Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room A, Wellington House, 40-50 Wellington Street, Leeds

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Maureen Cummings, Natasha Luther-Jones, Neville Muncaster and William Firth.   

2.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

Minutes:

There were no pecuniary interests declared by members at the meeting.

3.

Exempt information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

Minutes:

There were no items on the Agenda requiring exclusion of the press and public.

4.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Green Economy Panel held on 9 April 2019 pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Copy attached.

Minutes:

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Green Economy Panel held on 9 April 2019 be approved.

5.

Chair's Update

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed to the Green Economy Panel the following new members:

 

Cllr Scott Patient

Melanie Taylor (Northern Gas Networks)

Cllr Neil Walshaw

 

And thanked David Gill, Northern Gas Networks, for his work as an advisory member of the Panel.

 

To further support the zero carbon regional ambitions workshops were held to explore the transformational emission reduction activity across the power, buildings, industry and transport sections and these

 

Constructive conversations have been held with Rashik Parmar, the Chair of the Employment and Skills Panel.

6.

Northern Gas Network's Business Plan pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Presented by: Melanie Taylor

 

Minutes:

The Panel considered a presentation by Melanie Taylor, Northern Gas Networks (NGN).  The Company deliver gas to 2.7 million homes and businesses in the North East, Northern Cumbria and much of Yorkshire and are consulting on their new Business Plan for 2021 – 2026

 

Members provided their feedback on the Business Plan and Melanie will provide feedback to unanswered questions.

 

Resolved:  That the content of the presentation by Northern Gas Networks and feedback and comments from the Panel be noted.

7.

Governance Arrangements - Terms of Reference, Quorum and Membership pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

At the Annual Meeting on 27 June 2019, the Combined Authority resolved to appoint the Green Economy Panel as an advisory committee of the Combined Authority which reports to the LEP Board, on the terms of reference.

 

The terms of reference were revised from the last municipal year to include a reference to clean growth, to reflect the revised corporate priority.

 

Membership arrangements remain as for last municipal year.  No changes have been made to the quorum of the Panel, which remains 4 voting members, to include 1 member of the Combined Authority or other Local Authority member and 1 private sector representative and voting arrangements are also unchanged

 

The Combined Authority at its annual meeting appointed Simon Pringle as Chair of the Panel and agreed dates for meetings of the Panel, as follows:

 

·         9 July 2019

·         22 October 2019

·         28 January 2020

·         7 April 2020

 

Resolved:  That the governance arrangements for the Panel approved by the Combined Authority at the Annual Meeting on 27 June 2019 be noted.

8.

Local Industrial Strategy pdf icon PDF 146 KB

Presented by: Emma Longbottom

Minutes:

The Panel considered a report to update on progress to develop a Local Industrial Strategy LIS.

 

As previously reported, a Local Industrial Strategy is being developed for the LEP area which will focus on bold steps aimed at boosting productivity and driving inclusive and clean growth for a post-2030 economy.  A draft will be completed by December 2019 and a final version will be submitted to Government in March 2020.

 

Work is presently underway to identify key priorities against the five foundations of productivity – People, Place, Infrastructure, ideas and Business Environment which can be further developed and tested over the coming months to ensure that the Local Industrial Strategy is reflective of all parts of the region.

 

In addition Government has set out four grand challenges – Clean Growth, Artificial Intelligence and Data, Future Mobility and Aging Society.  LISs will demonstrate how and where areas can contribute to these global challenges by identifying nationally significant strengths, assets and opportunities.

 

The LIS is being co-produced with Government, its ultimate endorsement by Government will mean it is a local expression of Government policy.  This makes it a particularly powerful and influential strategy that will have an impact on future decisions about the region, for instance with regards to funding.

 

The Panel discussed the content of the presentation and Officers said they would circulate the presentation to members and would welcome further feedback and comment. The Panels LIS working group will also meet and provide further detailed input into the LIS development.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)            That the contents of the report be noted.

 

(ii)          That the Panel provided comments on the emerging evidence that was presented at the meeting and was invited to provide further feedback following circulation of the report.

9.

Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Presented by : Noel Collings

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered a report to update on the delivery of the Green and Blue infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan, including progress in the 12 priority areas and initial feedback on the proposed approach to working with partners, particularly the Yorkshire West Local Nature Partnership (LNP)

 

The Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan (GBISDP) was adopted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in December 2018  The report gave an update on the work which has taken place since the GBISDP was adopted and it split into two different elements

 

·         Key Projects and Actions

·         Green and Blue Infrastructure Officer

 

A summary of the GBISDP was set out for reference and a summary of current progress to deliver against 12 key projects and actions identified.

 

Resolved:  That the contents of the report be noted.

10.

Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan pdf icon PDF 154 KB

Presented by: Jacqui Warren and Noel Collings

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel considered a report which gave an update on the Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan including Carbon reduction targets, communication plans and other activities.

 

The Leeds City Region Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan (ESDP was adopted by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in December 2018.  The ESDP sets out how the ambition of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for the City Region to become resilient, zero carbon economy underpinned by high-quality green and blue infrastructure could be achieved.

 

The report gave an update on the work being undertaken.

 

·         Carbon reduction targets

·         Communication Plans

·         Other activities

 

Resolved: 

 

(i)            That the contents of the report be noted.

 

(ii)          That feedback from the panel be noted.

11.

Major Projects Update pdf icon PDF 135 KB

Presented by: Jacqui Warren

Minutes:

The Panel considered a report on the progress against the Green Economy Panel’s major projects and programmes

 

Energy Accelerator

Better Homes Yorkshire

Resource Efficiency Fund

REF2

Green and Blue Infrastructure (GBI) Strategy and Delivery Plan)

North East, Yorkshire and Humber Energy Hub

 

Resolved:  That the Panel note the progress against the major projects and programmes.