To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2022 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The meeting minutes of the Committee held on 19 October 2022 were agreed as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

Report attached.

The Committee were presented with The Treasury Management Strategy Statement (“TMSS”) report that was a part of the authority’s reporting procedures as recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Treasury Management (“TM”) Code and its Prudential code (“The CIPFA Prudential Code”) for capital finance in local authorities.

The TMSS sets out recently introduced changes to the legislative framework, which were generally designed to place restrictions on authorities’ commercial activity.

It was explained that the report fulfilled the authority’s legal obligation under the Local Government Act 2003 to have regard to both the CIPFA TM Code/Prudential Code and Government Guidance, and it covered the following:

•           The Borrowing and Investment Strategies

•          Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators - there was a change to them from the revised CIPFA TM Code and Prudential Code (2021) and is discussed later in the report and would be reported upon in the 2023-24 TMSS. At the time of writing, the report the capital programme had not been finalised and therefore the figures in the report may change before they are presented to Cabinet. 

The Committee considered, commented and noted the report.

Report attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that advised the Committee on the work undertaken by the Assurance Service (internal audit and counter fraud) during the period from 1^st October to 31^st December 2022.  The report included: Housing Service charges, Project and Programmes, Voids Follow up, Payrolls Follow Up and Counter Fraud Audit Work. The relevant Officers were at the meeting to answer the questions of Members.

The Committee noted the contents of the report.

Report and appendices attached. Appendix B is not available for public inspection as it contains or relates to exempt information within the meaning of paragraph of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972. They are exempt because they refer to [reason for exemption], and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee were presented with a report that advised the Committee on the background, activity and financial status of Mercury Land Holdings, the Council-owned development company.

The Committee noted the report.

Work programme attached – to discuss what is to go on agenda for next meeting.

It was decided there would be an addition meeting to further discuss Mercury Land Holdings on 23 February 2023.

The following items would be on the agenda for 18 April 2023:

·       Accounts Update (overview accounts)

·       Community Grants