Decision

The Scrutiny Committee Corporate and Strategic considered the report and RESOLVED to endorse the recommendations as approved by the Executive on 1 July, that the Executive:

·         Approved the Reserves Policy (Appendix A), which included the principles of the governance, reporting, creation, use, and ongoing review of reserves.

·         Agreed that a comprehensive review of reserves would be undertaken during 2026/2027, with initial findings and proposals reported to Executive and the Corporate and Strategic Scrutiny Committee in September 2026.

·         Noted that reserve movements would continue to be reported through the budget monitoring process.

·         Noted that reserves would continue to be reviewed annually as part of the budget setting process.

In addition, the Committee raised a number of issues for officer consideration:

·         The Committee noted the number of reserves held by the Council, which included some originating from legacy authorities, and requested that a separate workshop be held to facilitate a more detailed consideration of reserves ahead of the planned review.

·         The Committee requested that the forthcoming review of reserves be presented to Scrutiny prior to consideration by the Executive.

·         The Committee noted and welcomed the commitment from officers to provide a briefing note which would detail movements into and out of reserves since 2023.

·         The Committee discussed the purpose and continued relevance of legacy reserves and emphasised the importance of drawing on elected members' historical knowledge during the planned review, particularly where the original purpose of reserves was no longer clear.

·         The Committee discussed the distinction between the General Fund Reserve as a reserve of last resort and earmarked reserves held to manage specific business risks and asked that this clarification be reflected within the policy.