Report by Iwan Trefor Jones, Lead Director (attached).
Decision:
To
approve the RAG status of all actions within the Work Programme and note the
updates on the progress of individual projects, in accordance with the report.
Minutes:
The report was
presented by Iwan Trefor Jones, Lead Director.
RESOLVED to
approve the RAG status of all actions within the Work Programme and note the
updates on the progress of individual projects, in accordance with the report.
REASONS FOR THE DECISION
Update progress of the Work Programme tasks.
Update progress of individual projects.
DISCUSSION
It was noted that,
due to the need to allocate the next meeting of the Board on 21 June to
interview candidates for the post of Programme Director, an additional meeting
of the Board would be held on 28 June to discuss other matters of importance
which were part of the work programme.
It was noted that,
following the submission of the outline business cases for the individual
projects, the initial feedback received from both governments was positive and
that no obstacles were anticipated at present.
Reference was made
to specific meetings with Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales and Kevin
Foster, the junior Minister, and it was noted that those meetings had been
constructive and positive, with the aspiration to reach Heads of Terms by July
clearly highlighted. It was noted that the relationship with civil servants of
both governments was also very strong, with close collaboration happening at
officer level.
It was noted that
a meeting would be held with Ken Skates, Minister for Economy and Transport the
following week. At that meeting, the Chair would convey the desire for the political
dialogue to be more regular in order to ensure that nothing was lost in the
discussions.
Assurance was
given that the Heads of Terms would incorporate the 14 projects in the Growth
Deal.
Reference was made
to the Board's previous decision to submit a quarterly progress report on the
work of the Board to the individual partners for the reporting and scrutiny
purposes of the individual bodies, and a request was made for reference to this
to be included in the 'Governance' category of the work programme.
It was noted that
an additional block needed to be included in the table regarding GA2, noting
the timeframe for the organisations etc. In response, it was explained that
this had been included under the category 'Legal and Procurement', but that
there may be a need to highlight the risks more clearly. It was also noted that
GA2 was part of the wider contract and that it was, therefore, noted on the
plan.
With reference to
the Morlais Project, it was suggested that there was a need to note in the 'other
comments' column that the region was losing the £21m confirmed from Europe as
that money needed to be returned. In response, it was explained that reaching
Heads of Terms by July would provide adequate assurance to Europe that it would
be possible to draw down the money and proceed with the scheme.
It was noted that
the governments had asked for a more detailed business case in relation to the
additional £40m requested, and that it was intended to submit that information
to them by the end of the following week.
It was explained
that both governments were working on Heads of Terms at present and that it was
hoped that a draft of the document would be available in the coming weeks in
order for it to be circulated to Board members and discussed at the next
meeting.
It was stressed
that Heads of Terms needed to be reached by the beginning of the summer recess.
In response, it was noted that this was the message that had been and was still
being conveyed to both governments.
The Business
Delivery Board's desire to have an input to the discussions with both
governments in order assist the process, was expressed. It was confirmed that
the Chair of the Business Delivery Board would have a key role in that regard.
Supporting documents: