Decisions

Delegated authority has been granted to the West of England Combined Authority (Combined Authority) Chief Executive Officer to take decisions on the award of Intellectual Property for Growth grants in consultation with the Chief Executive Officers of the West of England councils.

Intellectual Property for Growth is a support programme open to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) based in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire (the West of England Combined Authority geography) seeking to conduct an Intellectual Property (IP) audit (stage 1) and implement recommended actions contained therein (stage 2).

£480,000 of the Combined Authority’s West of England Investment Fund has been allocated to progress the programme.

Round one grant applications were submitted and assessed against eligibility / scoring criteria.  The Business and Skills Directors of the West of England councils were consulted on the recommendations that emerged from this assessment process.

The Chief Executive Officers of the West of England councils were consulted on the proposals under written procedure and were in agreement with the decision to agree the below stage 1 awards.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

To approve the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel, which were as follows:

1. RECOMMENDATION:  That the allowance for the WECA Mayor be increased to £72,000* with effect from May, 2021 (when the last election for Mayor took place), and that the allowance be increased in subsequent years, as described in para 13 above (i.e. incremental progression + pay awards)

2. RECOMMENDATION:  That the present position regarding the Deputy Mayor be noted (i.e. that no allowance be paid) and the matter be re-considered once all options relating to this position have been explored and the Mayor’s intentions known.

3. RECOMMENDATION: That an allowance for the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be set at £5,625 with effect from May 2021.

4. RECOMMENDATION: That an allowance for the Chair of the Audit Committee be set at £5,625 with effect from May 2021.

5. RECOMMENDATION:  That the allowance for the Independent Adviser to the WECA Audit Committee be set at £650 per annum, subject to the same application of annual pay adjustments as for all other allowances.

6. RECOMMENDATION: That the Panel’s position stated at para 48 be noted and that the allowance for this position be upgraded to £268 per day.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To note and agree the proposed approach for the management and administration of devolved AEB for the 2022/23 academic year.

2. To note the submission of a proposal for National Skills Fund Skills Boot Camp Wave 3 funding.

3. To agree the following decisions are delegated to the WECA CEO in consultation with constituent council CEOs:

a.    Make decisions on the final approach for the 2022/23 academic year

b.    Make decisions on final provider allocations once agreed provider curriculum delivery plans (CDP) are in place.

c.     Make in-year exceptions funding decisions.

d.    Make any in-year growth funding decisions.

e.    Make decisions on provider re-allocations at all operational points including in-year and mid-year.

f.      Make decisions relating to reconciliation and recovery after the end of the 2022/23 academic year.

g.    Make decisions on the purpose and allocation of funds not distributed through the CDP process or funds used for the management and administration of devolved AEB.

h.    Make any required decisions on the final approach for the National Skills Fund Skills Boot Camp Wave 3 funding.

i.      Make funding decisions in relation to the National Skills Fund Skills Boot Camp Wave 3 funding.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. That a procurement process be initiated for new local bus service contracts to replace those expiring in August/September 2022, and that authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Transport Integration, in consultation with relevant Members of the Transport Board, to award new local bus services contracts.

2. That permission for a procurement process be granted for a new local bus service operating on the Cribbs Patchway metrobus extension, if no commercial offer becomes available; and that authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Transport Integration, in consultation with relevant Members of the Transport Board, to award new a service.

3. That permission for a procurement process be granted for any new local bus services which may be required as a result of the Bus Service Improvement Plan/Enhanced Partnership Plan and that authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Transport Integration, in consultation with relevant Members of the Transport Board, to award any new local bus services.

4. That permission for a procurement process be granted for any bus service/s that the authority might need to support due to them no longer being commercially viable and that authority be delegated to the Head of Strategic Transport Integration, in consultation with relevant Members of the Transport Board, to award any new local bus services.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To note the work that has been done so far with bus operators and local highway authorities on the development of an Enhanced Partnership Plan and Schemes.

2. To grant delegated authority to the Chief Executive of the West of England Combined Authority, in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent councils and North Somerset Council, to approve the making of a joint Enhanced Partnership Plan and Schemes for the West of England area (equivalent delegations are being sought at North Somerset Council to deliver a single EP for the region).

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

To approve the Full Business case for the ‘On bus tap on/tap off project’ and related financial allocations subject to funding from North Somerset Council.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To agree the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) Strategic Outline Case submission to the Department for Transport as outlined in Appendix A.

2. To agree a further programme of work to the value of £4.80m (Appendix B) to establish an infrastructure pipeline in order to; secure funding as it becomes available, and to be ready for future CRSTS funding rounds.

3. To agree allocation of £640k revenue from the Investment Fund for those projects (Appendix C) that do not have revenue funding from elsewhere to undertake pre–Outline Business Case work before they become part of the CRSTS capital programme when a successful announcement is made. 

4. To agree and support the principles behind delivering the CRSTS Local Contribution.

5. To agree and support the proposed principles behind the CRSTS governance and delivery.

6. To approve:

o   Cash flow of £5m Maintenance Funding to be repaid to the Investment Fund once CRSTS funding is secured in FY 22/23.

o   Delegate to CEOs the approval of SOBC for A37/A367 (Somer Valley to Bath and Bristol Sustainable Transport Corridor) and commence Outline Business Case for A4 (Hicksgate to Bath) and for the allocation of up to £1.1m from the investment fund tail for bus infrastructure to progress both schemes to the next stages. Subject to Feasibility and Development Application Form by CEOs.

o   The CA will continue to work with the UAs to identify, and source, the required capacity to govern, manage and deliver the CRSTS programme. The CA Director of Investment and Corporate Services will work with the Section 151 Officers of the constituent councils to identify the cost of this capacity and develop relevant funding solutions.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

* To agree the indicative initial allocations for the £50m Green Recovery Fund and the outlined approach for assessing proposals and awarding funding for priority projects that target the climate and ecological emergencies across the region.

Note: Following agreement for initial allocation of Green Recovery Fund funds, full businesses cases will be developed in collaboration with Unitary Authorities member unitary authorities and brought back to committee for agreement to release specific funding requests as applicable.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

To allocate £5m towards the creation of a Regional Recovery and Adaptions Fund and delegate the development of detailed assessment criteria and the approval of business cases to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent Councils.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To approve the Change Request for the Spatial Development Strategy and the award of a further £1m from the Investment Fund headroom.

2. To approve the change requests for schemes within the current programme as set out in Appendix 1.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To allocate £2m for Strategic Masterplanning from the Investment Fund Headroom and delegate the approval of Feasibility and Development Funding Applications to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent councils.

2.    To approve the Full Business Case for the Midsomer Norton High Street Market Square Project and award of £770k of additional funding.

3.    To approve the Full Business Case for Common Connections and award of £999k subject to confirmation of the match funding.

4.    To approve the Feasibility and Development Funding Application for the Bath River Line - Bristol Bath Railway Path Extension and award of £75k.

5.    To delegate approval to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent Councils to enter into funding agreements related to the delivery of the Temple Quarter Regeneration Programme, should there be urgency prior to the next Committee meeting.

6.    The committee recognise the need for new public transport across the region and will build on the previous work carried out on mass transit recognising that tunnels may well be needed in places where there are pinch points due to the historic nature of development including for example around Temple Meads and Gloucester Road.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To approve the Capital Budget as detailed in Appendix 1.

2. To note the updated Combined Authority Investment Strategy detailed in Appendix 2.

3. To approve the Treasury Management Strategy for 2022/23 detailed in Appendix

3.

4. To agree the specific Highways and Transport Capital Grant allocations totalling £25M to the constituent councils for 2022/23 as set out in Figure 3.

The Joint Committee RESOLVED:

1. To approve the LEP Budget for 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 1.

2. To approve a 2022/23 contribution of £110k per each West of England Unitary Authority, (to be reviewed for 2023/24 onwards), as match funding to attract the government’s LEP Capacity Funding.

3. To approve a £160k drawdown from the LEP General Reserve to fund the shortfall in 2022/23 LEP operating costs.

4. To note the forecasted LEP revenue outturn for 2021/22 as set out in Appendix 2.

5. To delegate the approval of the reallocation of funds through the Getting Building Fund, (GBF), and Economic Development Fund for schemes within the programme on an overall cost neutral basis, to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Chief Executives of the constituent councils.

6. To approve the Outline Business Case for Thornbury High Street and allocate £4.577m for the delivery of the scheme from the EDF, pending ongoing discussions about Investment Fund headroom, and where there is urgency to delegate the approval of the Full Business Case to the Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the West of England Chief Executives.

7. To approve the change requests for schemes within the Local Growth and Getting Building Fund programmes as set out in Appendix 3.

8. To approve the change requests for schemes within the Economic Development and Revolving Infrastructure Fund programmes as set out in Appendix 4.

The Combined Authority Committee RESOLVED:

1. To approve a Transport Levy to the constituent councils of £19.5m for 2022/23, with a recharge of £2m applied to North Somerset Council, as detailed in Figure 6.

2. To approve 50% of surplus investment income achieved in 2021/22 to be transferred to the Treasury Management Reserve to cover the risk of capital losses and/or lower financial returns in future years.

3. To approve the Combined Authority budget for 2022/23 as detailed in Appendix 1.

4. To note the Combined Authority forecasted revenue outturn for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 2.

5. To approve the Mayoral Budget for 2022/23 together with the funding contribution from the Combined Authority, (Investment Fund), budget of £645k as set out in Appendix 4.

6. To note the Mayoral Fund 2021/22 forecasted revenue outturn as detailed in Appendix 5.

7. To note the Financial Reserves Policy as set out in Appendix 6.

8. To approve ‘opting in’ to the Public Sector Audit Appointment Framework for the commissioning of external audit services for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28.

9. Forgo the transfer of £384k of the 2021/22 transport levy into a Transport Smoothing Reserve and approve investing one-off funding of £384k in further support to regional bus services to protect routes, particularly in rural areas and other communities not well served by public transport, during 2022/23, the details to be developed by the Head of Strategic Transport Integration in consultation with Transport Board members.

10. To approve the creation, and transfer, of £950k from the 2021/22 Transport Levy to a specific earmarked reserve to fund anticipated additional costs of maintaining continuity of bus services prior to the re-tender of major bus routes in August 2022.

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and introduced the members of the committee.