Alwen
Williams to present the Quarter
4 (Jan-March) Growth Deal report, updated
Portfolio Risk Register and the Portfolio Management Office Annual Report for
2020-21
Decision:
Note the Quarter 4 Performance Report, updated Portfolio Risk Register and
the Portfolio Management
Office Annual Report for 2020-21.
Agree on the format of the quarterly report and identify
improvements for future iterations.
Approve the submission of
the Quarter 4 Performance Report and the Portfolio Management Office Annual Report for
2020-21 to Welsh Government and
UK Government as well as the local
authority scrutiny committees.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by Alwen Williams (Portfolio
Director) and Hedd Vaughan-Evans (Operations Manager).
RESOLVED
Note the
Quarter 4 Performance Report, updated Portfolio Risk Register and the Portfolio
Management Office Annual Report for 2020-21.
Agree on
the format of the quarterly report and identify improvements for future
iterations.
Approve
the submission of the Quarter 4 Performance Report and the Portfolio Management
Office Annual Report for 2020-21 to Welsh Government and UK Government as well
as the local authority scrutiny committees.
REASONS FOR THE
DECISION
In
December 2020, the NWEAB and the Welsh and UK Governments agreed the Final Deal
Agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal. Regular reporting on progress
against the North Wales Growth Deal is a requirement of the Final Deal
Agreement.
DISCUSSION
The report was submitted noting that it provided an overview
of the progress with the programmes and projects for Quarter 4 following the
signing of the Final Deal back in December 2020. It was explained that the
focus had been on moving to the implementation stage through a Baseline review
in January to review all projects to reconfirm timescales for developing and
delivering business cases. It was added that several project workshops had been
held in order to develop business cases in accordance with the Better Business
Cases guidelines. It was noted that, during this period, the Grant Award Letter
had been signed and the relevant documents had been submitted. As a result, it
was reported that the first instalment of £16m had been received in March
2021.
It was explained that two projects, the Morlais Project
and the Enterprise Engineering and Optics Centre Project, had completed their
Gateway Reviews and were now working to address the recommendations made prior
to submitting business cases. It was noted highlighted that two projects were
currently reporting as 'red' - the Bodelwyddan Key
Strategic Site as a result of outline planning permission expiring, and
Holyhead Port as a result if increased costs and the need to review the
project.
Attention was drawn to the risk register, stressing
that the risk profile was stable on the whole and that there were no new
significant areas of concern. It was noted that significant risks remained with
a few individual projects and that the appetite and ability of the private
sector to invest remained unclear as a result of Covid-19. The main adaptations
to the risk register were noted, which included:
·
Capacity gross and
residual risk had decreased following the completion of the last recruitment
campaign for the Portfolio Management Office.
·
Public Sector
Investment gross and residual risk had decreased following the signing of the
Final Deal and Governance Agreement 2
The annual report
was submitted which looked back at progress during the 2020/21 financial year
which highlighted the Growth Deal and other activities supported by the
Portfolio Office.
During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-
·
It was noted that the
report displayed all the work which had been undertaken over the year and the
team was thanked for creating it.
·
The need to emphasise
the feeling of strong partnership seen in the Joint Committee was stressed. The
need to highlight collaboration between politicians and officers to ensure that
the deal was delivered was explained.
Supporting documents: