Combined Authority Leaders and LEP Chairs Group Minutes – 24 July 2015
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Combined Authority Leaders and LEP Chairs Group Minutes – 24 July 2015 Attendance Members Cllr Mike Bird Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Cllr Sir Albert Bore Birmingham City Council Cllr Darren Cooper Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Cllr Ian Courts Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Cllr Roger Lawrence (Chair) City of Wolverhampton Cllr Kevin Maton Coventry City Council Cllr David Sparks Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Jan Britton Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council Keith Ireland City of Wolverhampton Jason Lowther Birmingham City Council Phil Mayhew Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Anthony Oakman Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Paul Sheehan Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Katie Trout Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Jenni Venn Coventry City Council Programme team Rachel Ratcliffe City of Wolverhampton Rob Wood City of Wolverhampton Advisors Mike Emmerich Metro Dynamics Irene Guillet Metro Dynamics Richard Parker PwC In attendance Cllr George Adamson Cannock Chase District Council Cllr Philip Atkins Staffordshire County Council Steve Atkinson Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council Andrew Barratt Tamworth Borough Council Andrew Donaldson Staffordshire County Council Cllr Brian Edwards South Staffordshire District Council Alan Franks Nuneaton and Bedworth District Council Sue Hanley Redditch Borough and Bromsgrove District Councils Cllr Ian Hardiman Wyre Forest District Council Cllr Dennis Harvey Nuneaton and Bedworth District Council Tony McGovern Cannock Chase District Council Minutes Page 1 of 4 Steve Maxey North Warwickshire Borough Council Ian Miller Wyre Forest District Council Andy O’Brien East Staffordshire Borough Council David Pattison South Staffordshire District Council Cllr Chris Saint Stratford-On-Avon District Council Cllr Mike Wilcox Lichfield District Council Martyn Sargeant City of Wolverhampton Cllr Margaret Sherry Bromsgrove District Council Laura Shoaf West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority Mark Taylor City of Wolverhampton DCC Dave Thompson West Midlands Police Diane Tilley Lichfield District Council Cllr Heather Timms Warwickshire County Council Cllr Alan White Staffordshire County Council Mark Winnington Staffordshire County Council Cllr Pat Witherspoon Redditch Borough Council Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mike Hall (Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council). Item No. Title Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 July 2015 be approved as a correct record, subject to the addition of Cllr Ian Hardiman as an attendee. 1. Ambition and the devolution deal 1.1 Devolution think tank Katie Trout outlined the timetable set for progressing an initial devolution deal, with a deadline for an initial submission of 4 September. She explained that what the Treasury requires by 4 September has still to be clarified in detail but it will need to include an acceptance from the Leaders in principle to an elected Mayor, subject to the overall proposal being acceptable. She explained that the proposals need to be bold and ambitious and that initial ideas are already being put forward, with some clear themes emerging: transport, employment/skills, land supply, housing growth, business support and inward investment. She added that there needed to be a link to the HS2 strategy. Cllr Roger Lawrence stressed the importance of putting together an ambitious proposal. Cllr Albert Bore indicated a likely expectation from government that existing initiatives should be incorporated into the proposed devolution deal. Minutes Page 2 of 4 2. The Combined Authority Commissions 2.1 Mental Health Commission terms of reference Keith Ireland outlined the draft terms of reference for the Mental Health Commission, which was requested previously by the Leaders’ group. Anthony Oakman explained that further work was required with the Police and Crime Commissioner and on the economic benefits analytics. Resolved: To agree the terms of reference for mental health commission. 2.2 Land Commission terms of reference Jan Britton outlined the draft terms of reference for the Land Commission. He acknowledged that further work was needed on the membership and asked the meeting to delegate finalisation of that group to him and Sir Albert Bore. The presumption in favour of brownfield sites was challenged, particularly as to whether it was sustainable. Jan Britton acknowledged that setting terms of reference with an in-built presumption was not helpful and he would amend them accordingly. Resolved: To agree the terms of reference for the land commission. 3. Creation of the Combined Authority 3.1 Governance review Rachel Ratcliffe introduced the draft governance review and noted that there was opportunity over the summer to feed into the review document before proposals had to be submitted to government. It was noted that forthcoming legislation might resolve some of the challenges faced by the West Midlands in terms of constituting the Combined Authority. Keith Ireland advised that the legislative timeline was not helpful in terms of putting the Combined Authority in place for April 2016 but noted there was scope to address some of the issues through the constitution. He further explained that a task and finish group was being set-up to look in more detail at the issues of membership in respect of constituent and non-constituent participants. 3.2 Preparation of the scheme Rachel Ratcliffe outlined the work underway to support preparation of the scheme. She confirmed that DCLG required non-constituent authorities to be specifically named in the scheme and highlighted that the deadline for a district council to request inclusion was 20 October 2015. Minutes Page 3 of 4 4. Any other business 4.1 Productivity Commission Rachel Ratcliffe advised that work on the productivity commission was ongoing and would be presented to the August meeting. Minutes Page 4 of 4 .