocations) Policy and the delegations therein be approved.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and to make the proposed resolutions set out below:

(1)  That the Delivery Action Plan for the Chichester City Centre Vision as set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report be approved.

(2)  That the continuation of the Chichester Vision Steering Group in overseeing the implementation of the Delivery Action Plan be approved.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the Delivery Action Plan for the Chichester City Centre Vision as set out in appendix 1 to the agenda report be approved.

(2)  That the continuation of the Chichester Vision Steering Group in overseeing the implementation of the Delivery Action Plan be approved.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its appendix.

The report was presented by Mr Dignum.

Mr Oates was in attendance for this item.

In seeking the Cabinet’s approval of the Delivery Action Plan and oversight of its implementationby the ChichesterVisionSteeringGroup, Mr Dignum said that the final text for theVisiondocumenthad been approvedby the Vision SteeringGroupmembers inJune 2017and then formally approvedby the Council on 25 July2017. With document designcompleted,the Vision was now readyfor publication.It would be a principalguidefor allthreelocalauthoritiesand thekey organisationsinChichesterwhen setting resourceplansand consideringsignificantissuesand proposalsaffecting thecity centre.To providethe leadershipand governance, itwas proposedthat theexistingSteeringGroupwould fulfilthe roleof ChichesterCityVision DeliverySteeringGroup.

Key projectswithinthe Visionthat would requireclosepartnershipworkingwithWSCC hadbeen identifiedintheChichesterGrowth Dealand wouldbe monitoredby the proposedGrowth Board.Other actions to deliver the Vision would be prioritized in thedelivery action plan (appendix 1) with aschedule of theproposed initialprojects andactivities. The Cabinet’s approval of the plan was sought but it might well be subject to change after discussion with CDC’s partners on the Steering Group. At its next meeting the SteeringGroup would agree the priorities for the coming year having regard to the available resources and the costs of the proposed projects.

With the Growth Deal’s four large projects each contributing to the realisation of the Vision, the Vision Steering Group’s focus would be on much smaller projects which shared the objective of making the city more attractive to users of all ages, namely residents, visitors, workers and students. Those projects included improved wayfinding, more cycle racks and benches, refurbishment of the Priory Park buildings and an improved tourism offer.

Mr Dignum said that as part of the 2018-2019 budget preparation he would propose that a sum should be allocated for use by all of Chichester District’s Visions, including Selsey, Midhurst and Petworth, as well as Chichester. The Chichester Vision projects might also benefit from Chichester City Council’s share of the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Mr Oates did not wish to add to Mr Dignum’s introduction.

During the discussion members expressed their satisfaction with Mr Dignum’s proposal that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 447.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its four appendices and to make the following proposed resolutions:

(1)  That the council tax discounts to apply for the 2018-2019 financial year are:-

(a)   Nil discount for second homes (to include those with planning restrictions – (Prescribed classes A & B))

(b)   Nil discount for vacant, unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties to include those properties which would previously have qualified for Class C exemption (Prescribed class C)

(c)   Nil discount for unoccupied properties which would previously have qualified for Class A exemption (properties in need of or undergoing major repair - (Prescribed Class D))

(2)  That an Empty Home Premium of 50% be charged for the 2018-2019 financial year.

(3)  That no additional locally defined classes of discount should be determined for the 2018-2019 financial year

(4)  In order to comply with section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, that the following resolutions are made:

(i) No item of expenditure shall be treated as “special expenses” for the purposes of section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

(ii) This resolution shall remain in force for the 2018-2019 financial year;

(iii) The calculation of the Council’s taxbase for the year 2018-2019 is approved;

(iv)           The amounts calculated by the Council as its council taxbase for the year 2018-2019 for its area and each part of its area shall be those set out in appendices 1 and 2 to this report;

(v)            In order to offset some or all of the costs of Council Tax Reduction to local precepting authorities (Parish Councils), a grant is distributed as outlined in appendix 3 and described in paragraphs 6.4 of the agenda report.
 

RESOLVED

(1)  That the council tax discounts to apply for the 2018-2019 financial year are:

(a)   Nil discount for second homes (to include those with planning restrictions – (Prescribed classes A & B))

(b)   Nil discount for vacant, unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties to include those properties which would previously have qualified for Class C exemption (Prescribed class C)

(c)   Nil discount for unoccupied properties which would previously have qualified for Class A exemption (properties in need of or undergoing major repair - (Prescribed Class D))

(2)  That an Empty Home Premium of 50% be charged for the 2018-2019 financial year.

(3)  That no additional locally defined classes of discount should be determined for the 2018-2019 financial year.

(4)  In order to comply with section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, that the following resolutions are made:

(i)        No item of expenditure shall be treated as “special expenses” for the purposes of section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

(ii)      This resolution shall remain in force for the 2018-2019 financial year;

(iii)      The calculation of Chichester District Council’s taxbase for the year 2018-2019 is approved;

(iv)           The amounts calculated by the Chichester District Council as its council tax base for the year 2018-2019 for its area and each part of its area shall be those set out in appendices 1 and 2 to this report;

(v)            In order to offset some or all of the costs of Council Tax Reduction to local precepting authorities (parish councils), a grant is distributed as outlined in appendix 3 and described in paragraph 5.4 of the agenda report for 2018-2019.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its four appendices.

The report was presented by Mrs Hardwick.

Mr Jobson was in attendance for this item.

Mrs Hardwick said that this item related to setting the council tax base for the next financial year. It was effectively an estimate of the number of council tax dwellings in Chichester District, ie current plus estimation for new dwellings likely to enter the valuation list, which was then adjusted for the effect of discounts and exemptions (appendix 4) and for properties being in different bands. The final total was expressed as the number of Band D equivalent dwellings and then adjusted for an estimated collection rate. That figure would be used by the relevant authorities to set their council tax/precepts.

The calculations were detailed in appendix 1. Calculating the tax base as an equivalent number of Band D properties, there were 50,225 chargeable properties estimated for 2018-2019. These were then weighted to convert them to a Band D equivalent, producing 55,688 Band D equivalent properties. Net of additional charges for second and empty homes, making allowance for both eligible claimants under CDC’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) and estimating losses on collection, the net tax base was 52,804. This was broken down by parish as shown in Appendix 2.

Since 2013 CDC had received funds from the government in order to assist parishes which would receive less precept due to residents in their parishes receiving relief under the CTRS. From 2014-2015 CDC had continued to pay parishes out of the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) a grant to reflect that lost precept but at an ever decreasing rate.  After the 2017-2018 financial year the RSG would no longer exist. Parishes were given notice last year that the CTRS-related grant would be tapered down each year over three years and by the end of 2019-2020 will have been withdrawn altogether.  Appendix 3 detailed the taper relief which had been applied in the previous year where the grant represented a material amount for that parish (defined as being in excess of 4% of the precept). In order to avoid administering relatively small grant payments CDC was continuing to apply a lower threshold of £1,000 so any computed grant still lower than that limit was removed totally. 

Mr Jobson commented that the council tax base had experienced a healthy growth compared with the previous financial year, which was the result of housing developments in several areas in and around the city. The estimate presented to the Cabinet was a fairly accurate one based inter alia on CDC inspectors going into the community and talking with developers about their expectations and taking into account the build-out rates of previous developments.

During the discussion Mr Jobson answered members’ questions on points of detail (a) relating to the calculation of the 99% collection rate and what was factored into it; (b) with respect to students; (c) the reduction for occupiers with disabilities, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 448.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and to make the proposed resolution set out below:

That it be approved that the existing asset replacement budget allocation of £97,000 be brought forward from 2021-2022 to be used in 2017-2018 for the replacement of parking payment machines in the rural car parks, to enable coin, card and contactless payment.

RESOLVED

That it be approved that the existing asset replacement budget allocation of £97,000 be brought forward from 2021-2022 to be used in 2017-2018 for the replacement of parking payment machines in the rural car parks, to enable coin, card and contactless payment.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report.

The report was presented by Mr Dignum.

Mrs Murphy was in attendance for this item.

Mr Dignum summarised the report with reference to sections 3, 4 and 5.

Mrs Murphy pointed out that all of the machines would be solar-powered and those already deployed in the city centre had resulted in significant savings. The extension of these machines to all the rural car parks was in recognition of the very positive customer feedback received. Machines located in coastal areas were designed with protective material to prevent erosion.

Mrs Murphy answered members’ questions and comments on points of detail with respect to (a) cleaning maintenance of the machines; (b) seasonal non-tariff periods and options for decommissioning the machines during those months; and (c) how the bringing forward of the £97,000 asset replacement budget allocation would be balanced by various savings which would be made.    

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands to make the resolution below.

RESOLVED

That it be approved that the existing asset replacement budget allocation of £97,000 be brought forward from 2021-2022 to be used in 2017-2018 for the replacement of parking payment machines in the rural car parks, to enable coin, card and contactless payment.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and to make the proposed resolution set out below:

That with effect from 1 January 2018 Tony Dignum be reappointed as Chichester District Council’s representative on the West Sussex Joint Leaders Group.

RESOLVED

That with effect from 1 January 2018 Tony Dignum be reappointed as Chichester District Council’s representative on the West Sussex Joint Leaders Group.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report.

The report was briefly explained by Mr Dignum.

There was no officer in attendance for this item.

The Cabinet did not discuss this matter.

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands to make the resolution below.

RESOLVED

That with effect from 1 January 2018 Tony Dignum be reappointed as Chichester District Council’s representative on the West Sussex Joint Leaders Group.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its appendix and to make the proposed resolution set out below:

That the amended Rural Settlement List be approved for publication as set out in the appendix to the agenda report.

RESOLVED

That the amended Rural Settlement List be approved for publication as set out in the appendix to the agenda report subject to a further check of the boundaries by the Head of Finance and Governance Services.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its appendix.

The report was presented by Mrs Hardwick.

Mr Jobson was in attendance for this item.

In commending the Rural Settlement List (RSL) to be approved for publication, Mrs Hardwick explained that it identified rural settlements in Chichester District for the purposes of allocating Rural Rate Relief. The relief was funded by the government to assist rural communities by allowing small rural businesses such as village shops, post offices, pubs and petrol stations to receive business rate relief. 

One of the proposed changes was to recognise that Hampers Green was a rural settlement in its own right as distinct from Petworth town.  The existing wider defined area within Petworth parish, which was currently known as Petworth for the purposes of the list and contained Petworth town and Hampers Green, was likely to exceed the population limit of 3,000.  Although no businesses currently were in receipt of such relief, it was proposed to recognise the Hampers Green settlement as a distinct rural settlement so that the potential for rural rate relief continued to be available for both these areas as in other parishes across Chichester District.

Mr Jobson commented that the RSL was only for non-domestic rates and that CDC was able to draw and amend the settlement boundaries.

Mr Jobson responded to questions on points of detail with regard to (a) the correct parish for Maudlin; (b) how for RSL purposes the boundary was redrawn for Hampers Green in accordance with the regulations; and (c) the boundaries for other areas within Chichester District such as East Wittering and Bracklesham would be reviewed during the next 12 months and if members had points or concern they were welcome to notify Mr Jobson.

Mr Dignum proposed with the Cabinet’s agreement that the following words should be added to the end of the recommendation in para 2.1 of the report: ‘subject to a further check of the boundaries by the Head of Finance and Governance Services’.

Decision

The Cabinet voted unanimously on a show of hands to make the resolution below.  

RESOLVED

That the amended Rural Settlement List be approved for publication as set out in the appendix to the agenda report subject to a further check of the boundaries by the Head of Finance and Governance Services.

The Cabinet is requested to consider the agenda report and its three appendices and to make the proposed resolution set out below:

That the Treasury Management activity and performance for 2017-2018 to date together with any comments made by Corporate Governance and Audit Committee be noted.

RESOLVED

That the Treasury Management activity and performance for 2017-2018 to date together with any comments made by Corporate Governance and Audit Committee be noted.

The Cabinet received and considered the agenda report and its three appendices.

Mrs Hardwick presented the report.

Mr Catlow was in attendance for this item.

Mr Dignum first of all began by reminding the Cabinet and other CDC members who were present as observers about the treasury management training session on 8 December 2017. He, and later Mrs Hardwick, strongly encouraged members (particularly those who sat on the Cabinet and the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee (CGAC)) to attend this very valuable workshop.

Mrs Hardwick said that the report presented a summary of CDC’s treasury activity for the first half of 2017-2018.  A slightly fuller version of this report had been presented to the CGAC on 23 November 2017, which had noted the direction taken so far, the challenges faced for the future and their impact on a future strategy.Those challenges were summarised in para 3.3 with further details in appendix 2.  The greatest challenge was to respond to the new Prudential Code and the Regulatory Guidance that were expected to be issued early in 2018. The aforementioned forthcoming treasury management training session would cover those regulatory changes together with the wider environment within which treasury decisions were made.  

As to 2017-2018, treasury funds had risen to around £60m and CDC had continued to use money market deposits for short term liquidity while reducing the level of lending to other local authorities due to the poor returns offered. The current quarterly return for internal investments of 0.52% in para 5.2 was in line with the return received by other district and borough councils in the benchmarking data.  

Longer term investments had increased following a further investment in external pooled funds (similar to unit trusts) early in the financial year.  The return to date for investment in the Local Authority Property Fund and the new external pooled funds was set out in paras 5.4 and 5.5 respectively. 

The return on CDC’s property portfolio was estimated at 7.82%. However, this did not take into account any income and expenditure for 2017-2018 and Estates officers were developing a system to monitor and report the performance of CDC’s investment properties going forward.

Two tables in section 5 of the report set out CDC’s performance against Security and Liquidity benchmarking.  Overall there were no exceptions to note although the Treasury team was not seeking to increase CDC’s use of bank deposits over the short term to ensure that the proportion of funds exposed to bail-in remained below the average of other district/borough councils.

Three exceptions to Treasury guidelines during the first half year were listed in section 6 of the report.  These had been reviewed for learning points and procedures had been reviewed to ensure that required improvements were made.

Appendix 1 contained a summary of CDC’s external advisor’s latest economic commentary, which dealt with the present economic and credit outlook.

She thanked Mr Catlow and his colleagues for their hard work in treasury management.

Mr Catlow did not wish to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 452.

(a)  Items added to the agenda papers and made available for public inspection

(b)  Items which the chairman has agreed should be taken as matters of urgency by reason of special circumstances to be reported at the meeting

[NONE]

There were no late items for consideration at this meeting.

There are no restricted items for consideration at this meeting.

[NO PART II RESOLUTION AS NO RESTRICTED AGENDA ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION]

There were no restricted items for consideration at this meeting and so no Part II resolution was required to be made.