Agenda item

Agreed in principle to transfer the functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board via a delegation agreement to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, subject to the following;

a)    that the statutory framework under development by Welsh Government allows for the delegations of the relevant operational functions to a Corporate Joint Committee,

b)    that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee agrees to establish a Sub-committee, with membership to be agreed with the Councils, to achieve the functions of the Economic Ambition Board.

This transfer was proposed in order to deliver a simpler governance model, and avoid duplication. A further detailed report on the framework for action would be submitted to a subsequent meeting of the Cabinet.

The item was presented by Cllr. Dyfrig Siencyn

RESOLVED

Agreed in principle to transfer the functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board via a delegation agreement to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, subject to;

a.    the statutory framework under development by Welsh Government allows for the delegations of the relevant operational functions to a Corporate Joint Committee,

b.    that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee agrees to establish a Sub-committee, with membership to be agreed with the Councils, to achieve the functions of the Economic Ambition Board.

This transfer was proposed in order to deliver a simpler governance model, and avoid duplication. A further detailed report on the framework for action would be submitted to a subsequent meeting of the Cabinet.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted noting that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee had now been established under Welsh Government legislation. It was noted that the six counties of North Wales were now required to establish the Corporate Joint-Committee to discuss planning and transportation matters, and that discussing Economic well-being was optional. It was explained that this report requests the transfer of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board functions to the North Wales Corporate Joint-Committee.

The Head of Finance, who had been commissioned to co-ordinate the work of establishing the Joint-Committee, guided the members through the presentation and highlighted the main points.  He emphasised that as the legislation was now in place, there was a need to make the appropriate arrangements to hold the first meeting of the Joint-Committee before the end of January in order adopt the budget for 2022/23. Nevertheless, it was noted that the initial functions of the Joint-Committee would not commence until the end of June 2022.

It was explained that there was a legal duty to deal with planning matters, together with transportation, and that there was an optional power to deal with economic well-being which was currently being dealt with through the Economic Ambition Board. It was noted that the legal requirement and duties were immediate and there was an urgency to proceed. It was emphasised that much good work had been done regionally and that the work of establishing principles had already been done. The need to avoid duplicating discussions, keeping costs down whilst seeking to ensure that decisions were made as close as appropriately possible to the people was highlighted. 

It was noted that the initial functions of the Joint-Committee included preparing and amending a Strategic Development Plan together with developing a regional transportation scheme. It was stressed that the Economic Ambition Board had been doing good work and that transferring it to the Joint-Committee would avoid duplication and would simplify the arrangements. It was noted that work would need to be done on specific field before making the full decision.

In terms of governance, it was noted that the Sub-committees would do the heavy lifting in terms of the Corporate Joint-Committee and that an Audit Sub-committee and a Standards Committee would be needed. It was explained that the membership of the Sub-boards could be deputised which would share the burden between the Cabinet Members as well as co-opt members interested in the fields to the sub-boards. It was noted that Statutory Officers would need to be appointed, and that these officers could be borrowed from local authorities to undertake the work. It was noted that there was a possibility that Gwynedd would lead on the work as the Statutory Officers had been appointed to the Economic Ambition Board.

The next steps were outlined and it was noted that the Chair of Snowdonia National Park had been elected as the Park's representative on the Joint-Committee. It was stated that arrangements would be made to hold the first meeting in January. It was noted that it was mandatory to establish it and that there was an opportunity to implement it successfully and in a way that the Council and partners were happy with.

Observations arising from the discussion

¾     It was noted that, in recent years, there had been no support for the Joint-Committee regionally. It was explained that there was no option but to proceed with the plan and it was noted that scrutiny arrangements would be needed.

¾     It was noted that it was mandatory, and consequently, the Council needed to be a part of it in order to steer the arrangements. It was added that there was also a need to ensure that the Welsh language was given prominence within the Joint-Committee.

¾     It was explained that there was a need to accept that it was a step towards Local Government re-organisation through the back-door by Welsh Government, as well as moving democracy further away from the residents. It was stressed that there was option but to accept it but that this solution was a pragmatic one.