Agenda item

To consider a report by Councillor Hugh Evans, Leader and Lead Member for Economy and Corporate Governance (copy enclosed) on the arrangements to be made for the establishment of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) and seeking Cabinet approval in principle for the transfer of functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board to the CJC by way of a delegation agreement.

RESOLVED that Cabinet agrees in principle that the functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board be transferred by way of a delegation agreement to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee on condition;

(a)       that the statutory framework that the Welsh Government are developing allows for the delegation of the relevant executive functions to a Corporate Joint Committee,

(b)       that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee agrees to establishment of a Sub-Committee, with membership to be agreed with the Councils, to undertake the functions of the Economic Ambition Board.

This transition is proposed in order to achieve a streamlined governance model, avoiding duplication.  A further detailed report on the framework for implementation will be presented to a subsequent meeting of the Cabinet.

The Leader presented the report on the arrangements to be made for the establishment of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee (CJC) and seeking Cabinet approval in principle for the transfer of functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (EAB) to the CJC by way of a delegation agreement.

The Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services provided some background to the creation of the CJC effective from 1 April 2021 together with the functions to be exercised from 30 June 2022 and requirement to set a budget for financial year 2022/23 by 31 January 2022.  He provided a comprehensive overview of the arrangements to ensure the CJC was properly established to exercise its functions by 30 June 2022 and referenced the standard report to be considered by each of the six North Wales principal councils during December. The CJC had the functions of preparing a Strategic Development Plan and a Regional Transport Plan along with a broad economic well-being power.  Cabinet was advised of the rationale for the proposed transfer of the functions of the EAB to the CJC by means of a delegation agreement and the principles agreed by Chief Executives and Leaders as the basis upon which any transition should be implemented which would achieve a streamlined governance model, avoiding duplication.  In principle agreement was sought from Cabinet which would be dependent upon Welsh Government developing an appropriate legislative framework to allow the delegation.  Further reports on the establishment of the CJC would be brought to Cabinet in due course.

During consideration of the report Councillor Bobby Feeley questioned the bureaucracy involved and sought further clarify regarding the financial implications, including the costs involved for Denbighshire and across Wales.  Councillor Mark Young also sought clarity of the impact on the Local Development Plan arising from the CJC’s duty to prepare the Strategic Development Plan, highlighting the importance of retaining local decisions for local communities.  In response to those issues and further questions from non-Cabinet members the Leader, Head of Legal, HR and Democratic Services and the Head of Finance and Property advised that –

·         the CJC had been created with legal duties from June 2022 and the intention was to make its operation as simple and as least bureaucratic as possible which was one of the aims behind the in-principle decision sought

·         the region had accepted a grant of £250k from the Welsh Government to assist in the establishment of the CJC to be used for the specialist advice and project management capacity required in that regard

·         the CJC was required to determine its budget by 31 January for the following financial year and agree the contributions to be made by each local authority for the expenses of the CJC that were not otherwise met by other funding sources

·         the work of the S.151 officers on the initial budget was underway and whilst the corporate/democratic element would largely be supported by existing key officers, work was ongoing to identify the financial requirements for delivering the planning and transport elements with a number of options for consideration; it was hoped Welsh Government would provide extra funding to deliver the new responsibilities and calls on Welsh Government would be made in that regard

·         once the budget had been set for 2022/23 the financial impact on Denbighshire and across North Wales would be known and it was important to ensure Denbighshire gained value for money from its contribution

·         the CJC had a duty to produce a Strategic Development Plan for the region which was a different layer plan and separate to the Local Development which each local authority was required to produce having regard to certain factors

·         the CJC would have a legal duty with regards to the Welsh language and to agree a Welsh language scheme and meet Welsh language standards

·         Welsh Governance guidance had been provided to develop scrutiny arrangements with further regulations currently out for consultation on options open to the CJC in that regard which included: creating scrutiny committees specifically within the CJC structure, creating a joint scrutiny committee for that specific purpose, or utilising existing scrutiny arrangements.

The Leader explained the background to the regional approach taken to service delivery in order to retain the number of local authorities in Wales and there were both advantages and disadvantages to that approach.  He emphasised the importance of ensuring the regional approach worked for Denbighshire’s residents.

RESOLVED that Cabinet agrees in principle that the functions of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board be transferred by way of a delegation agreement to the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee on condition;

(a)       that the statutory framework that the Welsh Government are developing allows for the delegation of the relevant executive functions to a Corporate Joint Committee,

(b)       that the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee agrees to establishment of a Sub-Committee, with membership to be agreed with the Councils, to undertake the functions of the Economic Ambition Board.

This transition is proposed in order to achieve a streamlined governance model, avoiding duplication.  A further detailed report on the framework for implementation will be presented to a subsequent meeting of the Cabinet.