Agenda item

Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director) to present the report.

1.     To note the Annual Report for 2023/24.

2.     To approve the submission of the Annual Report 2023/24 to the Welsh Government and UK Government as well as the local authorities' scrutiny committees.

 

The report was presented by the Portfolio Director with support from Ambition North Wales officers.

 

RESOLVED

 

Noted and accepted:

1.     To note the Annual Report for 2023/24.

2.     To approve the submission of the Annual Report for 2023/24 to the Welsh Government and UK Government, as well as the local authorities' scrutiny committees.

 

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

 

⁠Quarterly and annual reporting on progress against the North Wales Growth Deal is one of the requirements of the Final Growth Deal Agreement. Following consideration from the North Wales Economic Ambition Board, the reports would be shared with the Welsh Government, UK Government and the local authorities' scrutiny committees.

 

DISCUSSION

 

It was explained that the report provided an overview of the Growth Deal and the progress that had been made when fulfilling projects, expressing thanks to the Ambition North Wales officers for their quality work throughout the year.

 

The Members were guided through the Report's main points, drawing specific attention to:

 

·       2023/24 Highlights - It was acknowledged that challenges had prevented Outline and Full Business Cases from being approved during the first half of the year and the officers were thanked for their work to ensure that those business cases developed in a timely manner to be considered later in the year. Additionally, it was confirmed that they were working on alternative projects such as the Hydrogen Sponsor challenge and they had managed to introduce five new projects to join the Growth Deal. It was emphasised that many Outline Business Cases, such as the Tourism Talent Network and Former North Wales Hospital, and Full Business Cases, such as the Deeside Anaerobic Digestion Work had been approved by the Board during the second half of the year. It was elaborated that the Former North Wales Hospital Full Business Plan had now been approved by the Board.

·       Digital Signals Processing Centre (DSP) - It was confirmed that this was the first project to reach the aim of fulfilment and that 2023/24 was its second year doing so. They were proud that the project had led to creating 13 jobs and had produced an additional GVA of £1.275m. It was elaborated that the project had now secured additional funding of £1.5m. It was noted that the project continued to collaborate with 18 partners and that 53 people had attended the skills and training sessions during the year.

·       Enterprise Engineering & Optics Centre - Pride was expressed that the work of building the centre had commenced since February 2024 and that the work continued to develop ahead of schedule. They were reminded that the centre was an innovative building to develop business cooperation and develop skills in optics, photonics and composites, as light alternative choices for manufacturing. It was also noted that the development would integrate hydrogen as an alternative fuel source, contributing to sustainable practices in industry by reducing the carbon emissions of regional companies. It was emphasised that a key part of the project was attracting investment to north Wales and creating local employment, emphasising that approximately 70 to 90 new jobs were anticipated to be created within the centre and over a thousand people trained to provide innovative solutions for the future.

·       Local Broadband Fund - It was explained that the project had upgraded broadband connections on 17 sites managed by the public sector and had installed fibre optic broadband with gigabyte ability in areas of the local authorities and health sites in Wrexham, Gwynedd, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy. It was acknowledged that it had not been possible to report on the wider impact of the work to date but the suppliers had confirmed that such data would be available to the Members soon.

·       The Regional Skills Partnership - Members were reminded that the partnership's current Skills Plan had been in operation for a year by now and that the partnership's work focused on the priority of 'Enabling and Empowering Employers' as well as 'Enabling and Empowering Individuals'.

o   It was reported that officers had been collaborating with employers in the low carbon sector to understand their needs before collaborating with colleges and universities to address any gaps in key skills. It was acknowledged that businesses were not aware of the innovative equipment and provision that was available in North Wales. It was emphasised that this had led to skills prospectus development which shared information about the skills that can be nurtured in colleges and universities in the region. Pride was expressed that the prospectus enabled companies to re-train their staff and gave confidence to anyone who moved into the area, that it was possible to learn these skills here.

o   Reference was made to the work that the partnership had been doing with HMP Berwyn to recruit previous offenders. They were proud that this scheme had been successful as officers had held discussions with employers and that many previous offenders had managed to get a job following their release from prison. It was emphasised that this work would continue over the next year.

o   It was reported that officers had been collaborating with young people to teach them about career pathways and help them to succeed in following it whilst remaining within the region. It was explained that officers had managed to do this by promoting courses that were available within the region as well as drawing attention to jobs that were available in North Wales. It was reported that this was currently being trialled through a joint pilot scheme with Isle of Anglesey County Council. It was detailed that the partnership had collaborated with the five secondary schools in the County to integrate career pathways as soon as possible when young people moved to primary schools. It was explained that the pilot would extend to Flintshire County Council over the next year.

o   Digital Skills Research - Reference was made to research commissioned by the Skills Partnership which engaged with organisations in each sector. It was noted that work had commenced via a questionnaire and 68 responses were received across the region from different sectors. ⁠It was acknowledged that many matters had arisen within this questionnaire, including lack of diversity within workplaces, with fewer women working in some fields. Attention was given to many exciting aspects that were underway, such as Artificial Intelligence and technological games.

o   It was reported that the enquiry commissioned had led to eight recommendations for the future, and that many of them detailed collecting information to ensure that it was available across the region. It was confirmed that work was being done to fulfil these eight recommendations as future targets through a variety of videos, meetings, campaigns and case studies. It was confirmed that the report was available to the Members if they wished to look at it.

o   Young Person’s Support Pack - It was explained that the pack had been divided into four parts to reflect that each young person was different and taught in different methods. It was detailed that the four parts were; written PDF document, animated video, written case studies and case studies in video form. It was explained that a common theme across all these parts were transferable skills and displaying the different ways available to reach career targets. They were proud that over 2000 visits had been made to the site since it was launched in January, with the PDF document downloaded over 1000 times.

·       Local Area Energy Plans and Regional Energy Strategy - It was noted that officers had collaborated closely with suppliers and the local authorities, as well as stakeholders to develop energy plans. It was emphasised that the main aim of the team was to support the work of local authorities' officers whilst ensuring consistency across all regions and that there was continuous cooperation with Regional Energy Strategy and National Policies and Plans. It was confirmed that the development of the strategy and these plans had been a very thorough process with a high number of contributions by partners. Everyone was thanked for sharing their opinion and experiences to ensure that these plans would help targets to reach Net Zero Carbon. It was reported that the final plans were currently being reviewed to ensure that the information and targets were correct and they would be translated and shared with the local authorities as soon as possible.

·       Shared Prosperity Funding - Members were reminded that over a million pounds had been secured from the Shared Prosperity Funding to deliver work streams that run in parallel to the plans of the Growth Deal. Pride was expressed that many of the work streams were now operational. An update was shared on the work streams, noting:

o   Skills and Employment - It was noted that the Tropic company had been commissioned to develop a Skills and Employment Portal to raise awareness of jobs available in the region and to inspire young people to consider a career in priority sectors within the area.

o   Benefits and Social Value - It was reported that an officer was developing an online monitoring platform for social value commitments and best practices would be shared across the region.

o   Energy and Zero Net - It was confirmed that small grants were available for small and medium businesses through a project to help write successful bids, in the hope that companies would then go on to make an application to the Growth Plan's 'Smart Local Energy' project when it would be operational.

o   Digital - It was reported that this was the biggest work stream within the plan, including 'Rural Digital Community Support', 'SME Connectivity Assessments', 'Access Agreements' and 'Mobile Coverage Survey'.

 

          They were looking forward to next year, noting that it was very busy with many projects underway. It was confirmed that there were many Business Cases to be considered over the year, including 'Deeside Anaerobic Digestion Work', 'Tourism Talent Network', Environmental Biotechnology Centre, LPWAN, Cydnerth, Parc Bryn Cegin, Advanced Wireless and Responsible Adventures.

 

          Attention was drawn to the fact that it was hoped that the transfer of the Portfolio Management Office and the Growth Deal to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee would happen within the current year, meaning that work would be underway to ensure that arrangements were in place for a successful transfer.

 

          In addition, reference was made to many developments where officers procured for projects. It was detailed that these would include: ⁠Smart Local Energy, Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Tourism Talent Network, Cydnerth, Enterprise Engineering and Optics Centre and AAP Framework. They were looking forward to seeing the developments of these projects, as well as all the other developments over the year to come.

 

          The officers were thanked for their continuous work.