Agenda and decisions

Purpose

To update Cabinet on the progress of the pilot Superzone in the Charles Dickens ward.

RECOMMENDED that the report be noted.

The report was noted.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on progress to implement the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) following the City Council's award of £48.3m.

The BSIP is part of the National Bus Strategy which also includes the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme. As Portsmouth City Council has been successful with ZEBRA, this report will include an update on that scheme.

RECOMMENDED that this report be noted.

The report was noted.

Purpose.

To update Cabinet on the progress of the project to develop an anaerobic digestion(AD) facility.

RECOMMENDED that the report be noted.

The report was noted.

Purpose.

To update Cabinet on the results of the Household Waste Recycling Centre booking system Port Solent resident survey as requested by full council on 6 December 2022.

RECOMMENDED that the report be noted.

Cabinet recommended to Full Council that the report be noted.

This report will follow.

The report was noted.

This report will follow.

1.     That Part I of the Capital Strategy (Capital Expenditure and Aspirations) be approved including:

a) The Short / Medium / Long-term Aspirations set out in Appendix 1.

2.     That Part II of the Capital Strategy (Borrowing and Investing) be approved including:

a)    The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) for Debt Repayment Policy (Part II, (paragraph 2.5)

b)    The investment indicators in Part II - Appendix 2 (Part II, paragraph 3.5) Link Asset Services 4

c) That the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) will bring a report to the next Cabinet and City Council if (Part II, paragraph 3.5):

(i) The Council's gross General Fund (GF) debt exceeds 500% of GF net service expenditure or;

(ii)Overall investment income and long-term treasury management investments exceeds 15.4% of GF net service expenditure.

Purpose.

The purpose of this report is to obtain the Council’s approval of the updated Treasury Management Policy Statement (attached) which includes the Annual Investment Strategy.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1.1.         That the upper limit for principal sums invested for longer than 365 days contained in paragraph 4.6 of the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement be approved;

1.2.         That the upper and lower limits on the maturity structure of borrowing contained in appendix 5.1 of the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement be approved;

1.3.         That the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement including the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24 be approved;

1.4.         That the following changes compared to the previous Treasury Management Policy be noted:

(i)      the inclusion of a new treasury management indicator for 2023/24 known as the liability benchmark. This graphically compares the Council's net loans requirement against its existing loan debt, showing the amount of borrowing required in future years.

(ii)     medium and longer dated borrowing rates are high, but are expected to fall from their current levels once prevailing inflation concerns are addressed by tighter near-term monetary policy. With this in mind, the Council is currently maintaining an under-borrowed position. This means that the capital borrowing need (the Capital Financing Requirement) has not been fully drawn with loan debt as cash from the Authority’s reserves, balances and cash flows has been used as a temporary measure. This is a change of emphasis from the 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy which was approved at a time of low interest rates which were expected to increase. The 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy placed more emphasis on having a predictable revenue cost of borrowing in the long-term. Against this background and the risks within the economic forecast, caution will be adopted with the 2023/24 treasury operations. The Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer)  will monitor interest rates in financial markets and adopt a pragmatic approach to changing circumstances, always seeking to balance risk, certainty and cost.

(iii)   where state institutions own 50% or more of an entity and can exert significant influence over the counterparty through their shareholdings, the Council will in future avoid investments in such institutions where the state institution has a poor human rights record.

1.5.         As set out in paragraph 1.5 of the Treasury Management Policy Statement, the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) and officers nominated by him have delegated authority to:

(i)      invest surplus funds in accordance with the approved Annual Investment Strategy;

(ii)     borrow to finance short term cash deficits and capital payments from any reputable source within the authorised limit for external debt of £1,100m approved by the City Council on 28 February 2023;

(iii)   reschedule debt to even the maturity profile or to achieve revenue savings;

(iv)   to buy and sell foreign currency, and to purchase hedging instruments including forward purchases, forward options, and foreign exchange rate swaps to mitigate the foreign exchange risks associated with some contracts that are either priced in foreign currencies or where the price is indexed against foreign currency exchange rates

1.6.         That the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) has the power to delegate treasury management operations to relevant staff;

1.7.         That the Chief Executive, the Leader of the City Council and the Chair of the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee be informed of any variances from the Treasury Management Policy when they become apparent, and that the Leader of the City Council be consulted on remedial action (paragraph 1.2 of the Treasury Management Policy Statement).

Cabinet recommended to Council:

1.     That the upper limit for principal sums invested for longer than 365 days contained in paragraph 4.6 of the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement be approved;

2.     That the upper and lower limits on the maturity structure of borrowing contained in appendix 5.1 of the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement be approved;

3.     That the attached Treasury Management Policy Statement including the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24 be approved;

4.     That the following changes compared to the previous Treasury Management Policy be noted:

(i)      the inclusion of a new treasury management indicator for 2023/24 known as the liability benchmark. This graphically compares the Council's net loans requirement against its existing loan debt, showing the amount of borrowing required in future years.

(ii)     medium and longer dated borrowing rates are high, but are expected to fall from their current levels once prevailing inflation concerns are addressed by tighter near-term monetary policy. With this in mind, the Council is currently maintaining an under-borrowed position. This means that the capital borrowing need (the Capital Financing Requirement) has not been fully drawn with loan debt as cash from the Authority’s reserves, balances and cash flows has been used as a temporary measure. This is a change of emphasis from the 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy which was approved at a time of low interest rates which were expected to increase. The 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy placed more emphasis on having a predictable revenue cost of borrowing in the long-term. Against this background and the risks within the economic forecast, caution will be adopted with the 2023/24 treasury operations. The Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer)  will monitor interest rates in financial markets and adopt a pragmatic approach to changing circumstances, always seeking to balance risk, certainty and cost.

(iii)   where state institutions own 50% or more of an entity and can exert significant influence over the counterparty through their shareholdings, the Council will in future avoid investments in such institutions where the state institution has a poor human rights record.

5.     As set out in paragraph 1.5 of the Treasury Management Policy Statement, the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) and officers nominated by him have delegated authority to:

(i)     invest surplus funds in accordance with the approved Annual Investment Strategy;

(ii)     borrow to finance short term cash deficits and capital payments from any reputable source within the authorised limit for external debt of £1,100m approved by the City Council on 28 February 2023;

(iii)   reschedule debt to even the maturity profile or to achieve revenue savings;

(iv)   to buy and sell foreign currency, and to purchase hedging instruments including forward purchases, forward options, and foreign exchange rate swaps to mitigate the foreign exchange risks associated with some contracts that are either priced in foreign currencies or where the price is indexed against foreign currency exchange rates

6.     That the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) has the power to delegate treasury management operations to relevant staff;

7.     That the Chief Executive, the Leader of the City Council and the Chair of the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee be informed of any variances from the Treasury Management Policy when they become apparent, and that the Leader of the City Council be consulted on remedial action (paragraph 1.2 of the Treasury Management Policy Statement).

This report will follow.

This report will follow.

Cabinet recommended that Full Council declares its intention to implement and approve the following additional council tax premiums, to be applied from 01 April 2024, or as 2 soon as possible thereafter, subject to the legislation being in place:

i)                 A 100% premium for second homes;

ii)               A 100% premium for properties that have been empty and unfurnished for a period between 1 and 5 years - this will change the current policy of charging a 100% premium where a property is empty and unfurnished for a period between 2 and 5 years.

The Enabling Redevelopment of Debenhams, Palmerston Road - Compulsory Purchase Order report by the Director of Regeneration was omitted from the Forward Plan covering 6 February to 5 May 2023. The Chair of the City Council's Scrutiny Management Panel has been notified and a public notice published.

1.   Noted the omission to the Forward Plan for 6 February to 5 May 2023.

2.   Noted the publication of the omission notice.

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government Act, 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act, 1985, the press and public be excluded for the consideration of the following item on the grounds that the report(s) contain information defined as exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972”.

The public interest in maintaining the exemption must outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information.

Under the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) England Regulations 2012, regulation 5, the reasons for exemption of the listed item is shown below.

Members of the public may make representation as to why the item should be held in open session.  A statement of the Council’s response to representations received will be given at the meeting so that this can be taken into account when members decide whether or not to deal with the item under exempt business.

(NB     The exempt/ confidential committee papers on the agenda will contain information which is commercially, legally or personally sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties.  Members are reminded of standing order restrictions on the disclosure of exempt information and are invited to return their exempt documentation to the Local Democracy Officer at the conclusion of the meeting for shredding).

The confidentiality of the exempt appendix in agenda item 14 (Enabling Redevelopment of Debenhams Palmerston Road - Compulsory Purchase Order was maintained without the need to exclude the press and public.

This report will follow.

RESOLVED that Cabinet recommends that Full Council:

1.     Approves the strategy to assemble the land required for the development of the former Debenhams Site in Palmerston Road, in line with the approved planning application for the site;

2.     Delegates authority to the Director of Regeneration and S151 Officer on the advice of the City Solicitor in consultation with the Leader to: -

(i)              Negotiate and complete acquisitions of legal interests subject to affordability, based on the statutory Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) Compensation Code, in land required for the delivery of the former Debenhams planning consent;

(ii)            Procure and appoint specialist advisers as required for Land Referencing Agents and specialist compulsory purchase surveyors;

(iii)          Approve the progress of all work necessary to establish a case for compulsory purchase;

(iv)          Approve, in principle, the use of compulsory purchase powers for the acquisition of land to deliver the former Debenhams (Palmerston Road), regeneration scheme (indicatively shown in red on the attached plan at Appendix 2) and note that the making of any compulsory purchase order will be subject to a further report to cabinet and Full Council confirming that the criteria in paragraph 3.18 have been met.

3.     NOTES the red line area shown on the plan (Appendix 2) as currently drawn. Officers will take all reasonable measures to minimise the need to acquire third party interests in accordance with CPO Guidance and the existing design approach to the scheme.

RESOLVED that Cabinet NOTES that:

(i)              Officers may need to seek a future resolution to grant the Director of Regeneration and the City Solicitor authority, in accordance with section 122 of the Local Government Act 1972, to declare that any land acquired or held and required for the delivery of the former Debenhams (Palmerston Road) Regeneration scheme, where they conclude that it is no longer needed for its present purpose, is appropriated for such statutory purpose as necessary to deliver the former Debenhams (Palmerston Road) Regeneration scheme, and to authorise the overriding of such easements, rights, or other adverse matters burdening the land, where that is needed to deliver the scheme, in reliance on section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.