The Audit and Risk Management Panel met on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, to review the Treasury Management and Capital Strategy for 2026/27, consider the Prudential Indicators, and discuss the Statement of Accounts for 2024/25. The Panel noted significant weaknesses in the Council's financial sustainability and its arrangements for ensuring compliance with health and safety standards in social housing.

Treasury Management and Capital Strategy 2026/27

The Panel considered the proposed Treasury Management Strategy and Capital Strategy for 2026/27. This included noting the Prudential Indicators for the period 2024/25-2028/29 and the arrangements for determining the Minimum Revenue Provision for 2026/27. These strategies and indicators are crucial for ensuring the Council's borrowing and capital investment plans are affordable, prudent, sustainable, and proportionate. The strategies were referred to Full Council for a final decision on 26 February 2026.

The Treasury Management Strategy outlines the Council's approach to managing its borrowing, investments, and cash flows, with a focus on security, liquidity, and yield. The Capital Strategy provides a framework for long-term financial planning and investment to achieve the Council's strategic objectives, aligning capital programmes with other fiscal plans to ensure a robust financial base. The Prudential Indicators set limits on borrowing activity to ensure the Council operates within defined parameters. The Minimum Revenue Provision policy details the prudent amount the authority must set aside each year for debt repayment.

The report highlighted that the Council's gross external debt as a percentage of its operational boundary has increased to 63% but remains within the operational boundary and below the benchmark for other London boroughs, indicating prudent financial management. However, the Council's Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) charge for the General Fund in 2024/25 increased to £13.2 million, which is above the recommended 2% and considered sufficiently prudent.

Statement of Accounts 2024/25

The Panel reviewed the Audit Completion Reports (ACRs) for the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts for both the Royal Borough of Greenwich Council and the Pension Fund. The ACRs detailed required amendments to the draft accounts. The auditors, Forvis Mazars LLP, noted that while they anticipated issuing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements, they had identified significant weaknesses in the Council's arrangements for financial sustainability and for improving economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in its use of resources.

Specifically, the auditors highlighted the Council's continued reliance on reserves to bridge budget gaps and mitigate the risk of non-delivery of savings, deeming this unsustainable. They also noted the ongoing failure to comply with Health and Safety standards in relation to social housing, despite progress being made. The auditors recommended that the Council ensure savings targets are realistic and that appropriate arrangements are in place to track their delivery. They also recommended that the Council continue to work towards clearing the backlog of remedial fire safety actions and award a contract for fire remedial works.

The auditors also reported on the audit of the Pension Fund's financial statements, stating that they anticipated issuing an unqualified opinion and had not identified any significant deficiencies in internal control.

Action Log

The Panel received the current Action Log, which tracks the status of actions agreed in previous meetings. Several actions were noted as completed, while others were marked as 'in progress' or 'completed' with further updates to follow. Notably, actions related to clarifying audit deferrals and providing prosecution numbers for Blue Badge fraud were marked as completed or in progress. A development plan for Internal Audit and Anti-Fraud was also noted as being in progress for the March meeting.

Declarations of Interest

Members were reminded to declare any personal and financial interests in items on the agenda. No declarations of interest were noted in the provided information.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

The Panel was requested to confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 2026 as an accurate record.

Urgent Business

There were no items of urgent business circulated separately from the main agenda.