Lib Dems ask for more transparency in Treasury Management Strategy

The 2024/2025 Treasury Management Strategy was presented to the Full Council meeting yesterday, December 2^nd at the Parr Hall.

The council is currently undergoing a Best Value Inspection, which will thoroughly review the current financial processes and while we accept this report is in compliance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management, we would like to see greater transparency and involvement of members in its production and implementation.

I proposed that the report would benefit from a dashboard showing the status of investments as red, amber and green as this would help members rapidly see the direction of travel, which they could then investigate further. The council portfolio holder for finance Cllr Mathews replied that he would be happy to meet with me to discuss further ways in which the report could be made more accessible to members.

Finance management is a hot topic in Warrington, with many of our residents concerned about the Council’s investments. We believe it is important that all members can access and easily understand financial reports, so that they can challenge the Council and drive down into the detail. Currently it is very difficult to do so, unless you are a forensic accountant, and we welcome the offer of talks with Cllr Mathews to improve the ways in which the information is presented.