LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY PUBLICATION: 15 SEPTEMBER 2017 DEADLINE FOR CALL-IN: 25 SEPTEMBER 2017 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 Authority Chamber - No. 1 Mann Island, Liverpool, L3 1BP on Friday, 15th September, 2017 the following Members were P r e s e n t: Metro Mayor S Rotheram Chairperson of the Combined Authority (in the Chair) Councillor P Davies, Councillor B Grunewald, Councillor R Polhill, Deputy Mayor A O'Byrne (Substitute for Mayor J Anderson OBE), Councillor M Murphy (Substitute for Councillor A Moorhead), Councillor T O'Neill (Associate Member), Councillor F McKenna (Substitute for Councillor I Moran), Jane Kennedy (Co-opted Member - Criminal Justice) and Councillor L Robinson (Co-opted Member - Transport). Mayoral Advisors in attendance Janet Beer (Higher Education) Reverend Canon Dr E Loudon (Voluntary and Community Sector) 66. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Mayor J Anderson (OBE), Councillor A Moorhead, Councillor I Maher, Mr A Hamid MBE, Councillor I Moran (Associate Member), Luciana Berger MP (Mayoral Advisor – Mental Health), Kate Farrell (Mayoral Advisor – Homelessness), Sara Wilde-McKeown (Visitor Economy), Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE (Mayoral Advisor – Natural Environment) and Barbara Spicer (Mayoral Advisor – Social Housing Growth). 67. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was reported that no declarations of interest had been received. 68. MINUTES OF THE COMBINED AUTHORITY MEETING HELD ON 18 AUGUST 2017 RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority held on 18 August 2017 be approved as a correct record. 69. LIVERPOOL CITY REGION COMBINED AUTHORITY FINAL ACCOUNTS 2016-17 The LCR Combined Authority considered the report of the Treasurer which set out the results of KPMG’s audit of the LCR Combined Authority accounts for 2016-17. Members attention was drawn to paragraph 3.3 of the report now submitted which referenced that the LCR Audit Committee would have considered the Statement of Accounts at their meeting on 8 September 2017. Unfortunately, due to technical reasons this meeting did not take place and the LCR Combined Authority were required to consider and approve the accounts directly. It was reported that the draft accounts for the LCR Combined Authority for 2016/17 and the draft ISA 260 had been considered by KPMG who had issued an unqualified audit opinion and confirmed that they provided a true Value For Money. A small number of presentational changes where required to be undertaken which included the following:- There had been significant change to the governance arrangements within the LCR Combined Authority and as a result there was scope to improve the codification of arrangements, however, this did not impact on the Value For Money rating. Minor improvements were required to the reconciliation and impairment process, however, the Auditor was satisfied that processes were being implemented to address this. In conclusion, the Auditor reported that progress was being made on the previous year’s recommendations with all being either implemented or superseded. A Member sought confirmation regarding the submission of the final document for Value For Money. The Auditor confirmed that the final submission from the LCR Combined Authority had been received and they had issued a clean Value For Money conclusion. A Member referred to Appendix One of the report now submitted and sought an explanation of the steps being undertaken to address the low and medium priorities identified. The LCR Combined Authority was informed that an internal review of bank reconciliations was to be undertaken to establish the different levels of reviewing reconciliations. The impairment review would commence at the beginning of the new calendar year and all Heads of Service would be engaged in the process. Metro Mayor S Rotheram welcomed the unqualified opinion and acknowledged that as the LCR Combined Authority sought to improve their financial monitoring processes the issues identified within the Auditors report would be addressed. RESOLVED – That:- (i) the final accounts of the Authority attached at Appendix one to the report now submitted be noted; and (ii) the final accounts of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as attached at Appendix Two of the report now submitted be approved. 70. LIVERPOOL CITY REGION METRO MAYOR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES Metro Mayor S Rotheram reported that he had participated in the Northern Transport Summit in Leeds which had been convened to bring together business and political Leaders to agree a unified case to secure national rail and infrastructure investment. The summit had emphasised the case to secure unequivocal commitment to Crossrail for the North and a more equitable approach to future investment. The Metro Mayor announced that he had appointed Lynn Collins from the North West Trade Union Congress (TUC) as Chair of the Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board. He reflected on Lynn’s talent and commitment to ensuring that fairness and social justice remained core priorities and guiding principles for the City Region. He further reported that he had held a number of regular meetings with the City Region’s MPs to discuss a number of issues of mutual concern, which primarily related to infrastructure investment and the Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse. He also highlighted that he had met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer along with the Greater Manchester Metro Mayor, Andy Burnham. They discussed the case for Crossrail for the North and sought reassurances regarding the future of the Northern Powerhouse agenda. The Metro Mayor also highlighted that he had taken the opportunity to lobby for greater control of the under-allocated Apprenticeship Levy and for government assistance for those affected by the New Ferry explosion. The Metro Mayor referenced his recent visit to Sensor City and the Materials Innovation Factory which were high technology and digital facilities based within the City Region. He highlighted how the centres were cutting-edge collaborations between industry and the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University. Metro Mayor Rotherman informed the LCR Combined Authority of his recent visit to Wirral, where he had visited Cammell Lairds and also looked at the planned development across the Wirral. With regards to the Single Investment Fund (SIF) the Metro Mayor reported that the Outline Business Case appraisal process had been concluded for 8 projects and they included:- Shakespeare Rail Interchange; Shakespeare North Playhouse; Access to Halsnead Garden Village; Parkside Link Road; Maritime Knowledge Hub; Sci-Tech Darebury Skills Factory; Liverpool Aviation Academy; and Wirral Waters Skills Factory. The Metro Mayor reflected on the announcement at the last meeting of the LCR Combined Authority at which he had praised Everton Football Club for their commitment to the Living Wage. He highlighted that he had since met with representatives from Liverpool FC who had agreed to look at their policy and see what the opportunities for future accreditation where. In conclusion, the Metro Mayor referenced that along with Councillor Andy Moorhead he had the opportunity to address the national conference of Public Health England. At the conference they had been able to showcase some of the innovative health agendas taking place across the City Region. He also highlighted that some of the benefits and opportunities presented by devolution to promote further innovation and cross-boundary collaboration were shared at the conference. 71. MERSEY GATEWAY David Parr, Chief Executive of Halton Borough Council, provided a presentation to the LCR Combined Authority which examined the development of the Mersey Gateway and in particular set out the following:- Provided an overview of the project, which outlined how the Mersey Gateway would be a six lane toll bridge which aimed to relieve the congestion on the Silver Jubilee Bridge and would be open in Autumn 2017. Explained how the Mersey Gateway would deliver high value for money and was of strategic importance for Halton and the City Region. Examined the benefits the Mersey Gateway would bring to Halton through improvements to public transport, walking and cycling facilities. Summarised the employment and skills opportunities the construction of the Mersey Gateway had provided, which included over 500 construction jobs and new apprenticeship opportunities along with the potential to support the growth of over 4,500 jobs and building relationships with local schools and colleges. Highlighted how the construction of the Mersey Gateway would support regeneration and investment through improved access to sub regional sites such as 3MG, Sci Tech Daresbury and significant investment to the north west regional economy of £129 million. Explained how the Time Bank initiative had been established by Merseylink to provide professional advice and support to schools, colleges, charities and community groups. Summarised how the bridge tolls would be collected through the introduction of Merseyflow, which would be used on both the Mersey Gateway and the Silver Jubilee Bridge, which used an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and RFID sticker technology to identify all vehicles. The Merseyflow also provided