The agenda for the Resources and Corporate Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 08 October 2024 included a report on the Council's Treasury strategy, and a report describing the implications of the most recent King's Speech for Camden. The Committee was also asked to consider its work programme for the coming year.

Treasury Management

A report was included on the agenda for the meeting about Camden Council's Treasury Management activity for 2023/24, and for the first half of 2024/25.

The report explains that Camden has not been borrowing money to fund its capital expenditure programme. Instead, it has been funding this programme from its reserves, which is referred to as 'internal borrowing'. It says this is because the rate of return the Council can get on its investments is lower than the rate it would have to pay to borrow money, meaning that borrowing money would cost more.

The report also describes the Council's investments, which as at 19 August 2024 stood at £684m. It says that £238m of this was invested on behalf of the North London Waste Authority:

£238m of this investment balance was invested on behalf of the NLWA.

The NLWA is a statutory corporation, made up of seven local authorities in North London, that is responsible for disposing of the waste of the 2 million people who live in the boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

The report explains that the NLWA borrowed money to fund the construction of a new Energy Recovery Facility at the Edmonton EcoPark, a large waste management facility in Edmonton. The Executive Director of Corporate Services at Camden Council is the NLWA's Financial Advisor. In that role, they have authority from the Council to increase the limits of how much money from the NLWA the Council can invest.

The report describes how the NLWA borrowed £280m in December 2021, £250m in February 2022, £200m in January 2023 and a further £140m in July 2024 to fund the construction. It says Camden is investing this money alongside its own money and explains how it increased its investment limits to accommodate the extra money from the NLWA.

The report also summarises the factors affecting interest rates in the UK and globally.

King's Speech

The agenda included a report by Nick Kimber, Director of Corporate Strategy and Policy Design, that set out to describe the implications for the Council of the King's Speech that took place on 17 July 2024.

The report describes all of the bills that were announced in the King's Speech and lists what is known about their provisions. It summarises the potential implications of each of the bills for the Council, and explains that the Committee should be mindful of the bills as they pass through Parliament.

The report goes on to describe how the Council engages with national government to influence policy and represent its residents. It says that the Council has a good track record of working with governments of all parties. As an example the report says:

Camden has worked with successive governments on plans for High Speed 2 (HS2) and Euston, engaging constructively to represent Camden residents, ensure that plans for HS2 and Euston are informed by a clear understanding of their potential impacts for Camden, and secure mitigations and redress for Camden residents affected by the scheme.

The report then explains that the Council's approach to engaging with national government focuses on both addressing immediate issues that face its residents and developing new approaches to providing public services that can then be adopted nationally.

The report concludes by arguing that the Council is well placed to continue to work with national government to influence policy.

Work Programme

The agenda included the Committee's draft work programme for 2024/25.

The report summarises the Committee's existing work programme, and provides space for the Committee to suggest topics to be discussed at future meetings.

The Committee is also asked to note its action tracker, which lists actions that were allocated to officers at previous meetings of the Committee.