Issue - meetings

Members scrutinised a report providing the updated Treasury Management Practices and schedules.

The Treasury function was carried out in line with the Treasury Management Code of Practice and the Prudential Code.

The 12 treasury management practices set out how Treasury Management was managed within the Finance Team.  Whilst these schedules were reviewed annually there had been a number of changes detailed at 2 in the report.

Within the Internal Audit Quarter 3 report seen previously, the Treasury Management Function had received high assurance for procedures and risk management.

Following questions from Members, further information was provided:

·         It was very rare for the Authority to take out long-term investments, other than the CCLA Property Fund;

·         The protection on the Authority’s bank accounts was the same as for any individual, as it was compensated up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme;

·         It was important to look at lender ratings when borrowing; the Authority had not borrowed from overseas for a long period of time;

·         The Authority’s counterparty list was managed by an external company, and any changes were reported to the Finance Team on a daily basis  There were limits on how West Lindsey District Council could invest with a counterparty;

·         There were no significant changes within the proposed set of practices; however, two minor changes were:

o   Changes to the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy;

o   A new Treasury Management system called TM Live had been implemented over the last year.  This logged the borrowing and interest of the Authority;

·         MIFID 2 was a legislative framework instituted by the European Union to regulate financial markets within the bloc and improve protections for investors.  It has meant that if trading in money market funds you would need specific training.  The practice had been updated to make sure West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) officers were compliant.

An additional recommendation had previously been suggested by the Chairman, “to recommend to Corporate Policy and Resources Committee the Treasury Management Practices”.  This, and the two printed recommendations were moved and seconded en bloc, and following a vote, it was unanimously RESOLVED to:

(1)  Be assured of the operational purpose of the updated Treasury Management Practices in effective Treasury management, and be satisfied that the updated practices have been scrutinised;

(2)  approve the scrutiny of Treasury Management Practices at least every 3 years, and in any event when a significant update is required due to changes in legislation or the Prudential Code.