Agenda item

Dewi A. Morgan, Head of Finance (CJC’s Statutory Finance Officer) and Delyth Jones-Thomas, Investment Manager to present the report.

To accept the report for 2025/26.

The report was presented, highlighting that it provided an overview of the CJC's Treasury Management activities for the 2025/26 financial year.

It was explained that, during the financial year 2025/26, the CJC's treasury management activity had remained within the limits set in the strategy in June 2025. It was added that £1.9m of interest on the investments had been received.

It was confirmed that the position on 31 March 2026 was very strong with investments of £56.4 million which was mainly Growth Deal and Investment Zone funding which had not yet been spent.

The types of investments being made on behalf of the CJC were recognised, and it was confirmed that these were consistent with the strategy and type of investments that Cyngor Gwynedd made which included Banks and Building Societies, Local Authorities, Money Market Funds and the Debt Management Office.

Attention was drawn to the compliance report which confirmed that the investment activity had fully complied with the specific limits set.

Further details were requested regarding investments within different counties, and about the length of the terms of investment. It was explained that the terms varied, but they were usually short-term investments. It was added that Arlingclose, the CJC's treasury management advisers, provided due diligence checks on the counties in which we invested.

A member asked how the Investment Strategy and its approach were assessed. It was confirmed that security came before liquidity and growth, and where similar investments were assessed and found to be equally as safe as each other, the investment with the highest growth was selected.

A member asked if there was any advantage in just investing in North Wales Councils. It was explained that they did not invest in the economic development of the other local authorities but invested to allow them to continue their operations. It was highlighted that investments in different councils was better than investments by a bank and were usually more secure. It was elaborated that these investments were always short-term.

It was asked whether a long-term investment would be considered to provide a more balanced Investment Strategy. It was explained that the Investment Strategy included the cash that had not been spent on the Growth Deal or the Investment Zone. It was noted that the CJC already had an idea of the spending profile of the Growth Deal and Investment Zone, and it was a matter of balancing the surplus cash and planning when the money would be invested in North Wales and in the region's economic development.

In response to a discussion regarding an agreement with Arlingclose, it was explained that Arlingclose was originally part of a Cyngor Gwynedd agreement, but they now had a separate agreement to provide advice directly to the CJC. It was explained that this was a 12-month agreement and that it would be reviewed when the agreement expired.

Concern was expressed about how the CJC ensured investments were considered in the context of corporate governance failures elsewhere. It was explained that Arlingclose had a list of approved parties and a list of local authorities in which the CJC should not invest. It was emphasised that Arlingclose were experts in the field and conducted a lot of research, and always prioritised security.