Agenda item

Hedd Voughan-Evans, Head of Operations, to present the report.

DECISION

1.     To note the Quarter 3 Performance Report and updated Portfolio Risk Register. 

2.     To approve the submission of the Quarter 3 Performance Report to the Welsh Government and UK Government, as well as the local authority scrutiny committees.

The report was presented by the Head of Operations.

DECISION

1.     To note the Quarter 3 Performance Report and updated Portfolio Risk Register.

2.     To approve the submission of the Quarter 3 Performance Report to the Welsh Government and UK Government, as well as the local authority scrutiny committees.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION

Quarterly reporting on progress against the North Wales Growth Deal is one of the requirements of the Final Growth Deal Agreement. 

DISCUSSION

Members were guided through several highlights such as five projects from the Joint Committee's reserve list having been formally approved to be part of the Growth Deal. These were detailed to include a Business Justification Case for Society 5.0, North Anglesey Sites and Buildings, the Freeport Gateway and Outline Business Cases for the Prince Project and Venue Cymru Futures Project.

It was explained that a second Portfolio Review had been completed considering the projects reporting as red. It was noted that this had freed up £58 million of funding to be reinvested by this Sub-committee.

An update was given that two change requests had recently been approved, namely the Former North Wales Hospital site and the Responsible Adventures project. Pride was expressed that the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub Grant Funding Agreement had also been approved in November 2025, confirming that local company OBR Construction had been appointed to construct the Dairy Sheep Wales site.

It was pointed out that two launch events had been held for the CanfodAu building of Wrexham University and Grŵp Llandrillo Menai's Academi Croeso.

Pride was expressed that two Non-executive Advisors had been appointed. It was explained that they would play a key role as Chair and Vice-chair of the new Business Advisory Board.

It was confirmed that the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub project was the only one currently under review as it reported red against the portfolio's delivery profile. However, it was noted that the funding for it had been earmarked. An update was given that work was being done to develop key matters and resolve risks to ensure that an Outline Business Case was developed on this project to ensure the project continued into the future. An update was shared that six projects were active, 10 had been approved but were not operational, 7 Business Cases were under development and 15 projects remained on the reserve list.

The Growth Deal investment was reported noting that approximately £27 million had been invested to date. An update was given that this was estimated to be approximately £30 million by the end of the current financial year due to projects developing faster and more Business Cases being developed and becoming operational. It was also noted that there was no update on the new jobs created through the projects in this report confirming that this would be updated by the Quarter 4 report.

It was stressed that the risk register was fully updated by the Portfolio Management Office on a regular basis. It was confirmed that there was no change in the risk rating from what had been reported in Quarter 2. It was added that four residual risks were reporting as red, namely private sector investment, spending objectives, statutory planning and consent and the economic context meaning that the risk profile remained high.

During the discussion, the following observations were made:

In response to comments about the information published regarding the jobs that had been created, the types of roles, their salary value and the area they were located in, the Head of Operations confirmed that a request had been shared with Members to investigate what information they wished to see. It was further elaborated that the Head of Operations had contacted Members with a breakdown of employment information, asking them to contact the Portfolio Management Office if they wished to receive additional information. It was acknowledged that no response had been received from Members to this request. It was confirmed that the request would be circulated following this meeting, with further requested information being incorporated into the Quarter 4 review.

Gratitude was expressed for the report.