Issue - meetings

To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for the Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet’s endorsement of the key documents required to reach the Final Deal Agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal for submission to Council for formal approval.

Vote taken: 8 in favour, 0 against, 0 abstentions

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)       formally endorses and recommends that the Council approves the Overarching Business Plan as the document that sets out the arrangements to deliver the North Wales Growth Deal as the basis for entering into the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding Letter with the UK and Welsh Governments;

(b)       formally endorses the provisions in Governance Agreement 2 relating to executive functions, recommends that Council approves the provisions relating to non-executive functions, and that it specifically adopts the delegations and Terms of Reference in “Governance Agreement 2: Appendix 1” thereof as the basis for completing the Final Deal Agreement and acceptance of the Grant Funding Letter with the UK and Welsh Governments;

(c)        formally endorses and recommends that the Council authorise the accountable body, Gwynedd Council, to sign the Grant Funding Offer letter on behalf of the Partners;

(d)       formally endorses and recommends that the Council recommend approval of the method used to calculate the cost of borrowing notionally required to facilitate the negative cash flow for the Growth Deal, and to include a provision within the Council’s budget to pay this contribution and the established core and supplementary contributions as set out in Governance Agreement 2 (and in paragraphs 5.5 – 5.7 of the template report attached as part of Appendix 1);

(e)       that the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer be granted delegated authority to agree minor changes to the documents with the Partners as necessary to complete the agreement, and

(f)         that Cabinet confirms that it has read, understood and taken account of the contents of the Denbighshire County Council Well-being Impact Assessment attached as Appendix 2 to the report as part of its consideration.

Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for Economy and Corporate Governance presented the report seeking Cabinet’s endorsement of the key documents required to reach the Final Deal Agreement for the North Wales Growth Deal for submission to Council for formal approval.

The report included some background regarding previous approvals of all partners leading up to the current position.  The North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB) were committed to achieving Final Deal Agreement with the UK and Welsh Governments by the end of 2020 and the relevant documentation was currently going through the democratic processes of each of the local authorities.  Cabinet and Council, along with all partners, had been asked to approve the various documents which would enable the Final Growth Deal to be concluded.

The Leader reiterated the aim of the Growth Deal to build a more sustainable and resilient economy in North Wales in partnership with public and private sectors, supported by £240m funding from the UK and Welsh Governments over the next 15 years.  The Growth Deal aimed to deliver investment of up to £1.1bn in the North Wales economy to create 3,400 – 4,200 new jobs and generate £2 – £2.4bn in net additional GVA by 2036.  The Leader delivered a joint presentation with the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm; Head of Legal HR and Democratic Services and Head of Finance covering the following areas of the Growth Deal –

·         the Growth Vision and Growth Deal Portfolio of investment together with direct benefits to the region including economic prosperity; creation of better quality jobs and a more skilled workforce, and improvements in living standards

·         the portfolio of programmes which related to (1) Low Carbon Energy; (2) Digital; (3) Innovation in High Value Manufacturing; (4) Agrifood and Tourism, and (5) Land and Property together with programmes not directly funded but supported in relation to Skills and Employment and Transport

·         illustrated the geographical spread of the fourteen projects identified with each project delivering widespread benefits across the region ensuring a step change

·         elaborated on the specific projects identified in Denbighshire which related to (1) St. Asaph Business Park; (2) Former North Wales Hospital Site Denbigh; (3) Llysfasi Carbon Neutral Farm Project, and (4) Bodelwyddan Key Strategic Site

·         detailed the legalities of the Final Growth Deal Agreement between the NWEAB and UK and Welsh Governments for delivery of the Deal which would be signed on the basis of the portfolio business case and five programme business cases

·         highlighted the financial considerations including the cost of the programme and how it would be funded including partner contributions over the 15 year term together with the annual partner contributions and the methodology behind the calculations which for Denbighshire equated to a range of between £64k - £90k

·         reported upon the Governance Agreement 2 to take the partnership into the implementation stage of the Growth Deal, continuing the governance model adopted in Governance Agreement 1 and defining the relationship between the Board and its partner organisations, the limits of delegation and accountability.

The detail of the Growth Deal had been widely scrutinised and had more recently been subject to a Members Workshop.  Councillor Jeanette Chamberlain-Jones, Chair of Partnerships Scrutiny Committee had been unable to attend Cabinet and requested the Leader read out her statement on scrutiny’s findings following consideration of the Growth Deal on 5 November.  In brief the Scrutiny Committee –

·         acknowledged that while projects would be located in various areas across the region they would all, to  a greater or lesser extent, benefit the entire region

·         agreed it was extremely important that the Deal moved forward to secure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5