CITY OF COUNCIL CYNGOR DINAS CAERDYDD

CABINET MEETING: 18 SEPTEMBER 2014

CORE CITIES GROUP

REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE AGENDA ITEM: 3

PORTFOLIO : LEADER (ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS)

Reason for this Report

1. To consider matters relating to Cardiff’s proposed membership of the .

Background

2. The Core Cities Group was established in 1995 and, until recently, has consisted of ’s eight largest city economies outside London (i.e. , , , , , Newcastle, and ). In August 2014, became the first member of the Core Cities Group from outside England. The nine Core Cities deliver 27% of the combined economic output of England and (24.6% of the UK economy) and are home to almost 18 million people (29.7% of the combined English & Scottish population and 27.5% of the UK population).

3. The Core Cities Group provides a united city-authority voice to promote the role of cities in driving economic growth within the UK. Whilst coordinated in each city by the member local authority, the wider Core Cities partnership includes other public, private and community sector interests and agencies across each city’s wider economies.

4. Cardiff has worked previously with the eight Core Cities in England, alongside and Glasgow, for example, in issuing a joint position statement setting out the economic and environmental case for a full High Speed Rail network for the UK.

Issues

5. Cities are now recognised drivers of national and regional economic prosperity and home to over 50% of the world’s population. They are engines of growth, generating new jobs, pioneering new technologies and leading the way in tackling social disparity.

6. The latest policy thinking at UK and European level makes clear that cities need to be supported by greater levels of investment, have greater

Page 1 of 3 influence in national infrastructure decision-making and must be given greater fiscal responsibilities and flexibility in order to drive regional economic growth. The recent policy reviews by both the Conservative (Heseltine) and Labour (Adonis) parties, alongside the work of groups including the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) City Growth Commission, have made the case for greater devolution of powers and funding to the city-region level. This is seen as a key policy development for driving economic growth in the UK, and rebalancing the UK economy away from London and the South East.

7. This agenda is already manifest in England in the form of City Deals and Growth Deals which will invest £10billion into supporting economic growth and are negotiated directly between the local and regional actors including the local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships. The latest City Deal between the UK Treasury, Scottish Government and the Glasgow metropolitan area is worth over £1billion and is a powerful indication that the urban and metropolitan strategy is equally relevant to the cities of the devolved nations.

8. By contrast, the urban policy agenda in is under-developed. There is therefore a considerable risk that, unless Welsh cities and their regions are provided with similar powers, discretion and flexibility, they will fall further behind competitor cities in the UK. Membership of the Core Cities would help to ensure that the views of the Capital City of Wales could inform the current debate within the UK on the devolution of funding, powers and flexibilities to cities as important economic drivers for regional and national economies.

Strengthening the Role of the Capital City to deliver for Wales

9. Cardiff has one of the fastest growing economies in the UK and has seen the highest growth in private sector employment over the last 10 years of all the UK Core Cities. It is therefore important that Cardiff is able to engage effectively in wider policy discussions that can help to accelerate growth and prosperity for both Cardiff and the wider South Wales region. The Leader of the Council has also previously highlighted the importance of benchmarking the performance of Cardiff against leading national and international cities and it is expected that membership of the Core Cities Group will assist in that objective.

10. Within this context, the Council has been engaged in discussions with the Core Cities over recent months about the possibility of Cardiff becoming a member of the Core Cities Group. As part of this dialogue, on 30 July 2014, the Leader of the Council met with the Director of the Core Cities Group and Councillor Sir Richard Leese, the Chair of the Core Cities Cabinet and the Leader of . The Chief Executive also met with Sir Howard Bernstein, the Chair of the Core Cities Chief Executives Group and Chief Executive of Manchester City Council.

Page 2 of 3 11. It is proposed that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to conclude matters associated with Cardiff’s proposed membership of the Core Cities Group. It has been confirmed that Cardiff would be required to pay an annual membership fee of £40,000, but this would be on a pro rata basis for the remainder of 2014/15.

Reasons for Recommendations

12. To enable Cardiff to become a member of the Core Cities Group, subject to the successful conclusion of matters associated with membership.

Legal Implications

13. There are no legal implications arising from this report.

Financial Implications

14. This report recommends that the Council becomes a member of the Core Cities Group. The membership fee is £40,000 and would be on a pro rata basis for 2014/15. This in year cost would be met from existing resources within Corporate Management.

RECOMMENDATION

Cabinet is recommended to approve Cardiff’s membership of the Core Cities Group and delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to conclude matters associated with membership.

PAUL ORDERS Chief Executive 12 September 2014

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