Agenda item

To consider the revised Commercial Strategy 2019-23.

Councillor Fairhurst presented the report on the Council’s proposed Commercial Strategy. He said the Council had no choice but to look for alternative revenue streams through investment opportunities, due to the reduction in central Government funding. The real question facing members related to governance and how decisions regarding investment opportunities were made. He said it was important that a structure was in place which minimised risk and encouraged inclusive decision making. To this end, an Investment Board would be established to explore investment opportunities and report back to Members. The Board would also be tasked with producing an Investment Protocol for Cabinet’s consideration, which would set the ground rules to allow proper governance to take place.

In response to a question regarding the two Independent members who would be appointed to the Board, Councillor Fairhurst said the Board would interview and appoint external experts who understood the investment environment and who would add diversity to the process.

In response to a question related to decision making process, members were informed that the Investment Board would consider investment opportunities and then make recommendations to Cabinet who would take the final decision.

Councillor Caton expressed a number of concerns relating to a lack of scrutiny, minimal checks and balances and risk sharing throughout the decision making process. Furthermore, no income generation or green targets had been set in the Strategy. He added that having officers on the Aspire Board of Directors would lead to a conflict of interests. He said this was not good governance and would be voting against the proposal.

In response, Councillor Fairhurst said he agreed with many elements of Councillor Caton’s statement. The primary role of the Commercial Strategy was to empower the Investment Board, which would then set in place governance arrangements that would tackle the issues that had just been raised. The Investment Board had to be approved at this meeting for that to take place. He said the Strategy was a living document and would be amended as necessary to create the required structure to enable good governance. The role of Scrutiny would be critical and he would be attending the next Committee meeting at the invitation of the Chair. He said the Commercial Strategy before members was a step in the right direction of good governance, but it was certainly not the whole solution. The Strategy would evolve but this required the establishment of the proposed Investment Board.

Members discussed deferring the vote on the Commercial Strategy until further work had been done to improve the governance arrangements surrounding the Council’s investment decision making process.

The Leader said the Council was in a position whereby it needed to make investments to ensure public services continued. Members did not have the luxury of time, investments were required to fund Council services.

The Chief Executive advised members that the Commercial Strategy was an amended version of the approved Investment Strategy, with the principal change being the establishment of the Investment Board. If members rejected the Commercial Strategy, the Investment Strategy would still remain in place which, in essence, was the same strategy.

In response to a request from Councillor Sell, Councillor Fairhurst made an undertaking to bring back a revised Commercial Strategy to the next meeting if the Strategy before members was approved tonight.

RESOLVED to approve the Commercial Strategy.