Agenda and draft minutes

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

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bob Felstead, Peter Caffrey, Conrad Whitcroft and Gohar Almass.

Councillor Dave Merrett substituted for Councillor Conrad Whitcroft.

The meeting was inquorate with 10 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.

As the meeting is inquorate, the minutes must be approved at the next quorate meeting, currently scheduled for 8 March 2024.

As the meeting is inquorate, the notes will be considered at the next quorate meeting.

As the meeting is inquorate, the notes will be considered at the next quorate meeting

The Chair expressed his disappointment that the meeting was, again, inquorate and reminded members of the importance of quoracy and planning ahead for attendance and substitution. The Mayor also offered her support in ensuring meetings are quorate in future due to the importance of scrutiny to her work.  

The Chair thanked the Mayor for attending to answer the committee’s questions.

Future Mayoral Pledges:

·       The Mayor is unable to go into detail at this stage on possible future Mayoral Pledges, as it is an electoral matter, but suggested they will be informed by work already underway, her experience in the role to date, and the latest opportunities around further L4 devolution possibly on offer.

Devolution and more autonomous finances:

·       The long-term goal is to attain “single settlement funding”, which would give the CA full autonomy and flexibility over funding.

·       The current Level 4 Devolution offer includes greater powers and some greater autonomy around how the CA manages funding from particular departments as single pots i.e. Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) funding as one pot and Department for Transport (DfT) funding as another pot.

Decision-making on where to invest:

·       Decisions on where to invest funding in the region are taken by the CA as a whole, and not the Mayor alone, based on the West Yorkshire Plan 2040 which considers the needs of each area and West Yorkshire as a whole at a strategic level.

·       Strategic logic is the main criteria in decision making, but projects may need to be phased to ensure the areas of highest need are invested in sooner.

·       Many members and the public are unaware of projects and investment in their areas, and there is a role for the CA to ensure that members are informed so that they can inform their constituents. 

Partnership with central government, mayors and local governments:

·       A challenge for the CA is local authority partner’s capacity to deliver, with many local authorities currently facing financial difficulties. Several CA schemes and services are delivered by, or with, the local authorities.

·       £51 million from the Transport Levy has been returned to local authorities from the CA to provide some financial support.

·       The Mayor has also raised her concerns with government directly that local authorities need increased funding and support, not just Mayors and combined authorities.

Mayoral role in supporting businesses.

·       The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has been reformed and is now the West Yorkshire Business Board. The Chair (currently Mandy Richard) also doubles as a new Mayoral Business Advisor.

·       The Mayor and Business Advisor recently went on a trade mission to North America as part of her role to champion and advocate for the region, encouraging business to establish their UK headquarters in West Yorkshire, not just in Leeds.

·       A direct line between the Mayor and interested businesses allows local authority partners to offer “wrap around” support to businesses looking to expand into West Yorkshire, including providing connections with Leeds City Council, central government, links to workers with the right skills, and support to navigate any ‘red tape’ that would smooth their relocation. 

·       The Mayor has used her ‘soft power’ to champion the recently launched the “Fair Work Charter” which currently has 80 businesses signed up, with many more interested.

·       The West Yorkshire Plan 2040 and the incoming  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

Next meeting:

·       The next meeting will cover an update on the economic strategy and the CA’s future approach to business investment.

·       It was agreed it would be useful to cover the high-level strategic direction, funding levels, any background data and consultations with businesses and the public.

Scrutiny Protocol:

·       A Working Group, made up of members from all three scrutiny committees, has been established under the Corporate Scrutiny Committee’s remit to review the government’s newly published Scrutiny Protocol and make recommendations to the CA regarding the future scrutiny system.

·       Members who are not on the working group will be consulted on the report developed by the working group. 

·       The Mayor noted that scrutiny needs more staff support to help members better fully understand and scrutinise the work of the CA.