Issue - meetings

To review the reports / decisions due to be considered at the 27 January 2023 meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee and Joint Committee.

The Committee discussed the following reports due to be considered by the West of England Combined Authority Committee at its meeting on 27 January 2023: the Mayoral and Combined Authority Budget 2023/24 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy and the Investment Fund Programme.  The comments made by the Committee were collated and circulated to members of the West of England Combined Authority Committee in advance of its meeting. 

Mayoral and Combined Authority Budget 2023/4 and Medium-Terms Financial Strategy

The Committee recognised that the Combined Authority was transforming in size and purpose and at great pace. The emphasis in its next chapter of development would be continuing to seek further Government funding whilst delivering projects already in place on time and within agreed budgets.  The committee noted that the Authority had a 256% increase in grant funding and a 36% increase in staff (from 235 persons to 320 officers). This translated to an 82% increase in staff costs from £9.6m to £17.6m as outlined in Appendix 1 of the report.

Members welcomed the plans to replace all interims with permanent staff by October 2023.
 

Members interrogated Figure 2 which stated that the Adult Education Budget (AEB) would stay flat at £16.5m per annum and Figure 11 that showed the individual cost centres. It was noticeable that ICT costs had risen sharply in 2022/23 and were rising sharply again in 2023/24. Officers explained that the increased ICT costs were mainly in relation to licenses for the additional staff.  

It was noted that the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) would be fully allocated and that no funds would be given back to the Government as an underspend which had been a concern raised previously. 

Members noted that £816,000 was being spent in relation to Western Gateway.  Officers advised that this was funding from Government for the CEO and to provide a secretariat. 

The use of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funds for training bus drivers was welcomed as well as the ongoing work on training HGV drivers.    

Members noted that officers were developing a plan so that the Combined Authority could go out to consultation this year on the Local Cycling & Walking Improvement Plan (LCWIP).

Investment Fund report

It was noted that all the awards and funding for project approvals were summarised in the report.

The Committee expressed concern over the pace of delivery and inflationary pressures.  It was confirmed that £11.6m had been allocated at the West of England Combined Authority Committee meeting in September 2022 to cover inflation but concerns were raised on whether this amount would be sufficient.

To review the reports / decisions due to be considered at the 23 September 2022 meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee.

The Committee discussed the reports due to be considered by the West of England Combined Authority Committee at its meeting on 23 September 2022. These comments were collated and circulated to the Committee in advance of its meeting on 23 September 2022. The comments are attached.

To review the reports / decisions due to be considered at the 1 July 2022 meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee and formulate any comments to refer to the committees.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris attended the first part of the meeting. The following points were made:

·         The Government had made no indication that the monies set aside for the Portishead line were in jeopardy although a number of schemes had been officially scrapped;

·         The Metro Mayor welcomed the work of Western Gateway and stated the importance of reaching out to as many partners as possible. He confirmed that there were no Western Gateway staff embedded at the Authority;

·         A review of the transport network as a whole was needed so that the best value could be brought from the train and bus networks. A report on rail services would be brought forward as soon as possible;

·         The Committee requested that the Committee papers be published as soon as possible, ideally five clear working days (10 clear working days before the Committee and Joint Committee) in order that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee members had adequate time to review them;

·         The Metro Mayor stated that he did not think that the number of staff that had left the organisation was excessive, in fact it had been lower than he had expected;

·         The withdrawal of work on the SDS meant that the local authorities would revert to local plans;

The Committee thanked the Metro Mayor for his attendance.

The Committee considered the reports for the meeting of West of England Combined Authority Committee and Joint Committee on 1 July 2022. These comments were collated and attached at Appendix 1.

To review the reports / decisions due to be considered at the 25 June joint meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee and West of England Joint Committee and formulate any comments to refer to the committees.