Agenda and minutes

To note apologies for absence and confirm the quorum of 11 members is met.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Zafar Iqbal, Manisha Kaushik, and Olivia Rowley.

The meeting was confirmed as quorate, with 12 members present out of 11 needed for quorum.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

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

That the notes of the inquorate meeting held on 22 September 2021 be noted and entered as public record of what was discussed.

The Committee considered a report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer outlining membership changes since the last meeting and amendments to Scrutiny Standing Orders section on substitute rules to be proposed to the Combined Authority on 9 December.

The Chair welcomed new members Councillors Tony Hames and Tony Wallis, representing Wakefield Council, to the committee.

Resolved: That the report be noted.  

The Committee received a verbal update from the Chair on his activity since the last meeting and a number of matters, including:

• The three Scrutiny Chairs have written a joint letter with Mayor Tracy Brabin to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Local Government, Michael Gove, asking him to consider lowering statutory quorum requirements for combined authority scrutiny and allowing remote or hybrid meetings.
• Meeting with Mayor Brabin 1-1 to discuss the economy scrutiny workplan and the committee’s plans for the year. The Mayor outlined her own plans and expressed support for scrutiny’s critical friend role. The Chair reiterated that non-partisan nature of scrutiny and his desire that it focus on outcomes and performance rather than making policy or acting as an opposition to the mayor. The committee’s concerns on rural issues, housing/planning, mayoral powers and mayoral economic pledges were also discussed. 

Resolved:  That the Chair’s verbal update be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer outlining the 2021/22 Work Programme which was based on the discussion held at the previous inquorate meeting and subsequent conversations with directors and heads of service.

The Chair confirmed he would like to go ahead with a workshop in February focusing on Inward Investment strategy and activity, with a focus on Channel 4 as a case study. 

Members suggested that the COVID economic recovery item involve some discussion on the growth of the green sector, in particular solar and renewable energy, and difficulties in recruiting people with the right skills.

Resolved:

i)               That a virtual workshop focusing on Inward Investment strategy and activity, with Channel 4 bid as a case study, be arranged for mid-February 2022.

That the appended 2021/22 Work Programme be approved.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Director of Economic Services and Director of Policy & Development providing an overview of the current COVID Economic Recovery Plan, considered and approved by the Combined Authority at its last meeting, and a general update on current economic data and trends.

Discussion took place, and points were raised, around the following topics:

• Business support schemes – advice, planning and networking: Business Growth Managers, based in the partner councils, act as ‘business GPs’ and a first port of call for businesses to receive a diagnosis before being directed to the right place amongst a suite of support avenues. Many businesses would benefit from a level of support for long-term planning e.g. growing sustainably, finding people with the right skills etc. A peer learning and networking for businesses is currently in operation, where more experienced businesses can advise growing ones. There are other programmes which target that level of support, in advice, or finding premises/staff, rather than just funding.

• Access to funding: This remains one of the biggest challenges and barriers facing both new and growing businesses and existing and established businesses. Most of the schemes and programmes seek to provide funding in some capacity from smaller cash grants to larger capital loans. A lot of the COVID stop-gap schemes were delivered through LEPs and combined authorities’ business support schemes and teams. Another issue is banks, which are private entities, and began restricting credit and loan facilities at the height of the pandemic crisis. Some work was undertaken by local stakeholders, like the LEP Chair Roger Marsh to lobby banks to be more understanding. Ultimately, the newer and smaller ‘challenger’ banks saw a market opportunity to provide this funding and this caused the bigger banks to respond. There is a need to explore locally owned and managed sources of funding, to lower reliance on international banks.

• Entrepreneurship Programme – target audience and promotion:  There is a concern that self-employment options are pushed for target delivery reasons in place of more stable and long-term employment options, which can be harder to find and attain. There are well understood ‘success factors’ to entrepreneurial routes and the programmes seeks to target people who have multiple factors, but just need support on one or two. Schools are often resistant, but for many students, the subjects they excel in might be the right to be successful in business – with the right support and advice, no different to any other career. More success is gained convincing schools when business skills are more strongly related to taught subjects, such as maths and accounting/audit, or English literature/language to advertising/marketing.

• Fair wages and working conditions: Although different people have different requirements in work, and flexible (or ‘gig) work might suit many, there are reports that some employers exploit self-employed status for their workers. It is difficult to identify exactly which companies are engaging in such practices, but work is underway on a ‘Fair Work Charter’ and fair pay promotion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.