Agenda item

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

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.

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.