Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To elect a Chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee.

To elect Councillor Mark Pritchard as Chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Mark Pritchard as Chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee.

The Chair thanked the Joint Committee for its support and noted that he would work tirelessly to improve North Wales as a region.

To elect a Vice-chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee, in the event of a vacancy.

To elect Councillor Charlie McCoubrey as Vice-chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee.

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Charlie McCoubrey as Vice-chair until the next Annual Meeting of the Joint Committee.

Congratulations were expressed on behalf of the Joint Committee to the Vice-chair. The Vice-chair expressed thanks for the support and reiterated that he would do everything he could to ensure the success of this Joint Committee.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from:

•           Councillor Jason McLellan (Denbighshire County Counci)l with Councillor Barry Mellor deputising. ⁠ ⁠

•           Dafydd Gibbard (Cyngor Gwynedd) with Geraint Owen deputising.

To receive any declaration of Personal Interest.

None to note.

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

None to note.

The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 November, 2024 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 November, 2024 as a true record.

Alwen Williams (CJC Interim Chief Executive) and Iwan Evans (Monitoring Officer) to present the report.

To approve the proposed Terms of Reference in appendix 1 of the report for the Economic Well-being Sub-committee. 

To approve the commissioning of the Legal, Democratic, Finance, IT, HR, Learning and Development, Health and Safety, and Translation services by way of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Cyngor Gwynedd within the approved budgets. 

To agree to delegate authority to the CJC's Interim Chief Executive and in accordance with this report, and in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair, to agree and conclude a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the services in 2.2 above with Cyngor Gwynedd. 

The report was submitted by Alwen Williams, Interim Chief Executive of the CJC and Iwan Evans, Monitoring Officer.

RESOLVED:

To approve the proposed Terms of Reference in appendix 1 of the report for the Economic Well-being Sub-committee. 

To approve the commissioning of the Legal, Democratic, Finance, IT, HR, Learning and Development, Health and Safety, and Translation services by way of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Cyngor Gwynedd within the approved budgets. 

To agree to delegate authority to the CJC's Interim Chief Executive and in accordance with this report, and in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair, to agree and conclude a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the services in 2.2 above with Cyngor Gwynedd.

DISCUSSION

A summary of the report proposing the draft Terms of Reference for the Economic Wellbeing Sub-Committee of the Corporate Joint Committee, which can be found in Appendix 1 of the report, was submitted. It was explained that the Terms of Reference were particularly focused on the Growth Deal and its proposed transfer to the CJC on 1 April, 2025.. ⁠

The proposed Governance Model for the Economic Well-being Sub-Committee as found in Appendix 2 of the report, was outlined. It was noted that the Terms of Reference would evolve as an understanding and agreement emerged as to what the definition of economic well-being was at regional level and therefore what the wider responsibilities of the Corporate Joint Committee were in this area. It was noted that the initial focus on the Growth Deal would allow the Scheme to be transferred into a governance Structure within the Corporate Joint Committee.

The decision sought was elaborated by clarifying there would be a further report under item 12 of the Agenda on the draft budget in reference to part 2.2 of the decision which mentioned the Service Level Agreement with Cyngor Gwynedd. Attention was drawn to part 4.6 of the report which provided greater detail on the resources that would be provided to deliver the SLA and there was an intention to commission this arrangement for an initial period of three years.

To close, it was confirmed that the SLA requirements would be funded within the Support Services budgets and it was hoped that they would be approved today under the Budget item.

The Chair thanked the Interim Chief Executive of the CJC for the report. He suggested adding the clause "and in consultation with the Chair and Vice-chair" to the third paragraph of the decision sought. Members expressed support for this amendment and expressed a view that it was a sensible amendment.

A comment was made that it was good to see the arrangements formalised and the appropriate resources in place and that the Joint Committee was aware of the expectation. The members acknowledged the work done by Cyngor Gwynedd officers and thanked them.

Iwan Evans (Monitoring Officer) to present the report on membership co-option onto the Governance and Audit Sub-committee.  

1.1 To approve the appointment of the six nominated Councillors from each constituent Council as co-opted (voting) Members of the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee.

1.2 To approve the appointment of three lay members to be co-opted (voting) onto the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee.

The report was presented by Iwan Evans, Monitoring Officer.

RESOLVED

1.1 To approve the appointment of the six nominated Councillors from each constituent Council as co-opted (voting) Members of the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee.

1.2 To approve the appointment of three lay members to be co-opted (voting) onto the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted reminding the committee that it was a statutory requirement for the Corporate Joint Committee to establish a Governance and Audit Sub-Committee. It had been previously agreed to seek a Sub-Committee consisting of three lay members and six elected members. The ensuing work to appoint the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee was reported and nominations were received from the Councils' Governance and Audit Committees.

It was made clear in light of the strict quorum requirements surrounding CJC matters that the proposal also included the election of deputies. Attention was drawn to paragraph 3.8 of the report which listed the names nominated by the Councils and from the lay members of Governance and Audit Committees. It was noted that it was gratifying to report that there had been an element of collaboration in relation to the nominations as Councils supported lay members jointly.

Gratitude was expressed for the report reiterating that this was mandatory to comply with the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (Establishment Regulations) and that it was the Joint Committee's responsibility to appoint. The report was supported.

Alwen Williams (Interim CJC Chief Executive) and Dave Hole (Corporate Joint Committee Implementation Programme Manager) to present the report.

To accept the progress to date and mobilisation arrangements.

To support the indicative timescales for development of the Delivery Agreement and authorise its preparation accordingly.

The report was presented by Alwen Williams, Interim Chief Executive of the CJC and David Hole, Corporate Joint Committee Implementation Programme Manager.

DECISION

To accept the progress to date and the transfer arrangements.

To support the indicative timescales for development of the Delivery Agreement and authorise its preparation accordingly.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted stating that it was a requirement following the last meeting of the Corporate Joint Committee to provide the latest information on the progress and challenges in preparing a Delivery Agreement for the regional Strategic Development Plan. The CJC was asked to accept this progress and support the indicative timescales for the development of the Delivery Agreement and authorise its preparation.

The tasks to be undertaken by the Regional Strategic Development Planning Officer were reported and the indicative timetable for this work was outlined, as seen in part 5.2 of the report.

Attention was drawn to part 4.5 of the report, which highlighted the resource needed to lead on the work. It was confirmed that a resource had been identified and Andy Roberts had taken up a part-time role as the CJC's Regional Strategic Development Planning Officer. Andy was wished well, noting he would be working two days a week in this role. It was noted that this piece of work was an important work for the region and that Andy would lead on the work under the leadership of the Planning Sub-Committee on behalf of the Corporate Joint Committee.

The committee thanked the officers for the report and Andy was welcomed by the Chair on behalf of the Joint Committee, recognising the importance of the Strategic Development Plan work. 

It was asked if the Interim Chief Executive of the CJC was aware of any change to the timetables and if she could provide updates quickly in the event of any changes. The Interim Chief Executive of the CJC confirmed that the CJC would be updated in the event of any changes and reiterated the intention of looking at the detail of the timetable and proceeding with the work. It was added that if there was any change to the timetables the reasons for that would be fully explained to the CJC.

Alwen Williams (CJC Interim Chief Executive) and David Hole (CJC Implementation Programme Manager) to present the report.

To approve the Case for Change including the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

To support the commencement of public consultation on the draft Regional Transport Plan.

The report was presented by  Alwen Williams, Interim Chief Executive of the CJC and David Hole, Corporate Joint Committee Implementation Programme Manager.

DECISION

To approve the Case for Change including the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

To support the commencement of public consultation on the draft Regional Transport Plan.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted highlighting that the Plans that had previously been submitted had received approval from the Strategic Transport Sub-Committee at its meeting on 16 December, 2024. It was explained that the Case for Change Plan and the Stakeholder Engagement Plan were a critical procedural step in developing the North Wales Regional Transport Plan and creating a necessary foundation to begin a public consultation on 20 January. The Joint Committee was asked to approve both Plans and support the commencement of a public consultation.

Information was shared on an approximate timeline summarising the key milestones for reaching the publication of an RTP. The intention was to run a consultation from 20 January until 14 April, which was a period of 12 weeks. It was noted that a copy of the RTP policy document was included in Appendix 3 of the report and it was noted that all supporting documents were ready to be launched as part of the consultation if the Joint Committee was supportive today.

Pride was expressed in the work that had been completed by ARUP and the important work that had been done by Transport for Wales as part of the process of gathering all the information ready to go out to consultation. It was highlighted that North Wales would be the first region to go out to public consultation on the RTP and that this was a source of pride that recognised the work that had gone on since October 2024 to have all the documentation ready.

The Interim Chief Executive of the CJC and the team were thanked for their work to ensure everything was ready for the public consultation, recognising the importance of the work.

Further thanks were expressed to the Interim Chief Executive of the CJC for attending a briefing session for Ynys Môn elected members during the week which had been very beneficial. It was confirmed that the elected members had been encouraging their third sector partners to take part in the consultation.

Assurances were sought that the Welsh language would be given due attention in the consultation and that there was also consideration of face-to-face as well as digital engagement. It was added that it was important to have opportunities for people to respond and engage through the medium of Welsh. The Interim Chief Executive of the CJC confirmed that all documentation was bilingual with Welsh appearing first within the consultation. It was reported that a virtual room had been created in collaboration with ARUP and that the Welsh language appeared first on all of these virtual tables. They added that a telephone line had been set up which would be open for the public to call which would also offer Welsh  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Dewi A. Morgan (Head of Finance - CJC’s Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh, (Assistant Head of Finance) to present the report.

To note and accept the Corporate Joint Committee's projected expenditure for 2024/25 as submitted in Appendix 1.

The report was submitted by  Dewi A.  Morgan (Head of Finance - CJC Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh, (Assistant Head of Finance).

DECISION

To note and accept the CJC’s projected expenditure for 2024/25 as presented in Appendix 1.

DISCUSSION

The financial review report for December 2024 was submitted, drawing members' attention to the table in appendix 1 of the report. It was explained that the budget was on the left side and then a projection of the position up to the end of the financial year on the right side, with the last column showing the overspend or underspend per heading.

It was highlighted, based on the latest information, that a net under-spend of £270,000 was projected by the end of the financial year, increasing from the £200,000 forecast in the August Review. An underspend of £311,000 was forecast on the Workers heading and £5,000 underspend on the Travel heading. It was noted that the external consultant heading showed an overspend of £53,000, but £80,000 of the expenditure on this heading related to consultancy costs funded from a Transport Grant, and the income was shown as a surplus under grant income further down the table.

The £216,700 overspend on set-up costs, an increase from the £136,000 overspend envisaged in the August review, was highlighted and this was due to the delay in transferring the Growth Deal functions to the Corporate Joint Committee with the likely transfer date now in April.

The Assistant Head of Finance Department was thanked for the report and the work and the committee was satisfied with what had been noted.

Dewi A. Morgan (Head of Finance - CJC’s Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh (Assistant Head of Finance) to present the report.

1.1  To approve the Budget for 2025/26 for the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) as presented in the appendix to the report. To approve the budget as noted below:-

1.2  To approve the levy on the constituent authorities, as noted below:-

The report was submitted by  Dewi A. Morgan (Head of Finance Department- CJC Statutory Finance Officer) and Sian Pugh, (Assistant Head of Finance Department).

DECISION

1.1  To approve the Budget for 2025/26 for the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) as presented in the appendix to the report. To approve the budget as noted below:-

1.2  To approve the levy on the constituent authorities, as noted below:-

DISCUSSION

Submitted - the Corporate Joint Committee's budget for 2025/26 with a run-down of the main additions. It was noted that the Governments’ recent recommendation to have a dedicated full-time Growth Deal Portfolio Director had impacted the staffing structure. Previously, the position of Chief Executive of the Joint Committee was shared with the Growth Deal, but following their recommendation, the CJC budget had now been adjusted to include the position of a full-time Chief Executive as well as a full-time Personal Assistant.

It had been reported that four additional positions in Policy, Procurement, Operations and Administration had been added to the staffing structure and those were to be funded from the reserve fund for a period of two years with further discussions to be held in the future to determine whether they needed to be made permanent and added to the levy. 

It was explained that the support services budget had increased, to reflect the resources needed going forward and included Finance support (including Section 151 Officer), Legal support (including the Monitoring Officer), Democracy Support, Corporate Services (Translation, Human Resources, Learning and Development, Health and Safety) and Information Technology services. 

It was noted there was a budget of £180,000 for the Investment Zone programme with the hope that everything would be in place to start in April 2025. It was added there would be a contribution of almost £565,000 from the reserve fund which would then leave a balance of around half a million in the fund.

It was explained that the total net budget used to calculate the levy for 2025/26 was £902,480 and was an increase of £137,660 from 2024/25, and this increase was mainly due to the impact of the Governments recent recommendation to have a dedicated full-time Portfolio Director for the Growth Deal. 

Gratitude was expressed for the report. There were no further observations.