Agenda and minutes

It was noted that an apology for absence had been received from Councillor Warner.

It was noted that Councillor Vizzard was substituting for Councillor Warner.

There were no Visiting Members.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

RESOLVED: That the items on the Agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 25 November 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed.

Minute 68 – Annual Governance Statement Action Plan Update

The Head of Audit Partnership, following a request, informed members that:

·  the updated guidance for Audit Committees from CIPFA had been circulated to Members of the Committee via email and a report will be brought to a future meeting of the Committee

·  The Scrutiny Co-Ordinating Committee were having a further meeting on 25 February 2014 and a report will be brought to the March meeting of this Committee

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities regarding an update on the reconciliation of the financial management system to the council tax and business rates system, requested by the Committee at its last meeting.

In response to questions, the Head of Finance and Resources informed Members that:-

·  No penalties could be awarded as a result of the non-payment as the system was closed by the Government;

·  He is meeting with the Auditor this week to ensure they are happy with the proposed arrangements

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities regarding the draft Treasury Management Strategy for 2014/15, including the Treasury and Prudential Indicators.

The Head of Finance and Resources explained that the recommended changes to be proposed were:-

·  Increasing the maximum duration limits with some part-nationalised groups to 2 years from 1 year;

·  Invest up to £m of ore cash for over 1 year if rates were to improve, maybe using property funds; and

·  Consider the use of core cash during 2014/15 for internal borrowing if not used for longer term investments;

Members asked questions of the Head of Finance and Resources regarding, inter alia, investing through Kent County Council, how interest is paid, rates of interest, the type of investments.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet be recommended to agree the draft Treasury Management Strategy for 2014/15, as set out in the report of the Director for Regeneration and Communities, for submission to the Council.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Communities regarding the risk analysis of the Finance Section’s service plan in respect of the Budget Strategy 2014/15 onwards.

The Head of Finance and Resources explained each of the risks set out in Appendix D to the Committee.

The Committee asked a number of questions of the Officers in relation to:

·  The risk related to out of town business centres;

·  Projected outturns;

·  Zero based budgeting;

·  New homes bonus; and

·  Collection fund

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet be recommended to agree, without amendment, the risk assessment of the budget strategy for 2014/15 onwards as set out in Appendix D to the report of the Director for Regeneration and Communities.

6.30 p.m. to 7.45 p.m.