Issue - meetings

The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and Growth, will report at the meeting.  Report attached.

The Leader, Councillor O’Brien presented a report detailing a proposed reserves strategy for the council. The proposed consolidation of reserves ensure the council has a corporate approach to the management and control to reserves and that these are focussed and aligned to financial risk and corporate priorities.

Delegated decision:

Cabinet is agrees to:

• Approve the reserves strategy and note the position on reserves at the end of 2019/20;
• Note that further work will be undertaken to ensure here are effective strategies, including exit strategies, in place for those ongoing activities that are funded from reserves;
• Note the position on the DSG negative reserve and that this is currently offset by other earmarked reserves pending further guidance from the Department for Education;
• Note a further update to Cabinet on the DSG deficit reserve and recovery plan will be provided;
• Note that further work is required to establish whether there are some specific conditions on some capital reserves that have not been utilised for several years.

Reasons for the decision:

The implementation of the reserves strategy will enable the council to be more effective in its financial planning, and management of risk.

Other option considered and rejected:

To reject the recommendations.