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.
Decision:
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.
Minutes:
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 was emphasised that the business cases were live documents that
would be reviewed regularly. Attention was drawn to each business case
individually.
The
Overarching Business Plan was outlined, emphasising that it set out the
arrangements for implementing the North Wales Growth Deal, including an
overview of the programmes and projects in order to secure the approval of all
partners to the Funding requirements to implement the deal. The programme team
was thanked for bringing the total of the projects to £240million which was in
line with the Governments' grant level. The Income and Expenditure were
outlined, noting that the expenditure profile would be over approximately six
years, with the governments' funding contributions being equal over 15 years,
therefore there would be a negative cash flow. However, it was noted that the
host authority would facilitate this for the partners and would have made
reasonable presumptions before spreading the cost equally over the 15 years of
the deal, in order to offer an achievable annual cost. It was added that this
would commit the partners to the Growth Deal for 15 years.
Attention
was drawn to Governance Agreement 2 which would take the partnership to the
implementation plan for the Growth Deal. It was noted that continuing with the
governance model adopted in GA1, namely a Joint-committee supported by a host
authority and providing for the Partners' commitments and responsibilities to
the partnership. It was added that it also defined the relationship between the
Board and its constituent Partner organisations, delegation restrictions and
accountability.
In
relation to the Final Deal, it was noted that it was a deal created jointly
between the NWEAB and both Governments. It was emphasised that it was currently
in draft form and that it would continue to be adapted over the next weeks. The
next steps were highlighted, namely to seek democratic approval from the six
Local Authorities and Partners. It was noted during the period that the AOR
Process would be held over a period of five weeks with the Governments and the
timeframe was outlined, with the final report published at the end of November.
It was emphasised that it was an extremely detailed process.
During the
discussion the following matters were raised:
· It was stressed that the Team was ready and confident that the two
Governments would be ready and would keep to their promises. It was noted that
if the agreement was in place by the end of 2020 that it could be signed at the
start of 2021. It was noted that if it would not be completed that the
contribution could be provided in September 2021 but that this would cause a
domino effect and that the best deal was required.
· It was stressed that the team was confident that once the money would be
received that work on the business plans would commence immediately.
· Members congratulated the team for their hard work and it was emphasised
that it was exciting and that it highlighted the drive behind the Growth Deal.
It was stressed that the long period had brought results and that they were
hopeful for success before the end of the year.
· A question was asked in relation to the NWEAB's scrutiny level in terms
of Governance. It was noted that there would be a high level of scrutiny and
that the region's focus would be on completing the final deal agreement.
·
Thanks
were expressed for the work and it was stressed that the challenge now would be
to do the work and prove ourselves.
Supporting documents: