Test Valley Borough Council Cabinet Meeting

There were no apologies for absence.

There was no public participation.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent items.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 April 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no recommendations to consider from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Consideration was given to the report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which presented the Council’s Revenue outturn position for the year ended 31 March 2023.

The report showed a net General Fund expenditure of £8.681M. Following

completion of revenue outturn work there was a surplus on the general fund of

£695,000. The reasons for budget variances and proposals for utilisation of the variance were set out in the report.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

1.  That the Council’s Revenue outturn for 2022/23, as shown in Annexes 1 and 2 to the report, be noted.

2.  That the reasons for the budget variances, as shown in paragraph 3 in the report, be noted.

3.  That the transfers to reserves of £1.576M, detailed in paragraph 3.16 in the report, be approved.

4.  That the item detailed in paragraph 3.18 in the report, totalling £64,000, be approved for carry forward into the 2023/24 revenue budget.

5.  That the transfers to reserves, as detailed in paragraph 4 in the report, be approved.

6.  That the Head of Finance and Revenues be authorised to make necessary adjustments through the Budget Equalisation Reserve, should any additional variances be identified in finalising the Statement of Accounts for 2022/23.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which reviewed the performance of the Treasury Management function in 2022/23 compared with the forecasts and policies set out for last year. Investment income for the year was £114,100 higher than included in the forecast.

The Council managed all investments in-house during 2022/23. Most investments during the year were placed in call-accounts or fixed-term deposits for durations of up to one year. At year-end, the Council also held investments with five Local Authorities, totalling £25M, for periods of up to five years.

The Council achieved an average investment income rate of 1.86% in the year compared with an average benchmark figure of 3.13%, largely due to fixed-rate investments placed before interest rates started to rise.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

That the Annual Treasury Management Report for 2022/23 and the Prudential Indicators for the year, as shown in the Annex to the report, be noted.

Consideration was given to a report of the Planning Portfolio Holder which presented the Infrastructure and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).

The SPD provided a basis for securing infrastructure and financial contributions through developer obligations and would be used as a tool to secure planning obligations to mitigate the impact of development.

The Infrastructure and Developer Contributions SPD would replace the existing documents which had been adopted in 2009 and took into account relevant legislation and evidence on securing infrastructure and developer contributions.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

1.  That the Infrastructure and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document, attached as at Annex 1 to the report, be adopted and replace the Infrastructure and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document 2009.

2.  That the Head of Planning Policy and Economic Development be given delegated authority in consultation with the Planning Portfolio Holder, to make changes of a minor nature prior to publication.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder which summarised the Council’s Capital expenditure for 2022/23 and explained the reasons for variances from the forecast, including a summary of the total budget slippage within the Capital Programme.

The report contained recommendations for the carry forward of certain unspent capital budgets into 2023/24 as detailed throughout the report and provided an updated capital programme for 2022/23 to 2024/25.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

That the updated Capital Programme, as shown in the Annex to the report, be approved.

Consideration was given to a report of the Strategic Regeneration and Partnerships (North) Portfolio Holder which recommended the incorporation of the Heat network Feasibility Study (Andover town centre) project be incorporated within the Council’s budget following success in securing government funding.

The Council had been successful in securing government funding to contribute towards the cost of exploring the feasibility of a heat network in Andover town centre as part of regeneration proposals. Securing the funding would allow the Council to explore opportunities to develop a decarbonised heat network through a local energy source for existing and future developments in the town centre.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved:

That the Heat Network Feasibility Study (Andover town centre) project be incorporated within the Planning Policy & Economic Development Service budget for 2023/24.

Consideration was given to the report of the Finance and Resources Portfolio Holder, which compared the actual expenditure on Asset Management Plan (AMP) projects with the approved budget for 2022/23.

The total revised AMP budget in 2022/23 was £3.941M. Actual expenditure in the year was £2.508M, leaving an overall positive variance of £1.433M. The outturn position for 2022/23 had been reviewed, following which the AMP requirement for 2023/24 had been updated.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

1.  That the expenditure for the year on Asset Management projects, as shown in Annex 1 to the report, be noted.

2.  That the updated budget for Asset Management projects in 2023/24, as shown in Annex 2 to the report, be approved.

Consideration was given to a report of the Governance and Democracy Portfolio Holder which sought to appoint members to a number of outside bodies that the Council works with to share information and knowledge on matters of mutual interest in order to better fulfil its obligations.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

1.  ThatCouncillors Bundy, A Dowden, Swain and Yalden be appointed to the Eastleigh Borough Council/Test Valley Borough Council Liaison Group.

2.  That Councillor Adams-King be appointed to Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London (PATROL).

3.  That the Deputy Leader be appointed to the Partnership for South Hampshire Committee (PfSH).

4.  That Councillor Adams-King be appointed to South East Councils.

Consideration was given to a report of the Democracy and Governance Portfolio Holder which sought approval of the Council’s Scheme of Delegations to Officers in so far as it applied to the powers and duties of Cabinet.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

That the Scheme of Officer Delegations, as set out in the Annex to this report, in so far as it applies to the powers and duties of the Cabinet, be approved.

Consideration was given to a report of the Finance Portfolio Holder which summarised return on investment made during the 2022/23 financial year from Project Enterprise projects and compared the results with the original business case for each project.

Net rental income from Project Enterprise properties held by the Council throughout 2022/23 was £2.235M. This was £148,000 more than the £2.087M that was forecast in the approved business cases and is expected to grow in future years as rent reviews increase annual turnover.

Having considered the options and for the reasons set out in the report, Cabinet agreed to the following:

Resolved

That the outturn position for Project Enterprise investments in 2022/23 be noted.

There was no reference made to the information contained within the exempt annexe and therefore no exclusion of the public was required.