Agenda and minutes

To note any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from: -  

Leaders

Cllr Rob Bird (TBC) – substituted by Cllr Rob Vines

Cllr Joe Harris (CDC) – substituted by Cllr Clive Webster

Cllr Paul James (Glos City) – substituted by Cllr Richard Cook

Cllr Tim Gwilliam (FODDC) – no substitute

Lead Officers

Mike Dawson represented by Rob Weaver

Pat Pratley (CBC) – represented by Jeremy Williamson

Pete Williams (FODDC) – represented by Clive Howey

Gillian Parkinson (GCC) - represented by Will Felgate

To appoint a Chairman for the Civic Year (2019/20)

Cllr Patrick Molyneux, (Cabinet for Economy, Education and Skills at Gloucestershire County Council),  was appointed Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Civic Year.  

To appoint a Vice-Chairman for the Civic Year (2019/20)

Cllr Steve Jordan, (Cheltenham Borough Council),  was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Civic Year.  

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2019 (attached)

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2019 were confirmed and signed as an accurate record of that meeting.  

To receive any pecuniary or personal interests by members.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.  

An update on the work plan of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Kevin Cromwell, Chairman of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee, gave an update on the work plan of the committee.

Cllr Cromwell confirmed that at the Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee meeting on 20 March 2019, it had been agreed that, pending the outcomes of the County Council’s scrutiny review (2019) process, it would be useful for the newly appointed  committee, (appointed in May 2019), to engage in a work planning session, taking into account any changes from the review.

With this in mind, it had been agreed to cancel the scrutiny committee meeting scheduled for 1.30pm later that day, (5 June 2019), and use the time for the committee to engage with officers in an informal work planning session and develop a committee work plan going forward.

To receive an update on the work of the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Employment and Skills Board. .

Pete Carr, Lead Commissioner: Skills and Employment, gave a detailed presentation on the work and activities of the GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Employment and Skills Board. It was confirmed that there was an expectation by the DfE , (Department for Education), that all Employment and Skills Boards would undergo transition into Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) by October 2019.

The slides from the powerpoint presentation are attached for information, providing updates on the following subject areas: -

•      Gloucestershire Employment and Skills Board progress and focus

•      Careers support and linking schools and businesses

•      Data collection and analysis for Local Industrial Strategy evidence base

•      Transition to Skills Advisory Panel

•      Recent employment and skills developments

Highlighting the value of the LEP’s schools engagement programme, the Lead Commissioner confirmed that the Employment and Skills Board continued to seek volunteers and enterprise advisers to act as industry links with local schools. It was hoped the appointment of additional GFirst team members would increase the capacity to work with schools. For information on the recruitment of Enterprise Advisers and Volunteers, (to work as part of the LEP’s schools programme), please contact; education@gfirstlep.com

The committee acknowledged the impact of anticipated changes to European Funding, including the end of life of some of the projects. Efforts would continue to be invested into seeking alternative funding.

In terms of data collection, emphasis was placed on the standardisation of data collection and analysis. A sub-group would be established to analyse the available data and to ensure the information being collated was appropriate. 

Incorporated within the presentation were concerns about the increasing number of exclusions occurring throughout the county. The matter was now a key area of concern, with additional European funding  (£1.8 million) being invested in pupils not attending or not receiving education or training. The investment would be delivered by Prospect Training Services.

An update on the status and progress of bids was provided: this included the success of both of the Institute of Technology bids for Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire College’s £3.2m investment in cyber and engineering.

Responding to questions, the request to consider community transport needs and access to education as priority areas within the Local Transport Plan were noted. (Consideration to include transport needs/access to education arising from new developments). A new government initiative offering reduced travel fares for pupils and students up to the age of 18 was noted. It was suggested transport/access to education briefings be provided at district council locations, to which several authorities welcomed the proposal. Action by – Pete Carr/Phillip Williams 

A presentation on the Cheltenham Cyber Park, focussing on Cyber, IT and Higher Level Electrical Engineering, was noted.

A report from the Gloucestershire First (GFirst) Local Enterprise Partnership.

The committee to receive an update on the delivery of the Gloucestershire Growth Programme; the EU Funding Programme; preparations for developing a Local Industrial Strategy and the LEP/Local Authority sponsored Inward Investment Programme.

The committee received an update on the delivery of the Gloucestershire Growth Programme; EU Funding Programme; Preparations for developing a Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) and the LEP/Local Authority sponsored Inward Investment Programme.

Responding to questions, Dev Chakraborty, (Deputy Chief Executive at the GFirst LEP), reported good progress, advising the committee that the Gloucestershire Growth Hub Network had recently been commended as the best in the country. The committee received updates on the progress of the Growth Hubs planned for the Stroud, Forest of Dean and Cheltenham areas.

Reporting on the West Cheltenham Transport Improvement Scheme (Cyber Park), members were advised that business cases for Phases 1 and 2 of the scheme, (combined value of £11.45 million), were in detailed development and would be presented at the October LEP Board meeting for approval.

Updating the committee on the Inward Investment Project, (a collaborative bid between Gloucestershire County Council and the six District Councils with support from ERDF European Funding), members recalled that the overall value of the project was £1million, (50% coming via ERDF), for the 3 year period from January 2019 to December 2021. The focus of the project was directed towards 4 key sectors; Cyber, Agri-Tech, Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing & Renewables. Good support had been received from all local authorities. Emphasis was placed on all authorities maintaining the momentum on the support already underway.

A report on the Gloucestershire Sustainable Energy Strategy was discussed at the last meeting. In an update at this meeting, the committee was informed that on 21 May 2019, a Climate Change Summit had been held at the Gloucester Growth Hub with over 120 delegates in attendance, including representation from all local authorities. The summit had offered a variety of workshops, table discussions and feedback sessions, with speakers and presentations from; Adam Starkey GFirst LEP, Cllr Nigel Moor GCC, BEIS, Ecotricity, Severn Wye Energy Agency, Spirax Sarco, the Centre for Sustainable Energy, Ridge & Partners LLP and students from the University of Gloucestershire.

Early actions identified by the summit included:

1)    GFirst LEP Energy Business Group to establish 3 task groups relating to a) Heat Decarbonisation; b) Renewable Energy  and c) Low Carbon Transport;

2)    Gloucestershire County Council to review its Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (Summer Review);

3)    A meeting to be arranged involving key decision makers from the County Council and District Authorities, aimed at developing and implementing a collaborative action plan on Climate Change.

4)    Engagement with the Gloucestershire County Council Youth Panel and the University of Gloucestershire’s Green Team.

The Gloucestershire Sustainable Energy Strategy is available online at;

https://www.gfirstlep.com/downloads/2019/gloucestershire-energy-strategy-2019.pdf

It was suggested that a Climate Change presentation be presented at the next committee meeting and this was agreed. Action by – Phillip Williams/Pete Wiggins

Updating the committee on the Local Industrial Strategy (LIS), it was confirmed all LEP’s had been tasked by Government to produce a Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) for their area (with a deadline of March 2020). The GFirst LEP is in the final wave (Wave 3) of developing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider changes to the Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) Local Developer Guide (LDG) adopted in December 2016.

The committee received a report on proposed changes to the updated Local Developer Guide.

Members were advised that the adopted Local Developer Guide, (adopted in December 2016), had become increasingly outdated. The proposed review of the document to reflect local and national policies and guidance. The updated guide to enable Gloucestershire County Council to work with local planning authorities and to comment on emerging local plans and local authority Community Infrastructure Levies.

Details of the proposed changes were noted. The committee was advised that a period of consultation on the revised draft document was about to be undertaken, with changes reported to the Gloucestershire County Council Cabinet for adoption. 

Each Local Planning Authority had been involved in the early re-drafting of the Guide, and would be consulted again as part of the formal consultation process. Each authority to be issued with a copy of the revised draft document.

The report was noted.

To consider an update on the Gloucestershire Business Rate Pilot Pool and the Strategic Economic Development Fund.

Andrew Cummings, Interim Director of Resources at Stroud District Council, gave an update on the Gloucestershire Business Rate Pilot Pool and the Strategic Economic Development Fund.

The committee recalled that the Business Rates Pool undertaken in 2018/19 had been for a fixed one year period only, ending in March 2019. For 2019/20, it had been agreed Gloucestershire would revert to the previous 50% Retention Scheme.

At the last Economic Growth Joint Committee meeting, it had been predicted that there would be a gain from the 2018/19 pilot to the Strategic Economic Development Fund (SEDF) of £3.06 million, (this was based on an overall gain from the pilot of £15.3 million.)

Reporting the final pilot year end outturn, it was confirmed that the outturn for the pilot had achieved a gain of £14.27 million, resulting in an actual transfer to the SEDF of £2.85 million. In noting the information, the committee referred to the large amount of funding within the EDF and agreed it was important to make use of the funding by investing in the County, rather than holding on to the funds.  

The final overall position of the Business Rates Pilot for 2018/19 to be reported to the committee at the end of the audit process.

The report was noted.

To agree the arrangements for considering updates on the progression of key strategic growth projects from each of the partner authorities.

At a previous meeting, the committee had considered how best to report on the progression of key strategic growth projects being undertaken at each local authority. From the discussion, it had been agreed it would be useful to receive the information as a short summary report provided by each authority rather than as a verbal update. A draft report template to be considered at the next meeting. Action by – Jo Moore

To note the attached forward plan and suggest items for consideration at future meetings. 

The forward plan published with the agenda was noted.

Items suggested for consideration at the meeting on 4 September 2019 included: -

Local Transport Plan Presentation

Climate Change Summit and Action Plan Presentation

Digital Connectivity – Full Fibre and 5G Enablement Opportunities

Vision 2050 Update              

Inward Investment Programme Update    

Growth Delivery Monitoring Update          

Strategic Project Delivery Update

During the discussion, a member suggested that an informal meeting be held to follow on from the Business Rates Pool update. The purpose of the meeting would be to discuss the allocation of funding, with proposals from each authority. (A Business Rates Pool update will now be presented at the committee meeting on 20 November 2019). The suggestion for each authority to put forward proposals on Business Pool Funding to be considered by the Senior Officer Group and carried forward to the next meeting.  

To note that the Committee is due to meet on the following dates in 2019:

Wednesday 4 September 2019

Wednesday 20 November 2019

Please note: Gloucestershire Economic Growth Committee meetings will now start at the later start time of 11.30am. This will allow the Strategic Planning Leader’s Board meeting to be held at Shire Hall at 9.30 am on the same day.  

The committee to meet on the following dates during 2019 and 2020:

20 November 2019

18 March 2020

3 June 2020

9 September 2020

18 November 2020