Agenda item

Alwen Williams (Portfolio Director) to present the report.

1.     To agree to the principle that the Senior Responsible Owner and Portfolio Director roles should be separated (subject to HR advice) and undertaken by different
individuals and note the proposed split of duties and responsibilities.

2.     To request a nomination from one of the six local authority Chief Executives to act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the North Wales Growth Deal with a view to
confirming this appointment at the next meeting, which has been programmed for 4 April 2025.

3.     To agree the changes to Lead Member responsibilities across the Growth Deal.

The report was presented by the Head of Operations in the absence of the Portfolio Director.

RESOLVED

1.     To agree to the principle that the Senior Responsible Owner and Portfolio Director roles should be separated (subject to HR advice) and undertaken by different
individuals and note the proposed division of duties and responsibilities.

2.     To request a nomination from one of the six local authority Chief Executives to act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the North Wales Growth Deal with a view to confirming this appointment at the next meeting, which has been programmed for 4 April 2025.

3.     To agree the changes to Lead Member responsibilities across the Growth Deal.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

To seek the Economic Ambition Board’s approval to separate the role of SRO and Portfolio Director in response to the new requirement from the government. 

DISCUSSION

It was explained that the report presented amendments to the North Wales Growth Deal's governance structure, following guidance from the Governments to separate the roles of the Portfolio Director and the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO). Members were reminded that all these responsibilities had currently been accomplished by the current Portfolio Director. It was confirmed that the guidance from the Governments made it a requirement for two different individuals to undertake these roles to increase accountability and provide additional leadership capacity.

A formal nomination was requested for one of the local authorities' Chief Executives to act as the SRO for the North Wales Growth Deal in order to be able to conduct a formal vote on that nomination at the next meeting of this Board.

It was noted that the report provided details on specific roles of the Lead Members, reminding members that five of the Leaders were responsible for one of the Growth Deal's programme fields to provide a connection between the Ambition Board and the Programmes' Boards. It was explained that the Chair would not be responsible for a particular programme in the future to ensure that they focused on general strategic matters, with the Lead Roles being allocated to the five other Leaders. Attention was drawn to the fact that there were amendments to the Board membership in the past year and new appointments were proposed to the Growth Deal Programmes’ Lead Roles as follows:

·       Councillor Mark Pritchard - Strategic matters to deliver the Growth Deal

·       Councillor Charlie McCoubrey - Agri-food and Tourism Programme

·       Councillor Dave Hughes - Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Programme

·       Councillor Jason McLellan - Land and Property Programme

·       Councillor Gary Pritchard - Low Carbon Energy Programme

·       Councillor Nia Jeffreys - The Digital Programme.

Details were given on the fact that there was no change to the Lead Member for the Agri-food and Tourism, Land and Property and Low Carbon Energy Programmes to ensure continuation in the work that the Members had been completing over the last few years. It was explained that the decision had been made to offer the Digital Programme to Cyngor Gwynedd's Lead Member due to the digital connection difficulties and deficiencies in that area. Attention was drawn to the fact that this meant that the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Programme had been designated for the Lead Member of Flintshire County Council. An apology was given for the lack of communication to explain the rationale when drawing up the proposals for these new appointments, welcoming further discussions to discuss the Programmes with any Member who wished for that.

In response to an enquiry, the Head of Operations confirmed that there was no expectation for any further adaptation to be made to the governance matters discussed, as the Board moved to be part of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee.