Cyflwynwyd gan:Cllr. Dyfrig Siencyn
Decision:
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.
Minutes:
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.
Awdur:Dafydd L Edwards
Supporting documents: