PAPER C1

Purpose : For Decision

Committee : EXECUTIVE

Date : 16 JULY 2002

Title : CAPITAL STRATEGY AND ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN

PORTFOLIO HOLDER - RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION

1. Under the arrangements for the Single Capital Pot Capital Finance Regime, Local Authorities are required to produce and submit to Government Office (GOSE) a capital strategy and an asset management plan. The documents are then assessed by Government and placed into three possible categories, good, satisfactory or poor.

There is a financial reward from the government for a good or satisfactory grading, the nature of which is contained in the Financial Implications section of this report.

CONTENT

2. The first Capital Strategy and Asset Management documents were submitted to GOSE in July 2001, in accordance with the set deadline. These documents were scored by Government Office as being “Satisfactory” and each achieved a financial reward of £25,000 in the form of additional capital allocation.

Feedback from the 2001 submission was received from GOSE (copy details attached as Appendix A) and this was discussed with their officers in January 2002.

3. The second submission of our Capital Strategy and Asset Management Plan is required by the end of July 2002, and the draft document is now available online at http://www.iwight.com/capitalstrategy The document is somewhat lengthy and hard copies will be available on request. A copy has also been placed in the Members Room.

4. The draft documents for the second submission have evolved and developed on the first documents and incorporate many of the issues currently faced by the Council. Formal Guidance on the Assessment Criteria for the next stage was not received from the then DTLR until the middle of May 2002, and the timescale for submission is somewhat tight. The majority of the guidance remains the same as the previous, but there are changes to reflect some movement between primary and secondary requirements and a stronger focus on the performance and outcomes of the asset management and capital planning process.

5. The quality of the Capital Strategy and the Asset Management Plan will be assessed against set criteria, split into primary and secondary requirements. Authorities must comply with all primary criteria if the document is to be rated satisfactory, a good assessment is achievable by also meeting 75% of the secondary criteria. A copy of the criteria is set out as Appendix B.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

1. A poor assessment brings no reward.

2. A satisfactory assessment obtains a £25,000 capital allocation.

3. A good assessment secures a £50,000 allocation.

Each document is scored separately and there is therefore potentially £100,000 of capital allocations to be earned.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The draft capital strategy and asset management plans be approved, subject to any feedback received from Members prior to the July deadline for submission.