Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

Contact: Priya Patel  Head of Democratic and Electoral Services

Media

Items
No. Item

104.

Minute Silence

Minutes:

The Mayor referred to the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria which had killed over 40,000 people and left millions homeless. The Mayor stated that everyone’s thoughts were with the victims and their families. The Mayor asked Members to stand for a minute’s silence.

105.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted from Keith Baker, Gary Cowan, Phil Cunnington, John Halsall and Abdul Loyes.

 

Gregor Murray attended the meeting on Microsoft Teams.

106.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 278 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 January 2023.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 19 January 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor, subject to a word change on Page 39 – 100.8 – Question from Pauline Jorgensen – in line 1 “leaflets” should read “leaves”.

107.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and any non-registrable interests relevant to any matters to be considered at the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

108.

Mayor's Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

Minutes:

The Mayor had no announcements.

109.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of the Council

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Council or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

110.

Petitions

To receive any petitions which Members or members of the public wish to present.

Minutes:

The following Member presented a petition in relation to the matter indicated.

 

The Mayor’s decision as to the action to be taken is set out beneath the petition.

 

Norman Jorgensen

Norman Jorgensen presented a petition containing 1,800 signatures from residents who wished to see the continuation of weekly waste and recycling collections across the Borough.

 

 

To be forwarded to officers in the Place and Growth department.

 

 

111.

Medium Term Financial Plan and Associated Reports

The following budget reports will be taken as one agenda Item and a period of 1.5 hours will be permitted to debate this item.

Minutes:

The Council considered four reports which together comprised a single Agenda item:

 

·           Housing Revenue Account Budget 2023/34 as set out on Agenda pages 47 to 56;

·           Capital Programme and Strategy 2023/26 as set out on Agenda pages 57 to 88;

·           Treasury Management Strategy 2023/26 as set out on Agenda pages 89 to 140;

·           Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/26 including Revenue Budget Submission 2023/24, as set out on Agenda pages 141 to 158.

 

The Mayor reminded Members that a total of 90 minutes would be set aside for the debate.

 

The Mayor also reminded Members that Appendix A to the Medium Term Financial Plan (the Statutory Resolution) and the Council Tax by Band and Parish, had been circulated.

111.1

Clive Jones, Leader of the Council - Statement on the Budget

Minutes:

I present this prudent, forward-looking, and compassionate Budget to the Council together with the circulated amended page that does not change the figures but better represents our Climate Emergency endeavours.

This is the first Budget that the Liberal Democrats have proposed for many years and is probably the most challenging budget process this Council has ever experienced. With inflation at over 10%, rising demand for services, shortfalls in anticipated income and now higher interest rates, we have had to endure a financial storm of tropical intensity.

The unprecedented financial challenges have obliged us to take difficult decisions to ensure the council’s financial viability. I am pleased to say that we did not shy away from those tough decisions and as a result of taking them we have been able to eliminate the ongoing shortfall we inherited of £2.3m and have now set a balanced budget for 2023-24 that plans for the future and leaves the Council’s finances in a better state than we found them almost a year ago.

Before I turn to some of the details of the Budget, I would like to thank my Executive and our Corporate Leadership Team for the immense work they have put into this Budget. We began preparation in May when we took over the administration and we have had to go through three major reviews of our Capital Programme to arrive at this balanced budget.

I would also like to thank the cross-party Community and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee which has been considering and commenting on our proposals since late summer.

Moving to the key features of our Budget submission. Our Budget proposals include much needed, substantial investment in our vital services totalling £15m. £6.3m is for Children’s Services and £3.6m is for Adult Social Care. In addition, we have had to provide a staggering sum to cover the costs of inflation of just under £11m, which is £3m more than provided for in this current year. To help Councillors, you will find this set out on pages 59 and 60 of the MTFP.

The costs of investing in services and providing for inflation are funded in part by finding just short of £12m, primarily achieved through over £10m of cost reductions and some new income. This is the furthest this Council has had to go in many years in finding savings and possibly ever but is wholly necessary to meet the unavoidable financial pressures we face. Our efficiencies programme is more than double the £5.1m proposed last year and more than 60% of the total of the last four years’ proposed savings.

As many previous Council leaders have said “we get very little from central government,” my predecessors have complained that Wokingham is the poorest funded Unitary Authority per head of population in the country and unfortunately their government allows this sorry state to continue. This year we received a meagre £1.8 million more from the government at a time when we have had additional challenges of increased funding required  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.1

111.2

Pauline Jorgensen, Leader of the Conservative Group - Statement on the Budget

Minutes:

 

I want to make it very clear to residents that this budget is the work of the Coalition of Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independents and they are all equally responsible for the proposals. It is a budget that is built on a falsehood that has been repeated since the Liberal Democrats took power with the help of their allies. They claim that they have no choice because of the state they found the Council’s finances in. Every poor decision, that is their excuse. It’s always somebody else’s fault. And it’s simply not true.

 

Don’t just take my word for it. At the last Executive meeting, the Council’s own Chief Financial Officer (CFO) said that the Council’s Finances were in good shape under the previous Conservative administration. The CFO’s report sets out that, in 2020, Wokingham Borough was rated in the top 20 for financial sustainability by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy. The most recent data, published 2020-21, shows an even further improved position on indicators of financial stress, such as maintaining or improving reserves and the cost of social care as a proportion of total expenditure compared to other local authorities. Demonstrating that the previous Conservative administration’s stewardship of the Council’s finances was better than many other councils during the difficult pandemic period.

 

Power means making choices. When they do anything at all, the record of this administration is to repeatedly make the wrong choices. Since May the record of the Coalition has been one of dither and delay. There’s certainly been a lot of talk but almost no action. Perhaps having been in opposition for the last two decades they aren’t accustomed to making decisions, or maybe they are trying to duck the big issues. Having made broad sweeping promises in Opposition they find themselves incapable of acting.

 

Councillor Jones has bet the house on being able to reduce housing numbers. He’s told everyone that will listen about his brush-past with Michael Gove and his invitation to a round table that we’re still waiting to happen. And in the meantime, no sign of the Local Plan. We’re left exposed to speculative development, endless costly appeals, and a growing pressure on services and infrastructure with no plan to address it.

 

This Budget before us continues the theme of poor choices. The choices of the Liberal Democrats, propped up by Labour and the Independents, are not taken in the best interests of our local residents or our communities – they are driven by ideology. Take car parking charges. Despite thousands of people in this Borough signing a petition begging the Council not to double parking charges and 40 businesses explaining how the changes will damage employment, the administration pressed on. Yet this budget acknowledges that this excruciating hike in charges won’t save £500,000 as had been claimed, because £350,000 has had to be allocated to make up for the drop-off in usage of car parks and park and rides. So, residents and local businesses are being made  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.2

112.

Budget Amendment

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor Stuart Munro and seconded by Councillor Charles Margetts that the proposed Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/26 and Revenue Budget Submission 2023/24 be amended with the Budget changes set out in the table below:

 

Service

Budget Changes

Additional Spending

Savings

Rationale

 

 

£,000

£,000

 

Highways

Freeze car parking charges

500

-350

Based on no car parking charge increase, netting off the cost of £350k additional budgeted spending as a result of reduced usage of car parks and park and rides

 

Road, pavement and pothole fund

1,000

-330

Increase budget by inflation (50% capital, 50% revenue) - £1m road and pothole budget partly grant funded

 

California Crossroads – reduce capital borrowing costs

 

-84

S106 allocations from 22/23 carried forwards to 23/24. Reallocate carry forward to 22/23 on local roads in Capital Programme. Reduce Capital borrowing costs in Revenue budget. £5.72m total cost, of which £4.2m could be reallocated to replace borrowing

 

Accelerate street light night time switch off

 

-30

Nine months acceleration

Environment

Maintain weekly waste collection

 

-70

Maintain weekly waste – no cost, no benefits 2024; saving interest on Capital of 2% - £70k

 

Keep caddy liners

80

 

Caddy liners only – no delivery cost required

 

Outdoor gyms no longer progressing

 

-3

 

Other

Scrap Climate Citizens’ Assembly

 

-90

Already allocated deliberative process – additional £90k

Children’s

Cancellation of St Cecilia delay costs following successful handover

 

-100

 

CEX & Resources

Community engagement

 

-115

Remove Special Item spend increase

 

Remove Overhead Growth

 

-741

Overhead growth

 

Capital contingency reduction

 

-25

Interest charge on £1.5 m

 

Remove high cost interims

 

-250

 

Total

 

1,580

-2,188

 

 

In proposing the amendment, Stuart Munro stated that it demonstrated how the Conservative Group would make savings and reallocate money. The amendment was a prudent proposal which was what residents wanted. The amendment would deliver savings of £2.1m from reductions in wasteful increased spending on back office staff, too much focus on communications, too much focus on projects that were no longer progressing and removing expensive interim posts. The proposals would reallocate money to freeze current car park charges, increase spending on road maintenance and retain weekly waste collections. Previous Conservative administrations had built up over £100m of available reserves. The Liberal Democrat Budget failed its own test of sound finance and failed to address the needs and wants of residents. It lacked the ambition to continue the Conservative goal of getting the local economy back on its feet after Covid. It wasted money on internal reorganisations while cutting back and underinvesting on services affecting our communities such as roads and waste. It took money out of residents’ pockets that could have been found through better financial management.

 

In addition to the amendment, Members received a copy of a paper from the Chief Finance Officer which provided an assessment of the proposed Budget amendment. The paper stated that the Budget Amendment put forward additional growth proposals and/or reduced income proposals totalling £1.6m. To fund this, £2.2m of savings had been proposed. The Substantive Budget Submission already incorporated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 112.

112.1

Housing Revenue Account Budget 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 105 KB

To consider the recommendations of the Executive in respect of the Housing Revenue Account Budget for 2023/24.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That Council approve:

 

1)              The Housing Revenue Account budget for 2023/24 (Appendix A);

 

2)              Council house dwelling rents be increased by up to 5.99% effective from 3rd April 2023 in line with the council’s Rent Setting Policy that was approved by Executive on 27th October 2022.

 

3)              Garage rents to be increased by 5.99% effective from April 2023;

 

4)              Shared Equity Rents to be increased by 5.99% effective from April 2023;

 

5)              Tenant Service Charges to be increased by 3.99% effective from April 2023;

 

6)              The Housing Major Repairs (capital) programme for 2023/24 as set out in Appendix B;

 

7)              Sheltered room guest charges for 2023/24 remain unchanged at £9.50 per night per room.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was proposed by Clive Jones and seconded by Stephen Conway that the Housing Revenue Account Budget 2023/24, as set out on Agenda pages47 to 56, together with the revised recommendation set out in the supplementary paper, be approved.

 

Voting on the item was as follows:

 

For

Against

Abstain

Sam Akhtar

 

 

Parry Batth

 

 

Rachel Bishop-Firth

 

 

Laura Blumenthal

 

 

Chris Bowring

 

 

Shirley Boyt

 

 

Prue Bray

 

 

Rachel Burgess

 

 

Anne Chadwick

 

 

Stephen Conway

 

 

David Cornish

 

 

Andy Croy

 

 

David Davies

 

 

Peter Dennis

 

 

Lindsay Ferris

 

 

Michael Firmager

 

 

Paul Fishwick

 

 

Jim Frewin

 

 

Maria Gee

 

 

David Hare

 

 

Peter Harper

 

 

Pauline Helliar-Symons

 

 

Graham Howe

 

 

Chris Johnson

 

 

Clive Jones

 

 

Norman Jorgensen

 

 

Pauline Jorgensen

 

 

Sarah Kerr

 

 

Tahir Maher

 

 

Morag Malvern

 

 

Charles Margetts

 

 

Rebecca Margetts

 

 

Adrian Mather

 

 

Andrew Mickleburgh

 

 

Stuart Munro

 

 

Alistair Neal

 

 

Jackie Rance

 

 

Beth Rowland

 

 

Ian Shenton

 

 

Imogen Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Caroline Smith

 

 

Mike Smith

 

 

Wayne Smith

 

 

Bill Soane

 

 

Alison Swaddle

 

 

Shahid Younis

 

 

 

RESOLVED: That Council approve the following:

 

1)     the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2023/24 (Appendix A);

 

2)     Council house dwelling rents be increased by up to 5.99%, effective from 3 April 2023, in line with the Council’s Rent Setting Policy, approved by the Executive on 27 October 2022;

 

3)     garage rents be increased by 5.99%, effective from April 2023;

 

4)     Shared Equity rents be increased by 5.99%, effective from April 2023;

 

5)     Tenant Services Charges be increased by 5.99%, effective from April 2023;

 

6)     the Housing Major Repairs (Capital) Programme for 2023/24, as set out in the report;

 

7)     sheltered room guest charges for 2023/24 remain unchanged at £9.50 per night per room.

112.2

Capital Programme and Strategy 2023-2026 pdf icon PDF 148 KB

To consider the recommendations of the Executive in respect of the Capital Programme and Strategy 2023- 2026.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That Council approve:

 

1)        the Capital Strategy for 2023 - 2026 - Appendix A;

 

2)       the three-year capital programme for 2023 - 2026 Appendix B;

 

3)        the draft vision for capital investment over the next five years - Appendix C;

 

4)        the use of developer contribution funding (s106 and CIL) for capital projects as set out in Appendix D. Approval is sought up to the project budget.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was proposed by Clive Jones and seconded by Stephen Conway that the Capital Programme and Strategy 2023/26, as set out on Agenda pages 57 to 88, be approved.

 

Voting on the item was as follows:

 

For

Against

Abstain

Rachel Bishop-Firth

Sam Akhtar

 

Shirley Boyt

Parry Batth

 

Prue Bray

Laura Blumenthal

 

Rachel Burgess

Chris Bowring

 

Stephen Conway

Anne Chadwick

 

David Cornish

David Davies

 

Andy Croy

Michael Firmager

 

Peter Dennis

Peter Harper

 

Lindsay Ferris

Pauline Helliar-Symons

 

Paul Fishwick

Graham Howe

 

Jim Frewin

Norman Jorgensen

 

Maria Gee

Pauline Jorgensen

 

David Hare

Charles Margetts

 

Chris Johnson

Rebecca Margetts

 

Clive Jones

Stuart Munro

 

Sarah Kerr

Jackie Rance

 

Tahir Maher

Wayne Smith

 

Morag Malvern

Bill Soane

 

Adrian Mather

Alison Swaddle

 

Andrew Mickleburgh

Shahid Younis

 

Alistair Neal

 

 

Beth Rowland

 

 

Ian Shenton

 

 

Imogen Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Caroline Smith

 

 

Mike Smith

 

 

 

RESOLVED: That Council approve the following:

 

1)     the Capital Strategy for 2023/26 – Appendix A;

 

2)     the three year Capital Programme for 2023/26 – Appendix B;

 

3)     the draft Vision for Capital Investment over the next five years – Appendix C;

 

4)     the use of developer contribution funding (S106 and CIL) for Capital projects, as set out at Appendix D. Approval is sought up to the project budget.

112.3

Treasury Management Strategy 2023-2026 pdf icon PDF 178 KB

To consider the recommendations of the Executive in respect of the Treasury Management Strategy 2023- 2026.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That Council:

 

1)              Note the Treasury Management Strategy as set out in Appendix A including the following additional appendices;

·       Prudential Indicators (Appendix B)

·       Annual Investment Strategy 2023/24 (Appendix C)

·       Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy (Appendix D)

 

2)              Note that the Audit Committee agreed the Treasury Management Strategy, including the change of minimum credit rating for investments, on 1 February 2023 and have recommended the report to Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor Imogen Shepherd-Dubey and seconded by Councillor Clive Jones that the Treasury Management Strategy 2023/26, as set out on Agenda pages 89 to 140, be approved.

 

Voting on the item was as follows:

 

For

Against

Abstain

Sam Akhtar

 

Maria Gee

Parry Batth

 

 

Rachel Bishop-Firth

 

 

Laura Blumenthal

 

 

Chris Bowring

 

 

Shirley Boyt

 

 

Prue Bray

 

 

Rachel Burgess

 

 

Anne Chadwick

 

 

Stephen Conway

 

 

David Cornish

 

 

Andy Croy

 

 

David Davies

 

 

Peter Dennis

 

 

Lindsay Ferris

 

 

Michael Firmager

 

 

Paul Fishwick

 

 

Jim Frewin

 

 

David Hare

 

 

Peter Harper

 

 

Pauline Helliar-Symons

 

 

Graham Howe

 

 

Chris Johnson

 

 

Clive Jones

 

 

Norman Jorgensen

 

 

Pauline Jorgensen

 

 

Sarah Kerr

 

 

Tahir Maher

 

 

Morag Malvern

 

 

Charles Margetts

 

 

Rebecca Margetts

 

 

Adrian Mather

 

 

Andrew Mickleburgh

 

 

Stuart Munro

 

 

Alistair Neal

 

 

Jackie Rance

 

 

Beth Rowland

 

 

Ian Shenton

 

 

Imogen Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Caroline Smith

 

 

Mike Smith

 

 

Wayne Smith

 

 

Bill Soane

 

 

Alison Swaddle

 

 

Shahid Younis

 

 

 

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

1)     note the Treasury Management Strategy, set out in Appendix A, including the following additional appendices:

 

·           Prudential Indicators (Appendix B);

 

·           Annual Investment Strategy 2023/24 (Appendix C);

 

·           Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy (Appendix D);

 

2)     note that the Audit Committee agreed the Treasury Management Strategy, including the change of minimum credit rating for investments, on 1 February 2023 and has recommended the report to Council.

112.4

Medium Term Financial Plan 2023-2026 Including Revenue Budget Submission 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 104 KB

To consider the recommendations of the Executive in relation to the Medium Term Financial Plan 2023- 2026 and the Budget submission and Council Tax for 2023/24.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That Council:

 

1)    Approve the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2023/26, including the budget submission for 2023/24 and the Summary of Budget Movements (SOBM);

 

2)    Note in relation to the capital programme, additional challenges have emerged in the secondary school places capital programme and are currently being worked through and will be reported to Executive in early 2023/24 to seek the necessary budget provision.

 

3)    Approve the statutory resolution that sets out the 2023/24 council tax levels (as set out in Appendix A to the report)

 

4)    Approve that in the event that there are any changes to the provisional precept of the Fire Authority or parishes, arising from their precept setting meetings being held before the end of February, the Deputy Chief Executive (S151 Officer) is delegated authority to enact all relevant changes to the MTFP, Statutory Resolution and council tax levels.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was proposed by Councillor Clive Jones and seconded by Councillor Stephen Conway that the Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/26, including the Revenue Budget Submission 2023/24, set out on Agenda pages 141 to 158, be approved.

 

Voting on the item was as follows:

 

For

Against

Abstain

Rachel Bishop-Firth

Sam Akhtar

Jim Frewin

Shirley Boyt

Parry Batth

 

Prue Bray

Laura Blumenthal

 

Rachel Burgess

Chris Bowring

 

Stephen Conway

Anne Chadwick

 

David Cornish

David Davies

 

Andy Croy

Michael Firmager

 

Peter Dennis

Peter Harper

 

Lindsay Ferris

Pauline Helliar-Symons

 

Paul Fishwick

Graham Howe

 

Maria Gee

Norman Jorgensen

 

David Hare

Pauline Jorgensen

 

Chris Johnson

Charles Margetts

 

Clive Jones

Rebecca Margetts

 

Sarah Kerr

Stuart Munro

 

Tahir Maher

Jackie Rance

 

Morag Malvern

Wayne Smith

 

Adrian Mather

Bill Soane

 

Andrew Mickleburgh

Alison Swaddle

 

Alistair Neal

Shahid Younis

 

Beth Rowland

 

 

Ian Shenton

 

 

Imogen Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey

 

 

Caroline Smith

 

 

Mike Smith

 

 

 

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

1)     approve the Medium Term Financial Plan (MFTP) 2023/26, including the Budget Submission for 2023/24 and the Summary of Budget Movements (SOBM);

 

2)     note, in relation to the Capital Programme, that additional challenges have emerged in the secondary school places capital programme, are currently being worked through and will be reported to the Executive in early 2023/24, in order to seek the necessary budget provision;

 

3)     approve the Statutory Resolution that sets out the 2023/24 Council Tax levels (as set out in Appendix A to the report);

 

4)     approve that, in the event that there are any changes to the provisional precept of the Fire Authority or parishes arising from their precept setting meetings being held before the end of February 2023, the Deputy Chief Executive (S151 Officer) be delegated authority to enact all relevant changes to the MTFP, Statutory Resolution and Council Tax levels.

 

Note: The Statutory Resolution is attached as an Appendix to the Minutes of the meeting.

113.

Treasury Management Mid Year Report 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 158 KB

To receive the Treasury Management Mid Year Report 2022-23.

 

RECOMMENDATION: That Council note:

 

1)    that the Treasury Management Mid-Year report was considered and agreed by the Audit Committee at their meeting on Wednesday 30 November 2022;

 

2)    that all approved indicators set out in the Treasury Management Strategy have been adhered to; with the exceptions of internal borrowing which is forecast to be higher than set out in the strategy and ratio of financing costs to net revenue stream – General Fund.

 

3)    due to the current uncertainty in the interest rate market, the internal borrowing parameter is being reviewed with our external treasury management advisors and will be reported back as part of treasury management strategy.

 

4)    the contents of “Table A”, as set out in the report, which shows the net benefit per council tax band D equivalent, from the income generated less the financing costs on all borrowing to date equates to £15.29 per band D for 2022/23. This income is used by the Council to continue to provide priority services for the borough residents.

 

5)    As at the end of September 2022, the forecast for the total external general fund debt was £112m at March’23, which reduces to £81m after taking into account cash balances (net indebtedness) reducing interests costs in the current economic climate.

 

6)    The Executive agreed on 27th October 2022, recommendation 3 of the Capital Monitoring 2022/23 – Q2 report ‘note that due to the current uncertainty surrounding higher interest rates, as part of our financial management process, a review is to be undertaken to determine what capital projects can be postponed this year, to minimise exposure to borrowing at high rates. Any postponement is to be agreed at Executive.’

 

Minutes:

Council considered the Treasury Management Mid-Year report 2022/23, set out at Agenda pages 159 to 166.

 

The report provided a summary of the Council’s treasury management activities during the first six months of 2022/23. It was presented to Council for the purpose of monitoring and review in line with the treasury management practices. The report stated that the Council had adhered to all the agreed prudential indicators with the exception of internal borrowing. This included ensuring the necessary liquidity to deliver the Council’s day to day operations.

 

It was proposed by Imogen Shepherd-Dubey and seconded by Clive Jones, that the recommendation in the report be approved.

 

Upon being put to the vote it was:

 

RESOLVED That the Council note:

 

1)     that the Treasury Management Mid-Year report was considered and agreed by the Audit Committee at their meeting on Wednesday 30 November 2022;

 

2)     that all approved indicators, set out in the Treasury Management Strategy, have been adhered to, with the exception of internal borrowing, which is forecast to be higher than set out in the strategy and ratio of financing costs to net Revenue stream – General Fund;

 

3)     due to the current uncertainty in the interest rate market, the internal borrowing parameter is being reviewed with the Council’s treasury management advisers and will be reported back as part of the Treasury Management Strategy;

 

4)     the contents of “Table A”, as set out in the report, which shows the net benefit per Council Tax D equivalent, from the income generated less the financing costs on all borrowing to date equates to £15.29 per Band D for 2022/23 – this income is used by the Council to continue to provide priority services for the Borough’s residents;

 

5)     as at the end of September 2022, the forecast for the total external General Fund debt was £112m at March 2023, which reduces to £81m after taking into account cash balances (net indebtedness) reducing interest costs in the current economic climate;

 

6)     the Executive agreed, on 27 October 2022, recommendation 3 of the Capital Monitoring 2022/23 – Q2 report “note that due to the current uncertainty surrounding higher interest rates, as part of our financial management process, a review is to be undertaken to determine what Capital projects can be postponed this year, to minimise exposure to borrowing at high rates – any postponement to be agreed by the Executive.

114.

Energy Contract Procurement pdf icon PDF 120 KB

To consider the recommendations from the Executive in respect of the Energy Contract procurement.

 

RECOMMENDATION: ThatCouncil:

 

 

1.    Approve the procurement strategy set out in the Procurement Business case for the migration of the Councils energy buying strategy from the current framework provider (CCS – Crown Commercial Service) to the Laser framework;

 

2.    Approve the Procurement Business case;

 

3.    Note that an updated Procurement Business Case will be reported back to Executive and Council, with proposed contract terms and timescales for implementation.

 

4.    Delegate authority to the Director of Resources and Assets, in consultation with the Executive Members for Finance and Contracts, to engage with framework suppliers and negotiate on future contract provision, in line with the approved procurement strategy.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 167 to 183, which sought approval for a procurement strategy for the migration of the Energy Buying Strategy from the current framework provider (CCS – Crown Commercial Service) to the Laser Framework.

 

The report stated that the rationale for moving framework suppliers was to ensure best value (energy price) for the Council. The significant rise in energy prices over the past eighteen months had prompted an investigation into measures to enable the Council to procure smarter. It was considered that the levels of service offered by the Laser Framework would exceed the current CCS offer and would also deliver significant levels of additional flexibility, adaptivity and responsiveness in tariff pricing and trading arrangements. The proposed procurement strategy was in line with the Council’s procurement regulations.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Sarah Kerr and seconded by Councillor Chris Johnson, that the recommendation in the report be approved.

 

It was noted that recommendation 4) should refer to the Executive Members for Finance and Housing.

 

Upon being put to the vote, it was:

 

RESOLVED That Council:

 

1)     approves the procurement strategy set out in the Procurement Business Case for the migration of the Council’s Energy Buying Strategy from the current framework provider (CCS – Crown Commercial Service) to the Laser Framework;

 

2)     approves the Procurement Business Case;

 

3)     notes that an updated Procurement Business Case will be reported back to the Executive and Council, with proposed contract terms and timescales for implementation;

 

4)     delegates authority to the Director of Resources and Assets, in consultation with the Executive Members for Finance and Housing, to engage with framework suppliers and negotiate on future contract provision, in line with the approved procurement strategy.