Agenda and draft minutes

In the event of a fire, please await direction from the West of England Combined Authority staff who will help assist with the evacuation.Please do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the fire warden(s).

The Evacuation Procedure was noted.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Brian Allinson (South Gloucestershire Council), Cllr Tristan Clark (Bristol City Council), Cllr Geoff Gollop (Bristol City Council) and Cllr Steve Pearce (Bristol City Council). Cllr Huw James (North Somerset Council) had also indicated that he was unable to attend. Cllr Mark Weston (Bristol City Council) attended the meeting as substitute for Cllr Geoff Gollop).

Members who consider that they have an interest to declare are asked to: a) State the item number in which they have an interest, b) The nature of the interest, c) Whether the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, non-disclosable pecuniary interest or nonpecuniary interest. Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

There were no declarations of interest declared.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 June 2022 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS (written procedure)

1. Any member of the public can submit a maximum of two written questions in advance of this meeting.

2. The deadline for the submission of questions is 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days ahead of a meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for questions is 5.00 pm on Thursday 15 September 2022.

3. Questions should be addressed to the Chair of the meeting and e-mailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Under the direction of the Chair, wherever possible, written replies to questions will be sent to questioners by the end of the working day prior to the meeting.

5. Please note - under the Combined Authority’s committee procedures, there is no opportunity for oral supplementary questions to be asked at committee meetings.

6. The written questions and replies will be circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS

1. Any member of the public may submit a written statement (or petition) to this meeting.

2. Please note that one statement per individual is permitted.

3. Statements must be submitted in writing and received by the deadline of 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for statements is 12 noon on Wednesday 21 September 2022. Statements should be emailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Statements will be listed for the meeting in the order of receipt. All statements will be sent to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

5. Please note:

If any member of the public wishes to attend the meeting to orally present their statement, they are asked please to notify the Combined Authority’s Democratic Services team of this at the point when their statement is submitted and by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting at the very latest.

For those presenting their statements at the meeting, up to 3 minutes ‘speaking time’ is permitted for each statement. The total time available for the public session at this meeting is 30 minutes.

Two questions had been received from one member of the public in advance of the meeting. These questions and replies have been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

In addition three statements had been received from members of the public in advance of the meeting. No members of the public attended the meeting to submit their statements in person. The statements had been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

The Metro Mayor Dan Norris attended the meeting and a summary of the discussion was as follows:

·         The Committee had expressed their concern over the level of service on local buses. Metro Mayor Dan Norris stated that there are a number of factors, including commercial companies making decisions that could not be influenced. He warned that it may be a tough winter and spring before things settled down, and additional monies would come through in April 2023. There was also a shortage of drivers and high levels of inflation within the industry. However, a fares package had been launched which he hoped would encourage more people to use the bus services;

·         The Committee asked why there had been no discussion about bus services at the recent Transport Board and cited this as an example where they did not think things had been working properly as this Board’s remit was too wide. The Metro Mayor stated that he hoped that politicians would lead the agenda rather than officers and to interpret officers’ advice as necessary. The Metro Mayor was urged to ‘over manage’ this particular issue;

·         The Committee welcomed that a new provider may have been found for supported bus services. The Metro Mayor urged caution and stated that he would look at all possible options available including those at other Combined Authorities. He acknowledged that First Bus were working hard and putting in considerable effort to recruit additional drivers but he urged that women, students and other communities could be targeted more in the recruitment drive. Councillors were keen to distribute these recruitment leaflets at surgeries;

·         The Committee asked whether drivers’ wages had been benchmarked against other areas and cities. The Metro Mayor stated that he felt that the West of England had a lower per capita spend than some other areas such as Greater Manchester or Merseyside. Some other areas had precepts which raised additional funds;

·         The Metro Mayor was awaiting further details on anticipated government announcements on creation of additional Enterprise Zones and Freeports;

The Committee thanked the Metro Mayor for his attendance at the meeting.

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.