Agenda and minutes

The Chair reminded the Board that due to the general election on 12 December 2019, the meeting was being held during the purdah period.  Whilst this did not prevent normal business taking place, no new information or announcements not already in the public domain would be discussed.

The Chair introduced Peter Mucklow who had been appointed by Government as the LEP’s new senior sponsor. 

The LEP Senior Sponsor programme has been designed to address issues identified with the previous programme and would support the wider objectives of the Industrial Strategy and provide challenge to the LEP as local strategies are refreshed. 

Members welcomed Peter Mucklow and looked forward to working with him to continue to build on the LEP’s success.

Apologies for absence were received from Adam Beaumont, Bob Cryan, Nic Greenan, Rashik Parmar, Simon Pringle, Joanna Robinson, Andrew Wright and Councillors Keith Aspden, Judith Blake, Peter Box, Richard Cooper, Andrew Lee and Tim Swift.

In accordance with the requirements of the LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct, members have an obligation to review their register of interests before each meeting and to declare any interests.

If an interest has not been entered onto the LEP’s register, then members must disclose the interest at any meeting at which they are present and where they have a disclosable interest in any matter being considered and where the matter is not a sensitive interest.

In accordance with the requirements of the LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct, Members were reminded of their obligations to review their individual register of interests before each LEP Board meeting and to declare any interests.

1.         To highlight Appendix1 to Agenda Item 11 which officers have identified as containing exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3, Part 1 Section B of the Access to Information Annex to the LEP Board Procedure Rules, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2.         To consider whether or not to accept the officers’ recommendation in respect of the above information as set out in paragraph 4.1 of Agenda Item 11.

3.         If the recommendation is accepted, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part 1 Section B of the Access to Information Annex to the LEP Board Procedure Rules, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Appendix 1 to Agenda Item 11 on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information and for the reasons set out in the report that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Resolved: That in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part 1 Section B of the Access to Information Annex to the LEP Board Procedure Rules, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Appendix 1 to Agenda Item 11 on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information and for the reasons set out in the report that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 2019 be approved and signed by the Chair.

(Led by: Angela Taylor, Author: Julie Haigh)

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Services on governance issues.

Members were informed that Councillor Peter Box, Leader of Wakefield Council, has announced that he will be stepping down as Leader with effect from 30 November 2019.  It was reported that Councillor Denise Jeffery would be the new Leader from 1 December 2019 and would replace Councillor Box as a member of the LEP Board.

The Board paid tribute to Councillor Box and asked that a letter of appreciation be sent to him passing on their thanks for his valuable contributions and wishing him every success in his new role as Chair of Welcome to Yorkshire.

In respect of private sector membership, it was reported that the Appointments Panel had recently met in order to continue to move the Board membership to align with the future requirements of the review of the LEPs.  It was proposed that Mandy Ridyard and Kate Hainsworth be appointed to the LEP Board. The Board approved the recommendation and welcomed them to the meeting.

Members noted the proposed changes to the private sector LEP Board membership on the Business, Innovation and Growth Panel, Inclusive Growth and Public Policy Panel and Place Panel which were outlined in the submitted report. The changes would be considered by the Combined Authority at their next meeting.

Resolved:

(i)         That Councillor Denise Jeffery  replace Councillor Peter Box as a

member of the LEP Board with effect from 1 December 2019.

(ii)        That Mandy Ridyard and Kate Hainsworth be appointed as a private sector members of the LEP Board with immediate effect.

(iii)       That the proposed changes to the private sector membership of the

Combined Authority’s Panels, as set out in paragraph 2.13 of the submitted report, be noted for adoption by the Combined Authority at its next meeting.

The Board discussed and noted the Panel and Committee reports which were presented for information.

The Business Communications Group had met on 17 October 2019 and the report provided an update of the items discussed at the meeting.  It was reported that following the Convention for the North event an NP11 ‘Manifesto for the North’ had been produced and distributed to all the main political parties and a copy was circulated at the meeting.

It was reported that the Green Economy Panel had held their meeting in Selby.  Members had visited the Drax power station prior to the meeting and this had provided a welcomed opportunity to hear about the station’s transition from coal to electricity generation using biomass and a summary was provided in the submitted report.  The Board discussed the key priority to support carbon reduction and meet climate change ambitions in the LEP’s programmes.  It was reported that methodologies were being developed so that schemes could be assessed for their impact and reports to the Investment Committee and Combined Authority included clean growth implications.

In respect of the LEP Capital Programme (Investment Committee) update, the Board noted the Growth Deal spend in quarter 2.  The Growth Deal dashboard was attached at Appendix 1 and the Board endorsed the data capture return for quarter 2 which was circulated at the meeting. The return would now be submitted to the Cities and Local Growth Unit (CLoG). 

It was reported that the mid-year review of the Growth Deal had taken place and the conclusion of the meeting was that the programme was performing well. Output targets had also been considered and these were on track to be achieved.  In respect of the independent review of the West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund, the draft final report had been received and was positive.  Government would now consider this report and a summary of the final report would be brought to a future meeting.

Resolved:

(i)         That the Panel and Committee updates be noted.

(ii)        That the CLoG data capture return be endorsed for sign off by the LEP Chair.

(Led by: Alan Reiss, Author: Katie McLean)

The Board considered a report of the Director of Policy, Strategy and Communications and on the LEP’s response to the Strengthening LEPs review and recommendations.

It was reported that due to the restrictions of the pre-election purdah period, the LEP Board was not in a position to take a decision on this item and the decision will be deferred until early 2020.  It was stressed that the LEP will ensure it is fully compliant with the Strengthening LEPs guidelines for March 2020.

Resolved:  That the update be noted.

(Led by: Alan Reiss, Author: Emma Longbottom)

The Board considered a report of the Director of Policy, Strategy and Communications on the Local Industrial Strategy (LIS).

The report provided an update on the development of the LIS which had been the focus of the LEP Board away day in September 2019 where Members had reviewed the priorities which had been identified.  Following the away day, the priorities and proposals had been further developed and tested and details of the consultation and engagement activities recently undertaken on the draft proposals were outlined in the report. It was suggested that other business groupings such as British Asian businesses be contacted as their views could provide additional valuable information to support the development of the draft priorities.  

Members were advised that due to the forthcoming general election purdah and uncertainty around Brexit, the timetable outlined in the report for submitting the LIS was now unrealistic.  It was proposed that the LIS now be finalised and submitted to Government in early 2020. It was agreed that sign off of the draft LIS be delegated to the Combined Authority’s Managing Director in consultation with the Chairs of the LEP and the Combined Authority and the final version would be brought to a future meeting. 

Resolved: 

(i)         That the progress made be noted.

(ii)        That the sign off and submission of the draft Local Industrial Strategy be delegated to the Combined Authority’s Managing Director in consultation with the Chairs of the LEP and the Combined Authority.

(Led by: Kate Thompson, Author: Jess McNeill)

The Board considered a report of the Enterprise Zone Senior Responsible Officer on further options to facilitate the delivery of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone (EZ) programme.

The report provided an update on the programme delivery which was on track to spend all of its original Growth Deal 3 funding allocation.  To date, sites within the programme had been brought forward via the traditional delivery route where a private sector owner/developer takes the lead and the key steps of the development process were outlined in the report. It was noted that the extent of the LEP/Combined Authority’s intervention (or public sector partners) can include all or some of the steps in the development process for delivery and Members noted a number of further delivery approaches which were listed in Table 1. 

The Board recognised the challenges of the programme and thanked officers for the progress achieved to date.  They discussed the potential options to both acquire and directly develop land in order to advance the programme.  It was acknowledged that considering a more direct role in the delivery of key sites would have the potential to have a significant impact in terms of the benefits realised from the EZ programme and the need to maintain the collaborative approach and agreement with local authorities was noted.

Resolved: That the potential options to acquire and directly develop land in order to advance the Leeds City Region Enterprise Programme be noted.

The Board discussed the practical measures being taken following the recent severe flooding in South Yorkshire.

Members were reminded of the actions taken and support offered by the Combined Authority after the floods in 2015.  A Business Flood Recovery Fund had been established from the Local Growth Fund allocation aimed at supporting affected businesses, providing grants to contribute towards capital  investment in new equipment, machinery or premises to maintain or recommence their operations.

The need for further investment in flood alleviation schemes was discussed.  It was suggested that the work previously undertaken on the approach to future prevention and flood resilience in the Leeds City Region, which had been developed with key stakeholders and other neighbouring authorities including North Yorkshire, be resent to Government.

Resolved:  That the approach to flood resilience document be resent to Government highlighting the need for further investment in flood prevention schemes.

(Led by: Kate Thompson, Author: Leanne Walsh)

The Board considered a report of the Director of Policy, Strategy and Communication on the proposed future approach to business finance and investment management. 

The meeting was attended by Deloitte who had been commissioned to advise on gaps in the regional investment market, potential business finance models and advise on appropriate and robust procedures prior to launching a new fund.  The report outlined the second phase of the work and a copy of the draft investment strategy was attached at exempt Appendix 1.

Members discussed and provided feedback on the draft investment strategy, governance proposals and the next steps for implementation. 

The draft strategy will also be considered by the Business Innovation and Growth Panel, the West Yorkshire and York Investment Committee and the Business Investment Panel.  The feedback will help shape the final Investment Strategy which will be a public facing document setting out the LEP/Combined Authority’s approach to investments and will provide a transparent methodology for investment decision-making.

The final version of the Investment Strategy will be brought to a future meeting of the LEP Board for approval.

Resolved:  That the draft Investment Strategy be noted.

Resolved:  That the draft minutes of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority held on 10 October 2019 be noted.

The next meeting will be held on 16 January 2020.

The next meeting of the LEP Board will be held at 2pm on Thursday 16 January 2020.