Agenda item

Joint Report of the Treasurer to the Fire Authority and Chief Fire Officer

Becky Smeathers, Head of Finance and Treasurer to the Authority, presented the report which sets out the Authority’s obligations under the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance, and seeks approval of the proposed capital plans, prudential limits, and monitoring processes.

The following points were highlighted and members’ questions responded to:

a)  This report is closely linked to the Treasury Management Strategy and demonstrates the affordability of the capital programme proposed as part of the budget report prior to setting the budget;

b)  The objectives of the Prudential Code are to ensure that:

·capital plans and investment plans are affordable and proportionate;

·all borrowing and other long-term liabilities are within prudent and sustainable levels;

·risks associated with investment are proportionate to financial capacity;

·treasury management decisions are in accordance with good professional practice;

c)  One additional indicator of ‘liability benchmark’, is included, as directed by CIPFA, and references the amount of borrowing compared to the life of assets against which the borrowing is placed. A more detailed explanation is provided in paragraph 2.3 of the report. The Authority is complying with the requirements of this indicator;

d)  All borrowing is within planned limits, although the Authority has approved borrowing funds slightly in advance of planned borrowing, to ensure that the most efficient interest rates could be achieved;

e)  Following several rounds of efficiency consideration, there is very little scope to increase income from the Service’s assets. With the exception of a site at Clifton, for which the Finance and Resources Committee received a report, all other buildings are operational. However, efficiency considerations are ongoing, including if services can be provided differently. As such, the life of some vehicle asset lives had been extended, and then reassessed due to balance against maintenance costs.

Members of the Authority commented that just because there is capacity to borrow, doesn’t mean that the Authority should borrow, and that the best income and return must be achieved from assets.

Resolved to:

1)  approve the Prudential Limits for 2023/24 as follows:

2)  approve the following local indicators for 2023/24: