Agenda item

Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director) and Hedd Vaughan-Evans (Head of Operations) to present the report.

 

That the Board approve the increase in the amount of Growth Deal grant available to support the Portfolio Management Office from 1.5% to 2% reducing the overall amount of funding to support new projects through the project replacement process by £1.2 million and to consider a further increase should there be any unallocated funding at the end of the process to select replacement projects for the Growth Deal.

 

The report was submitted by Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director).

 

RESOLVED

 

That the Board approve the increase in the amount of Growth Deal grant available to support the Portfolio Management Office from 1.5% to 2% reducing the overall amount of funding to support new projects through the project replacement process by £1.2 million and to consider a further increase should there be any unallocated funding at the end of the process to select replacement projects for the Growth Deal.

 

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

 

To set out options for resourcing the Portfolio Management Office over the next four years to oversee the key delivery period of the North Wales Growth Deal.

 

DISCUSSION

 

The Chair noted that we had an incredibly capable and strong team in North Wales, which was an asset to us, and that it was important to look at every opportunity to keep that team together.

 

It was asked whether increasing the amount of grant available to support the Portfolio Management Office from 1.5% to 2% was sufficient.

 

In response, it was noted that a 0.5% increase was thought to be realistic and proportional, and compatible with other growth deals, and that it was important to retain as much capital as possible for delivering the projects and allowing us to meet the objectives of the Growth Deal and deliver jobs.

 

It was noted that paragraphs 4.12 and 4.13 of the report stated that the proposal was to use 50% of the additional £1.2m to enable the extension of existing fixed term contracts within the team to March 2025, and that no further extension could be provided until alternative sources of funding were secured.  In light of this, it was asked what was happening to the other £600,000.

 

In response, it was explained:-

 

·         £600,000 was planned to be used next year to enable that 12-month extension, which would mitigate the risk of staff leaving in the next year and buy us time to see what the outcome of the other funding package we were applying for through the Common Prosperity Fund (SPF) would be.

·         Therefore, the £600,000 was theoretically allocated for years 3 and 4, but if no additional funding was secured, that money might have to be used in a different way, and it would not be possible to extend everyone's contract with that amount of money.

·         If the application to the Common Prosperity Fund, or any other external source, was successful, it would be necessary to re-profile how we would use the £1.2m, so instead of using the £600,000 next year, we would use it in years 3 and 4.

 

It was suggested that the wording in the report contradicted itself as it said that no further extension can be provided until other sources of funding were secured.

 

In response, it was confirmed, for clarity, that no further extensions could be provided to all staff on that basis, so no further extensions could be offered to all if the £1.2m was the only funding available.

 

It was noted that the risk of losing staff was significant, and therefore the Board had little choice but to accept the recommendation.

 

It was noted that there was now a significant shortage of talent and that offering short-term contracts poses a risk to the region. The Portfolio Management Office was now developing into an economic development team for North Wales.  The team could take on many other projects outside of the Growth Deal in the future, and we needed to make the most of that and start thinking about a permanent solution. The Welsh Government also needed to devolve some of these duties to North Wales so that more of the decisions could be made within the region.

 

In response, it was noted:-

 

·         In an ideal world, we would want all staff to be on permanent contracts, but we had to operate within the funding envelopes we had, and the decision sought by the Board was thought to mitigate the risk as we looked for alternative funding sources, but a longer-term plan was certainly needed following that.

·         That the working environment was competitive, particularly in project management, in the energy and digital fields, and was the biggest risk at the moment.

·         It was assumed that most project delivery would be completed by the end of this 4-year cycle, and we would move into a period of monitoring, evaluating and realising the benefits, when the Portfolio Management Office would not need to be so large for the purposes of delivering the Growth Deal.   

·         That there was an option for the Board and the region to use the team for other activities in the future should it be desired.  We had a fantastic team and a fantastic resource here and had built significant capacity and expertise in these sectors over the last two years, and we did not wish to lose any of the staff we currently had.

 

It was noted that some projects had already gone through an Outline Business Case and had to come back to the Board but had to have an addition to their allocation in order to move forward.  It was asked whether this increase would be imposed on those projects that had already had to go through a process of curtailment themselves to try to keep within the financial requirements.

 

In response, it was confirmed that today's decision did not have a financial impact on any current projects, and that the money came from the unallocated £30m pot for new projects.