Agenda item - Capital Spending and Project Approvals

(Lead Member: The Mayor, Director: Melanie Corcoran)

Resolved:

a) That in respect of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and in order to ensure that schemes can be delivered within the tight timescales, the Combined Authority approves the delegation of authority to the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee to accept the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and approve the scheme in accordance with the Assurance Framework (decision point 4 (Final Business Case)), so that delivery can commence in line with government’s delivery timeframes.

b) That in respect of the Green Jobs Taskforce and Gateway, the Combined Authority approves that:

i) The Green Jobs Taskforce and Gateway scheme proceeds through decision point 2 (Strategic Outline Case) and decision point 4 (Full Business Case) with Approval to Proceed to activity 5 (Delivery).

ii) Approval to the Combined Authority’s contribution of £500,000 (which will be funded from the Single Investment Fund to progress the mayor’s pledges) be granted. The total scheme value is £500,000.

iii) Future approvals are made in accordance with the assurance pathway and approval route outlined in the submitted report and any change requests are delegated to the Employment and Skills Committee. This will be subject to the scheme remaining within the tolerances outlined in the submitted report.

c) That in respect of the Creative New Deal, the Combined Authority approves that:

i) The Creative New Deal project proceeds through decision point 2 (strategic outline case) and decision point 4 (full business case) and work commences on activity 5 (delivery).

ii) Approval to the Combined Authority’s contribution of £500,000, funded from the Combined Authority’s Single Investment Fund is given. The total scheme value is £500,000.

iii) Future approvals are made in accordance with the assurance pathway and approval route outlined in the submitted report and any change requests are delegated to the Culture, Arts and Creative Industries Committee. This will be subject to the scheme remaining within the tolerances outlined in the submitted report.

d) That in respect of Local Authority Capital Funding 2021/2022, the Combined Authority approves that, subject to a successful bid to DfT:

i) The allocation to the Combined Authority of the Active Travel Fund: Local Authority Capital Funding for 2021/22, subject to a successful bid, for expenditure of up to £12,361,310 and that the programme proceeds through decision point 4 (full business case) and work commences on activity 5 (delivery) for all schemes except the Leeds A660 Otley Road scheme which commences work on activity 4 (full business case)

ii) Delegation to the Managing Director to approve the Leeds A660 Otley Road full business case.

iii) The allocation of the Active Travel Fund: Local Authority Capital Funding for 2021/22 funding, should it be secured, between the Combined Authority and the five West Yorkshire partners as set out below:

· Bradford - £3,056,300

· Calderdale - £475,000

· Kirklees - £2,260,000

· Leeds - £4,785,000 including development costs of £470,000

· Wakefield - £585,000

· Combined Authority - £850,000 (for Cycle Parking and School Streets Programmes across all five districts with a further £350,010 for programme costs

iv) Development costs of £470,000 to progress the Leeds A660 Otley Road scheme to full business case.

v) In order to ensure that schemes can be delivered within the tight timescales, the Combined Authority delegates authority to the Managing Director to amend the approval and allocation of Active Travel Fund: Local Authority Capital Funding for 2021/22 if the DfT award differs from £12,361,310, or if further changes to individual allocations is required, as a result of changes to the programme and approaches to delivery.

vi) The Combined Authority enters into a funding agreement with Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield for expenditure as set out above, including potentially the Canal and River Trust, in agreement with the relevant partner council.

vii) Future approvals are made in accordance with the assurance pathway and approval route outlined in the submitted report and any change requests are delegated to the Place, Regeneration and Housing Committee, which will be subject to the scheme remaining within the tolerances outlined in the submitted report.

The Combined Authority considered a report on proposals for the progression of, and funding for, a number of Combined Authority supported projects that had been considered at stages 1, 2 or 3 of the Combined Authority’s assurance process. The report also listed approvals that had been made by the Managing Director in delegation.

Three projects had been submitted for approval at the meeting:

· The Green Jobs Taskforce and Gateway scheme requested £500k from the Single Investment Fund (SIF) to research the future demand of green skills, investigate availability, and develop an action plan.

· The Creative New Deal project also requested £500k from the SIF to support two strands of delivery for support to creative industries across West Yorkshire. One strand focused on boosting capacity for the Mayor’s Creative New Deal pledge (including the continuation of the Beyond Brontës programme) and another would progress the concept of a ‘Town of Culture’ award for West Yorkshire. The use of Langthwaite Enterprise Zone for creative industry purposes would also be explored.

· A bid had been submitted for £12.36 million from the third tranche of funding from the Emergency Active Travel Fund. This would be used to provide delivery of permanent schemes building off of the temporary schemes funded by the earlier two tranches of funding. It was requested that approval for this spending, as well as approval for the Leeds A660 Otley Road full business case, be delegated to the Managing Director of the Combined Authority in order to allow flexibility, particularly if the awarded funding differed from the expected amount.

Members discussed the ‘night-time Czar’ role proposed under the Creative New Deal and questioned whether its focus would be on supporting the economic recovery of businesses operating at night or on the safety of women and girls. Officers advised that funding was often aimed to link between multiple pledges; the primary focus of the role would be the safety of women and girls, but it was hoped that both aspects could be fulfilled as the role was developed. These issues and others, such as how the ‘Town of Culture’ award would link to the ‘UK City of Culture’, would be further discussed as part of the work of the Culture, Arts and Creative Industries Committee.

It was highlighted that a large proportion of the Green Jobs Task Force and Gateway funding was proposed to be spent on three roles within the Combined Authority, rather than on delivering skills training. Officers advised that this was necessary to increase capacity within the team for the next stage of work, particularly for strengthening links between businesses and those exiting the education system. It was requested that future reporting be made more clear in tracking where Combined Authority funding was being used to create new jobs, rather than only supporting the business in what it had already been doing.

Approval was also sought for the delegation to the Climate, Energy and Environment Committee to approve the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund scheme, in order for delivery to meet Government timeframes.