Agenda item

Alwen Williams (Interim CJC Chief Executive) to present the report.

1.     To authorise the Interim Chief Executive to continue to work collaboratively with Welsh Government, UK Government, Flintshire and Wrexham Councils and local stakeholders to prepare the remaining Gateway documents in draft form, under the direction and advice of the proposed Investment Zone’s Senior Responsible Officer, the CJC’s Interim Chief Executive. The appointment of the SRO will be formalised in Gateway 3 which will be presented to the CJC in due course. 

2.     To support, in principle, the proposed Governance Model which sets out the proposed form of the decision-making structures for the Investment Zone.

3.     To submit the proposed Gateway documentation for approval, by the CJC at its November meeting, prior to the formal submission to UK and Welsh Governments.

The report was submitted by Alwen Williams, Interim CJC Chief Executive.

RESOLVED:

1.          To authorise the Interim Chief Executive to continue to work collaboratively with the Welsh Government, UK Government, Flintshire and Wrexham Councils and local stakeholders to prepare the remaining Gateway documents in draft form, under the direction and advice of the proposed Investment Zone’s Senior Responsible Officer, the CJC’s Interim Chief Executive. The appointment of the SRO will be formalised in Gateway 3 which will be presented to the CJC in due course. 

2.          To support, in principle, the proposed Governance Model which sets out the proposed form of the decision-making structures for the Investment Zone.

3.          To submit the proposed Gateway documentation for approval, by the CJC at its November meeting, prior to the formal submission to the UK and Welsh Governments.

DISCUSSION

The report was submitted which provided information on progress with the new investment Park in Flintshire and Wrexham which focused on Advanced Manufacturing. Iain Taylor, AMION Consulting Consultant, was welcomed to the meeting. It was noted that Iain had experience of working with the Liverpool City region on developing their case for an Investment Park.

It was explained that the process of developing Investment Zones was collaborative in nature and relied on the sharing of documentation for review across local stakeholders, the Welsh Government and the UK Government. Reference was made to the intention to share draft Gateway documents as they were prepared, for feedback and agreement as these developed.

The officer stated that the CJC had been identified as the accountable body for the Investment Zone, and highlighted the nature of the function, the duties and the responsibilities that the CJC would bear in developing and delivering the Investment Zone. She referred to the decisions that would be required by the CJC in developing the Investment Zone. She shared a model of the proposed governance structure (Appendix A of the report) as a basis for preparing for the process of taking the Gateways through the Governments and securing approval for the Investment Zone.

The AMION Consulting Consultant elaborated on the proposed Governance Structure, noting that the aim was for the structure to align with the established Governance structure to avoid duplication.  He noted that the work was a combined effort and extended thanks to Flintshire and Wrexham Councils for their support, their work and their willingness to work together. He talked about the aim of increasing the number of Manufacturing jobs in north-east Wales, noting that the structure demonstrated how the Welsh and UK Governments were involved in the development of the process. He added that the CJC would be responsible for reporting on delivery and responsible for the grant investments.

The Leader of Wrexham County Council thanked the officers for their work and thanked Flintshire County Council for their cooperation, noting that this was a major scheme and investment. The Flintshire County Council representative reiterated similar comments, noting that they were looking forward to working jointly with Wrexham Council. The members expressed appreciation to the Interim CJC Chief Executive and her team for their work.

A member enquired whether the November deadline for submitting the proposal would be reached.  In response, it was noted that the documentation required for submission to the Government was still being developed. It was reported that the Government would then review the gateway documents and provide feedback and confirm whether they met the requirements of the investment zone. It was added that after the Autumn Statement and confirmation of the budget on 30 October, the CJC were preparing to be in a position to submit the proposal as soon as possible. It was explained that the Government could not begin the process of officially reviewing the documents until after the budget. It was confirmed that the CJC were confident that they would be in a good position to make the submission in November.

A member enquired whether the CJC would be accountable if something went wrong. The progress was welcomed, but it was assumed that there was further work to be done in terms of the accountable Body's obligations, be it the Joint Committee or Wrexham and Flintshire. They elaborated that it made sense for Wrexham and Flintshire to make the decisions since these would be their projects, but there was concern that there was no definite clarity as regards who bore the responsibility for the decisions and possible outcomes.

In response, it was noted that corporate responsibility had been noted in the Memorandum of Joint Understanding. It was confirmed that there would be a further discussion on this aspect in November and details would be provided at that time on how the responsibilities assumed by the CJC would be borne in earnest by partners within the investment zone. It was reiterated that clear ownership and accountability were important as well as aspects such as challenge and scrutiny; we needed to be clear who was responsible for this.

It was agreed that this was an important issue, and that clarity was crucial for the Joint Committee members to be able to move forward as one. The members looked forward to receiving further details in November.