Agenda and 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 Steve Pearce (Bristol City Council) and Cllr Huw James (North Somerset Council).

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 made.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 December 2022 as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any announcements from the Chair of the West of England Combined Authority Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

No announcements were made 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 Tuesday 17 January 2023.

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 Friday 20 January 2023. 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.

Four questions had been received from two members of the public in advance of the meeting.  These questions and replies had been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

In addition two statements had been received from members of the public in advance of the meeting.  These two members of the public attended the meeting to submit their statements in person: David Redgewell, South West Transport Network and Railfuture Severnside and Robbie Bentley, Bristol Disabled Equalities Forum.  The statements had been published on the Authority’s website and had been circulated.

The Metro Mayor Dan Norris attended the meeting and participated in a question and answer session with members of the Committee.  During the session the following matters were discussed:

• Members referred to the volume of papers they were required to read in the brief period of time following publication of the agenda and papers for the Combined Authority and Joint Committee meetings.  Concerns were raised that Members were unable to consider the reports in sufficient detail due to their length and complexity and given the time constraint.  It was noted that further consideration as to how this issue could be addressed would be undertaken subsequent to the meeting.   
• The Metro Mayor acknowledged the importance of scrutiny and encouraged the work of the Combined Authority to be challenged.  He further indicated his support for the introduction of a process that allowed a vigorous and honest exchange of views.
• The Chair commented that Scrutiny Committees in the other Combined Authorities appeared to be more proactive and selective in the issues considered and suggested this would be a positive approach to adopt.   Other suggestions put forward which could aid the Committee included: providing a precis version of the reports; providing links to the business cases in reports; include additional information regarding the effects on individual Council Wards,  and; consider introducing a case management system which might help with the perception of openness and transparency at the Combined Authority.   
• Members had seen and endorsed the action plan relating to the Auditors’ Governance Report, in particular the section on relationships. They invited the Metro Mayor to comment on whether, in his view, working relationships with the leaders of the constituent Councils had improved.  He responded by noting that relationships were complex and that it was important to be honest about disagreements and about how to get things done.   He also acknowledged the importance of adopting a strategic approach to regional government.
• Members expressed concern regarding the Equalities Impact Assessment and consultation for the Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP).
• Members felt it would be important to support Direct Response Travel (DRT).
• The Committee referred to the increase in staff at the Combined Authority as a result of it becoming an Integrated Transport Authority.  The Metro Mayor advised that the anticipated transfer of Transport Officers from Bristol City Council to the Combined Authority upon its creation had not occurred, resulting in the Combined Authority having to recruit to fill those important roles.       
• Cllr Riddle invited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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.