Purpose

The 2021 Prudential Code requires Council to
approve an annual Capital Strategy. This report includes both the
2026/27 Capital Strategy and the detailed ten-year capital
programme and outcomes. The Capital Strategy underpins the
development of the detailed capital programme and sets out how the
proposed ten-year programme will support the delivery of the
Enfield Council Plan.

Decision

DECISION:
 

1.   
The Cabinet agreed to recommend that Council:
 

a.   
Approves the 2026/27 Capital Strategy.

b.   
Approves a Capital budget for 2026/27 of £476.4m (General
Fund £334.1m including £185.3m temporary accommodation
solutions, HRA £142.1m).

c.    
Approves the carry forward of £71.9m from the 2025/26 budget
as requested at Quarter 3 (Appendix B2).

d.   
Notes the 10-year capital programme of £2.06bn (GF
£1,190.5m, HRA £865.9m).

e.   
Approves a General Fund total capital receipts target of
£130m; £50m for 2026/27 and £20m for each of the
following 4 years, in addition to Meridian Water capital
receipts.

f.     
Agree a debt strategy that keeps the Council’s General Fund
borrowing requirement below £997m and aims for the
Council’s borrowing levels to be about average when compared
with other English local authorities. (see para 6).

g.   
Delegates authority to Cabinet to approve any further carry forward
requests as part of the outturn process for 2025/26.

h.   
Delegates to Cabinet authority to add projects into the approved
Capital Programme up to a total of £12m per annum (for
example, from the Pipeline) and move borrowing-funded underspends
between projects.

i.     
Delegates authority to the Council’s Section 151 Officer to
transfer unspent borrowing-funded capital budgets of up to
£500k between projects in the capital programme.
 

2.   
The Cabinet agreed to note
 
a.   
The 10-year programme of £2.06bn as detailed in Appendix B
(of which 20% is forecast to be financed by borrowing).
b.   
The total Pipeline programme of £55.0m.
c.    
The 2026/27 Pipeline programme of £24.5m.
d.   
All projects in the Pipeline programme (including those that may be
funded from the £12m delegation above), are subject to the
approval of a financial appraisal and business case in accordance
with capital programme governance.
e.   
The Capital programme assumes a general fund capital receipts
disposal target of £130m between 2026/27 and 2030/31
(excluding Meridian Water capital receipts). The target for 2026/27
is £50m, of which £42.9m will be used to reduce the
Council’s borrowing requirement (generating an interest
saving of approximately £700k, which has been reflected in
the MTFP). £9.4m will be used to fund transformational
revenue spend under the Council’s Flexible Use of Capital
Receipts (FUCR) Strategy (Appendix B8).