Agenda and minutes

Councillors Jackie D’Arcy, Clare Golby, Sarah Millar, Chris Mills, Penny-Anne O’Donnell, Will Roberts, Ian Shenton, Mejar Singh, and Rob Tromans

None.

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the meeting of Council held on 13 December 2022 were agreed as an accurate record for signing by the Chair.

The Chairman highlighted some of the engagements that he had attended since the last meeting, included graduation ceremonies for students of law and medicine at Warwick University.

A one minute’s silence was held in tribute to the victims of earthquakes in southern Turkey and northern Syria on Monday, 6 February 2023.

Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader of the Council) moved the motion and introduced this report, noting the improvement since the previous year’s report.  Councillor Christopher Kettle seconded the motion.

Mr Avtar Sohal and Mr Jim McLarnon were in attendance as representatives of Grant Thornton to present their report.  Mr Sohal drew attention to the executive summary in the report, and noted that overall it was a good report with no significant weaknesses to be highlighted.  

There were no questions or comments on the report.

Vote

A vote was held. The recommendation was unanimously agreed.

Resolved:

That Council:

1.     Notes the Annual Audit Report of the External Auditors, attached to the report at Appendix A; and

2.     Requests that Cabinet consider and approve an action plan in response to the recommendations in the Annual Audit Report, for consideration and approval by Cabinet.

Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader of the Council) moved the recommendation and was seconded by Councillor Isobel Seccombe.  Councillor Butlin observed that the report clearly demonstrated the Council’s financial position and how it was intended to meet the Council’s financial commitments.   He noted that an unqualified audit opinion had been received.

Vote:

A vote was held. The recommendation was agreed unanimously.

Resolved:

That Council approves the Warwickshire County Council Statement of Accounts for 2021/22.

Councillor Andy Jenns moved the recommendation. In introducing the report Councillor Jenns emphasised that the fund was well-managed.  Councillor Bill Gifford seconded the motion, in doing so, he credited the Pension Team and Fund Advisors for the good health of the Fund, which was well managed with careful assessment of risks.   

Vote:

A vote was held. The recommendation was agreed unanimously.

Resolved:

That Council approves the 2021/22 Pension Fund Statement of Accounts.

Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader of the Council) moved the motion and introduced this report, which presented the 2021/22 Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for consideration by the Council.  The motion was seconded by Councillor Andy Jenns.

Vote:

A vote was held. The recommendation was agreed unanimously.

Resolved:

That Council approves the 2021/22 Annual Governance Statement.

Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property) introduced the item by thanking the finance team for their assistance and hard work in developing the budget. He then proceeded to set out the Conservative Group’s budget proposals as contained in the appendix to the published report. In doing so he emphasised the following points:

• The proposed budget was based on the vision set out in the Council Plan and had been developed against the challenge of economic and political uncertainty and a turbulent policy environment.  At the same time, demand for services was growing due to the aging population, more children and families needing support and communities under pressure from the cost of living and the impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
• The approach focussed on four key principles:

·        investing to support the most vulnerable in the community; 

·        investing to support further economic growth across Warwickshire; 

·        ensuring the services delivered by the Council provided value for money; and 

·        using the Council’s financial strength to ensure decisions made were sustainable over the medium-term. 

• The proposals included:

·        Almost £25m invested to meet the growing numbers and cost of supporting elderly and vulnerable adults; 

·        Investment of over £5m in children’s social care services to meet the costs arising from the increasing numbers of children and families needing support, including investment of over £3m in additional staffing

·        Almost £5m to support children and young people with disabilities and those with Special Educational Needs 

• Whilst there were uncertainties around Government policy, the Council would not put business and Warwickshire on hold while clarity was awaited and the medium-term strategy focussed resources on social value and maintaining the growth trajectory of the Warwickshire economy.  The proposals, therefore, included provision in the capital programme for £187m to support the delivery of the 2023 business plans of the Warwickshire Property and Development Group and the Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund, in addition to capital programme investment of over £140m to ensure Warwickshire had a thriving economy with the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure.
• The proposals also included £300K to support apprenticeships and reskilling across the county and brought forward proposals for a Social Fabric Fund. 
• The proposals committed resources to complete the £5m programme to implement the Digital Road Map, starting with a new customer platform approved by Cabinet in January 2023 and investing in digital technology and automation to both drive future cost reductions and improve the effectiveness of services.
• A further £800K investment was proposed in the Fire and Rescue Service which would further develop the joined-up approaches to fire prevention, protection and response as well as the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Chief Fire Officer would be asked to develop viable proposals to further improve the value for money of the service. 
• Investment in the SEND and Inclusion Change Plan would continue.
• Over £8m was proposed to be invested to meet the additional inflationary and demand costs in home to school transport together with £5m to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Councillor Peter Butlin (Deputy Leader of the Council) introduced and moved this report, He noted that this was an annual report which had greater significance due to the implications of the Warwickshire Property and Development Group (WPDG) and the Warwickshire Rescue and Investment Fund (WRIF). A key aspect covered in the strategy was the intention to pre-pay the Council’s next 3 years’ pension fund contributions in April 2023, yielding a one-off gross benefit of £6.2m, through the pension fund being able to invest the pre-payment earlier to achieve a return equivalent to the discount provided.  Councillor Martin Watson seconded the motion.  There were no questions or comments on the report.

Vote

A vote was held. The motion was agreed unanimously

Resolved:

That:

1.     The Treasury Management Strategy for 2023/24 (Appendix 2 to the report) be approved with effect from 1st April 2023.

2.     The Investment Strategy for 2023/24 (Appendix 3 to the report) be approved with effect from 1st April 2023.

3.     The County Council requires the Strategic Director for Resources to ensure that gross borrowing does not exceed the prudential level specified (Appendix 2 to the report, Section 3.22, Table 12 “Authorised Borrowing Limit”).

4.     The revised lending limits for the Warwickshire Property Development Group come into immediate effect (Appendix 3 to the report, Annex 7).

5.     The revised lending limits for the WRIF come into immediate effect (Appendix 3 to the report, Annex 7).

6.     The County Council requires the Strategic Director for Resources to ensure that gross investment in non-Treasury investments does not exceed the prudential levels specified (Appendix 3 to the report, Annex 7).

7.     The Council Council delegates authority to the Strategic Director for Resources to undertake delegated responsibilities in respect of both strategies (Appendix 2 to the report, Annex 7, and Appendix 3 to the report, Section 2.5).

8.     The County Council requires the Strategic Director for Resources to implement the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy (Appendix 2 to the report, Section 2.11).

9.     The County Council requires the Strategic Director for Resources to enact an early payment of pension fund contributions subject to the conditions set out in Appendix 1 to the report, Section 5.14 being met.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers are urgent.

Application for Dispensation

Councillor John Holland moved the recommendation that a dispensation be granted for Councillor Jackie D’Arcy which was seconded by Councillor Sarah Feeney.  There was no debate but Council joined to wish Councillor D’Arcy well.

Resolved:

That the Council approves the absence of Councillor Jackie D’Arcy from meetings of the authority on the grounds of ill health.