Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence received from Professor Margaret House.

There were no items of disclosable pecuniary interests.

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

Cllr Adam Wilkinson attended the meeting on 4 March and subject to his attendance at the meeting being noted in the minutes

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2020 be agreed and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed new members to the Panel

Mark Cowgill, Exa Networks

Orlagh Hunt, Yorkshire Building Society

Richard Mason, Burberry,

Liz Needham, BT

Clare Paxman, Paxman Coolers.

Mark, Orlagh, Richard, Liz and Claire introduced themselves and said they were pleased to be joining the Panel.

The Chair invited Ian Smyth to give a brief update on Devolution and the Economic Recovery Board (ERB).

The Panel considered a report and verbal update on activity underway to support businesses and individuals in the short term and to seek approval from the Panel for the continued delivery and development of products and services in response to the COVID-19 crisis and for input to wider recovery work.

The full implications of COVID-19 on the region and its economy are still to be understood.  However, it is already clear that it will have a significant long-term impact,  At a city region level, work is taking place both to support the immediate response and to begin to develop what might be required in recovery.

Resolved:

(i)             That the contents of the report and verbal update be noted.

(ii)            That the comments of the Panel on the approach and long term planning for recovery be noted.

The Panel considered a report to provide an update on the latest business intelligence and on the latest activity and intelligence around understanding the impact of Covid-19 and an overview of the most recent performance of the economy and was asked note the latest intelligence around the economic impacts of Covid-19 and consider how this relates to their work and future work plans.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown, measures have been put in place to monitor the impact of the virus on the local economy,  This has included the production of a weekly monitoring report, drawing together intelligence from the Growth Services, interactions with businesses along with intelligence from other data tools available to the LEP / Combined Authority and published data.  This report presents the latest assessment of that intelligence.

The Panel discussed the report and provided their feedback highlighting concerns for the Further Education sector and the potentialscale of future unemployment.

Resolved: 

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

(ii)            That the discussion and feedback from the Panel on how this relates to work and future work plans be noted.

The Panel considered a report to update on activity underway to support businesses and individuals in the short term and a verbal overview

The full implications of COVID-19 on the region and its economy are still to be understood.  However, it is already clear that it will have a significant long-term impact.  At a city region level, work is taking place both to support the immediate response and to begin to develop what might be required in recovery.

The Panel was asked to note and comment on the approach and discussed the following key points.

·       key priorities for employment and skills in the next 1,3 and 5 years.

·       Appraisal of priorities

·       Any priorities / key messages missing

The Panel discussed at length the approach being taken and was thanked for the input and feedback provided which was appreciated and welcomed.

Resolved:

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

(ii)            That the comments of the Panel on the approach, particularly on longer-term planning for recovery be noted.

The Panel considered a report to provide an update of the plans for the Combined Authority to receive devolved powers and manage the devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) from 2021 and a verbal update on AEB and the draft strategy which is currently in consultation and was asked to note the contents of the report.

At the last meeting of the Panel on 4 March 2020, members received a paper setting out the proposal and function of AEB. The Department of Education (DfE) funds AEB and it is currently administered by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in non-devolved areas.

The Panel discussed the contents of the report and said that the verbal update was an excellent summary of progress to date and that it was was handled with professionalism and dedication.

Resolved:   That the contents of the report be noted.

The Panel considered a report on the workplan to refresh the Employment and Skills Plan and a presentation was given on the key elements of the refreshed plan.  The Panel was asked to comment in order to inform the development of the plan.

Resolved:

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

(ii)            That following discussion the feedback and comments from the Panel to inform the development of the plan be noted.

Michelle Burton informed the Panel that Professor Margaret House was retiring and would be standing down.

Diana Towler, Department of Work and Pensions was also retiring.

The Panel thanked Margaret and Diana for their commitment to the Employment and Skills Panel and gave best wishes for the future.

Diana who was present at the meeting said she had enjoyed working with the Panel members and officers.

The date of the next Employment and Skills Panel Meeting is 14 September 2020.