LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY PUBLICATION: 19 MARCH 2021 DEADLINE FOR CALL-IN: 26 MARCH 2021 FOLLOWING THE CALL-IN PERIOD, DECISIONS INCLUDED IN THESE MINUTES MAY THEN BE IMPLEMENTED WHERE THEY HAVE NOT BEEN SUBJECT TO A CALL-IN. * DENOTES KEY DECISION At a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority held in the To be held remotely on Friday, 19th March, 2021 the following Members were P r e s e n t: Metro Mayor S Rotheram Chairperson of the Combined Authority (in the Chair) Members of the LCR Combined Authority Councillor D Baines, Portfolio Holder: Digital Connectivity and Inclusion Mr A Hamid MBE, Portfolio Holder: Business and Brexit Councillor Janette Williamson, Portfolio Holder: Inclusive Economy and Third Sector Councillor I Maher, Portfolio Holder: Culture, Tourism and the Voluntary Sector Councillor G Morgan, Portfolio Holder: Housing and Spatial Framework Councillor R Polhill, Portfolio Holder: Low Carbon and Energy Renewables Co-opted Member Rt Hon J Kennedy, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Deputy Portfolio Holders Councillor G Wood, Low Carbon and Energy Renewables Councillor C Thomas, Policy, Resources and Reform Councillor S Powell, Culture, Tourism and the Visitor Economy Councillor N Nicholas, Transport and Air Quality Mayoral Advisor L Collins, Chair of Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board (FASJAB) Gideon Ben-Tovim, OBE, Natural Environment 127. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received on behalf of: Members of the LCR Combined Authority Councillor W Simon, Portfolio Holder: Education, Employment and Skills Co-opted Member Councillor L Robinson, Portfolio Holder: Transport and Air Quality Associate Members Councillor R Bowden, Leader of Warrington Borough Council Deputy Portfolio Holders Councillor K Groucutt, Inclusive Economy and Third Sector Councillor P Sinnott, Education, Employment and Skills Councillor T Hardy, Housing and Spatial Framework Mayoral Advisors Reverend Canon Dr Ellen Loudon, Community and Voluntary Sector Councillor E Spurrell, Tackling Violence against Women and Children The Metro Mayor, Steve Rotheram, on behalf of the Combined Authority sent his best wishes to Councillor Emily Spurrell who was unable to attend the meeting due to a family tragedy. 128. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST No declarations were received. 129. MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LCR COMBINED AUTHORITY HELD ON 26 FEBRUARY 2021 RESOLVED – That the minutes of the LCR Combined Authority held on 26 February 2021 were approved as a correct record. 130. LIVERPOOL CITY REGION METRO MAYOR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES Metro Mayor S Rotheram provided Members with an update on his recent activities and key developments since the last meeting of the LCR Combined Authority. The Metro Mayor referred to the forthcoming elections and how he hoped for a return to Office in May 2021. He also mentioned the difficult year following the pandemic and paid tribute to the fantastic work of Local Authorities, NHS and frontline workers during that time. The Metro Mayor highlighted that it was the last Combined Authority meeting for some Members and took the opportunity to pay tribute to the Members concerned. Firstly, he referred to Councillor Polhill, one of the founding fathers of the Combined Authority and the LCR devolution deal. He explained that Councillor Polhill was standing down as Leader of Halton Council after the May elections. The Metro Mayor reported that Councillor Polhill was first elected to Halton Council in May 1988 and became Leader of the Council in May 2010. Under his leadership Halton had been through significant regeneration transformation and he had played a key role in projects such as the iconic Mersey Gateway, Sci-Tech Daresbury, 3MG & HBC Field and Runcorn Station Quarter. Councillor Polhill had also contributed a huge amount to the progress within the City Region through his roles on the LEP and as Portfolio Holder for Low Carbon and Renewable Energy and went on to lead on clean green energy, hydrogen and supported the progress of Mersey tidal power. The Metro Mayor explained that Councillor Polhill had worked closely with all the City Region Local Authorities to bring about significant improvement and make the region somewhere to be proud of. Stalwart of the CA, gardening a small token of appreciation He concluded by thanking Councillor Polhill on behalf of everyone at the Combined Authority for all his hard work and that a small token of appreciation would be on its way to him shortly. Secondly, the Metro Mayor informed the meeting that Jane Kennedy, Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) was retiring. He stated that Jane was first elected in 1992 as MP for what was Liverpool Broadgreen constituency and served in the house until 2010. She was then elected as the first ever PCC for Merseyside, so had given almost 30 years‟ service to the people of the Liverpool City Region. The Metro Mayor also reported that she was the first woman as a Minister in the Lord Chancellor‟s Office and had worked in various Government departments. She was also involved in the appointment of the present outgoing Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and in the appointment of the incoming Chief Constable. He added that Jane Kennedy had joined the Combined Authority as a co-opted member in 2017 and had provided vital expertise on criminal justice. One behalf of everyone at the Combined Authority he extended best wishes for a long, happy and well-deserved retirement. The Metro Mayor reported that Councillor Sinnott, Deputy Portfolio Holder for Education, Employment and Skills and Councillor for Halton Borough Council would also be retiring from public office. From May 2017, Councillor Sinnott served on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and then in 2018 became a Deputy Portfolio Holder. On behalf of the Combined Authority, the Metro Mayor thanked Councillor Sinnott for the time and dedication she had given to the Combined Authority and wished her well for the future. The Metro Mayor explained that whilst Councillor Simon could not be in attendance today, this would be her last CA meeting whilst she was the acting Mayor of Liverpool. He reported that Councillor Simon took leadership of Liverpool City Council at a time of great difficulty and in that short time had provided much needed stability and leadership. The Metro Mayor concluded by paying tribute to her and recognising the work she has done for the city region over the past few months. The Metro Mayor explained that as this was his final Combined Authority meeting of his first term of office, he reflected on what had been achieved over the past four years. Explaining that at day one he walked into Mann Island with no staff and very little to speak of in terms of an organisation. However, since then collectively the organisation has developed and funding has been accessed which will bring about significant improvements for the lives of 1.6m people in our great city region, including: Secured more than £200m in extra funding for transport, skills and tackling homelessness; Received around £625m in devolved funding which has supported Transforming Cities Fund, Adult Education Budget, Households into Work, Housing First, Single Transport Port and Mayoral Capacity Funding. Supported over 9,000 new jobs, 5,500 apprenticeships,15,000 new homes; Invested more than £400m into growth projects in every one of our six local authorities; Launched the borough of culture programme and committed 1% of our funding to cultural projects; Begun Mersey Tidal Power – one of the largest renewable energy projects in the country; Set up one front door and the growth platform to streamline our investment and business support Launched our fair employment charter; Invested more than £30m into local colleges; Halved the cost of rail and bus travel for apprentices; Launched the country‟s first UCAS style apprenticeship portal; Opened the first new station on the Merseyrail network for 20 years; Modernised our smart ticketing offer with the Metro Card; Invested in 600km miles of new walking and cycling routes; Begun the game-changing digital infrastructure project; Introduced Deputy Portfolio Holders and Mayoral Advisors to address gender imbalance Declared a climate emergency The Metro Mayor took the opportunity to formally place on record his thanks to all of the Leaders, past and present for their commitment and support over the past four years. He also thanked all of the staff at the Combined Authority for all their hard work, particularly over the past 12 months which have been especially difficult due to coronavirus. The Metro Mayor acknowledged that a significant amount of work goes in, by a lot of people, behind the scenes to turn the Combined Authority policies and visions into delivery on the ground, and so he thanked each and every one who had contributed for what they have done. In conclusion, the Metro Mayor reported that his Political Advisor, Rich Durber, would be leaving after the election. He noted that Rich had played a pivotal role in supporting him during his first term, for which he was grateful for. He wished Rich every success in his new career. 131. STAFFING UPDATE The LCR Combined Authority considered a report of the Director of Corporate Development and Delivery which: (1) provided an update on the proposed appointment of a new Chief Executive, following consideration of this issue by the Appointment and Disciplinary Committee of the Combined Authority on 12 March 2021; and (2) sought consideration of the recommendations of Appointment and Disciplinary Committee. Liz Dean, Director of Corporate Development and Delivery informed members that the report detailed the process which had been followed for the recruitment of the Chief Executive post. She highlighted that the consultants had been asked during the process to apply the principles of the „Rooney‟ rule which required that there was at least one woman candidate and one person from an under-represented minority candidate considered.