Minutes

Minutes of the meeting of the Resources Sub-committee held on 16 March 2009 at 10 Dean Farrar Street, London, SW1H 0NY.

Present

Members

• Faith Boardman (Chairman)
• Deborah Regal
• Graham Speed

MPA officers

• Ken Hunt (Treasurer)
• Julie Norgrove (Deputy Director of Internal Audit)
• Peter Tickner (Director of Internal Audit)
• John Crompton (Committee Services)

MPS officers

• Paul Daly (Director of Exchequer Services)
• Simon Hart (Acting Director of Finance Services)
• Anne McMeel (Director of Resources)
• Stephen Skirten (Exchequer Services)

9. Apologies for absence

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Reshard Auladin and Valerie Brasse.

10. Declarations of interests

(Agenda item 2)

No declarations of interest were made.

11. Introductions

(Agenda item 3)

Noted.

12. Minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2009

(Agenda item 4)

Resolved - That the minutes of the Resources Sub-committee held on 16 January 2009 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

13. Appointment of Vice Chairman and dates of future meetings

(Agenda item 5)

A report was submitted which asked members whether they wished to appoint a Vice Chairman and also to agree the dates of future meetings. It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by Graham Speed and

Resolved- That Deborah Regal be nominated as Vice Chairman of the Sub-committee, with the appointment to be ratified by the Finance and Resources Committee.

Members indicated that they wished to give further consideration to the dates of future meetings. Members did not think it appropriate for example for a meeting to be held immediately after a full Authority meeting.

14. Treasury Management 3rd quarter

(Agenda item 6)

A report was submitted which invited the Sub-committee to review the Treasury Management activity for the period 1 October to 31 December 2008.

An amended version of Appendix 4 was tabled.

Members stated that it in order to be able to effectively consider and scrutinise the detailed monitoring reports they would need to receive training in treasury management and felt that this be offered to all members of the Finance and Resources Committee. Additional support for members would also be welcome, and in this context, it was suggested that a co-opted member be appointed to the Sub-committee to advise on the treasury management function.

Members also considered that it would provide further reassurance if reports on treasury management contained an independent professional opinion on the performance being reported on.

With regard to the format of the quarterly report members felt that there was scope for a rationalisation of the information provided across each of the 3 months in order to assist members. In this context it was noted that the detailed workings which appeared at the end of Appendix 3 had been included in error and would not appear in future reports.

Resolved- That

1. The report be noted;
2. Future reports should contain a statement by an independent expert;
3. Training be offered to all members of the Finance and Resources Committee on treasury management; and
4. further consideration to be additional support for members in this area such as the appointment of a co-opted member to the Sub-committee with relevant expertise.

15. MPA ethical investment policy statement

(Agenda item 7)

A report was submitted which invited the Sub-committee to review the Authority’s ethical investment policy statement.

Members commented that given the very short list of firms which currently appeared on the counterparty list the practical value in having such a policy statement at present was somewhat limited.

Resolved That the statement be noted.

16. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 8)

Resolved - That under section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the above Act.

17. Treasury Management exempt appendices

(Agenda item 9)

The Sub-committee noted that there had been a marked decrease in income from this source in the current financial year and the consequential much lower figure included in next year’s budget compared with recent years. Members indicated that it would be appropriate to consider the options which might be available in the course of the next few months to add firms to the counter party list which might provide a better rate of return, but with only minimal extra risk.

Resolved- That the exempt appendices be noted.

18. Presentation on the capital programme

The Acting Director of Finance Services gave a presentation on the capital programme and answered questions from members.

The meeting finished at 3.28 pm

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