Prosperity Cabinet Member – Minutes – 11 December 2019
5 CAPITAL INVESTMENT 2020-2022 – The Directors: Governance and Partnerships and Operations submitted a joint report updating the Cabinet Member on the outcomes of the recent appraisal of proposed schemes requiring capital investment, and seeking approval with regard to capital investment in the financial years 2020-22.
The council approved a Capital Investment Strategy in February 2019. The strategy established clear principles that should be considered when making investment decisions:
• Invest In Outcomes
• Invest For Return
• Invest To Save
The Local Government Act 2003 gave councils the freedom to determine their own level of borrowing for long term investment. This was supported by a set of key indicators that were required to be taken into account when determining borrowing levels. These provided a measure of how much capital investment the council could afford to undertake and sustain over a longer time period. The council strategy also agreed some local indicators to help determine appropriate capital investment limits and the degree of risk that was associated with these investment levels.
The report outlined the maximum further investment agreed through the policy. Business cases for additional investment had now been completed, using the five case model recommended by HM Treasury, to evidence the need and options available as well as outlining how the proposed investment aligned to the agreed principles. The business cases had been reviewed using the council’s appraisal framework. The report and accompanying appendix included the recommended outcome for approval of projects to include in the programme.
Resolved – (a) That investment in the schemes/projects detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be approved to proceed, and (b) that further profiling of the project budgets be delegated to the Director: Governance and Partnerships.