Agenda item

That the Treasury Management activities for 2014/15 and the beginning of 2015/16, as set out in the body of the report, be noted.

The Assistant Director Finance & Audit introduced a report which summarised treasury activity in 2014/15 and the first part of 2015/16.  The CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2011 recommended that Members be informed of such activities at least twice a year and the report detailed progress in relation to the external context, debt management, investment activity and future outlook.

It was noted that the change in Treasury Management Strategy for 2014/15, as approved by Council in February 2014, had yielded a significant increase in the Council’s investment returns from 0.5% to almost 2% in 2014/15.  The Council was now a top performing local authority in terms of treasury returns relative to its comparators.  In addition to improved performance, the strategy to diversify the portfolio had also reduced risk.  It was also confirmed that the authority had complied with its Prudential Indicators for 2015/16.

Commissioners discussed a number of issues including future plans for investment activity and the position regarding historic investment of £2.5m with Icelandic Banks.  A final payment of £75k was expected imminently and this meant the Council would fully recover all of the money originally invested.  The Cabinet congratulated the Assistant Director and his team for the excellent performance achieved and agreed to note the report.

Resolved –  That the Treasury Management activities for 2014/15 and the beginning of 2015/16, as set out in the body of the report, be noted.