Brent Council's outstanding borrowing has reached £900.02 million as of 31 March 2025, an increase of £85.8 million over the past financial year, according to the Treasury Management Outturn Report 2024/25 presented at a recent Audit and Standards Advisory Committee meeting. This borrowing supports the council's capital investment programmes for both Council Housing (HRA) and the General Fund.

The council's strategy for managing this debt focuses on balancing low interest costs with cost certainty, while retaining flexibility to renegotiate loans if needed. The aim is to maintain affordability without compromising the long-term stability of the debt portfolio.

The increase in borrowing is attributed to supporting the council's capital investment programme, while cash investments decreased by £48.0 million to £47.3 million following the repayment of maturing debt and ongoing investment in the capital programme in lieu of borrowing.

The Treasury Management Outturn Report 2024/25 noted that the council's average debt pool rate was 3.85% as of 31 March 2025. The report also highlighted a decrease in the rate of return on cash investments from 5.31% to 4.53%, reflecting changes in the Bank of England Bank Rate.

The Audit and Standards Advisory Committee reviewed the report at their meeting on Wednesday 23 July 2025. The committee approved the submission of the report to Cabinet for approval.

The report also indicated that the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) charge for the General Fund was £19.8 million. This total MRP charge for 2024/25 consisted of £15.1m for capital programme borrowings and £4.7m for finance leases. A further £0.9m was received by the Council for service loan repayments, bringing total debt repayments to £20.7m. The Council did not make any voluntary MRP during the year.

The Public Reports Pack for the meeting included the Treasury Management Outturn Report, along with updates on procurement, emergency preparedness, and the effectiveness of the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee.

The Agenda Frontsheet for the meeting is available online.