Agenda, decisions and minutes

To elect a Chair for 2020/21.

Cllr Dyfrig Siencyn was elected chair for 2020/21.

To elect a Vice-chair for 2020/21.

Cllr Mark Pritchard was elected vice-chair for 2020/21.

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology was received from Councillor Mark Pritchard (Wrexham County Borough Council) and Ian Bancroft (Wrexham County Borough Council).

To receive any declarations of Personal Interest

There were no declarations of personal interest.

To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chair for consideration.

There were no urgent items.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2020 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of the NWEAB held on 31 July, 2020 as a true record.

Alwen Williams to present the key documents required to reach Final Deal Agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal with the UK Government and Welsh Government.

¾    To approve the submission of the Portfolio Business Case and the 5 Programme Business Cases to
UK and Welsh Governments for Final Deal Agreement on the North Wales Growth Deal.

¾    To agree that each of the Partners individually approve the Overarching Business Plan that sets out the arrangements for delivering the North Wales Growth Deal as the basis for completing the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding Letter with the UK and Welsh Governments.

¾    To agree that each of the Partners individually approve and enter into Governance Agreement 2 and specifically adopt the delegations and Terms of Reference in “Governance Agreement 2: Appendix 1” thereof as the basis for entering into the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding letter with the UK and Welsh Governments.

¾    To approve the method used to calculate the cost of borrowing notionally required to facilitate the negative cash flow for the Growth Deal, and the corresponding annual partner contributions required to meet this cost and the established core and supplementary contributions as set out in GA2 (and in paragraphs 5.5 - 5.7 of the report).

¾    To agree that the Programme Director in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the NWEAB, the
Accountable Body Monitoring Officer and the Accountable Body Section 151 Officer be granted delegated authority to agree minor changes to the documents as necessary to complete the agreement.

¾    To approve the renaming of the of Programme Office to the Portfolio Management Office in line with best practice and as a consequence, change the job title of the Programme Director to Portfolio Director.

The report was submitted by Alwen Williams, Programme Director.

RESOLVED

¾     To approve the submission of the Portfolio Business Case and the 5 Programme Business Cases to UK and Welsh Governments for Final Deal Agreement on the North Wales Growth Deal.

¾     To agree that each of the Partners individually approve the Overarching Business Plan that sets out the arrangements for delivering the North Wales Growth Deal as the basis for completing the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding Letter with the UK and Welsh Governments.

¾     To agree that each of the Partners individually approve and enter into Governance Agreement 2 and specifically adopt the delegations and Terms of Reference in “Governance Agreement 2: Appendix 1” thereof as the basis for entering into the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding letter with the UK and Welsh Governments.

¾     To approve the method used to calculate the cost of borrowing notionally required to facilitate the negative cash flow for the Growth Deal, and the corresponding annual partner contributions required to meet this cost and the established core and supplementary contributions as set out in GA2 (and in paragraphs 5.5 - 5.7 of the report).

¾     To agree that the Programme Director in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the NWEAB, the Accountable Body Monitoring Officer and the Accountable Body Section 151 Officer be granted delegated authority to agree minor changes to the documents as necessary to complete the agreement.

¾     To approve the renaming of the of Programme Office to the Portfolio Management Office in line with best practice and as a consequence, change the job title of the Programme Director to Portfolio Director.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

In 2016 the North Wales Economic Ambition Board adopted a Growth Vision for the Economy of North Wales. Based on the Growth Vision Strategy, a Growth Deal was prepared and agreed by all the partners working with both the UK and Welsh Government and the private sector in October 2018.

In November 2019 the NWEAB and the Welsh and UK Governments agreed the Heads of Terms, for Final Deal Agreement to be completed in 2020.

The NWEAB are committed to achieving the Final Deal Agreement with both Governments before the end of December 2020.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted and it was noted that this report was a milestone in the journey of the NWEAB. Attention was drawn to the recommendations that were highlighted at the beginning of the report. The timeframe was highlighted and it was noted that much had happened within the past ten months.

It was noted that the Programme Office had been working hard on the relevant documents, and that the Final Deal would be secured based on a Portfolio Business Case and Five Programme Business Cases. It was noted that the Portfolio Business Case highlighted the main objectives, provided a summary of the funding proposal for the North Wales Growth Deal, to be included in the Final Deal. It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Dafydd L Edwards to provide details of the actual expenditure and income for the second quarter of the 2020/21.

To receive and note the NWEAB joint committee’s Second Quarter Review for 2020/21.

The report was submitted by Dafydd Edwards, Statutory Finance Officer - Host Authority.

RESOLVED

To receive and note the Joint-committee’s Second Quarter Review for 2020/21.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

It was noted that details of the actual expenditure and income for the second quarter of the 2020/21 financial year needed to be provided to the NWEAB together with a projected full year out-turn against the annual budget.  

In order to work effectively, the Joint-committee must be aware of its expenditure situation and the spending projections against its annual budget.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted noting that the financial situation was acceptable. It was noted that there was £78k of underspend noting that this was mainly as a result of delay before appointing to some posts as a result of the pandemic. Nevertheless, it was noted that it was acceptable and that the NWEAB was not in any financial difficulties. 

Observations arising from the discussion:

·    The staff of the Finance department were thanked for their hard work.

·         Awareness of a healthy budget was noted.