Agenda and minutes

In the event of a fire, please await direction from the venue 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 apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Alex Hartley (Bristol City Council), Cllr Steve Pearce (Bristol City Council), Cllr Brian Allinson (South Gloucestershire Council) and Cllr John Ashe (South Gloucestershire Council).  Cllr Keith Burchell (South Gloucestershire Council) attended as a substitute for Cllr John Ashe.

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 non-pecuniary 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 under the Localism Act 2011.

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2022 were agreed as a correct record subject to the correction that Cllr Tristan Clark is a Member of South Gloucestershire Council and not Bristol City Council as stated in the attendance list.

To receive any announcements from the Chair.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris attending the meeting and took questions from Members.  The following points were raised:

·       Th Metro Mayor was asked about a leaflet that had been sent to households in the West of England providing information on energy bills which featured a profile picture of the Metro Mayor with his pet dog.  In response the Metro Mayor stated that the leaflet had been in accordance with usual practice and was extremely important to draw people’s attention to these issues.  He stated that the Metro Mayor was a figurehead for the region and therefore important for people to know who he was and how to get in touch with any issues they may have;

·       The Metro Mayor stated that there would be ongoing opportunities for small operators to provide services under the DRT proposals and urged small businesses and individuals to get in touch;

·       In regards to bus stops, a sum of money had been allocated to bring these under Authority control;

·       There was also plans to provide bicycle hangars for residential users, where the individuals concerned did not have room to store bikes in small houses or flats.  He urged anyone with ideas for allocation of resources to come forward so that they could be examined.  He did not want a situation where money would remain unallocated and handed back to Government, while stressing that all monies had to be used wisely;

·       The Metro Mayor did not rule out a franchising model for local transport in the region but did stress that other areas (such as Greater Manchester) were in a different position with monies raised through existing tram systems etc.  However, there were more pressing needs locally such as driver recruitment;

·       The Metro Mayor had met with community transport groups and hoped that some could be part of a future plan, with utilisation of mini-buses for example.  Technology would also be important but vulnerable people with limited access to technology needed to have their needs catered for as well through other mechanisms.  It was noted that North Somerset Council had 72% passenger numbers compared with pre-pandemic levels whereas the concessionary fare numbers were only at 60%;

·       In respect of enhanced partnerships the Metro Mayor confirmed that this was ongoing although the Authority were being tough negotiators as good value for money was needed.  He acknowledged that EPs may lead to a pre-dominant provider; 

·       In terms of a levy the Metro Mayor stated that if no consensus was reached then it would be based on a per capita basis.  Individual councils would need to benefit.  He acknowledged also that staff should have been transferred to the Authority from the UAs when transport powers transferred and all UAs needed to work collaborative and think strategically across the region;

·       The Metro Mayor reminded the meeting that constitutionally he only had a very limited choice as to who could be Deputy Mayor and he would have liked a wider pool to choose from.  He was trying to resolve the situation as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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 6 December 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 Friday 9 December 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.

Three statements had been received from members of the public. The statements had been circulated to the Committee and published on the Authority’s website prior to the meeting.  The following individuals attended the meeting and addressed the Committee for up to three minutes on the topic of their statement:

·       Robbie Bentley

To update the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on the reports due to be considered at the 16 December 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 16 December 2022. These comments were collated and circulated to the Committee in advance of that meeting. The comments are attached.

[NB the meeting of the West of England Combined Authority Committee due to be held on 16 December 2022 was subsequently postponed and due to be rearranged for a date in early January 2023.]