Budget and Financial Strategy Appendices 2022-23

Contents

Appendix 1 - Special Expenses

Appendix 2 - Revenue Budget Service Summary

Appendix 3 - Transformation Strategy and Efficiency Plan 2022/23 - 2026/27

Appendix 4 - Capital Programme 2022/23 (including appraisals)

Appendix 5 - Capital and Investment Strategy 2022/23 - 2026/27

Appendix 6 - Use of Earmarked Reserves 2022/23

Appendix 7 - Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

Appendix 1 - Special Expenses

Funding Analysis for special Expense Areas
Description	2021/22 £	2022/23 £	Percentage Change
West Bridgford	-	-	-
Parks and Playing Fields	398,900	422,800	-
West Bridgford Town Centre	91,400	91,400	-
Community Halls	56,900	78,500	-
Contingency	14,700	14,700	-
Revenue Contribution to Capital Outlay	50,000	75,000	-
Annuity Charges	80,700	94,000	-
Sinking Fund	20,000	20,000	-
Total	712,600	796,400	-
Tax Base	14,353.8	14,773.7	-
Special Expense Tax	49.65	53.91	8.58%
Keyworth	-	-	-
Cemetery and Annuity Charges	9,200	9,200	-
Total	9,200	9,200	-
Tax Base	2,700.6	2,791.0	-
Special Expense Tax	3.41	3.30	-3.23%
Ruddington	-	-	-
Cemetery and Annuity Charges	11,100	11,100	-
Total	11,100	11,100	-
Tax Base	2,777.5	2,908.8	-
Special Expense Tax	4.00	3.82	-4.50%
Total Special Expenses	732,900	816,700	-

Appendix 2 - Revenue Budget Service Summary

Revenue Budget Summary
Description	2020/21 Estimate £	2021/22 Estimate £	2022/23 Estimate £	2023/24 Estimate £	2024/25 Estimate £	2025/26 Estimate £
Chief Executive	2,055,100	2,021,100	2,254,600	2,082,400	2,129,500	2,161,500
Development and Economic Growth	6,400	88,300	139,200	57,000	26,800	67,300
Finance and Corporate Services	4,292,300	4,329,800	4,407,300	4,543,800	4,681,300	4,788,300
Neighbourhoods	6,919,000	6,748,700	6,513,200	6,378,100	6,394,700	6,319,500
Net Service Expenditure	13,272,800	13,187,900	13,314,300	13,061,300	13,232,300	13,336,600
Capital Accounting Adjustments	(1,767,600)	(1,895,000)	(1,895,000)	(1,895,000)	(1,895,000)	(1,895,000)
Minimum Revenue Provision	1,074,000	1,293,000	1,293,000	1,293,000	1,293,000	858,000
Transfer to/(from) Reserves	(3,034,000)	(2,619,000)	(1,108,000)	(753,000)	(661,000)	(216,000)
Total Net Service Expenditure	9,545,200	9,966,900	11,604,300	11,706,300	11,969,300	12,083,600
Funding	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other Grant Income	(1,129,700)	(273,000)	(164,000)	(164,000)	(164,000)	(164,000)
Localised Business Rates, includes SBRR	(2,819,600)	(3,957,800)	(3,078,000)	(2,994,100)	(3,098,300)	(3,206,300)
Collection Fund (Surplus)/Deficit	4,045,000	4,364,500	51,000	0	0	0
Council Tax Income	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rushcliffe	(6,522,100)	(6,850,400)	(7,217,000)	(7,587,500)	(7,980,000)	(8,385,300)
Special Expenses Areas	(732,900)	(816,700)	(834,800)	(861,100)	(864,100)	(874,800)
New Homes Bonus	(1,632,900)	(1,587,500)	0	0	0	0
Total Funding	(8,792,200)	(9,120,900)	(11,242,800)	(11,606,700)	(12,106,400)	(12,630,400)
Net Budget (surplus) / deficit	753,000	846,000	361,500	99,600	(137,100)	(546,800)

Appendix 3 - Transformation Strategy and Efficiency Plan 2022/23 - 2026/27

Introduction

The Council has consistently embraced a Transformation agenda and Efficiency Plan. In 2010, the Council adopted an original 4 Year Plan which set out a measured approach to meeting the emerging financial challenges. The plan was written to identify cost efficiencies, increase income opportunities and develop transformational alternatives for the future delivery of services. The adopted approach aimed to reduce overall expenditure by £2.8m over the original life of the Plan. This approach was reinforced in 2012 with the publication of our Corporate Strategy subtitled ‘Proactively Preparing for the Future’.

The Transformation Programme since its inception and going forward aims to support the delivery of over £6.8m in efficiencies. In making our savings, services to residents in some cases have been changed from universally free services towards chargeable choice-based services. Other services have been streamlined, to be even more efficient and leaner. Costs have been reduced through rationalisation of assets and staff, with the sharing of both posts and key services. The Council also absorbs inflation increases across many areas except where there is contractual inflation or areas of higher risk. For 2022/23 this is estimated at £152k. Concurrently, we have made it easier for customers to transact their business with us at a time and in a way that suits them. We have done all of this without significantly impacting on service quality or resident satisfaction. Our latest resident polling data shows us that 84% of residents are satisfied with Rushcliffe as a place to live and 59% of residents are satisfied with the way the Council runs its services. (2021).

This revised Transformation Strategy sets out the Council’s approach to making further savings between now and 2026/27. It also explains our approach to identifying and working with partners, recognising and maximising opportunities, and leading the way in delivering high quality services that match the needs of residents. It is clear that as the organisation becomes leaner, it will become increasingly challenging to find further savings. Achieving the increased targets requires a bolder and more strategically focussed way of thinking.

Addressing the Funding Gap

Some of the more significant savings already achieved are:

Service Efficiencies – general review of services identifying structural and process efficiencies in addition to a detailed review of the budgets to identify further savings.
Thematic – Savings achieved from the Leisure Strategy, renovation of Bridgford Hall and income generation from the Asset Investment Strategy.
Income Reviews – Garden Waste, Car Parking and general review of Fees and Charges.
Additional Savings – Income generated from investment projects, transfer of leisure provider to a community interest company and growth in planning income.
Funding secured – the £2.4m funding secured over the last 12 to 18 months is supporting the delivery of new office units in Bingham, reducing the capital impact on the Council which will eventually result in a revenue return through rental income.

For a second year the Council’s financial position has been impacted by the legacy of Covid. In addition to this Government have implemented tighter restrictions on how Councils can generate additional income, limiting borrowing for wider projects dependent upon capital spending proposals. These limitations now mean that the Council must look for alternative ways to commercialism to reduce the funding gap. The Council has continued to constrain spending and increase income where possible but also continues to review how it delivers its services for potential efficiency savings. The negative impact of Covid means that the Council has a need to draw on reserves in 2022/23 to 2024/25 however projections currently show that the final two years of this MTFS can partially replenish the reserve. Significant asset investment projects, particularly the development of a Crematorium and the Bingham Leisure Hub make a significant financial contribution to these projections in addition to delivering both socio-economic benefits, but they are not without their own project risks.

Savings Targets

Savings Targets
Category	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000	2026/27 £'000
Gross Budget Deficit excluding Transformation Plan	5,685	5,637	5,744	5,406	4,947
Cumulative Savings in Transformation Plan	4,512	4,902	5,237	5,349	5,381
Gross Budget Deficit / (Surplus)	1,173	752	435	(25)	(515)
Additional Transformation Plan savings	(327)	(390)	(335)	(112)	(32)
Net Budget Deficit / (Surplus)	846	362	100	(137)	(547)

Other arrangements exist with neighbouring authorities such as the Building Control partnership with South Kesteven and Newark & Sherwood, and our wholly owned company; Streetwise. The Council continues to identify innovative ways of delivering its services more economically, efficiently, and effectively, including collaboration or, if it needs to, bring insource services which are currently provided externally where a business case supports such an initiative.

The Council must continue to review its existing transformation projects on an on-going annual basis. The current Transformation plan focuses mainly on two large projects and the challenge moving forward will be to keep momentum and identify projects that will contribute to savings in the future. Officers continue to seek efficiencies wherever possible and look for wider projects to improve value for money. The current transformation projects which will be worked upon for delivery from 2022/23 are given at Appendix B. Some of the more significant projects include:

Income streams from investments made through the Asset Investment Strategy (e.g. Edwalton Business Park units);
The development of a crematorium;
The continued activation of the Leisure Strategy focusing on the options for leisure provision in Bingham and surrounding area;
Commercialisation: maximising asset usage, sponsorship and Leisure Community Interest Company; and
Cyclical reviews of all service areas including staff savings from natural wastage.

It should be noted there is guidance on the capitalisation of transformation costs where an income stream is generated. It relates to set-up and implementation costs not on-going savings. These should be reported through this document. This Strategy can be revised at any time by Full Council and as part of our Capital and Investment Strategy reporting we must show the impact on our prudential indicators.

Rushcliffe's Core Operating Principles

Rushcliffe has three core principles which underpin its approach to transformation:

income generation and maximisation
business cost reduction
service redesign

Transformation has been achieved to date by focusing on a ‘one’ Council approach and great teamwork between Members and officers to limit the impact upon residents. However, we recognise to be successful in bridging the remaining funding gap it will be necessary to consider and implement large scale transformational change which can generate a large fiscal impact.

The Transformation Strategy is an evolving document and although it essentially covers the next five years it should not be bound by time or scope. To this end and within the emerging complex environment, three partnership models have been identified to provide a framework to generate further efficiencies. These are covered in more detail in Appendix A.

An Integrated Approach to Transformation

This Strategy formalises the Council’s integrated approach to transformation. It highlights the work that has been, and continues to be, done to deliver over £6.8m by 2026/27 in efficiencies and formalises the Council’s principles of partnership working (detailed at Appendix A). At a strategic level it highlights the important relationship between:

The Council’s Corporate Strategy – which provides the overall direction of the Council, its core values and its four key priorities,

The Medium-Term Financial Plan – a defined plan of how the authority will work towards a balanced budget and maintain viability,

The Transformation Strategy – a document providing direction in respect of the strategically focussed streams of work to meet the financial targets whilst fulfilling the Council’s corporate priorities. As the Transformation Strategy evolves Commercialism is emerging as cross cutting strategy, detailed in Appendix C, to support the sustained delivery of the financial targets.

This trio of documents can be influenced by external factors such as central government, public expectation and other stakeholders.

The Transformation Strategy

This document details the different areas of work officers and Members will focus upon to meet the stretching financial targets set whilst continuing to fulfil our corporate priorities. The diagram below highlights the different work streams and shows how they fit together over the next five years. Underpinning the work streams is our approach to Commercialism as documented at Appendix C.

Management Responsibility with Member Challenge

Each year, officers undertake an internal programme of investigations looking specifically at improving efficiency through different ways of working. We also challenge our budgets every year to drive out further savings whilst minimising the impact of front-line services. We have a strong leadership focused on corporate priorities using regular performance clinics to manage performance and budgets. We also ensure that every large-scale project (where there is deemed to be a significant impact on residents, staff or budgets) has its own project board and governance structure. Activities are challenged through Leader and Portfolio Holder briefings and constituted and established processes such as Member Groups. Reports on policy changes are passed through the Cabinet, and our Corporate Overview Group and other scrutiny groups regularly scrutinise review findings. Additional Member Groups are created by Cabinet where required. For example, the Bingham Member working group which allows for Member involvement in key decisions regarding the development of Bingham Hub.

Service Efficiencies

The culture at Rushcliffe has been to ensure different services are reviewed regularly to make sure they are as focused upon the customer and as streamlined as possible, any identified inefficiency removed from the system and where appropriate services are moved online. The way the service is delivered is also investigated and consideration is given to potential partnership opportunities or alternative methods of delivery to protect the services that residents value without a pre-determined view. Headline efficiency targets have been identified for each area of the Council and these are illustrated at Appendix B.

Management Challenge

The Service Efficiencies are strengthened by on-going management of the services through regular performance clinics and a management challenge as part of the annual budget setting process – each Executive Manager is charged with scrutinising their budget to identify any additional savings or remove unused budget. Again, top level targets have been identified where appropriate and these are illustrated in the table at Appendix B.

Members and Officers Working Together

The second element of our approach to Commercialism focuses on activities where Members and officers work together to identify further savings and different ways of working. These aspects of the Strategy have been arrived at through our budget proposals which have continued to be radical and challenging as we look at ways of bridging the financial gap by 2025/26. Budget workshops (both this year and in the past), incorporating Members from all political groups, have looked at what has been achieved so far, policy changes that can be made immediately to save money in the coming year, different ways of delivering services in the future, and more long-term ‘Thinking Big’ options that could significantly change the face of the Council and the services it delivers.

Immediate savings

Each year, Members are presented with a number of policy changes which hit one or more of our core principles of income generation and maximisation, business cost reduction or service redesign. These operational changes form part of the budget setting process each year and generally result in savings or additional income for the following year(s).

Member Involvement and Budget Workshops

As part of the budget setting process for 2022/23, Members discussed the impact of Covid 19 on the budget, options for Council tax increases, funding streams (particularly the impact of business rates reset) and Freeport proposals. The impact on both capital and transformation programmes of significant capital projects namely the Crematorium and the Bingham Leisure Hub was discussed and that current projections mean there is no recourse to externally borrow. ‘Thinking Big’ ideas have the potential to contribute significantly to bridging the funding gap without reducing frontline services and robust investigations have been undertaken for such projects. Over the past few years there have been several “Thinking Big” initiatives including moving to the Arena, focusing on Fairham and the development of housing and employment land and the development of the Abbey Road Depot site. These are also subject to a combination of involvement of Growth Boards, Scrutiny work or Member Development Groups. The Asset Investment Strategy has paid dividends although the Council’s focus is now on maximising value for money from its existing assets. The performance of the Council’s commercial assets was reported to Governance Scrutiny Group and Cabinet in November 2021 and will continue to be reviewed and reported on a regular basis.

Transformational Projects 2022-2027

As has already been mentioned above, this Strategy is a continuation of the Council’s original Transformation Programme and as a consequence, several key projects which influence service delivery and finances over the next few years are already in progress. Good progress has been made with new Transformational Projects as mentioned above.

Going forwards, two major Transformational projects are:

Redevelopment of Chapel Lane Site in Bingham with the creation of a new leisure centre, community hall, and separate provision of office units; and
Provision of a Crematorium in Stragglethorpe.

Both of these schemes are embedded in the Corporate Strategy and fully embrace the Council’s four priorities:

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment.

The leisure centre by providing high quality leisure and community facilities, as well as employment opportunities to the growing population in the east of the Borough. The Crematorium will provide much needed community infrastructure and quality service delivery for Rushcliffe and the residents of neighbouring districts.

Leisure Strategy Activation

Since 2006, the Council’s Leisure Strategy highlighted the authority’s ambition to rationalise leisure facilities in West Bridgford to one site – Rushcliffe Arena and to consider the options for built leisure provision in the Bingham area. The new Arena leisure centre and Rushcliffe Borough Council’s new offices successfully opened in January 2017. The next phase of the Leisure Strategy focuses on the Bingham Hub. It is planned that Bingham Hub will be operational from 2022/23. The Council have secured funding from European Regional Development Funding Sustainable Urban Development (ERDF SUD) and D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to the value of £2.4m to support the development of Bingham Hub including a leisure centre, community hall and office building giving even more added value for the taxpayer.

Summary of the Transformation Strategy Work Programme

The Transformation Strategy Work Programme for the next five years and a framework within which the required efficiencies will be delivered:

Property Development
Bingham Hub
Fees and Charges
Crematorium
Abbey Road Depot

Asset Investment Strategy

Service Review and Efficiencies: 2021//22; 2022/23; 2023/24; 2024/25; 2025/26; 2026/27.

Governance

The original version of this strategy (2013) established a framework and timeframe for the individual projects within the programme. While in general these have been achieved, arrangements have been flexible to allow for unforeseen circumstances and to redirect resources to maximise opportunities as they have arisen. It is anticipated that these same principles of agile working will apply to the 2022-2027 rolling Transformation Programme.

Each project within the programme has appropriate governance arrangements depending on the size, complexity, and risk. Overall, monitoring of the Strategy will take place quarterly by the Chief Executive and the Executive Management Team. Where it is required by individual projects, consultation, and engagement with members of the public will take place.

The following risks have been identified and will be monitored accordingly.

Funding Analysis for special Expense Areas
Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
Reviews do not achieve anticipated savings	Probable	Greater than £250k	Individual reviews where there is underachievement may be offset by others with higher savings.
Programme slippage	Possible	Greater than £250k	Monitoring of programme and taking early corrective action.
Insufficient capacity to undertake the programme	Possible	Greater than £250k	Procure extra resources – i.e. consultancy.
Insufficient interest from alternative providers	Possible	Negative	Find appropriate savings from direct service provision by quality reduction (probably).
Delay in anticipated savings or a reduction or removal of current savings due to Covid-19	Possible	Greater than £250k	Accurate profiling of efficiencies. Close monitoring of the environment (e.g. rising prices) that may affect the feasibility of projects and regular reviews on the commercial market (e.g. rental demand) in order to assess likelihood of income falling.

Conclusion

The above sets out Rushcliffe’s plans over the next five years and the Council’s commitment towards delivering these plans. This plan supports the Council’s MTFS and is the vehicle upon which the Council will achieve a balanced budget.

Appendix A - Rushcliffe's Accepted Models of Partnership Working

1. Localised Integrated Working Partnerships

These types of integrated delivery partnerships involve working with other agencies and organisations whose services are delivered to Rushcliffe Borough residents. These partnerships are aimed at improving the connectivity of public services, public regulation, reducing the need to cross-refer people and issues.

The Government has recognised and begun to embrace the value of partnerships of scope and is increasingly looking to realise both financial and customer benefits from these. Central Government policies around community safety, health outcomes, welfare reform and community budget pilots, all demonstrate recognition of the importance of different agencies working together in a single locality to benefit their residents.

Rushcliffe is a pioneer in this area. The successful development of the Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre which originally brought together joint customer services for the Police, Job Centre plus, voluntary sector, South Nottinghamshire College and other services has been recognised nationally. The transfer to a new location in West Bridgford now facilitates signposting support services to these partners. This approach has been supported by our ability to work in other locations on a remote access basis. The service was expanded into Bingham where an integrated delivery service model has been deployed and is being delivered from the new Health Centre. This has been further rolled out to Cotgrave and East Leake where the contact points are located in libraries, supporting extended opening times of libraries and increased remote access to the Customer Services Team.

There are also a range of projects underway involving our locality partners, which embed these principles and take services out into the community, including Positive Futures, Sunday Funday, Lark in the Park and Business Partnership events.

2. Partnerships of Scale

This term describes two or more organisations joining together largely to benefit from economies of scale. These partnerships can, like localised integrated working partnerships, drive efficiencies but they may not, in themselves, directly improve the way in which the service is delivered to Rushcliffe Borough residents. Opportunities exist in this area to share back-office services, such as payroll, reducing costs and removing duplication whilst maintaining and improving capacity and resilience.

If scale partnerships are to be successful, previous experience has shown that there is a greater chance for success if they cover a broad range of services but are focussed and aligned on a small number of culturally similar and willing partners. It is possible to develop these partnerships organically – that is, as opportunities arise.

As mentioned above, to date partnerships of scale have developed organically – the Council has been successful in developing a number of such partnerships, of which the following, mostly back-office services, have come to fruition:

payroll services (Gedling),
ICT (Broxtowe, Newark & Sherwood),
building control (South Kesteven, Newark & Sherwood),
procurement (Welland),
homelessness (Gedling), and
emergency planning (Nottinghamshire County Council).

Following continued encouragement from Central Government, there has been an increased willingness and determination from the Leaders within Nottinghamshire to forge closer partnerships of scale – agreement with Nottingham City Council to relocate Depot Services to operate out of Eastcroft. Further opportunities will be assessed as opportunities arise. The Council is actively involved with the ‘County deal’ which may provide opportunities for collaboration with all councils across Nottinghamshire.

3. Partnerships for Governance

There has been a growth of place-based and themed partnership arrangements. These have largely been designed to implement and administer arrangements within defined areas focussed upon common objectives including: The Joint Planning and Advisory Board (Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire County Council, Broxtowe BC, Gedling BC, Erewash DC, and Rushcliffe BC).

A recent and exciting development in Partnerships for Governance is the creation of an interim vehicle for the establishment of the East Midlands Development Corporation. This entailed commitment of a financial contribution from all affected local authorities (Rushcliffe Borough Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Leicestershire County Council) and Government (funding still awaited but anticipated following IRP announcement) in a match funding arrangement. To this end, a reserve of £500k has been created.

If the interim vehicle is supported with the required resources and expertise, it would attract nationally and internationally significant investment and development into the East Midlands and more specifically in to the Ratcliffe on Soar Power Station site. It is believed that this type of investment is not something that Rushcliffe, or the owners of the power station, could attract on their own. Concurrently the Council is also working with partners on the power station site inclusion in the Business Case for the East Midlands Freeport along with East Midlands Airport and East Midlands Intermodal Park in South Derbyshire.

The emergence and growth of other forums has restricted the representation and influencing role of individual districts. The Health and Wellbeing Boards and Local Enterprise Partnerships are prime examples where representation is restricted to one district or borough council. However, Officers ensure that regular updates are received and sent between district and borough councils to keep colleagues informed and good relationships are maintained with these organisations so we remain aware of opportunities are they arise. However, to further combat this, other supporting arrangements are in place. For example, the Council has created Growth Boards to either facilitate local economic growth or deal with the challenges growth creates. There is also the City of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Economic Prosperity Committee to drive future investment in growth and jobs in the City and County. At a regional level there is a Development Corporation Board which focuses on, for example agreeing joint objectives, allocating resources and monitoring outcomes which will impact regionally.

As these develop, there will be an increasing reliance upon forging relationships which can influence outcomes for Rushcliffe residents; for example, agreeing key infrastructure requirements which benefit not only Rushcliffe but neighbouring boroughs, districts, and the City. These models of partnership working provide a framework within which officers can be swift to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. They build upon our existing core principles model highlighted above and provide a clear map for the future.

Appendix B - Transformation Savings

Transformation Savings
Category	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000	2026/27 £'000
Transformation Savings	-	-	-	-	-	-
Service Efficiencies	1,908	1,908	1,908	1,908	1,908	1,908
Thematic Reviews	953	953	953	953	953	953
Additional Income	995	995	995	995	995	995
Additional Savings	329	329	329	329	329	329
Overall Total	4,185	4,185	4,185	4,185	4,185	4,185
Transformation Targets	-	-	-	-	-	-
Additional Green Bin Income	-	-	-	187	-	-
Projects*	-	327	390	148	112	32
Total	253	327	390	335	112	32
Cumulative Transformation Savings	4,185	4,512	4,902	5,237	5,349	5,381

Appendix C - Commercialisation of Rushcliffe - A Balanced Investment in Our Future

With reduction in and eventual removal of Government grants to Local Authorities there is a need for Rushcliffe Borough Council, like other authorities, to consider new opportunities to help ensure the sustainability of the services delivered. Merely cutting costs will, in the long term, not be sufficient to fill the funding black hole. Local Authorities need to explore options to operate in a more commercial manner than would be traditionally expected of them.

This does not mean taking unnecessary risks with public money. It means, in these challenging financial times, the opportunity to continue to deliver the excellent services that our residents depend upon and expect.

Commercialisation for Rushcliffe informs and is integral to the Transformation Plan and Efficiency Strategy. This document should be viewed alongside:

Corporate Strategy
Asset Investment Strategy
Medium Term Financial Plan

Core principles

Commercialisation contributes towards the aims of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and the following strategic goals, contained with the Council’s Corporate Strategy 2019-2023, improving:

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

All decisions are considered against and aligned with these strategic goals as well as some core principles to ensure the Council is protecting the interests of our communities. Rushcliffe’s core principles for commercialisation are:

Values – commercial opportunities will align with the Council’s values and enable the Borough Council to continue to deliver the vital services our communities rely on.
Broad/mixed approach - It is not solely focused on income generation. It also focuses on deployment of resources and doing things differently.
Responsive - be bold and opportunistic and prepared to think outside our comfort zone. This includes an acceptance that not all schemes will succeed but it is the value of the commercial programme as a whole that is critical.
Culture – a strong organisational culture supported by a clear vision and good communication. Rushcliffe ensures that staff have the skills to deliver and where this is not possible external professional advice is sought.
Risk - understand risk, this includes reputational risk, and be risk aware not risk adverse; the risk of doing nothing can sometimes be greater.

The Rushcliffe approach

Rushcliffe has embraced opportunities to operate in more commercial ways and has developed a strong programme of work across 5 key areas of commercialisation:

Acquisition and Development of Land and Property
Service Transformation and Company Development
Commercial Loans
Income Generation
Commercial Asset Investment

What we have already achieved

Extending our property portfolio with the construction of 15 new industrial units in Cotgrave.
Purchase of the Point office complex in the main town centre in the Borough.
Purchase of commercial land for development – Chapel Lane and Moorbridge Road. The land at Moorbridge was subsequently sold to facilitate the development of Industrial Units.
Office move to the Arena which has meant the development of new more flexible ways of working and a digital transformation, with the council being a more responsive and leaner organisation.
Acquisition of commercial property in the East Midlands region.
Loan to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club to secure the future of big sporting events including the Ashes in the Borough.
Significant reviews of a range of services including collaboration in areas like Building Control and the creation of Streetwise Trading Company.
Significant income generation for example through green waste.
Acquisition of two new build Business Units in West Bridgford under the Asset Investment Strategy and supporting the Commercialism Agenda. Note such activity has ceased going forward given the limitations on future borrowing from the PWLB if we borrowed to invest in property purely for commercial gain.
Renovation of existing assets to maximise income e.g., Bridgford Hall

Governance and Monitoring

To ensure transparency, accountability and ongoing monitoring and management the Council has a robust structure in place to oversee all commercial decisions.

This work is led by the Commercialisation Board (Executive Management Team) to provide strategic leadership to the commercialisation agenda:

RBC Cabinet - Overall strategic direction / decisions
Commercialisation Board - Joined up strategic management of the work reporting to Cabinet as required
Asset Investment Group - Identifies new opportunities for investment
Strategic Growth Board - Explore opportunities with partners and external funding
Transformation Working Group - Internal service redesign

Appendix 4 - Capital Programme 2022/23 (including appraisals)

Development and economic Growth

Capital Programme - Development and economic Growth
Transformation	2021/22 Latest Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000	2026/27 Indicative Estimate £'000
Cotgrave Regeneration Phase 2	547	500	0	0	0	0
Crematorium	4,012	3,000	0	0	0	0
The Point enhancements	50	200	50	0	0	300
Traveller Site Acquisition	0	1,000	0	0	0	0
Unit 1 Bardon 22	0	0	0	0	0	115
6F Boundary Court	0	0	0	0	0	15
Cotgrave Business Hub	0	0	0	0	70	0
Manvers Business Park enhancements	10	300	0	0	0	70
Bingham Leisure Hub (£20m)	16,240	2,000	0	0	0	0
Compton Acres Water Course	1	60	150	0	0	0
Unit 10 Moorbridge	22	0	0	0	0	60
Bridgford Park Kiosk	0	0	25	0	0	0
Colliers Business Park enhancements	14	0	0	0	0	50
Energy Efficiency LED schemes	103	0	0	0	0	0
Bridgford Hall enhancements	11	0	0	0	0	0
Bingham Market Place enhancements	68	0	0	0	0	0
Park Cottage - fabric upgrade	0	0	0	65	0	0
Walkers Yard 1 a/b	0	0	0	70	0	0
Abbey Circus, West Bridgford - fencing open space (Special Expense)	0	0	35	0	0	0
Sub Total	21,078	7,060	260	135	70	610

Neighbourhoods

Capital Programme - Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods	2021/22 Latest Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000	2026/27 Indicative Estimate £'000
Vehicle Replacement	565	926	1,150	1,055	405	215
Support for Registered Housing Providers	237	2,620	2,620	0	0	0
Hound Lodge - enhancements	0	125	125	75	0	0
Assistive Technology	16	40	40	40	40	40
Discretionary Top Ups	57	100	100	100	100	100
Disabled Facilities Grants	858	530	530	530	530	530
Arena Reception and Corridor Floor Upgrade	15	75	0	0	0	0
Bingham Leisure Centre - improvements	104	0	0	0	0	0
Cotgrave Leisure Centre - enhancements	0	675	200	150	0	45
Keyworth Leisure Centre - enhancements	0	470	0	0	0	170
Arena enhancements	80	0	0	0	0	0
Edwalton Golf Courses enhancements	0	30	0	0	0	0
RBC EV network	13	0	0	0	0	0
Car Park resurfacing	120	95	0	0	0	0
Capital Grant Funding	40	0	0	0	0	0
Covid Memorial Garden	20	0	0	0	0	0
Pay Areas West Bridgford - Special Expense	150	75	75	75	75	75
Boundary Road Cycle Track Special Expense	78	0	0	0	0	0
West Park enhancements - Special Expense	0	320	0	0	40	0
Gresham Pitches, 3G lighting, improvements	1,258	0	100	0	0	0
Gresham Sports Pavilion	125	0	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park - enhancements	374	75	0	0	0	25
Rushcliffe Country Park - skatepark	144	0	0	0	0	0
Rushcliffe Country Park- play area	0	0	100	0	0	0
Alford Road football goals - Special Expense	0	10	0	0	0	0
Lutterell Hall - Special Expense	150	0	0	0	125	0
Edwalton Community Facility - Special Expense	0	0	500	0	0	0
Skateboard Parks	112	0	0	0	0	0
Gamston Community Hall - Special Expense	115	0	50	40	0	0
External door / window upgrades to various sites	15	35	0	0	0	0
LAD2 Green Energy Grants	635	0	0	0	0	0
HUG and LAD3 Green Energy Grants	0	770	0	0	0	0
Warm Homes on Prescription	25	25	25	25	25	25
Sub Total	5,306	6,996	5,615	2,090	1,340	1,225

Finance and Corporate Services

Capital Programme - Finance and Corporate Services
Finance and Corporate Services	2021/22 Latest Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000	2026/27 Indicative Estimate £'000
Information Systems Strategy	460	230	230	280	230	250
Streetwise Loan	150	150	150	150	150	150
Contingency	228	150	100	100	100	100
Sub Total	838	530	480	530	480	500

Capital Programme - Total
Programme Total	2020/21 Latest Estimate £'000	2021/22 Indicative Estimate £'000	2022/23 Indicative Estimate £'000	2023/24 Indicative Estimate £'000	2024/25 Indicative Estimate £'000	2025/26 Indicative Estimate £'000
Total	27,222	14,611	6,455	2,845	1,950	2,335

Project Appraisals

Reference: 1
Project Name: The Point Enhancements

Cost Centre: 0360

Detailed Description

Original lighting and other building service installations are nearing the end of their useful/service life and are inefficient. These include office lighting, common area heating and automatic doors around the building. An initial provision of £100k has been slipped from 21/22 to give a provision of £200k in 22/23 to carry out upgrade works to office lighting to LED, improve common area heating and to carry out balcony waterproofing works. In addition, £50k has been included for 23/24 to allow for upgrading of automatic entrance doors and replacement of glazed canopies.

Location: The Point, West Bridgford

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Robust asset management.
Responsible income generation and prudent borrowing where deemed appropriate, to facilitate the delivery of services.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Bringing new business to the Borough and nurturing our existing businesses, helping them to grow and succeed.
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

Upgrade works will enhance the efficiency of the facility, improving comfort for users and help to maximise use of resources.

Environmental Outcomes

Upgrading of building services and equipment will reduce energy consumption/carbon emissions and will also help to reduce incidences of unscheduled maintenance and associated vehicle journeys.

Maintaining building fabric in a weatherproof and dry condition also helps to reduce heat loss.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not carry out upgrade work. This would put at risk operational certainty for the facility, negatively impact customer comfort and safety and fail to minimise operational costs and carbon emissions.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £250,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £200,000

Year 2 (2022/24): £50,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown): to be determined.

Works: £227,000

Fees: £23,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2022/23) - Not quantifiable at this stage, but should see revenue spend on repairs reduce.
Year 2 (2023/24) - As for year 1 above
Year 3 (2024/25) - As for year 1 above
Year 4 (2025/26) - As for year 1 above
Year 5 (2026/27) - As for year 1 above

Proposed Funding

External: Not applicable

Internal:

Investment Properties Reserve

Useful Economic Life:

25 years

New / Replacement:

Replacement

Depreciation per annum:

£10,000

Capital Financing Costs

£1,250 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Investment Property

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 2
Project Name: Compton Acres Watercourse Improvements

Cost Centre: 0358

Detailed Description

The proposal is for further phased improvements to sections of the watercourse running through Compton Acres to maintain and improve flows and includes localised bankside reinforcement works, targeted and localised dredging of Lyme Park balancing pond and remedial works to bridging points.

Location: Compton Acres, West Bridgford

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life – maintenance of key land drainage infrastructure
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents and assets
Protecting our natural resources and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes
Protecting the environment and public health by fulfilling our statutory responsibilities
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the council’s operations

Community Outcomes

Undertaking the works will maintain public safety around key areas of the watercourse and help to ensure that risks due to flooding in the area are reasonably mitigated.

Environmental Outcomes

Ensuring that watercourses are well maintained not only helps to alleviate flood risk, but also supports biodiversity by reducing the risk of stagnation and maintaining water quality. Keeping these assets well maintained also helps to minimise the need for and likelihood of reactive works being required which in turn reduces vehicle movements and carbon emissions.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Not carrying out the improvement works would potentially lower public perception, increase risk to public safety and elevate risks associated with flooding. It would also increase the likelihood of need to carry out ad hoc emergency repairs/attendance to address emergent issues, activity of this type carries a relatively high revenue spend tariff.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £210,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £60,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £190,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £20,000

Revenue cost per annum

Not quantifiable at this stage

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 20 years

New / Replacement: Replacement and new

Depreciation per annum: £10,500

Capital Financing Costs: £1,050 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 3
Project Name: Bridgford Park Kiosk

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

The proposal is for the construction of a dedicated toilet facility for the kiosk. The Covid pandemic has highlighted the need for totally independent toilet facilities for the operator of the kiosk and this need has been welcomed and encouraged by Environmental Health team.

The intention is to construct a single accessible WC facility to the rear of the kiosk, the design of which requires careful consideration given the buildings close proximity to the Grade 2 listed Hall.

Location: West Bridgford

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Providing high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Responsible income generation to facilitate the delivery of services.
Nurturing existing businesses.
Working to achieve Carbon Neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To address climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions. The introduction of new euro standard engines will lower emissions. The new vehicles will also reduce maintenance costs on the vehicles they replace however it should be noted that the remainder of the fleet ages and therefore the fleet profile and maintenance costs overall remain stable.

Environmental Outcomes

Although there will be carbon emissions associated with the initial construction works, it is not anticipated that there will be any nett increase in day-to-day emissions from the site. It is considered that the improvements in sanitation justify the initial carbon emissions related to construction.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not carry out upgrade works. This would put at risk operational certainty for the facility and fail to address the health of its staff and the public in turn.

Start Date: 2023

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £25,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £25,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £23,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £2,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: Not applicable

Internal: Internal Property Reserve

Useful Economic Life (years): 40 years

New / Replacement: New

Depreciation per annum: £625

Capital Financing Costs: £125 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Investment Property

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 4
Project Name: Abbey Circus Fencing – Special Expense

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

The Council owns and maintains a triangle of green space at Abbey Circus in West Bridgford. The site has always been fenced off preventing public access, but during the lockdown it became apparent there was a desire amongst many local residents for the space to be opened up for informal recreational use. It was made accessible to the public approximately one year ago by the unlocking of gates and, despite some concerns over anti-social behaviour and unwanted access, this has proved a success with residents, who recently installed temporary Christmas decorations. Very few messages of concern have been received and the basis for these has been unfounded.

The site is surrounded by poor quality, utilitarian mesh fencing which has reached the end of its useful life and detracts from the character of the wider area and the space itself. The intention it to replace it with more substantial metal fencing/railings that will secure the site and improve its appearance.

Location: West Bridgford

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Residents have made it clear they wish for the site to remain secure. The site is surrounded by roads, it is considered that retaining a secure boundary will make it more user friendly for families and children. If we neglect this space it will encourage antisocial behaviour and make the site less attractive to legitimate users.

Strategic Commitments

Robust asset management.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents.
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

Allows a previously inaccessible open space to be used by the public.

Will improve the appearance of a prominent public open space and encourage its use by making it a more enticing space.

Environmental Outcomes

Whilst this scheme is primarily focused on replacing the fencing, it is hoped that other work can take place to improve the tree and shrub planting on the site.

Ensuring we are maximising our property holdings and aligning them with the needs of residents.

Other Options Rejected and Why

The fence could be completely removed, or the existing fence could be retained. Fence removal is unlikely to be supported by the local community due to concerns about the site being used by travellers and because it would make it less safe for families to use as it is surrounded by roads.

The existing fencing has exceeded its useful life and is beyond economical repair to retain it is likely to give rise to increasing health and safety issues.

Start Date: 2023

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £35,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0

Year 2 (2023/24): £35,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown):

Works: £32,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £3,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable from West Bridgford special expense by annuity.

Useful Economic Life (years): 25 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £1,400

Capital Financing Costs: £175 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure.

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 5
Project Name: Highways Verge Improvements

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

There are a number of former council housing estates across the Borough which were constructed at time when multiple car ownership by households was not anticipated or designed for and where off and on street parking is very limited. This results in residents regularly parking upon grass verges which become spoiled and unsightly giving rise to resident complaints and ongoing maintenance costs. These grassed areas are often too small to provide any recreation or amenity space and it is considered that several parking spaces could be accommodated within them to help provide additional parking and to protect the remaining grassed areas from being churned up by vehicles.

Location: various locations including Cotgrave, Keyworth and Cropwell Bishop.

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services

Strategic Commitments

Robust asset management
Providing high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the council’s operations

Community Outcomes

Additional parking could benefit elderly residents or residents with disabilities.

Increased pride in their local community. At present muddy churned up ground looks a mess and gives the impression of poor maintenance and neglect.

Environmental Outcomes

It may be the case that limited tree planting could take place adjacent the proposed parking areas to help maintain the amenity of the area and give more function to the grassed areas that remain. If concerns are raised over the use of hard paving, grass reinforcement or grass-crete solutions can be investigated.

Carbon savings in terms of transportation are very likely given that ongoing maintenance visits to attend to the spoiled verges will diminish.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do nothing. It is considered that vehicle ownership is unlikely to decrease, and the issue will therefore continue.

Start Date: April 2022

Completion Date: March 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £250,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0

Year 2 (2023/24): £100,000

Future Years: £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £227,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £23,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 40 years

New / Replacement: Replacement / new

Depreciation per annum: £6,250

Capital Financing Costs: £1,250 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 6
Project Name: Keyworth Cemetery (Part of Keyworth Special Expense)

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

The church yard at St Mary Magdalene was closed approximately 10 years ago and responsibility for ongoing maintenance was transferred to the Council. At transfer a survey of the church yard condition identified issues with the masonry boundary walls, some of which would require regular inspection and maintenance and others which were more substantial and would probably require localised rebuilding. This proposal is for attention to one of the latter defects and concerns the rebuilding of the flank retaining wall to the main stepped approach which is leaning over and potentially becoming unsafe.

Location: Keyworth

Executive Director: Development and Economic Growth

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Robust asset management.
Implement beneficial infrastructure maintenance.

Community Outcomes

Repair and maintenance of the church yard features keeps the grounds safe and accessible for the use by the community and helps to preserve the heritage asset.

Environmental Outcomes

The undertaking of this essential maintenance work will not contribute to carbon reduction, however, carrying out a more substantive repair will help to mitigate the more frequent visits that would result from doing holding repairs and carbon associated with these visits due to travel etc.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing in respect of the defects identified, would give rise more progressive deterioration of the heritage asset and risks due to health and safety for users.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2023

Capital Cost (Total): £25,000

Year 1 (2021/22): £25,000

Year 2 (2022/23): £0

Capital Cost (Breakdown):

Works: £23,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £2,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: None

Internal: Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable from Keyworth Special Expense by annuity.

Useful Economic Life (years): 25 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £1,000

Capital Financing Costs: £125 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable.

Category of Asset: Operational land & buildings

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 7
Project Name: Vehicle Replacement

Cost Centre: 0680

Detailed Description

The authority owns vehicles ranging from large refuse freighters to small vans and items of mechanical plant. As these vehicles and plant age and become uneconomic to maintain and run, they are replaced on a new for old basis. Although there is a programme for replacements for the next ten years, each vehicle or machine is assessed annually, and the programme continually adjusted to take into account actual performance.

This provision will be used to acquire new vehicles and plant, undertake refurbishments to extend vehicle life and value and to purchase second-hand vehicles and plant as and when appropriate. There is beginning to be a concentration of focussing on newer cleaner technology as we replace existing fleet vehicles in line with the Council’s Carbon management agenda, exploring alternatives such as electric and hydrogen cell technology to look at cutting down on emissions whilst ensuring the vehicles remain operationally viable and offer value for money.

Location: Eastcroft Depot

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth

Strategic Commitments

Working with our partners to create great, safe, and clean communities to live and work in.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Reviewing our policies and ways of working to protect natural resources, and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes. To reduce waste and increasingly reuse and recycle to protect the environment for the future.
Working with ley partners to respond to any proposals from the new Environment Bill and any changes or directives from central government regarding what wastes should be collected and how.
Delivering a high-quality waste and recycling collection service.
A commitment to look at cleaner vehicles in line with our commitment to protect the environment, in particularly alternative fuel vehicles
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the council’s operations.

The replacement of vehicles is critical to the performance of the front-line services. Regular vehicle and plant replacement with new updated engines help to meet climate change and national indicator targets for emissions and helps maintain a cleaner air quality within the Borough.

Community Outcomes

To address climate change and the need to reduce carbon emissions. The introduction of new euro standard engines will lower emissions. The new vehicles will also reduce maintenance costs on the vehicles they replace however it should be noted that the remainder of the fleet ages and therefore the fleet profile and maintenance costs overall remain stable.

Environmental Outcomes

The Council is actively looking at newer cleaner technologies and is committed to working with others to consider options and procure newer vehicles that will help commit to our carbon management plan. Whilst larger HGV electric vehicles may not be an option for Rushcliffe due to the range and geographical nature of our Borough, we have recently trialled (December 2021) the use of Hydro generated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in 2 vehicles and are currently considering the impact of the trial with potential 90% reduction in emissions and also the operational logistics and costs of fuelling our vehicles utilising HVO. Smaller fleet vehicles such as small vans, etc could be replaced by electric vehicles which are readily available, and this option will be considered as and when such vehicles are due for replacement in line with the replacement programme.

Other Options Rejected and Why

An historic review was undertaken to consider the leasing and hiring in of vehicles. Due to the level of capital resources, it was concluded that it was uneconomical to do either of these two options but as resources reduce these options may need to be revisited again. However, there are also distinct advantages in direct purchase:

The authority has control over the maintenance of the vehicles.
It is difficult to change the terms and conditions of a lease.
High performing vehicles can have their lifespan lengthened.
Poor performing vehicles can have their lifespan shortened.

Not being tied into lengthy lease/hire contracts means the service can react and adapt to change quickly.

The Council now actively looks at the possible purchase of second hand vehicles and will refurbish vehicles to extend their life and value.

Start Date: Ongoing

Completion Date: Not applicable

Capital Cost (Total): £2,076,000 (2 years)

Year 1 (2021/22): £926,000
Year 2 (2022/23): £1,150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: Not applicable

Equipment: £2,076,000

Other: Not applicable

Fees: Not applicable

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

As each vehicle replaces an existing vehicle, there is no increase in the overall revenue costs. Whilst newer vehicles can lead to less expenditure on breakdown and repair, older vehicles will cost more. The overall fleet profile remains relatively constant and therefore service budgets remain the same. However, with property growth there is the likelihood moving forward that additional revenue expenditure may be incurred and this will need to be considered for the budget year 2023/24.

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital Receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): Various

New / Replacement: New and replacements

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: £4,630 per annum in year 1and £5,750 per annum in year 2 as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Various

Category of Asset: Vehicle and Plant

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 8
Project Name: Support for Registered Housing Providers

Cost Centre: 0301

Detailed Description

The programme now contains an additional £3.780m from the planning agreement for Land North of Bingham. This is in addition to the £1.138m capital receipts funding balance from Stock Transfer and £322k from smaller planning agreements for off-site affordable housing. Total £5.240m

This budget is ring-fenced to support the provision of affordable housing usually through the grant funding of Registered Providers (RPs). Any grant allocation to RPs is subject to grant condition agreements which govern the use of grant in perpetuity.

Opportunities for commitment of funds from Land North of Bingham continue to be explored. It is difficult to predict the timing of commitments and actual expenditure. The profiling of provisions in the capital programme may change.

Location: Rushcliffe Borough

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Working with partners to support sustainable growth.
Supporting energy efficient housing development.
Improving the quality of life of our residents through provision of affordable housing.
Meeting the needs of households in housing need.
Supporting vulnerable residents into secure, sustainable accommodation.
Working to achieve a carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To maintain balanced communities through the provision of affordable housing.

Environmental Outcomes

To support enhanced environmental standards in residential developments we support.

Other Options Rejected and Why

The budget needs to be allocated or it will be reclaimed.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: To be determined.

Capital Cost (Total): £5,240,000

Year 1 (2023/24): £2,620,000
Year 2 (2024/25): £2,620,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown) To be determined

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable.

Proposed Funding

External:

Planning Agreements:

Land North of Bingham £3.780m

Other £322k

Internal: Capital Receipts £1.138m.

Useful Economic Life (years): Not applicable

New / Replacement: Not applicable

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: £5,690 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest on capital receipts.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: To be determined. Grants to RPs – Revenue Expenditure funded from Capital under Statute (REFCUS).

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 9
Project Name: Cotgrave Leisure Centre - Enhancements

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

Provisions slipped from 21/22 Cabinet (Dec 21): £310k Change Village Refurbishment; £150k roofs to sports and pool halls; and £15k external lighting upgrade

In addition:

£100k Sports Hall Floor Replacement
£100k Dry Change Refurbishment
£200k included in 23/24 for refurbishment of pool lining
£150k included in 24/25 for upgrades to dry side ventilation; A/C upgrade; electrical distribution system; further external lighting upgrades; and replacement of the cold-water storage tank.

The £675k capital investment in financial year 22/23 would see a significant refurbishment of the leisure centre to improve disability access, toilet facilities and the changing village to provide a modern fit for purpose environment accessible to all and will include reconfiguration to better utilise the space and provide fitness studios in keeping with the modern fitness culture. In addition, works to the sports hall will see upgrades to ensure integrity of the fabric and structure and replace worn end of life flooring. Works will include any required upgrades to lighting, heating, ventilation, security, and fire systems as determined by reconfigured spaces.

Location: Cotgrave Leisure Centre

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes

Material selection, wherever possible locally sourced, carbon efficient production, longevity of materials will be considered when selecting finishes.
Upgrades to lighting and mechanical building elements will look to use low energy technology wherever feasible.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not carry out refurb works – this would result in further deterioration of the fabric/fixtures/finishes which will potentially increase revenue maintenance/operating costs and with worsening visual appearance, diminish customer experience/satisfaction. This may also lead to loss of customers resulting in a less efficient service.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2025

Capital Cost (Total): £875,000 (2 years)

Year 1 (2022/23): £675,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £200,000
Year 3 (2024/25): £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £833,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £42,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 20 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £43,750

Capital Financing Costs: £4,375 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land & Buildings/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 10
Project Name: Edwalton Golf Course - Enhancements

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

Refurbishment of a self-contained annex within the Edwalton Golf Pavilion, with associated change of use to bring it into the main pavilion to provide additional commercial hire space for the Golf Operator.

Up until February 2020 a self-contained two-bedroom flat within the golf pavilion was let as a domestic residence to a tenant. The property was flooded in storms and the tenant was relocated. It became obvious on gaining entry to the flat that the property had been in a poor state of repair even before the flood. The property has since sat empty with no remediation measures and has continued to deteriorate. As the property continues to sit empty it incurs council tax liability which will increase in March 2022 due to it being a long-term void.

Business case assessment has determined it better to re-let the area as commercial use, complimentary to the golf operations, rather than as another residential flat. Hire income would come to the council via the golf operator contract management fee arrangement.

Work would include:

stripping out all flood damaged fixtures and fittings,
replacing the kitchen to provide kitchenette for hire,
converting the bathroom to an accessible unisex toilet,
refurbishing the lounge and the bedrooms to provide lettable rooms for hire.

Use would be, either events by the hour or on licence to complimentary golf services such as physiotherapy or similar. Works would include remedying all damp, new flooring, wall surfaces, woodwork and architrave, lighting and any required heating upgrades and any measures needed to the fire alarm system. Some basic remedial works to the small outside garden area to provide a pleasant easy to maintain outdoor space would also be required.

Location: Edwalton Golf Course

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitates healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes

Upgrades to the heating system will seek to ensure that the most appropriate energy efficient system is installed to reduce bills and carbon footprints in the future.
Careful thought to the external landscaping will seek to ensure biodiversity alongside ease of maintenance.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not carry out refurb works – this would result in further deterioration of the fabric/fixtures/finishes which will potentially increase revenue maintenance/operating costs and with worsening visual appearance, diminish customer experience/satisfaction. This would also result in council tax liability costs with no opportunity to offset with an income.

Refurbish and re-let as a self-contained flat – the rooms are better used to increase the space in the pavilion to provide services to benefit residents and to encourage/facilitate healthier lifestyle choices than to create a dwelling for one individual. Including the refurbished rooms into the existing pavilion and golf operator delivery model provides greater flexibility for the future of the pavilion than if a sitting residential tenant was in occupation.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2023

Capital Cost (Total): £30,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £30,000

Year 2 (2023/24): £0

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £28,500

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £1,500

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital Receipts. Potential Climate Change elements of the scheme to be determined and assessed for funding from the specific reserve.

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £2,000

Capital Financing Costs: £150 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land & Buildings/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 11
Project Name: Play Areas in West Bridgford (Special Expense)

Cost Centre: 0664

Detailed Description

The priority project for 2022/23 will be Adbolton Lane Play area, Lady Bay West Bridgford.

The scheme will prioritise the replacement of play equipment and safety surfacing, ground-based games graphics and improvements to drainage to combat water ponding to the front of the play area in times of wet weather.

It is proposed that the project will be managed by Via East Midlands and procured via the ESPO framework.

It is proposed to deliver these works in Autumn 2022 for when Children and young people return to school/college.

Projects for 2023/24 will be assessed and prioritised.

Location: West Bridgford

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Delivering a scheme refurbishment identified within the Rushcliffe Play Strategy.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.
To provide a facility to engage with young people who may otherwise not take part in formal sports or physical activity.

Environmental Outcomes

The tender process will take into consideration supply chain, Carbon reduction measures from the supplier use of materials to procure the most sustainable play facility for the community.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing would result in increased maintenance costs for ageing equipment, reduced appeal of the play areas leading to lower levels of use and be inconsistent with the vision of high-quality parks and leisure facilities. A lack of replacement programme would, over time, lead to an increased health and safety risk.

Start Date: April 2021

Completion Date: March 2022

Capital Cost (Total): £150,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £75,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £75,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £143,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £7,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Regeneration and Community Projects Reserve (Special Expense)

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £10,000

Capital Financing Costs: £750 p.a. as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 12
Project Name: West Park Enhancements - Special Expense

Cost Centre: 0320

Detailed Description

The Sir Julian Cahn Pavilion centenary year is 2023. The wooden constructed former cricket pavilion underwent a substantive refurbishment in 2004 and is now in need of further works to preserve the building and ensure that it meets the needs of the local community. It is proposed that it becomes the primary building for wedding and parties offered by the council.

The upgrade would include replacing the existing toilets and bar area; kitchen unit replacements; replacement of timber bay windows; installation of bi-fold doors to provide access to the grassed area in front of the building; and remodelling the disabled entry to provide improved access.

Works to include replacement of sanitary ware, fixtures, fittings, and finishes. We would also explore upgrading the boiler and establish if solar panels could be fitted to the rear of the building’s roof to improve environmental standard and minimise water and power consumption. An additional £20k has been included to upgrade the public toilet.

Further survey work is needed to understand if there is any underpinning work required given the construction and age of the pavilion and the current costing and timescales are estimated based upon Estate’s capacity to support the delivery of the project.

The project would also include the installation of modern technology such as Wi-Fi.

Location: West Park – Julien Cahn Pavilion

Executive Director: Neighbourhood

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

Upgrade works will enhance customer experience and improve efficiency of the facility.

Environmental Outcomes:

The Pavilion would be refurbished to the latest building regulations and environmental standards, it is proposed to have solar PV to its southern roof elevation and explore if an air source heat pump could be installed to minimising its Carbon Footprint. Thermal efficient windows and water and heat saving infrastructure would be included in the refurbishment.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Do not refurbish the Pavilion – this would result in lower customer experience/perceptions of the facility and miss an opportunity to minimise operational costs and achieve Carbon reduction targets for our Estate.

It would also put at risk an historic building within West Bridgford falling into decline.

Start Date: January 2023

Completion Date: July/August 2023

Capital Cost (Total): £320,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £320,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown): equipment still to be identified from works element

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2022/23): Not quantifiable at this stage but should see revenue spend on electricity and repairs reduce; income from bookings to increase.

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable from West Bridgford Special Expense by annuity. Potential Climate Change elements to be determined and assessed for funding from the specific reserve.

Useful Economic Life (years): 30 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £10,700

Capital Financing Costs: £1,600 per annum – opportunity cost of lost interest

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 13
Project Name: Gresham Improvements to Land Drainage

Cost Centre: 0280

Detailed Description

Surface water drainage of the Gresham site is generally via a substantial swale which separates the main car park from the playing fields to the south east. This swale has become surcharged with sediment and fallen vegetable matter which is reducing water storage capacity and impeding flows. As the swale is lined with trees and is largely inaccessible, regular maintenance is difficult.

It is proposed to carry out a wholesale clearance of the swale to restore its capacity and improve water flows. The works will be carried out by specialist contractors following detailed study to ensure that protected species are not negatively impacted, and biodiversity is supported.

Location: Gresham

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Robust asset management
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.

To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes:

Protected species, if present, will be preserved and biodiversity will be enhanced by the increased water flows which help to minimise stagnation and methane gas emissions.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing would increase the risk of localised flooding which puts at risk the operational performance and efficiency of the facility, giving rise to reducing customer perception which negatively impacts revenue generation.

Start Date: 2023

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £100,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0
Year 2 (2023/24): £100,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £95,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: £5,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 25 years

New / Replacement: New

Depreciation per annum: £4,000

Capital Financing Costs: £500 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 14
Project Name: Rushcliffe Country Park Enhancements

Cost Centre: 0504

Detailed Description

£75,000 provision comprises:

£20,000 composting toilet upgrade

Upgrade the current toilet provision to an improved ‘Zero Discharge’ system that is more hygienic, suitable for the location and able to cope with the high user numbers.

The toilets that serve the play area at RCP were installed in 2009. They were chosen as there is no water supply in that area of the park and composting toilets were seen to be the best option at the time.

The toilets worked when initially installed however as the park gained popularity and received more footfall, they stopped working efficiently due to the lack of ‘rest’ time needed to break down the waste. The previous park manager worked with the supplier to find solutions, but after multiple alterations they were not able to successfully make them work in the way designed.

Based on a case study of RCP, the toilet providers have developed a new ‘Zero discharge’ system for busy areas that doesn’t compost the waste and just requires the tanks to be emptied a couple of times a year. This is essentially what is currently taking place, but would be in a presentable, smell free and hygienic way.

Budget implications:

Upgrading and utilising the infrastructure that is already in place will bring the cost down considerably. The total cost to upgrade and develop the toilet system and housing is estimated at £20,000.

In comparison, to fully replace the toilets with new would cost an estimated £30,000.

£25,000 footpath improvements

There are 8km of paths around Rushcliffe Country Park. The park attracts an estimated 300,000+ visitors per year. Increased footfall, more frequent and extreme weather events have led to significant erosion of the park’s paths.

Without continual maintenance they become unusable for wheelchair and pushchair users and have led to numerous complaints.

An annual program of repairs is needed to address the degradation of the paths. Priority areas include the visitors centre and children’s play area. Maintenance works would then need to radiate out from these gradually bringing the rest of the park back up to what is expected of a Green Flag award winning park.

A request for £25,000 capital provision to be made in 2022/23 to bring the park footpaths up to standard. These works will need to be supported with a rolling annual path maintenance budget of £5,000 (initially covering a five-year period 2023/24 - 2027/28) and for this to be included in the revenue budget.

£22,000 PV panels

The proposed is a 14.85kWp system location on the south facing aspect of the education centre.

The output of the solar will be classed as use for the education centre (reducing scope 2 emissions) which is one of the main reasons for its positioning on the education centre roof.

The cost for the system (including installation) is £21,970, this will be met from the Climate Change reserve fund, estimated pay back of around 11 years.

In conjunction with the installation of the air source heat pump below, will relieve pressure on the in-year renovation budget as well as being the correct and appropriate use of the fund.

£8,000 Source heat pump

The current boiler is 15 years old; it is expensive to run (£1,500 per year on fuel), and is at the end of its useful life.

The only storage location for the wood pellets is the workshop storage room where containers of oil and petrol are also stored.

From a health and safety perspective, biomass presents significant safety issues.

Flammability - Wood pellets can spontaneously self-combust if exposed to moisture.
Carbon monoxide poisoning - Whilst stored, wood pellets absorb oxygen from the atmosphere, in small spaces with poor ventilation this can result in lethal build-up of carbon monoxide. 11 people have died in the last decade from entering an enclosed wood pellet storage room.
DSEAR risk -Tipping of wood pellets into a boiler creates dust, this dust is highly explosive under the right conditions.
Manual handling – sacks of wood pellets are carried by rangers from the tool shed to feed the boiler – the distance to carry will be increased when the tool shed is moved.

An air-to-water heat pump transfers heat from the outside air to water, which heats radiators or underfloor heating.

Full installations costs £8,000

Payback 5 – 9 years (dependent on system cost)

Air as a fuel source is free, it generates no direct emissions. The fan runs on mains electricity; however, they are efficient and low usage and for every 1kWh of electricity used the system produces 3kWh of heat.

Frees up internal space as the pump system is mostly external to the building.

Location: Rushcliffe Country Park

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes:

Bio-Mass Boiler:

The burning of biomass results in both carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions (NO₂ and CO₂), which is bad for the environment, although this is better than oil or gas, there are cleaner alternatives entering the market. Clean air source heat pumps and solar PV represent current best practice.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Toilets - To leave toilets in their current state poses significant health and safety risk. Traditional toilet provisions were considered for the area, however the high cost of installing the necessary water and sewage works made this option unviable.

Footpaths – The current state of the footpaths is a risk to both health and safety and reputation.

PV panels and heat pump – a like for like replacement would do little to achieve our carbon reduction targets the council has set for 2030.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2023

Capital Cost (Total): £75,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £75,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £0

Capital Cost (Breakdown): To be determined

Works: £41,500

Equipment: £30,000

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £3,500

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2022/23): £5000 pa for footpaths and (£1500) pa wood pellets
Year 2 (2023/24): Not applicable
Year 3 (2024/25): Not applicable
Year 4 (2025/26): Not applicable
Year 5 (2026/27): Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal:

Capital Receipts £45,000

Climate Change Reserve £30,000

Useful Economic Life (years):

Toilet - 20 years

Footpaths - 5 years

PV panels and air source heat pump - 20years

New / Replacement: New and replacement

Depreciation per annum:

Toilet £1,000

Footpaths £5,000

PV & air pump £1,500

Capital Financing Costs: £375 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings/Infrastructure/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 15
Project Name: Rushcliffe Country Park Play Area

Cost Centre: 0412

Detailed Description

The scheme will prioritise the replacement of individual pieces of play equipment and safety surfacing, ground-based games graphics and improvements to sand-based play equipment and sand migration.

It is proposed that the project will be project managed by Via East Midlands and procured via the ESPO framework.

Location: Rushcliffe Country Park

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes:

The tender process will take into consideration supply chain, Carbon reduction measures from the supplier use of materials to procure the most sustainable play facility for the community.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing would put at risk the operational performance and efficiency of the facility, reducing customer experience/satisfaction and, in turn, reduce revenue income.

Start Date: 2023

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £100,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0
Year 2 (2023/24): £100,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown): to be determined

Works: £25,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: £70,000

Fees: £5,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement/New

Depreciation per annum: £6,600

Capital Financing Costs: £500 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Infrastructure/Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 16
Project Name: Alford Road Football Goals 2022-23 – Special Expense

Cost Centre: 0639

Detailed Description

The Football Goals at Alford Road have come to the end of their useful life with no evidence of when they were last replaced. The supports are breaking on a regular basis and are showing signs of corrosion. The current goals do not meet the latest safety standard BSEN748 and BS8461:2012

Remove & dispose of existing goals & sockets on 5no. pitches.
Supply & install 3no. sets 24’ x 8’ goals & sockets.
Supply & install 2no. set 12’ x 6’ goals & sockets.

Location: Alford Road

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services

Strategic Commitments

Protecting our residents’ health and facilitating healthier lifestyle choices.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Creating opportunities for young people to realise their potential.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure the provision of high-quality community facilities which meet community need.
To protect our residents’ health and facilitate healthier lifestyle choice.

Environmental Outcomes:

We would look to procure the equipment using local supply chains and local contractors.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Doing nothing would put at risk the operational performance and efficiency of the facility, reducing customer experience/satisfaction and, in turn, reduce revenue income.

Start Date: 2022

Completion Date: 2022

Capital Cost (Total): £10,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £10,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £0

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: Not applicable

Equipment: £10,000

Other: Not applicable

Fees: Not applicable

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable by annuity.

Useful Economic Life (years): 10 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: £50 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 17
Project Name: Edwalton Community Facility – Special Expense

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

The Edwalton Community Hall proposals will form part of a new community focal point for the area as part of the Sharphill Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE). They will provide connections to the community parks and woods supporting environmental conservation projects, community groups and volunteers.

The community hall will complement existing community infrastructure including the newly opened Rosecliffe Spencer Academy Primary School which would cater for larger group gatherings.

The proposed development will have a meeting room serving groups with a capacity of up to 40 people. The building will also include rangers/facilities office, storage, toilets, and kitchen facilities. It is also proposed to have externally accessed toilets for working parties using the woods and community groups that can be accessed when the main building is closed. The building will also have externally accessed storage for the allotment holders and Friends of Sharphill Wood to store materials which will improve co-ordination and the delivery of environmental based projects.

Location: Edwalton

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Responsible income generation where deemed appropriate, to facilitate the delivery of services.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Reviewing our policies and ways of working to protect natural resources, and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes.

Community Outcomes

To provide additional community infrastructure.
Ensuring we are maximising our property holdings and aligning them with the needs of residents. Properties may be held for operational purposes, for community use, or for investment purposes.

Environmental Outcomes:

The Edwalton Community building would be built to the latest building regulations and environmental standards, it is postposed to have solar PV to its southern roof elevation and an air source heat pump to ensure it is minimising its Carbon Footprint.

One of the key objectives of the building is to support community projects and groups to conserve and protect Sharphill Woods and the associated community parkland that will be created.

Other Options Rejected and Why

The Authority could decide not to progress the project, but this would not address the community need identified in the area.

Start Date: 2022 advanced design/surveys

Completion Date: 2024

Capital Cost (Total): £500,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0
Year 2 (2023/24): £500,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £455,000

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £45,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: External funding sources will be explored

Internal: Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable by annuity. Climate Change elements to be determined and assessed for funding from the specific reserve.

Useful Economic Life (years): 40 years

New / Replacement: New

Depreciation per annum: £12,500

Capital Financing Costs: £2,500 per annum

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings Special Expense

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 18
Project Name: Gamston Community Centre - Special Expense

Cost Centre: To be confirmed

Detailed Description

The proposal is for the upgrade of fixed mechanical and electrical equipment as it reaches the end of its useful life and to maintain building/user safety. A £50k budget is requested for the upgrade of heating plant in in 2023/24 and £40k budget for replacement of fixed wiring in 2024/25.

The intention will be to utilise modern high efficiency replacement heating plant to minimise operating costs [offset rising energy costs] and maximise carbon efficiency – it is proposed that this element of the scheme be funded from the Carbon Management/Climate Change Reserve fund.

Location: Gamston

Executive Director: Neighbourhoods

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Quality of Life
Efficient Services
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Robust asset management -the upgrading of ageing plant as it reaches the end of its useful life is sound asset management.
Provide high quality community facilities which meet the needs of our residents and contribute towards the financial independence of the Council.
Responsible income generation where deemed appropriate, to facilitate the delivery of services.
Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Reviewing our policies and ways of working to protect natural resources, and to implement environmentally beneficial infrastructure changes.

Community Outcomes

Ensuring we are maximising our property holdings and aligning them with the needs of residents. Properties may be held for operational purposes, for community use, or for investment purposes.

Environmental Outcomes:

New heating plant installed will significantly reduce the sites operating costs and reduce carbon emissions due to higher efficiency of new plant and improved controls.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Not carrying out upgrade works would put at risk operational certainty for the facility, negatively impact customer comfort and safety and fail to minimise operational costs and maximise carbon emission reductions.

Start Date: 2023

Completion Date: 2025

Capital Cost (Total): £90,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £0
Year 2 (2023/24): £50,000
Year 3 (2024/25): £40,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: £38,000

Equipment: £50,000

Other: Not applicable

Fees: £2,000

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal:

Capital Receipts in the first instance repayable from the West Bridgford Special Expense by annuity.

Cost of replacement heating plant and controls (£50k) to be assessed for funding from the Climate Change Reserve

Useful Economic Life (years): 15 years

New / Replacement: Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £6,000

Capital Financing Costs: £450 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Operational Land and Buildings Special Expense/Plant & Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 19
Project Name: Information Systems Strategy

Cost Centre: 0596

Detailed Description

An emerging strategy enabling an agile approach to operational delivery, taking advantage of new proven developments. The ICT Technical Delivery Plan details all technical projects, and the schedule for implementation, during the lifetime of the ICT Strategy.

Location: Rushcliffe Arena

Executive Director: Finance and Corporate

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
Quality of Life
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources linked to growth aspirations.
Include digital principles in our communications and ways of undertaking business
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure that we make best use of digital development where appropriate to deliver better services and operate more efficiently.
To enable residents to do business with us in a digital way if that is their preference.

The ICT Strategy is closely aligned to the Council’s “Four Year Plan” reviews and ICT will be instrumental in delivering the outcomes identified during these reviews. The Strategy will deliver:

Enabling Efficiency

Using Digital by Design principles to enable the Council to redesign processes/services to be more accessible and efficient, producing better, quicker, and more consistent outcomes for customers.

Responding flexibly and with agility to customer needs

To facilitate digital channels where appropriate by creating digital service that our customers view as their access channel of choice moving transactions away from face to face and telephony towards self-service facilities via Internet, ‘My Account’ portal, automated telephony, and kiosk technologies.

Increase our ability to work in effective partnerships

To continue the work to facilitate common policies, standards, systems, and infrastructure to drive out cost and create opportunities for greater resilience, efficiencies, and savings.

Modern architecture supporting efficient and agile working culture

Enabling the greater flexibility and agility of both employees and members through the deployment of appropriate technology including effective collaboration systems and tools.

Robust arrangements for business continuity, information management and governance and security

Safeguarding the Council’s data by ensuring compliance with all relevant legislative, financial, and central government security standards. Improving maturity of the management and governance of information assets and delivering appropriate arrangements to ensure compliance with such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Environmental Outcomes:

When new infrastructure or ICT equipment is procured, power consumption forms part of the decision making when assessing quality of products.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Projects are the subject of a business case to be presented to, and approved by, the Executive Manager for the corresponding Service Area to ensure that the most appropriate IT solution is chosen, having due regard to the alignment of technologies already in use across other local authorities, value for money and resilience. The option of not doing so would lead to outdated or incompatible technology, which would result in lower performance, higher maintenance costs and hinder the drive for greater efficiencies.

Start Date: Ongoing

Completion Date: Ongoing

Capital Cost (Total): £460,000 (2 years)

Year 1 (2022/23): £230,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £230,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

To be determined

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum: Not applicable

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): 3 years

New / Replacement: New and Replacement

Depreciation per annum: £77,000 year 1

Capital Financing Costs: : £2,300 per annum as opportunity cost of lost interest.

Residual Value: Nil

Category of Asset: Intangible Assets and Equipment

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Reference: 20
Project Name: Streetwise Loan

Cost Centre: 0656

Detailed Description

Provision to facilitate a loan to Streetwise Environmental Ltd to assist with the purchase of new and replacement vehicles. The loans will be repayable over 4 years, quarterly intervals at a market rate of interest to be agreed by the S151 Officer.

Location: Unit 10 Moorbridge - Streetwise premises

Executive Director: Finance and Corporate

Contributions to the Council’s Aims and Objectives

Corporate Priorities

Efficient Services
Sustainable Growth
The Environment

Strategic Commitments

Ongoing appraisal and alignment of resources lined to growth aspirations.
Reviewing service delivery models to ensure that residents are receiving consistently excellent services either delivered directly by the Council, or by our arm’s length companies, or by private and public sector partners.
Bringing new business to the borough and nurturing our existing businesses, helping them to grow and succeed.
Working to achieve carbon neutral status for the Council’s operations.

Community Outcomes

To ensure that we have an integrated and strategic approach to how we provide our services.

Environmental Outcomes:

There are no environmental outcomes in providing the loan, however, an ageing fleet may have safety implications, require increased maintenance and are less fuel efficient. Provision of this loan will assist in the ability of Streetwise to provide cleaner vehicles thereby assisting with carbon reduction.

Other Options Rejected and Why

Offering the loan maintains the strong working partnership between RBC and Streetwise Environmental Ltd. The loans will be repaid in full and thereby sums returned to the capital receipts pot. RBC revenue budget will be supported by the interest earned on the loans.

Start Date: Ongoing

Completion Date: Not applicable

Capital Cost (Total): £300,000

Year 1 (2022/23): £150,000
Year 2 (2023/24): £150,000

Capital Cost (Breakdown)

Works: Not applicable

Equipment: Not applicable

Other: £300,000 (loan)

Fees: Not applicable

Additional Revenue cost / (savings) per annum

Year 1 (2022/23): (£0)
Year 2 (2023/24): (£2,460)
Year 3 (2024/25): (£4,415)
Year 4 (2025/26): (£3,170)
Year 5 (2026/27): (£1,680)

Proposed Funding

External: £0

Internal: Capital receipts

Useful Economic Life (years): Not applicable

New / Replacement: Not applicable

Depreciation per annum: Not applicable

Capital Financing Costs: Net nil as loan repaid

Residual Value: Not applicable

Category of Asset: Long/Short Term Debtor

IFRS16 New Lease Checklist Completed: Not applicable

Appendix 5 - Capital and Investment Strategy 2022/23 - 2026/27

Introduction

1. The Local Government Act 2003 requires the Council to comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities when carrying out capital and treasury management activities.

2. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) has issued Guidance on Local Authority Investments that requires the Council to approve an investment strategy before the start of each financial year.

3 .This report fulfils the Council’s legal obligation under the Local Government Act 2003 to have regard to both the CIPFA Code and the MHCLG Guidance.

4. CIPFA have just released new editions of the Treasury Management Code and Prudential Code (20 December 2021). Some changes in the Prudential Code come into immediate effect, namely an authority must not borrow to invest primarily for financial return. Authorities may, however, defer introducing revised reporting requirements until 2023/24 (these include changes in capital strategy, prudential indicators, and investment reporting). There is no effective date stipulated for the Treasury Management Code but where possible these changes are reflected in the strategy.

The Capital Strategy

5. The Council’s capital expenditure plans are summarised below and forms the first of the prudential indicators. Capital expenditure needs to have regard to:

Corporate objectives (e.g. strategic planning);
Stewardship of assets (eg asset management planning);
Value for money (eg option appraisal);
Prudence and sustainability (eg implications for external borrowing and whole life costing);
Affordability (e.g. implications for council tax); and
Practicability (e.g. the achievability of the Corporate Strategy)
Proportionality (e.g. risks associated with investment are proportionate to financial capacity); and
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance e.g., address environmental sustainability in a manner which is consistent with our corporate policies)

6. Each year the Council will produce a Capital Programme to be approved by Full Council in March as part of the Council Tax setting.

7. Each scheme is supported by a detailed appraisal (which may also be a Cabinet Report), as set out in the Council’s Financial Regulations. The capital appraisals will address the following:

A detailed description of the project;
How the project contributes to the Council’s Corporate Priorities and Strategic Commitments;
Anticipated outcomes;
A consideration of alternative solutions;
An estimate of the capital costs and sources of funding;
An estimate of the revenue implications, including any savings and/or future income generation potential;
A consideration of whether it is a new lease agreement;
A consideration of sustainability in accordance with Corporate objectives; and
Any other aspects relevant to the appraisal of the scheme as the S151 Officer may determine.

The appraisal requirement applies to all schemes except where there is regular grant support and if commercial negotiations are due to take place and further reporting to Cabinet or Full Council is therefore required.

8. From time-to-time unforeseen opportunities may arise, or new priorities may emerge, which will require swift action and inclusion in the Capital Programme. These schemes are still subject to the appraisal process and the Capital Programme will contain a contingency sum to allow such schemes to progress without disrupting other planned capital activity.

Capital Prudential Indicators

a) Capital Expenditure Estimates

9. Capital expenditure can be financed immediately through the application of capital resources, for example, capital receipts, capital grants or revenue resources. However, if these resources are insufficient or a decision is taken not to apply resources, the capital expenditure will give rise to a borrowing need. The table below summarises the capital expenditure projections and anticipated financing.

Projected Capital Expenditure and Financing
Category	2021/22 Original £'000	2021/22 Revised £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000	2026/27 Estimate £'000
Capital Expenditure	28,158	27,222	13,841	6,455	2,845	1,950	2,335
Less Financed by	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Capital Receipts	15,199	8,092	8,921	4,127	1,940	1,110	955
Capital Grants / Contributions	6,003	7,731	3,315	2,178	695	695	695
Reserves	500	399	1,605	150	210	145	685
Total Financing	21,702	16,222	13,841	6,455	2,845	1,950	2,335
Underlying need to Borrow	6,456	11,000	-	-	-	-	-

10. The key risks to the capital expenditure plans are that the level of grants estimated is subject to change, anticipated capital receipts are not realised or are more than expected in the medium term; and the future of New Homes Bonus (NHB). Additional monies have been allocated for NHB in 2022-23 (£934k) but the Government intends to cease this scheme in 2023/24 which impacts on the level of capital grants received going forward.

b) The Council's Underlying Need to Borrow and Investment Position

11. The Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) represents the Council’s underlying need to borrow for capital expenditure and it remains a key indicator under the Prudential Code. This underlying need to borrow will increase the CFR (the use of internal borrowing, which reduces our investment balance). This increase is offset by Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) and any additional voluntary contributions (VRP) raised through Council Tax, as a result of financing requirements in relation to the Arena development, Cotgrave redevelopment and in later years Bingham Leisure Hub and the Crematorium.

12. The Council also holds usable reserves and working capital which represent the underlying resources available for investment. The Council’s current strategy is to use these resources, by way of internal borrowing, to avoid the commitment to external debt.

13. The table below summarises the overall position with regard to borrowing and available investments and shows an increase in CFR reflecting the capital commitment on projects such as the Crematorium and Bingham Leisure Hub.

Capital Financing Requirement and Investment Resources
Description	2021/22 Forecast £'000	2022/23 Forecast £'000	2023/24 Forecast £'000	2024/25 Forecast £'000	2025/26 Forecast £'000	2026/27 Forecast £'000
Opening CFR	6,300	16,226	14,933	13,640	12,347	11,054
CFR in year	11,000	-	-	-	-	-
Less MRP etc	(1,074)	(1,293)	(1,293)	(1,293)	(1,293)	(858)
Closing CFR	16,226	14,933	13,640	12,347	11,054	10,196
Less External Borrowing	-	-	-	-	-	-
Internal Borrowing	16,226	14,933	13,640	12,347	11,054	10,196
Less: Usable Reserves	(26,781)	(22,701)	(18,171)	(17,795)	(16,335)	(15,349)
Less: Working Capital	(34,850)	(23,149)	(21,466)	(19,779)	(18,093)	(16,447)
Available for Investment	(45,405)	(30,917)	(25,997)	(25,227)	(23,374)	(21,600)

14. The Council is currently debt free and the assumption in the capital expenditure plans is that the Council will not need to externally borrow over the MTFS. Available resources (usable reserves and working capital) remain steady over the medium term, with usable reserves being used to finance both capital and revenue expenditure over time.

15. The new accounting standard IFRS16 comes into force on 1 April 2022. IFRS 16 affects how leases are measured, recognised, and presented in the accounts and essentially means that some leases may have to be classified as capital expenditure. The full impact of this change is still yet to be determined and this is likely to impact on the CFR. As we currently have no external borrowing this is unlikely to affect the Authorised Limit.

Minimum Revenue Provision Policy

16. DLUHC Regulations have been issued which require the Governance Scrutiny Group to consider a Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement in advance of each year. Further commentary regarding financing of the debt is provided in paragraphs 30-35. A variety of options are provided to Councils, so long as there is prudent provision. The Council has chosen the Asset Life Method (Option 3 within the Guidance) with the following recommended MRP Statement:

MRP will be based on the estimated life of the assets, in accordance with Option 3 of the regulations. Estimated life periods within this limit will be determined under delegated powers, subject to any statutory override. (DCLG revised guidance states maximum asset lives of 40 and 50 years for property and land respectively)

As some types of capital expenditure incurred by the Council are not capable of being related to an individual asset, asset lives will be assessed on a basis which most reasonably reflects the anticipated period of benefit that arises from the expenditure. Also, whatever type of expenditure is involved, it will be grouped together in a manner which reflects the nature of the main component of expenditure and will only be divided up in cases where there are two or more major components with substantially different useful economic lives.

This option provides for a reduction in the borrowing need over approximately the asset’s life.

17. As well as the need to pay off an element of the accumulated General Fund borrowing requirement, used to fund capital expenditure each year (the capital financing requirement - CFR), through a revenue charge (the MRP) the Council is also allowed to make additional voluntary contributions (voluntary revenue provision – VRP). In times of financial crisis, the Council has the flexibility to reduce voluntary contributions.

Treasury Management Strategy 2022/23 to 2026/27

18. The CIPFA Treasury Management Code (2021) defines treasury management activities as:

“The management of the local authority’s investments and cash flows, its banking, money market and capital market transactions; the effective control of the risks associated with those activities; and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks".

The code also covers non-cash investments which are covered at paragraph 66 below. Under the revised Prudential code investments are separated into categories for Treasury Investment, Service Investment and Commercial Investment.

19. The CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services (the “CIPFA Treasury Management Code”) and the CIPFA Prudential Code require local authorities to produce a Treasury Management Strategy Statement on an annual basis.

20. This Strategy Statement includes those indicators that relate to the treasury management functions and help ensure that the Council’s capital investment plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable, while giving priority to the security and liquidity of those investments.

The Current Economic Climate and prospects for Interest Rates

21. The economy is recovering and expected to reach pre-Covid levels at the beginning of 2022. Output is projected to rise by 6.9% in 2021, with growth moderating to 4.7% in 2022 and 2.1% in 2023. Consumption is the main driver of growth during the projection period. Business investment will improve but continues to be held back by uncertainty.

22. Unemployment will continue to decline. The unemployment rate in the UK is projected to trend around 4% in 2022 dropping to 3.9% in 2023.

23. The Bank of England base rate is 0.25%. On 16 December the Bank of England surprised the markets and raised the Bank Rate from 0.1% to 0.25%. It is expected to continue to rise by 25bps each year over the term of the MTFS. Link (the Council’s Treasury Advisors) are forecasting a stepped increase with rates of 1.25% expected by March 2025.

24. Inflation will keep increasing due to higher energy and commodity prices and continuing supply shortages. The inflation rate year on year is 5.1% in November. Inflation is expected to remain high at high levels for the first half of 2022 and then fall back towards 2% by the end of 2023.

25. The table below shows the assumed average interest (which reflects a prudent approach) that will be made over the next five years for budget setting purposes.

Budgetary Impact of Assumed Interest Rate
Category	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26	2026/27
Anticipated Interest Rate (%)	0.50	0.75	1.00	1.25	1.25
Expected Interest from Investments (£)	592,300	554,000	545,900	542,700	539,800
Other Interest (£)	81,000	72,000	64,000	59,000	59,000
Total Interest (£)	673,300	626,000	609,900	601,700	598,800
Sensitivity	£	£	£	£	£
-0.25% Interest Rate	(55,400)	(31,100)	(34,000)	(30,700)	(26,200)
+0.25% Interest Rate	55,400	31,100	34,000	30,700	26,200

26. In the event that a bank suffers a loss, the Council could be subject to bail-in to assist with the recovery process. The impact of a bail-in depends on the size of the loss incurred by the bank or building society, the amount of equity capital and junior bonds that can be absorbed first and the proportion of insured deposits, covered bonds and other liabilities that are exempt from bail-in.

27. The Council has managed bail-in risk by both reducing the amount that can be invested with each institution to £10 million and by investment diversification between creditworthy counterparties.

Borrowing Strategy 2022/23 to 2026/27

Prudential Indicators for External Debt

28. The Capital Financing table above identifies that the Council may need to externally borrow over the MTFS if it is not possible to internally borrow. Whilst this means that no external borrowing costs (interest/debt management) are incurred, there is an opportunity cost of using internal borrowing by way of lost interest on cash balances.

29. The approved sources of long term and short-term borrowing are:

Internal borrowing
Municipal Bond Agency
Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) (or the body that will replace the PWLB in the future)
Local authorities
UK public and private sector pension funds
Commercial banks
Building Societies in the UK
Leasing
Capital market bond investors
Special purpose companies created to enable local authority bond issues.

Following the recent consultation PWLB have published new lending terms effective from 26 November 2020 and now General Fund Borrowing is in line with HRA at Gilts +80bps (certainty rate). There is also now the need to categorise the capital programme into five categories including service, housing, regeneration etc. If any Authority has assets that are being purchased ‘primarily for yield’ anywhere in their capital programme they will not be able to access PWLB funding.

a) Authorised Limit for External Debt

30. The authorised limit is the “affordable borrowing limit” required by section 3 (1) of the Local Government Act 2003 and represents the limit beyond which borrowing is prohibited. It shows the maximum amount the Council could afford to borrow in the short term to maximise treasury management opportunities and either cover temporary cash flow shortfalls or use for longer term capital investment.

Authorised Limit for External Debt
Description	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000	2026/27 Estimate £'000
Authorised Limit	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000

b) Operational Boundary for External Debt

31. The operational boundary is the expected borrowing position of the Council during the course of the year. It is normally calculated based on CFR and a buffer say £5m just in case. The operational boundary is not a limit and actual borrowing can be either below or above the boundary subject to the authorised limit not being breached. The Operational Limit has been set at £20m and, whilst the Council is not expected to externally borrow over the period of the MTFS, this provides a cushion and gives flexibility should circumstances significantly change.

Operational Boundary for External Debt
Category	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000	2026/27 Estimate £'000
Operational Boundary	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000

32. The Prudential indicators for debt discussed are shown in the table below:

Prudential Indicators
Description	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000	2026/27 £'000
Authorised Limit	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000	25,000
Operational Boundary	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000
Capital Financing Requirement	16,226	14,933	13,640	12,347	11,054	10,196

33. The TM Code introduces a new indicator called the Liability Benchmark which reflects the real need to borrow. This benchmark illustrates that the Council has no need to borrow over the medium term.

The Prudential Indicators for Affordability

35. Affordability indicators provide details of the impact of capital investment plans on the Council’s overall finances.

Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream
Description	2021/22 £000	2022/23 £000	2023/24 £000	2024/25 £000	2025/26 £000	2026/27 £000
Closing CFR	16,226	14,933	13,640	12,347	11,054	10,196
Less: Usable Reserves	(26,781)	(22,701)	(18,171)	(17,795)	(16,335)	(15,349)
Less: Working Capital	(34,850)	(23,149)	(21,466)	(19,779)	(18,093)	(16,447)
Plus: Minimum Investments	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	10,000
Liability Benchmark	(35,405)	(20,917)	(15,997)	(15,227)	(13,374)	(11,600)

a) Actual and estimates of the ratio of net financing costs to net revenue stream

35. This indicator identifies the trend in net financing costs (borrowing costs less investment income) against net revenue income. The purpose of the indicator is to show how the proportion of net income used to pay for financing costs (a credit indicates interest earned rather than cost) is changing over time. The downward trend, in later years, reflects the reduction in MRP as payments in relation to the Arena (it is fully funded) despite new non-treasury capital commitments in the Crematorium and Bingham Hub which give rise to further MRP but also generate revenue budget efficiencies with either reduced costs or increasing income.

Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream
Category	2021/22 Estimate	2022/23 Estimate	2023/24 Estimate	2024/25 Estimate	2025/26 Estimate	2026/27 Estimate
General Fund	5.45%	5.29%	5.92%	5.91%	5.82%	2.18%

Investment Strategy 2022/23 to 2026/27

36. The movement in investments is due to increases in capital receipts related to Sharphill, disposal of the Depot Site at Abbey Road, sale of land in Cotgrave offset by application to finance capital expenditure. In addition, it reflects projected receipts and release of Section 106 monies.

Investment Projections
Description	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000	2026/27 Estimate £'000
Investments at 31 March	45,405	30,917	25,997	25,227	23,374	21,600

37. Both the CIPFA Code and the DLUHC Guidance require the Council to invest its funds prudently, and to have regard to the security and liquidity of its investments before seeking the highest rate of return. The Council’s objective when investing money is to strike an appropriate balance between risk and return, minimising the risk of incurring losses from defaults and the risk of receiving unsuitable low investment income. Accordingly, the Council ensures that robust due diligence procedures cover all external investments.

38. The Council will not knowingly invest directly in businesses whose activities and practices pose a risk of serious harm to individuals or groups, or whose activities are inconsistent with the Council’s Corporate Objectives and values. This would include avoiding direct investment in institutions with material links to:

Human rights abuse (e.g. child labour, political oppression);
Environmentally harmful activities (e.g. pollutants, destruction of habitat, fossil fuels); and
Socially harmful activities (e.g. tobacco, gambling).

39. The Council will keep under review the sensitivity of its treasury assets and liabilities to inflation and will seek to manage the risk accordingly in the context of the whole of the Council’s inflation exposures.

40. The Council will invest its surplus funds with approved counterparties. Where appropriate, the Council is registered as a professional client (under “MIFID II”) with the counterparty limits shown below and counterparties included at Appendix (i):

Counterparty Details
Credit Rating	Banks* Unsecured	Banks* Secured	Government	Corporates	Registered Providers
UK Government	not applicable	not applicable	£ unlimited 20 years	not applicable	not applicable
AAA	£3.0m 3 years	£10.0m 10 years	£10.0m 20 years	£3.0m 10 years	£5.0m 10 years
AA+	£3.0m 2 years	£10.0m 10 years	£10.0m 5 years	£3.0m 4 years	£5.0m 4 years
AA	£3.0m 1 year	£10.0m 4 years	£10.0m 3 years	£3.0m 2 years	£5.0m 4 years
AA-	£3.0m 1 year	£10.0m 2 years	-	-	£5.0m 4 years
A+	£3.0m 6 months	£10.0m 2 years	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
A	£3.0m 6 months	£10.0m 1 year	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
A-	£3.0m 3 months	£10.0m 6 months	-	-	£5.0m 2 years
Pooled Funds**	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund	£10m per fund

*Banks includes Banks and Building Societies.

**Pooled funds do not have a defined maturity date. Monies in Money Market Funds can be withdrawn on the same date; monies in other pooled funds can be withdrawn giving the requisite notice, generally between 1 and 7 days.

Monies in the CCLA Property Fund can be withdrawn on each monthly redemption date, if required; it is the Council’s intention to hold its investment over a reasonable time frame for property investments, which is 5 years, subject to cash flow requirements.

41. Although the above table details the counterparties that the Council could invest funds with, it would not invest funds with counterparties against the advice of Link (our TM Advisors) even if they met the criteria above.

42. Changes to any of the above can be authorised by the Section 151 Officer or the Services Manager - Finance and thereafter will be reported to the Governance Scrutiny Group. This is to cover exceptional circumstances so that instant decisions can be made in an environment which is both fluid and subject to high risk.

43. The Authority may incur operational exposures, for example though current accounts, collection accounts and merchant acquiring services, to any UK bank with credit ratings no lower than BBB- and with assets greater than £25 billion. These are not classed as investments but are still subject to the risk of a bank bail-in, and balances will therefore be kept below £2,000,000 per bank. The Bank of England has stated that in the event of failure, banks with assets greater than £25 billion are more likely to be bailed-in than made insolvent, increasing the chance of the Authority maintaining operational continuity.

44. Credit rating information is provided by Link on all active counterparties that comply with the criteria above. A counterparty list will be maintained from this information and any counterparty not meeting the criteria will be removed from the list.

45. Where an entity has its credit rating downgraded so that it fails to meet the approved investment criteria then:
•   no new investments will be made,
•   any existing investments that can be recalled or sold at no cost will be, and
•   full consideration will be given to the recall or sale of all other existing investments with the affected counterparty.

46. Where a credit rating agency announces that a credit rating is on review for possible downgrade (also known as “rating watch negative” or “credit watch negative”) so that it may fall below the approved rating criteria, then only investments that can be withdrawn [on the next working day] will be made with that organisation until the outcome of the review is announced. This policy will not apply to negative outlooks, which indicate a long-term direction of travel rather than an imminent change of rating.

Credit Risks

47. The CIPFA Treasury Management Code recommends that organisations should clearly specify the minimum acceptable credit quality of its counterparties; however, they should not rely on credit ratings alone and should recognise their limitations. Full regard will therefore be given to other available information on the credit quality of the organisations, in which it invests, including credit default swap prices, financial statements, information on potential government support and reports in the quality financial press. No investments will be made with an organisation if there are substantial doubts about its credit quality, even though it may meet the credit rating criteria.

48. When deteriorating financial market conditions affect the credit worthiness of all organisations, as happened in 2008 and 2011, this is not generally reflected in credit ratings, but can be seen in other market measures. In these circumstances, the Authority will restrict its investments to those organisations of higher credit quality and reduce the maximum duration of its investments to maintain the required level of security. The extent of these restrictions will be in line with prevailing financial market conditions. If these restrictions mean that insufficient commercial organisations of high credit quality are available to invest the Authority’s cash balances, then the surplus will be deposited with the UK Government, via the Debt Management Office or invested in government treasury bills for example, or with other local authorities. This will cause a reduction in the level of investment income earned but will protect the principal sum invested.

Current Investments

49. The Council uses its own processes to monitor cash flow and determine the maximum period for which funds may prudently be committed. The forecast is compiled on a prudent basis to minimise the risk of the Council being forced to borrow on unfavourable terms to meet its financial commitments. Limits on long-term investments are set by reference to the Authority’s medium term financial strategy and cash flow forecast.

50. Surplus funds are invested based on the most up to date forecasts of interest rates and in accordance with the Council’s cash flow requirements in order to gain the maximum benefit from the Council’s cash position throughout the year. Funds are separated between specified and non-specified investments as detailed below.

Specified Investments

51. The DLUHC guidance defines specified investments as those:

•   Denominated in pound sterling,
•   Due to be repaid within 12 months of arrangements,
•   Not defined as capital expenditure by legislation, and
•   Invested with one of:
•   The UK Government
•   A UK local authority, parish council, or community council, or
•   A body or investment scheme of “high credit quality”

52. The Council now defines “high credit quality” organisations as those having a credit rating of A- and above.

Non-specified Investments

53. Any investment not meeting the definition of a specified investment is classed as non-specified. The Council does not intend to make any investments denominated in foreign currencies, nor any that are defined as capital expenditure by legislation, such as company shares. Non-specified investments will therefore be limited to long-term investments (those that are due to mature 12 months or longer from the date of arrangement, and investments with bodies and scheme not meeting the definition on high credit quality). Limits on non-specified investments are shown in the following table:

Non-specified Investment Limits
Description	Cash Limit
Total long-term investments	£15m
Total investments without credit ratings or rated below A- (except UK Government and local authorities)	£5m
Total investments (except pooled funds) with institutions domiciled in foreign countries rated below AA+	£3m
Total non-specified investments	£15m

Investment Limits

54. The Authority's revenue reserves available to cover investment losses in a worst-case scenario are forecast to be £19.2 million on 31st March 2022. The maximum that will be lent to any one organisation (other than the UK Government) will be £10.0 million. This figure is constantly under review to assess risk in the case of a single default. A group of banks under the same ownership will be treated as a single organisation for limit purposes. Limits will also be placed on fund managers, investments in brokers’ nominee accounts, foreign countries, and industry sectors as below. Investments in pooled funds and multilateral development banks do not count against the limit for any single foreign country since the risk is diversified over many countries.

Investment Limits
Description	Cash Limit
Any single organisation, except the UK Central Government	£10m each
UK Central Government	Unlimited
Any group of organisations under the same ownership	£10m per group
Any group of pooled funds under the same management	£10m per manager
Negotiable instruments held in a broker’s nominee account	£10m per broker
Foreign Countries	£3m per country
Registered providers	£5m in total
Unsecured investments with any building society	£3m in total
Loans across unrated corporates	£5m in total
Money Market Funds	£40m in total

Treasury Management Limits on activity

55. The Council measures and manages its exposures to treasury management risks using the following indicators.

a) Interest Rate Exposure

56. This indicator is set to control the Authority’s exposure to interest rate risk. The upper limits on fixed and variable rate interest rate exposures, expressed as the amount of net interest payable will be:

Interest Rate Exposure
Category	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26	2026/27
Upper Limit on fixed interest rate exposure	50%	50%	50%	50%	50%	50%
Upper Limit on variable interest rate exposure	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%

57. Fixed rate investments and borrowings are those where the rate of interest is fixed for at least 12 months, measured from the start of the financial year or the transaction date if later. All other instruments are classed as variable rate.

Principal Sums Invested over one year

58. This limit is intended to contain exposure to the possibility of any loss that may arise as a result of the Council having to seek early repayment of any investments made. The limits on the long-term principal sum invested to final maturities beyond the period end are set at 50% of the sum available for investment (to the nearest £100k), as follows:

Principal sums invested over one year
Description	2021/22 Estimate £'000	2022/23 Estimate £'000	2023/24 Estimate £'000	2024/25 Estimate £'000	2025/26 Estimate £'000	2026/27 Estimate £'000
Limit on Principal Invested over one year	22,700	15,400	13,000	12,600	11,600	10,800

Policy on the use of financial derivatives

59. Local authorities have previously made use of financial derivatives embedded into loans and investments both to reduce interest rate risk (for example, interest rate collars and forward deals) and to reduce costs or increase income at the expense of greater risk (for example LOBO loans and callable deposits). The general power of competence in Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 removes much of the uncertainty over local authorities’ use of standalone financial derivatives (those that are not embedded into a loan or investment).

60. The Council will only use standalone financial derivatives (such as swaps, forwards, futures, and options) where they can be clearly demonstrated to reduce the overall level of the financial risks that the Authority is exposed to. Additional risks presented, such as credit exposure to derivative counterparties, will be considered when determining the overall level of risk. Embedded derivatives, including those present in pooled funds and forward starting transactions, will not be subject to this policy, although the risks they present will be managed in line with the overall treasury risk management strategy.

61. Financial derivative transactions may be arranged with any organisation that meets the approved investment criteria. The current value of any amount due from a derivative counterparty will count against the counterparty credit limit and the relevant foreign country limit.

Treasury Management Advisors

62. Link Asset Services will act as the Council’s treasury management advisors until 31st October 2022. The company provides a range of services which include:

•   Technical support on treasury matters and capital finance issues;
•   Economic and interest rate analysis;
•   Generic investment advice on interest rates, timing and investment instruments; and
•   Credit ratings/market information service comprising the three main credit rating agencies.

63. Whilst the treasury management advisors provide support to the internal treasury function, the current market rules and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code confirms that the final decision on treasury management matters rests with the Council. The service provided by the Council’s treasury management advisors is subject to regular review.

Member and Officer Training

64. The updated TM Code requires Local Authorities to document a formal and comprehensive knowledge and skills schedule reflecting the need to ensure that both members officers dealing with treasury management are trained and kept up to date. This will require a suitable training process for members and officers. There will be specific training for members training involved in scrutiny and broader training for members who sit on full Council. Previously these needs have been reported through the Member Development Group, with the Council specifically addressing this important issue by:

Periodically facilitating workshops for members on finance issues;
Interim reporting and advising members of Treasury issues via GSG;

With regards to officers:

Attendance at training events, seminars and workshops; and
Support from the Council’s treasury management advisors.
Identifying officer training needs on treasury management related issues through the Performance Development and Review appraisal process.

Other Options Considered

65. The DLUHC Guidance and the CIPFA Code do not prescribe any particular treasury management strategy for local authorities to adopt. Director of Finance and Corporate Services, having consulted the Cabinet Member for Finance, believes that the above strategy represents an appropriate balance between risk management and cost effectiveness. Some alternative strategies, with their financial and risk management implications, are listed below.

Investment strategy
Alternative	Impact on Income and Expenditure	Impact on Risk Management
Invest in a narrower range of counterparties and/or for shorter times	Interest income will be lower	Lower chance of losses from credit related defaults, but any such losses may be greater
Invest in a wider range of counterparties and/or for longer times	Interest income will be higher	Increased risk of losses from credit related defaults, but any such losses may be smaller

Commercial Investments

66. The definition of investments in CIPFA’s definition of treasury management activities above (paragraph 18) covers all financial assets of the organisation as well as other non-financial assets which the organisation holds primarily for financial returns, such as investment property portfolios. This may therefore include investments which are not managed as part of normal treasury management or under treasury management delegations.

67. The Council whilst committed to being self-sustainable has taken the decision to no longer invest on property for commercial gain. This accords with the current professional ethos of CIPFA, mentioned below. Hence the Council no longer has an Asset Investment Fund, which was £20m.

68. Last year the Council acquired two Business Units in West Bridgford, leaving a balance (in the Asset Investment Fund) of £3.828m which was removed from the Capital Programme. Under the updated Prudential code Local Authorities will no longer be allowed to borrow to fund non-financial assets solely to generate a profit.

69. The Council will maintain a summary of current material investments, subsidiaries, joint ventures and liabilities, including financial guarantees (i.e Streetwise) and the organisation’s risk exposure. The current summary is included at Appendix (ii).

70. The Council will also monitor past Commercial Property investments and against original objectives and consider plans to divest as part of an annual review. Cabinet report 14 December 2021 agenda item 6 – Review of Investment Assets refers.

71. Proportionality is now included as an objective in the Prudential Code, clarification and definitions to define commercial activity and investment are included, and the purchase of commercial property purely for profit cannot lead to an increased capital financing requirement (CFR). Paragraph 75 covers the issue of proportionality with different types of asset investments the Council has made.

72. The Authority must disclose its dependence on commercial income and the contribution non-core investments make towards core functions. This covers assets purchased through the Council’s AIS, as well as other pre-existing commercial investments.

73. The expected contributions from commercial investments are shown below. To manage the risk to the Council’s budget, income from commercial investments should not be a significant proportion of the Council’s income. It is estimated to be around 23% in the current year.

a) Dependence on commercial income and contribution non-core investments make towards core functions

74. The expected contributions from existing commercial investments are shown in the table below. To manage the risk to the Council’s budget, income from commercial investments should not be a significant proportion of the Council’s income. Our objective is that this ratio should not exceed 30%, subject to annual review (as demonstrated below).

Commercial Investment income and costs
Category	2021/22 £'000	2022/23 £'000	2023/24 £'000	2024/25 £'000	2025/26 £'000	2026/27 £'000
Commercial Property Income	(1,660)	(2,046)	(2,256)	(2,338)	(2,402)	(2,404)
Running Costs	516	533	528	528	528	528
Net Contribution to core functions	(1,144)	(1,513)	(1,728)	(1,810)	(1,874)	(1,877)
Interest from Commercial Loans	(89)	(81)	(72)	(64)	(59)	(59)
Total Contribution	(1,233)	(1,594)	(1,800)	(1,874)	(1,933)	(1,936)
Sensitivity: +/- 10% Commercial Property Income	166	205	226	234	240	240
Indicator: Investment Income as a percentage of total Council income	22.8%	22.7%	24.2%	24.1%	24.5%	24.5%
Total Income	7,669	9,362	9,629	9,945	10,047	10,074

b) Risk exposure indicators

75. The Council can minimise its exposure to risk by spreading investments across sectors and by avoiding single large-scale investments. Generally there is a spread of investment across sectors. The Council’s commitment to economic regeneration (not purely financial return) has meant that many of its investments have been in industrial units, which have been very successful.

Income spread by sector:

Industrial sites - 40%
Offices - 42%
Retail - 10%
Other - 6%
Commercial loans - 4%

c) Security and liquidity

% Split by Asset Value (number of investments)

Under £500k - 11% (21)
£500k to £1m - 13% (5)
£1m to £2m - 31% (6)
£2m to £3m - 8% (1)
£3m to £4m - 12% (1)
Over £7m - 25% (1)

76. Commercial are held for longer term asset appreciation as well as yield. Investments or sales decisions will normally be planned as part of the consideration of the 5-year capital strategy to maximise the potential return. Nevertheless, the local and national markets are monitored to ensure any gains are maximised or losses minimised.

77. To help ensure asset values are maintained the assets are given quarterly inspections, together with a condition survey every 3 years. Any works required to maintain the value of the property will then form part of Council’s spending plans.

78. The liquidity of the assets is also dependent on the condition of the property, the strength of the tenants and the remaining lease lengths. The Council keeps these items under review with a view to maximising the potential liquidity and value of the property wherever possible.

79. The liquidity considerations for commercial investments are intrinsically linked to the level of cash and short-term investments, which help manage and mitigate the Council’s liquidity risk. A review of the Council’s commercial assets was undertaken and reported to Governance Scrutiny Group in November 2021 and on to Cabinet December 21 paragraph 70 refers.

80. The Investments are subject to ongoing review with regards to their financial viability or indeed whether they are surplus to requirement. At the November 2021 Governance Group Meeting and December 2021 Cabinet, details on the risks surrounding the Council’s commercial properties were reported, as well as providing a pathway to potential commercial asset disposal, if required.

Appendix (i)

Counterparty Registrations under MIFID II

The Council is registered with the following regulated financial services organisations who may arrange investments with other counterparties with whom they have themselves registered:

BGC Brokers LP
Royal London Asset Management
Tradition Uk Ltd
King & Shaxson
Aberdeen Asset Management
Aviva
Institutional Cash Distributors Ltd
Federated Investors (UK) LLP
Invesco Asset Management Ltd
CCLA
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Black Rock
Aegon Asset Management
HSBC Asset Management
Imperial Treasury Services

Appendix (ii)

Asset Valuations
Asset	Current Book Value £'000	Previous Book Value £'000
The Point Office Accommodation	3,508	4,017
Hollygate Lane, Cotgrave Industrial Units	2,628	2,709
Bardon, Single Industrial Unit	1,777	1,800
Trent Boulevard	1,412	1,407
Colliers Business Park Phase 2	1,269	1,315
Bridgford Hall Apart Hotel and Registry Office	1,120	1,214
Finch Close	0,916	0,959
Boundary Court	0,789	0,816
Unit 10 Chapel Lane	0,666	0,677
Colliers Business Park Phase 1	0,663	0,721
New Offices Cotgrave	0,401	0,452
Mobile Home Park	0,477	0,476
Cotgrave Precinct Shops	0,470	0,500
Unit 1 Edwalton Business Park	1,950	-
Unit 3 Edwalton Business Park	2,450	-
Total Investment Property - Values are at 31 March 2019 and 2020	16,096	17,063
Notts County Cricket Club Loan	1,646	1,775
Total	17,742	18,838

Glossary of Terms

CCLA Property Fund - this a local authority property investment fund. The property fund is designed to achieve long term capital growth and a rising income from investments in the commercial property sector.

Covered Bonds – these investments are secured on the bank’s assets, which limits the potential losses in the unlikely event of insolvency, and means they are exempt from bail-in.

Financial Derivatives – A financial contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying asset.

LIBID – London Inter Bank Bid Rate. The rate at which banks are willing to borrow from other banks.

Money Market Funds – these funds are pooled investment vehicles consisting of money market deposits and similar instruments. They have the advantage of providing wide diversification of investment risks.

Pooled Funds – shares in diversified investment vehicles consisting of different investment types including banks, equity shares and property, these funds have the advantage of providing wide diversification of investment risks.

Appendix 6 - Use of Earmarked Reserves

Earmarked Reserves
Description	Projected Opening Balance £'000	Projected Income £'000	Projected Expenditure £'000	Net Change in Year £'000	Ref	Projected Opening Closing £'000
Investment Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Regeneration and Community Projects	1,887	223	(75)	148	1	2,035
Sinking Fund - Investments	376	325	(500)	(175)	2	201
New Homes Bonus (NHB)	8,979	1,587	(2,293)	(706)	3	8,273
Corporate Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Organisation Stabilisation	2,963	0	(846)	(846)	4	2,117
Collection Fund S31	3,731	0	(3,707)	(3,707)	5	24
Climate Change Action	800	200	(30)	170	6	970
Freeport Reserve	330	200	(165)	35	7	365
Vehicle Replacement Reserve	1,000	0	0	0	8	1,000
Risk and Insurance	100	0	0	0	-	100
Planning Appeals	350	0	0	0	-	350
Elections	150	50	0	50	9	200
Operating Reserves	-	-	-	-	-	-
Planning	209	0	(39)	(39)	10	170
Leisure Centre Maintenance	7	0	0	0	-	7
Total	20,882	2,585	(7,655)	(5,070)	-	15,812

Notes:

Net £148k being the movement on this reserve to support Special Expenses capital schemes plus Sinking Funds.
£325k from Investment Property income to support future capital expenditure. £500k used for enhancement works at The Point and Manvers Business Park.
£1.587m Receipts; MRP release £1.293 (of which Arena = £1m) plus £1m to fund Traveller Site Acquisition.
£846k transfer to cover the net deficit in the revenue budget as a result of the deficit in the collection fund.
£3.707m S31 Grants released in 22-23.
Additional £200k to support the reserve; £30k to meet capital schemes at RCP.
Additional £200k to support Freeport costs; £165k release to meet 2nd year contribution commitments.
Newly created Vehicle Replacement Reserve.
£50k to replenish the Elections Reserve.
£39k release for Local Plan Examinations.

Appendix 7 - Pay Policy Statement 2022/23

1. Introduction

1.1 This Statement sets out the Council’s policies in relation to the pay of its workforce, particularly its Senior Officers, in line with Section 38 of the Localism Act 2011. The Statement is approved by full Council each year and published on the Council’s website demonstrating an open and transparent approach to pay policy.

1.2 This Statement draws together the Council’s policies relating to the payment of the workforce particularly:

Senior Officers
Its lowest paid employees; and
The relationship between the pay of Senior Officers and the pay of other employees.

1.3 For the purposes of this statement ‘pay’ includes basic salary, pension and all other allowances arising from employment.

2. Objectives of this Statement

2.1 This Statement sets out the Council’s key policy principles in relation to pay evidencing a transparent and open process. It does not supersede the responsibilities and duties placed on the Council in its role as an employer and under employment law. These responsibilities and duties have been considered when formulating the Statement.

2.2 This Statement aims to ensure the Council’s approach to pay attracts and retains a high performing workforce whilst ensuring value for money. It sits alongside the information on pay that the Council already publishes as part of its responsibilities under the Code of Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency. Further details of this information can be found on the Role and Remuneration webpage.

3. Senior Officers

3.1 For the purposes of this Statement, Senior Officers are defined as those posts with a salary above £50,000 in line with the Local Government Transparency Code 2014 as amended. Using this definition Senior Officers within Rushcliffe currently consists of 12 posts out of an establishment of 256 The posts are as follows:

Chief Executive
Director – Finance and Corporate Services (Section 151 Officer)
Director - Development and Economic Growth
Director - Neighbourhoods
Chief Information Officer
Service Manager – Chief Executive's Department and Monitoring officer
Service Manager – Finance
Service Manager – Corporate Services
Service Manager – Economic Growth and Property
Service Manager – Planning
Service Manager – Neighbourhoods
Service Manager – Public Protection

4. The Policies

4.1 The Council consults when setting pay for all employees. The Council will meet or reimburse authorised travel, accommodation and subsistence costs for attendance at approved business meetings and training events. The Council does not regard such costs as remuneration but as non-pay operational costs.

5. Pay of the Council’s Lowest Paid Employees

5.1 The total number of Council employees is presently 256 The Council has defined its lowest paid employees by taking the average salary of five permanent staff (employed on a part-time basis) on the lowest pay grade the Council operates, who are not undergoing an apprenticeship. On this basis the lowest paid full-time equivalent employee of the Council earned £18,332 The Council currently pays £9.50 per hour for its lowest paid employees; this is above the Government’s National Living Wage which is currently £8.91 per hour and will be raised to £9.50 from 1 April 2022 for employees aged 23 or over.

5.2 The Council does not explicitly set the pay of any individual or group of posts by reference to a pay multiple. The Council feels that pay multiples cannot capture the complexity of a dynamic and highly varied workforce in terms of job content, skills and experience required. In simple terms, the Council sets different levels of basic pay to reflect differences in levels of responsibility. Additionally, the highest paid employee of the Council’s salary does not exceed 10 times that of the lowest paid group of employees.

5.3 The Head of Paid Service, or their delegated representative, will give due regard to the published Pay Policy Statement before the appointment of any Officers. Full Council will have the opportunity to discuss any appointment exceeding £100,000 before an offer of appointment is made, in line with the Council’s Officer Employment procedure rules within Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution.

6. Additional Payments Made to Chief Officers – Election Duties.

6.1 The is nominated as the Returning Officer. In accordance with the national agreement, the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of Returning Officer, Acting Returning Officer, Deputy Returning Officer or Deputy Acting Returning Officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

6.2 The role of Deputy Returning Officer may be applied to any other post and payment may not be made simply because of this designation. Payments to the Returning Officer are governed as follows:

for national elections, fees are prescribed by legislation;
for local elections, fees are determined within a local framework used by other district councils within the county. This framework is applied consistently and is reviewed periodically by lead Electoral Services Officers within Nottinghamshire. This includes proposals on fees for all staff employed in connection with elections. These fees are available for perusal on the Council’s website.

6.3 As these fees are related to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers.

Appendix to the Pay Policy - Policies on other aspects of pay

Process for setting the pay of Senior Officers

The pay of the Chief Executive is based on an agreed pay scale which is agreed by Council prior to appointment. Changes to this are determined by the Leader, Deputy Leader and Leader of the Opposition, who are advised by an agreed external professional and the Strategic Human Resources Manager.

The pay of all Officers including Senior Officers is determined by levels of responsibility, job content and the skills and experience required. Consideration is also given to benchmarking against other similar roles, market forces and the challenges facing the authority at that time and to maximise efficiency. The pay of these posts is determined through the Chief Executive, or his/her nominated representative, in consultation with the Strategic Human Resources Manager and in line with the Council’s pay scales and its agreed scheme of delegation.

The Council moved away from the national conditions of service in 1990 and pay scales are set locally.

As with all employees, the Council would look to appoint on the best possible terms to secure the best candidate for the job. However, there are factors that could influence the rate offered to an individual, including the relevant experience of the candidate, their current rate of pay and market forces.

All Senior Officers are expected to devote the whole of their service to the Authority and are excluded from taking up additional business, ad hoc services, or additional appointments without consent as set out in the Councils code of conduct.

Terms and Conditions

All employees are governed by the local terms and conditions as set out in the Employee handbook.

Local Government Pension Scheme

Every employee is automatically enrolled into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Employer and employee contributions are based on pensionable pay, which is salary plus, for example, shift allowances, bonuses, contractual overtime, statutory sick pay, and maternity pay as relevant.

For more comprehensive details of the local government pension scheme see: Local Goverment Pension Scheme and Nottinghamshire Pension Fund

Neither the scheme nor the Council adopt different policies regarding benefits for any category of employee and the same terms apply to all staff. It is not normal Council policy to enhance retirement benefits but there is flexibility contained within the policy for enhancement of benefits and the Council will consider each case on its merits.

Car Allowances

The Council pays mileage rates at HMRC recommended rates.

Pay Increments

Where applicable pay increments for all employees are paid on an annual basis until the maximum of the scale is reached. The Chief Executive, or his or her nominated representative, has the discretion to award and remove increments of officers’ dependant on satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance.

Relocation Allowance

Where it is necessary for a newly appointed employee to relocate to take up appointment, the Council may make a contribution towards relocation expenses. The same policy applies to Senior Officers and other employees. Payment will be made against a range of allowable costs for items necessarily incurred in selling and buying a property and moving into the area. The costs include estate agents’ fees, legal fees, stamp duty, storage and removal costs, carpeting and curtains, short term rental etc. The Council will pay 80% of some costs and 100% of others or make a fixed sum available. If an employee leaves within two years of first employment, they may be required to reimburse a proportion of any relocation expenses.

Professional fees

The Council currently meets the cost of professional fees and subscriptions for employees where it is a requirement of their employment or their contract.

Returning Officer Payments

In accordance with the national agreement the Chief Executive is entitled to receive and retain the personal fees arising from performing the duties of returning officer, acting returning officer, deputy returning officer or deputy acting return officer and similar positions which he or she performs subject to the payment of pension contributions thereon, where appropriate.

Fees for returning officer and other electoral duties are identified and paid separately for local government elections, elections to the UK Parliament and EU Parliament and other electoral processes such as referenda. As these relate to performance and delivery of specific elections duties, they are distinct from the process for the determination of pay for Senior Officers.

Managing Organisational Change Policy

The original Managing Organisation Change Policy was agreed by Council in March 2007 (revised 2010) and is currently under further review. The Council’s policy on the payment of redundancy payments is set out in this policy. The redundancy payment is based on the length of continuous local government service which is used to determine a multiplier which is then applied to actual pay.

The policy provides discretion to enhance the redundancy and pension contribution of the individual and each case would be considered taking into account individual circumstances. Copies of the policy are available on the Council’s website.

Payments on termination

The Council does not provide any further payment to employees leaving the Council’s employment other than in respect of accrued leave which by agreement is untaken at the date of leaving or payments that are agreed or negotiated in line with current employment law practices.

Publication of information relating to remuneration of Senior Officers

The Pay Policy Statement will be published annually on the Council’s website following its approval by full Council each year.

Gender Pay gap reporting

The Council publishes its Gender Pay Gap information annually on the Council’s website and on the Government's website.

Budget and Financial Strategy 2022-23