Issue - meetings

Cabinet recommended to Full Council:

(a)          The updated Investment Strategy attached at Appendix A to the report from the Interim Director of Finance, which includes

(i)            a range of investment indicators to comply with the Statutory Guidance on Local Government Investments and

(ii)           the governance arrangements that enable the Council to seek approval for priority investments in a timely manner in response to market conditions.

(b)          The consequent changes to the Scheme of Delegation to enable the Head of Commercial Development & Investment to progress investment opportunities, including due diligence checks, and to authorise the Section 151 Officer to submit non-binding offers in line with market practice.

Cabinet considered a report on the Investment Strategy.

The Leader paid tribute to those officers who had been involved in its development.

Councillor Brian Milnes reported that the Scrutiny and Overview Committee had welcomed the commitment to observing ethical standards. The Scrutiny and Overview Committee had also seen some merit in recognising that the value of the Council’s investments could go down as well as up. Councillor John Williams (Lead Cabinet Member for Finance) referred those present to the Investment Criteria Definitions, saying that the Strategy itself could impose new ones. On the point about fluctuating value, this should largely be mitigated by the practice of investing in the medium and long term rather than short term.

Councillor Peter Topping emphasised the importance of putting in place a system of checks and balances. To this end he welcomed the procurement of external advisers. The Leader assured him that she was confident that the Strategy was robust, and reminded those present that it had been scrutinised by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). Councillor John Williams commended this latest Strategy saying that the first version had been put together quickly in order to facilitate the purchase of property on Cambridge Science Park.

Officers undertook to review paragraph 6.4 of the Investment Strategy to address the risk of misinterpretation.

Cabinet recommended to Full Council:

(a)          The updated Investment Strategy attached at Appendix A to the report from the Interim Director of Finance, which includes

(i)            a range of investment indicators to comply with the Statutory Guidance on Local Government Investments and

(ii)           the governance arrangements that enable the Council to seek approval for priority investments in a timely manner in response to market conditions.

(b)          The consequent changes to the Scheme of Delegation to enable the Head of Commercial Development & Investment to progress investment opportunities, including due diligence checks, and to authorise the Section 151 Officer to submit non-binding offers in line with market practice.