Issue - meetings

Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director and CJC Interim Chief Executive) to present the report.

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.

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.