Agenda item

Report of the Head of Corporate Resources

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources on the Capital Strategy 2019/20. The report indicated that the Capital Strategy set out the long-term context in which capital expenditure and investment decisions were made and considered the impact of these decisions on the priorities within the Council’s Core Purpose and Framework for Change Programme and the promises made in the 2030 Vision for Sefton; and that at the heart of the Capital Strategy was the Council’s core objective to continue to deliver financial sustainability.  As such a flexible capital investment programme was more important than ever as a method to stimulate and enable economic growth and strategic investment, ensuring best use of existing assets and of generating future income streams to pay for and deliver day to day services.

The report continued that the Council was continuing with its well developed, long-term financial planning practice and that the strategy contained details of the approach to the planned capital and investment programme up to 2023/24 and into future years; and that further information and guidance particularly regarding ongoing revenue implications was a key aspect of this and would be evaluated as part of the agreed governance process.

The Capital Strategy also outlined the Council’s financial principles regarding risk, affordability and deliverability and the process of prioritising schemes and how financing decisions were made was explained alongside the agreed capital governance process in recognition of the strategic importance of the proposed programme.  The Strategy also clearly identified the skills and knowledge required to ensure investment activities were subject to robust testing and due diligence; and it presented the full picture of long term liabilities and the debt, borrowing and treasury management decision making process.  The aim of the Strategy was to give Members and the public assurance that the benefits the Council intended to deliver through its Framework for Change programme met the 2030 Vision and Core Purpose and were financially viable in the long-term.

Finally, capital proposals were considered within the Council’s overall medium to long-term priorities and the preparation of the capital programme was an integral part of the financial planning process; and this included taking full account of all the revenue implications as part of the revenue budget setting process and the updated Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

Attached as Appendix 1 to the report was the Capital Programme 2018/19 to 2020/21.

This report would also be considered by Cabinet and Council at their meetings to be held on 14 and 28 February 2019 respectively.

A Member of the Committee commented on benchmarking across the Liverpool City Region local authorities regarding Capital Strategies and asset disposals.

RESOLVED: That the Capital Strategy including:

be noted.