Agenda and minutes

Venue: Due to Covid-19, this meeting will be held remotely and will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCazjNSGpqZZT41Vibn2ZK9A/live (copy and paste the link in your browser)

Items
No. Item

1.

Membership of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership Board pdf icon PDF 227 KB

To consider the attached report in relation to:

 

(i)       Noting the local authority representatives and substitutes appointed to

the LEP Board.

 

(ii)       Confirming the private sector representatives on the LEP Board.

 

(iii)      Confirming the West Yorkshire Mayor as a LEP Board Member.

 

(iv)      Appoint a co-optee to the LEP Board.

 

(v)      Confirm arrangements for the LEP Chair and LEP Deputy Chair.

 

(vi)      Confirm the member of the LEP Board to represent and engage with the SME business community.

 

(vii)     Confirm a LEP Diversity Champion.

 

(viii)    Confirm continuing arrangments in relation to Partner Council Observers.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services which asked the Leeds City Region Enterprise Board (the LEP Board) to:

 

·         Note the local authority representatives and substitutes appointed to the LEP Board,

·         Confirm the private sector representatives on the LEP Board,

·         Agree the appointment of the West Yorkshire Mayor as a LEP Board member,

·         Appoint a co-optee to the LEP Board,

·         Confirm arrangements for the LEP Chair and LEP Deputy Chair,

·         Confirm the member of the LEP Board to represent and engage with SME business community,

·         To confirm business engagement arrangements,

·         Confirm a LEP Diversity Champion, and

·         Confirm continuing arrangements in relation to Partner Council Observers.

 

Resolved:

 

That the LEP Board:

 

(i)         Note the local authority representatives and substitutes appointed to the LEP Board set out in Appendix 1 of this report.

 

(ii)        Confirms the current private sector representatives on the LEP Board as set out in Appendix 1 of this report.

 

(iii)       Confirms the West Yorkshire Mayor ex-officio as a member of the LEP Board.

 

(iv)       Notes the agreed terms of office for the LEP Chair and for Mark Roberts to continue in the role of private sector Deputy Chair.

 

(v)        Appoints a Business Representative Organisation representative as a co-optee on the LEP Board, with a term of office to the next LEP Board Annual Meeting.

 

(vi)       Confirms Mandy Ridyard as the member of the LEP Board to represent and engage with the SME business community as SME Champion.

 

(vii)      Confirms Roger Marsh as the Chair of the Business Communications Group.

 

(viii)     Confirms Kate Hainsworth as the LEP’s Diversity Champion.

 

(ix)       Agrees the Partner Council Observer representatives should continue to be invited to attend LEP Board meetings.

 

2.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Aspden.

3.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

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.

 

4.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

Minutes:

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

5.

Chair's Comments

Minutes:

The Chair invited the Mayor to make introductions to the Board followed by each member of the Board introducing themselves and giving a brief description of their background and area of professional expertise.

 

The Mayor thanked the Board for their support given to West Yorkshire businesses during the COVID-19 crisis and outlined several manifesto commitments around helping businesses recover from the impact of the pandemic. The Board welcomed these commitments and offered to assist and support the Mayor in her role.

 

Joanna Robinson informed the Mayor that this was her final meeting as a member of the LEP Board after five years of membership. The Chair, on behalf of the Board, thanked her for her invaluable service and wished her well for the future.

 

The Chair also thanked Simon Pringle, who stepped down as Chair of the Green Economy Panel. The Chair highlighted the declaration of the Climate Emergency and the development of the Carbon Reduction Pathways as key outcomes during his tenure.

 

On behalf of the Board, the Chair thanked Peter Mucklow for his contributions over the past year and looked forward to continuing that dialogue in the future.

 

The Chair thanked the LEP Board for all their support, contributions, challenge and dedication throughout a very challenging year.

 

6.

Minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2021 pdf icon PDF 253 KB

Minutes:

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 April 2021 be approved and signed by the Chair.

7.

Nomination to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and its Committees and Appointments to Outside Bodies pdf icon PDF 228 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Angela Taylor)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services regarding nominations to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (“the Combined Authority”) and appointments to outside bodies.

 

The Chair informed the Board which members of the Board had been nominated as Deputy Chairs for the new Combined Authority’s thematic committees:

 

·         Roger Marsh, Deputy Chair - Finance, Resources & Corporate Committee.

·         Andrew Wright, Deputy Chair - Business, Economy & Innovation Committee.

·         Mark Roberts, Deputy Chair - Climate, Energy & Environment Committee.

·         Helen Featherstone, Deputy Chair – Culture, Arts & Creative industries Committee.

·         Rashik Parmar, Deputy Chair – Employment & Skills Committee.

·         Amir Hussain, Deputy Chair – Place, Regeneration & Housing Committee.

 

Resolved:

 

That the LEP Board:

 

(i)         Nominates Roger Marsh to be the LEP Member on the Combined Authority, and Mark Roberts to be the Substitute LEP Member on the Combined Authority.

 

(ii)        Nominates to committees to be appointed by the Combined Authority at its Annual Meeting, including those supporting the LEP, in accordance with Appendix 1 of the report, and authorises the LEP Chair to revise the nominations in the event that this is required before the Combined Authority’s annual meeting, in consultation with appropriate LEP Board members.

 

(iii)       Nominates two private sector (non-voting) advisory representatives to the Combined Authority’s Transport Committee as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

 

(iv)       Nominates Roger Marsh to be a member of TfN’s Partnership Board to be re-appointed at the TfN annual meeting, and Mark Roberts to be a substitute, noting that TfN current practice is to co-opt the LEP’s representative on the Partnership Board to the TfN Board.

 

(v)        Notes that Roger Marsh as Chair of the LEP is a nominated representative to the Strategic Oversight Board for Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund Ltd, with Ben Still, Chief Executive Officer of the LEP as his alternate, and that Roger Marsh also continues to be appointed to the Department for International Trade’s Trade Advisory Group (TAG).

8.

Governance Arrangements pdf icon PDF 192 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Angela Taylor)

 

·       LEP Constitution

·       LEP Procedure Rules

·       Access to information Annex

·       Code of Practice for recording meetings

·       Protocol for Remote Meetings

·       LEP’s Confidential Complaints Procedure

·       Recruitment Procedure for Private Sector Representatives

·       LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct

·       LEP Procedure for considering complaints alleging a failure to comply with the LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct

·       Conflicts of Interest Policy

·       Conflicts of Interest Protocol

·       Conflicts of Interest Protocol – Adult Education Budget

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services on the governance documents for the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and reviewed appendices 1-12 which were attached to the submitted report. 

 

Members of the Board asked how a focus on inclusive growth was going to be maintained by the organisation within the new governance structure. The Board were assured that inclusive growth will continue to be embedded as a key theme throughout all committees, through their Terms of Reference, and workstreams within the organisation. This will be measured by clear performance metrics and fed back to committees to ensure that continued focus.

 

The Board was advised that the appendices do not show the ex-officio advisory representatives that will continue to bring their expertise to committees throughout the organisation.

 

Resolved:  That the following LEP’s governance documents, attached to the submitted report, be approved:

 

·         Appendix 1 – LEP Constitution

·         Appendix 2 – LEP Procedure Rules

·         Appendix 3 – Access to information Annex

·         Appendix 4 – Code of Practice for recording meetings

·         Appendix 5­ – Protocol for Remote Meetings

·         Appendix 6 – LEP’s Confidential Complaints Procedure

·         Appendix 7 – Recruitment Procedure for Private Sector Representatives

·         Appendix 8 – LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct

·         Appendix 9 – LEP Procedure for considering complaints alleging a failure to comply with the LEP Board Members’ Code of Conduct 

·         Appendix 10 – Conflicts of Interest Policy

·         Appendix 11 – Conflicts of Interest Protocol

·         Appendix 12 – Conflicts of Interest Protocol – Adult Education Budget

 

9.

Annual Accountability Reports pdf icon PDF 144 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Caroline Allen)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services which:

 

·         Provided the annual accountability reports about complaints and concerns raised about the LEP and/or members of the LEP Board this year.

·         Provided a summary of applications for grants considered during the last financial year under arrangements to address conflicts of interest.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)         That the LEP Board note that no complaints or concerns have been raised this year about the LEP (nor about any member of the LEP Board under the LEP’s complaints procedure, the Combined Authority’s complaints policy or the Whistleblowing Policy).

 

(ii)        That the LEP notes the summary set out in Appendix 1 to this report, relating to grant applications considered under the conflicts of interest arrangements in place during 2020 – 2021.

 

10.

Remuneration and Expenses Scheme and Annual Summary pdf icon PDF 199 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Angela Taylor)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services which provided the annual summary of remuneration and expenses paid to members of the LEP Board and adopt the LEP Board Members’ Remuneration and Expenses Scheme for 2021-22.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)         That the LEP Board adopts the LEP Board Members’ Remuneration and Expenses Scheme for 2021-2022, attached as Appendix 1 to the report.

 

(ii)        That the LEP Board notes the annual summary of remuneration and expenses, attached as Appendix 2 to the report.

 

11.

Equality and Diversity Policy and Statement pdf icon PDF 228 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Alan Reiss)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director Strategy, Communications and Policing on the Equality and Diversity Policy and Statement.

 

The success of the recruitment exercise to the LEP Board in 2020 to meet the requirements of the National Assurance Framework (NAF) and Strengthened Local Enterprise Partnership (Strengthened LEPs) review was highlighted to the Board. Attention was also brought to the establishment of three new groups within the organisation to highlight issues and help promote equality and diversity; these groups are a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic network group, a Gender Quality group and a LGBTQ+ group. These groups are supported by the Senior Leadership Team and have had tangible impacts on policies and processes within the organisation.

 

Members asked how the Authority would continue to be strategically focused on inclusive growth and how the Board would be able to monitor the outcomes from this. The Board were informed that embedding social inclusion and the narrowing of inequality was key in the new committees that have been created to ensure strategic focus was not lost. The Combined Authority and LEP have also adopted an indicator set designed to measure inclusive growth and these will be reported annually and publicly.

 

Following the CA’s decision in April 2021 to make Inclusive Growth a “golden thread” which is to be embedded into the work of all LEP and CA decision making, and therefore to dissolve the Inclusive Growth and Public Policy Panel, the following were highlighted as key opportunities:

 

·       Seeking to retain within the partnership the diverse voices and expertise of the former Panel’s membership;

·       Driving EDI through the appointment of the proposed Inclusive Growth Leads on each new Committee, alongside the appointment of the Mayor’s Inclusivity Champion; and

·       Recognising the inherent diversity of the Board’s membership, and using this strength to connect into our most disadvantaged groups and communities.

 

Questions were also asked on how data was being collected and scrutinised and how that was being used in policy development. The Board were advised that the Combined Authority operate a number of research and intelligence gathering projects throughout the organisation and it is recognised when commissioning these projects that they need to be able to answer the in-depth equality and diversity questions raised by the Board.

 

Resolved: 

 

That the LEP Board:

 

(i)       Notes and provides any comments on the contents of this report.

 

(ii)       Approves the attached Equality & Diversity Policy & Statement which forms part of the LEP’s Assurance Framework.

 

(iii)      Approves Kate Hainsworth to continue in the position of LEP Diversity Champion.

 

12.

Scrutiny Annual Report 2020/21 and Statutory Guidance pdf icon PDF 125 KB

(Led by: Ben Still, Author: Khaled Berroum)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services on the Scrutiny Annual Report 2020/21 and Statutory Guidance which highlighted the work undertaken by the Committee during the 2020/21 municipal year.

 

The key pieces of work undertaken by the Scrutiny Committee were on the COVID-19 recovery, mayoral devolution and the preparation for becoming a Mayoral Combined Authority, and the existing scrutiny arrangments at the Authority.

 

It was noted that, subject to approval at the Combined Authority Annual Meeting, there will be three scrutiny committees to ensure there is more opportunity for engagement, more members to be engaged in the scrutiny process and to ensure the capacity to be able to cover the wider breadth of activities that the Combined Authority and LEP will be undertaking.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)       That the LEP Board note the Scrutiny Annual Report 2020/21.

 

13.

Calendar of Meetings 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 125 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Angela Taylor)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate and Commercial Services on the calendar of meetings proposed for the LEP Board for 2021/22 and note the provisional meeting dates for committees appointed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Combined Authority) which also report to the LEP Board.

 

Resolved:

 

That the LEP Board:

 

(i)       Approve the calendar of meetings proposed for the LEP Board for 2021-22 as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

 

(ii)       Note the provisional meeting dates of the thematic decision-making committees to be appointed by the Combined Authority as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

 

(iii)      Note the provisional meeting dates of the Transport Committee, Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee and the Business Investment Panel as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

 

 

14.

Public Question Time pdf icon PDF 126 KB

(Led by: Roger Marsh, Author: Eileen Stretton)

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Strategy, Communications and Policing which provided an overview of the LEP Question Time Session.

 

It was reported that a requirement of the Strengthened Local Enterprise Partnership review is that all LEPs hold an annual meeting at which the public has the opportunity to ask questions of the LEP Board.  Therefore, in order to encourage participation, the LEP Question Time opportunity had been widely publicised and a total of 16 questions had been received. 8 of these were addressed at the meeting and all the questions and responses will be published on the LEP website.

 

The LEP Board thanked the public for their submissions and encouraged them to continue to contact the LEP with any further questions.

 

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

 

15.

COVID-19 pdf icon PDF 266 KB

(Led by: Brian Archer, Author: Alex Clarke)

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Economic Services which provided an update on developments around the COVID-19 crisis, including the delivery of products and services in response.

It was noted that there is continued high demand upon business support and employment and skills support services as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, in particular the Employment Hub programme. It is hoped that as more restrictions are lifted this will continue.

The Board asked if some of the current trends in the labour market, for example the concern of high levels of unemployment alongside employers struggling to fill advertised vacancies, would be susceptible to intervention from the skills programmes within the report. The Board was advised that the ending of the Government Furlough Scheme in September, combined with the current trends in the labour market, will necessitate a third revision of the Economic Recovery Plan. This work was already underway and meetings with the Mayor and the Economic Recovery Board had already taken place.

 

Resolved:  That the LEP Board notes the updates in relation to COVID-19.

16.

Economic Reporting pdf icon PDF 133 KB

(Led by: Alan Reiss, Author: James Hopton)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director of Strategy, Communications and Policing which provided an update on the latest economic and business intelligence and activity and intelligence around understanding the impact of COVID-19 and EU Exit.

 

It was highlighted that there had been an upturn in economic activity since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in West Yorkshire. The report highlighted a number of key statistics and trends with attention being brought to the areas of Leeds and Huddersfield which has seen levels of activity around pre-pandemic levels in early to mid-May.

 

The results from the latest Leeds City Region Business Survey were reported to the Board highlighting the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses in West Yorkshire; 75% of those businesses surveyed reported a negative financial impact. The survey also showed optimism from businesses as 45% of business surveyed expect their performance to improve this year, the highest reported in the last seven years of this survey, although acknowledging the low base from which businesses are recovering. This sentiment was supported by the Chair of the Business Communications Group who added there was a real sense of optimism amongst the members of that group.

 

Resolved:  That the LEP Board note the latest intelligence around the economic impacts of COVID-19 and EU Exit and consider how this relates to their work and future work plans.

 

17.

Corporate Performance Report pdf icon PDF 173 KB

(Led by: Angela Taylor, Author: Louise Porter)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered a report of the Director, Corporate and Commercial Services to provide the LEP Board with an update on a range of corporate and governance matters.

 

As previously agreed, a corporate performance report is now being submitted to each meeting of the LEP Board, to provide information on budgets, performance management, risk, audit, scrutiny and any other matters that emerge. This report also contained information on capital spending and highlighted the progress on the Growth Deal.

 

An impact report will be presented to the Board at a future meeting to outline the impact that the Growth Deal has had on the West Yorkshire economy. This report will also outline the resilience that the investments created and highlight how damaging the impact on the economy could have been without it.

 

Resolved:  That the LEP Board note the corporate performance information provided.

18.

Draft minutes of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority held on 22 April 2021 pdf icon PDF 191 KB

Minutes:

Resolved: That the draft minutes of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority held on 22 April 2021 be noted.

19.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on 21 July 2021.

Minutes:

The next meeting of the LEP Board will be held at 2pm on Thursday 21 July 2021.