Agenda and minutes
- Attendance details
- Agenda frontsheet PDF 108 KB
- Agenda reports pack
- Motion - climate change emergency PDF 121 KB
- Decisions - West of England Combined Authority Committee - 19 July 2019 PDF 270 KB
- Comments from Chair of the Combined Authority Overview & Scrutiny Committee PDF 183 KB
- Items from the public PDF 2 MB
- Printed minutes PDF 171 KB
Venue: City Hall, Bristol City Council
Link: Webcast video is available
Media
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Evacuation Procedure In the event of a fire, please await direction from staff who will assist with the evacuation. Please do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the fire warden(s).
Minutes: The Chair thanked Bristol City Council for hosting the meeting, welcomed attendees to the meeting and introduced his colleagues:
The evacuation procedure for the venue was then announced by the Chair.
The Chair then informed everyone present that the meeting was being recorded and that the recording would be available to view after the meeting on the Combined Authority website. Any individuals present who did not wish to be filmed were asked to indicate this.
Motion on declaring a climate emergency: The Chair then advised that in addition to the reports listed on the agenda for the meeting, the committee would also be considering a motion he had submitted, requesting the Combined Authority to declare a climate emergency.
This motion had been published on the Combined Authority website and copies were available at the meeting for public inspection. Comments on this matter had been received from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and a number of public statements on this subject had also been received. In light of this, the committee would consider the motion as the first main item of business, immediately after the public statements section of the meeting had been concluded (item 10a below refers).
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: It was noted that apologies had been received from Professor Steve West, the Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership Board, and Cllr Stephen Clarke, Chair of the Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
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Declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 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.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
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Minutes of previous meeting PDF 171 KB To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record. Minutes: The committee RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 14 June 2019 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
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Chair's Announcements PDF 66 KB To receive any announcements from the Chair of the West of England Combined Authority Committee. Minutes: The Chair shared the following news about the Combined Authority’s recent activities:
· He was pleased with the progress being made and the noticeable recent development work on site in the Temple Quarter area.
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Comments from the Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership To receive any comments from the Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership. Minutes: It was noted that the Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership Board, Professor Steve West had given his apologies for the meeting. No comments had been submitted for this meeting.
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Comments from the Chair of the Combined Authority's Overview & Scrutiny Committee PDF 133 KB To
receive any comments from the Chair of the Combined
Authority’s Overview and Minutes: As advised earlier at the meeting, it was noted that the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Stephen Clarke had given his apologies for this meeting. He had though submitted comments on behalf of the committee on the following issues:
1. Climate emergency motion: Overview and Scrutiny members generally welcomed the Mayor’s motion on climate emergency. They also felt that climate emergency / climate change considerations should be at the forefront of the delivery of (and reporting on) all Combined Authority projects, strategies and plans. 2. Constitutional / governance changes: members reiterated their previously expressed view that individuals should be permitted to ask oral supplementary questions at Combined Authority committee meetings in respect of the replies they received to written questions. 3. Issue raised in a public statement submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting: Concerns were passed on about an issue raised about the impact of the experimental traffic order and potential removal of a bus lane and related traffic light adjustments at Hambrook near the M32. 4. Reports to committees: As a matter of good practice, members felt that late amendments should not be made to committee reports either at or just before committee meetings. 5. Integrated ticketing: The report on taking forward future work on integrated ticketing was welcomed. 6. Employment and Skills Plan: Whilst acknowledging the comprehensive assessment contained in the plan on the current regional position on employment and skills, the plan implementation should be taken forward with ambition, including robust targets/indicators.
The comments were presented at the meeting by Cllr Winston Duguid, Vice-Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee. The full comments had been circulated in advance of the meeting and would be available to view on the Combined Authority web site.
In response to a question from Cllr Romero, Cllr Duguid stressed that Overview and Scrutiny members strongly recommended that climate emergency / climate change considerations must be placed at the forefront of delivery so that this is embedded in the culture of the organisation.
In noting the comments, Mayor Rees indicated that he would also welcome Overview and Scrutiny members putting forward prescriptive/specific suggestions and ideas that were focused on assisting delivery.
In relation to the Hambrook bus lane / traffic lights issue, Cllr Savage stressed that it was important to recognise that the traffic order was experimental; the position would be monitored carefully on the basis that there would be flexibility to alter arrangements if/as necessary.
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Items from the Public (petitions; statements; questions) PDF 2 MB If you wish to present a petition or
make a statement at this meeting, you are
In presenting any statements at the
meeting, members of the public are Minutes: 3 questions had been submitted in advance of this meeting, as follows:
(agenda item 13)
(agenda item 16)
The Chair advised that written replies had been sent to all questioners in advance of the meeting.
11 statements and 1 petition had been received in advance of the meeting, as follows:
At the invitation of the Chair, and in accordance with the constitution, those in attendance were given the opportunity to present their items. It was noted that the full text of the statements/petition, and questions/replies had been circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting and would be available to view on the Combined Authority’s website. |
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Petitions from any member of the West of England Combined Authority Committee To receive any petitions to be
presented by any member of the West of
England
Minutes: No petitions had been notified for this meeting.
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Combined Authority governance and constitution PDF 3 MB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered a report setting out proposed changes to Combined Authority governance and constitutional arrangements (agenda item 10).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· The revised governance arrangements were summarised in the flowchart at Appendix 1.
· The full details of the constitutional changes were set out in Appendix 2 - the main changes involved:
- Reducing the number of formal meetings, to make best use of time across authorities; and helping to ensure that succinct and timely reports were prepared to help embed a culture of transparent decision making and partnership working.
- Enhancing the role of constituent council Cabinet member portfolio holders - as part of the new governance, 4 new Boards covering Transport, Planning & Housing, Business and Skills would replace the 3 advisory boards.
The Chair also advised that following discussion with all the authorities, there was an amendment to add an additional recommendation to the report, as follows: That an additional recommendation 5 be added as follows: “5. To note that the Deputy Mayor will support the Combined Authority Mayor in ensuring that the governance arrangements for the Combined Authority ensure effective and efficient delivery of the Combined Authority’s strategies and priorities for the region.”
The report recommendations, as amended above, were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.
Cllr Savage stressed the importance, through the revised governance arrangements, of ensuring effective and timely delivery of the Combined Authority’s priorities.
Cllr Romero expressed the view that it was important to ensure transparency in decision-making, with continued opportunities for public engagement.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations, as amended above.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To adopt the new proposed
governance arrangements as shown in the flowchart in Appendix
1. 2. To agree the changes proposed to
the Authority’s constitution as summarised in the report and
shown more fully in the highlighted version of the Constitution at
Appendix 2. 3. To note the position regarding
nominations from constituent councils to WECA
committees. 4. To approve the Pay Policy Statement at Appendix 3.
5. To note that the Deputy Mayor will support the Combined Authority Mayor in ensuring that the governance arrangements for the Combined Authority ensure effective and efficient delivery of the Combined Authority’s strategies and priorities for the region.
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Combined Authority & Mayoral budget outturn report - April-May 2019 PDF 369 KB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered the latest Combined Authority and Mayoral budget outturn report (agenda item 11).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· Appendix 1 set out the Mayoral Fund’s forecast revenue outturn position for the 2019/20 financial year, which, overall was £1,231k lower than the revised budget, largely due to slippage on grant funded feasibility projects; as this slippage was funded by grants also brought forward, the net position remained balanced.
· Appendix 2 set out the Combined Authority’s estimated revenue outturn position for the 2019/20 financial year, which, overall was £2,968k higher than the original budget; the net position remained balanced as the spend was fully funded from income and reserves.
· Appendix 3 outlined the current capital budget forecast for the 2019/20 financial year.
The report recommendations were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To note the Mayoral Fund and WECA revenue and capital budget outturn forecasts as set out in Appendices 1,2 and 3.
2. To approve the creation of an earmarked reserve of £250k, funded through surplus interest on balances, to fund the appointment of three Programme Management Office staff.
3. To approve the transfer of additional Pothole Action Funding of £662k to the three constituent authorities.
4. To delegate authority to the WECA S151 Officer to make all necessary adjustments to Mayoral and WECA Budgets, resulting from this report, to include: * Carrying forward relevant reserves or grants to account for slippage against various projects from 2018/19; * The addition of the recently received HIF preparation grant of £141k; * The reduction in the BANES Transport Levy of £155k, to be funded from earmarked reserve.
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Treasury Management outturn report 2018/19 PDF 379 KB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered the Treasury Management outturn report for 2018/19 (agenda item 12).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· The average rate of investment return for 2018/19 had been 0.97%, which was 0.41% above the benchmark rate.
· The authority’s prudential indicators for 2018/19 had been agreed by the committee on 2 February 2018 and performance against the key indicators was shown in Appendix 1. All indicators were within target levels.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To note the Treasury Management Report to 31st March 2019, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice.
2. To note the Treasury Management Indicators to 31st March 2019.
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Integrated ticketing - future work PDF 457 KB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered a report providing an update on the proposed next stages of the Integrated Ticketing project (agenda item 13).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· The committee was asked to endorse the outline programme and the formation of a programme board.
· The report also set out a proposal to progress the phase 1 support for the project which would involve an initial draw down of £300k, on the basis that the authorities’ Chief Executives would consider and approve the required feasibility and development funding application.
The report recommendations were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Mayor Rees.
Mayor Rees stressed the ongoing importance of ensuring that key deadlines for project delivery were met.
Whilst supporting the proposals, Cllr Romero stressed that whilst unitary authority officers should have an appropriate level of involvement in this type of project, it was important to be mindful of resource constraints and ensure this did not have too much impact in terms of taking time away from those officers’ unitary authority core responsibilities.
Cllr Savage welcomed the proposals as the next step in progressing the integrated ticketing project. It would be important to progress the project as quickly and effectively as possible.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To endorse the outline programme and approve the formation of a programme/projects board.
2. To note the proposed initial draw down of £300k to progress with the phase 1 officer support / potential external consultancy support and delegate approval of the detail of the award through a Feasibility and Development funding application to the West of England Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the West of England Chief Executives.
3. To give authority for the Combined Authority’s Section 73 officer to lease equipment to small bus operators at less than market rate as set out in the contactless upgrade Full Business Case subject to state aid regulation compliance.
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Bus infrastructure delivery update PDF 191 KB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered a report providing an update on bus infrastructure delivery (agenda item 14).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· The report set out background information on the work undertaken so far on the bus strategy and details of the approach to progress the bus infrastructure proposals.
· The committee was asked to approve the recruitment of a senior project manager to co-ordinate the delivery of the proposals. The report also set out a proposal for an initial draw down of £200k to support the next steps, on the basis that the authorities’ Chief Executives would consider and approve the required feasibility and development funding application.
The report recommendations were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.
Mayor Rees reiterated his earlier comment about the ongoing importance of ensuring that key deadlines for delivery were met. It would be important to communicate effectively to residents about the timeline by which they could expect to see improvements delivered through this programme. The Combined Authority and the West of England unitary authorities must work together as effective partners in co-delivery.
Cllr Romero also stressed the importance of communicating information to residents about the expected benefits from the bus infrastructure programme; consultation on proposals must be meaningful and accessible to the region’s residents.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To endorse the approach to progress the bus infrastructure proposals.
2. To approve the recruitment of a senior project manager to co-ordinate the delivery of the bus infrastructure proposals in the short to medium term.
3. To note the proposed draw down of £200k to resource the bus programme, bus deal principles and progress the further development of the bus strategy in advance of public consultation; and delegate approval of the detail of the award through a Feasibility and Development Funding Application to the West of England Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the West of England Chief Executives.
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Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered the latest Investment Fund report (agenda item 15).
The Chair highlighted that at the previous meeting in June, the committee had agreed an overall funding envelope of £350m for the period up to March 2023, reflecting the strong ambitions to drive forward projects which would bring very significant, positive improvements and impacts for residents right across the region. The report being considered today sought approval to progress a significant number of projects to the next delivery stage.
The Chair then advised that following discussion with all the authorities, there was an amendment to add an additional recommendation 19 to the report (reflecting the proposal set out in para. 47 of the report), as follows: That an additional recommendation 19 be added as follows “19. To note the submission of the Full Business Case for Invest Bristol and Bath with sustainable funding options to be considered further by the West of England s151 officers and delegate the funding award to the WECA Chief Executive in consultation with the West of England Chief Executives.”
The report recommendations, as amended above, were then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.
Cllr Savage welcomed the report in general, also drawing attention to the importance of endorsing the submission of the Western Gateway Major Road Network bids in South Gloucestershire; in time, this could potentially unlock further benefits for the region. He also welcomed the recommendation that the Combined Authority would assume responsibility for the promotion and delivery of MetroWest Phase 2, subject to the update of the Development Services Agreement with Network Rail.
Cllr Romero welcomed the report. She also suggested, particularly in light of the motion agreed earlier at the meeting, that climate emergency considerations/implications should be reflected in future reporting on the investment fund/programme.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations, as amended above.
The committee RESOLVED:
1. To endorse the submission of the Western Gateway Major Road Network (MRN) bids in South Gloucestershire.
2. To approve the outline business case for MetroWest Phase 1 subject to the supply of a detailed cost breakdown and an updated programme.
3. To award an additional £1.3m to progress Mass Transit development as set out in the Feasibility and Development Funding Application.
4. To award £212,500 to the Winterbourne/Frampton Cotterell bypass and Coalpit Heath/Westerleigh bypass study as set out in the Feasibility and Development Funding Application.
5. To award £100,000 to develop a Full Business Case for Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure as set out in the Feasibility and Development Funding Application.
6. To award £300,000 to develop an Outline Business Case for Yate Park and Ride and £500,000 to develop Outline Business Cases for other sites as set out in the Feasibility and Development Funding Applications.
7. To approve the change request for the Cribbs Patchway MetroBus Extension project and the award of an additional £300,000.
8. To approve the Full Business Case for the On Bus Contactless Bank Card Payment ... view the full minutes text for item 15. |
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Employment & Skills Plan PDF 2 MB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered a report seeking approval of the Employment and Skills Plan (agenda item 16).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
The report recommendation was then moved by the Chair and seconded by Cllr Savage.
Cllr Savage welcomed the plan. The implementation of the plan would bring benefits to young people as they moved into employment, with an increasing number of them hopefully exiting the school system in future having acquired the skills needed by employers.
Mayor Rees stressed the importance of employers from all sectors offering meaningful work experience placements to young people to help prepare them for the workplace. He also drew attention to and offered to share details of the Bristol WORKS programme, an initiative run by the Bristol Learning City Partnership linking the city’s schools with employers and training opportunities to help get young people ready for employment. It was vital to connect young people to pathways to employment and give them the opportunity to acquire skills. The Bristol WORKS ‘template’ could potentially be extended to other sectors, e.g. the construction industry and the creative industry sector.
The Chair then moved to the voting on the recommendations.
The committee RESOLVED:
- To approve the Employment & Skills Plan.
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Business Plan 2019/20 - quarter 1 progress report PDF 414 KB Report enclosed. Minutes: The committee considered the quarter 1 progress report on the 2019/20 Business Plan(agenda item 17).
The Chair highlighted the following points:
· The Business Plan supported delivery of the operating framework and set out the key deliverables during 2019/20 for business, skills, housing and transport.
· Regular reporting on progress in delivering the Business Plan was a key element of the Combined Authority’s overall performance management and operating framework, which was reviewed annually with Government.
· The detail of the first quarterly report was set out at Appendix 1.
· The key risks to delivery were recorded in the Corporate Risk Register as set out at Appendix 2.
The committee RESOLVED:
- To note the first quarterly update on delivery of the 2019/20 Business Plan.
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Information item - Decisions taken at this meeting PDF 223 KB Details of the decisions taken at this meeting and the draft
minutes of this meeting will Minutes: In closing the meeting, the Chair advised that details of the decisions taken at this meeting and the draft minutes of the meeting would be published as soon as possible on the Combined Authority website.
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