Alwen Williams
(Portfolio Director and CJC Interim Chief Executive) to present the report.
Decision:
1. To
support the progress update on work to establish the Corporate Joint Committee
(CJC), and to respond to the tasks required by its statutory functions.
2. To
support the proposed plan and provisional timetable for the transfer of the
North Wales Growth Deal to the North Wales CJC.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by the Portfolio Director.
RESOLVED
1.
To support the progress
update on work to establish the Corporate Joint Committee (CJC), and to respond
to the tasks required by its statutory functions.
2.
To support the proposed plan
and provisional timetable for the transfer of the North Wales Growth Deal to
the North Wales CJC.
REASONS FOR THE
DECISION
In December 2021/January 2022, the Cabinet and
Executives in each of the six Local Authorities agreed, in principle, that the
functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board should be transferred by
way of a delegation agreement to the CJC. The statutory framework and the
establishment of the CJC means that the proposed transfer needed to be
progressed.
DISCUSSION
It was explained that the
report submitted the latest information on the progress of establishing the
North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, responded to its statutory functions and
delivered the proposal of transferring the functions of the North Wales Economic
Ambition Board to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee.
It
was recognised that substantial work needed to be completed to establish the
Joint Committee and completing those transfers effectively without affecting
the quality of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board's work was a priority
for officers, in order to proceed with the Growth Deal.
It was reported that it was
intended to transfer staff from the North Wales Economic Ambition Board to the
North Wales Corporate Joint Committee on 1 July 2024. It was noted that several work streams
needed to be established to enable this transfer, namely:
·
Agreement on transferring legal and governance
services
·
Consult
with staff to ensure that appropriate policies and policies were in place to
ensure successful transfer of People and Human Resources to the Joint
Committee. It was emphasised that engagement with staff was crucial to ensure
that everyone coped with the transfers and work that derived from the Growth
Deal.
·
Transfer
Growth Deal funding and project funding arrangements ensuring that every
process and operational system are in place to transfer the Portfolio
Management Office to the Joint Committee.
·
Ensure
communication with staff and key stakeholders and include them throughout the
process. It was noted that this would ensure that the Growth Deal continued to
be delivered on time.
It
was ensured that input from representatives from the private sector would be an
integral part of the Joint Committee, and this was supported by Members. It was
elaborated that it was possible to co-opt members from the private sector for
specific discussions to ensure that their voices were heard as part of the
Joint Committee's work.
A
desire was expressed to support the work streams in order to confirm timely
transfers. It was proposed and seconded to amend the decision to reflect this.