Agenda and minutes

Joanne Ainsworth, Subject Matter Expert/Specialist Advisor Finance, LCC.

Martin Kelly, Director of Economic Development, LCC.

Neil Kissock, Director of Financial Resources, LCC.

Kathryn Molloy, Head of Service LEP Coordination, LCC.

Mike Neville, Company Services Team, LCC.

Laura Sales, Director Legal, Democratic and Governance, Governance Finance and Public Services, LCC.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted that apologies had been received from Councillor P Rankin and Mr D Taylor.

It was acknowledged that the absence of two members meant the Committee was inquorate and so it was proposed that the meeting proceed on an informal basis with any necessary approvals arising from the discussions being sought from all Committee members by written resolution outside of the meeting.

The future role of the Committee was discussed and it was recognised that monitoring and evaluation across all programmes of the LEP was essential in order to identify best practice, learn from experience and inform future working. With regard to improving attendance at future meetings it was suggested that an additional member of the Committee be appointed and consideration be given to reducing the quorum in order to minimise the possibility of future meetings being inquorate. 

Resolved:

1.  That Mr M Damms be appointed to the Committee and Mr E Booth, Chair of the LEP Board be invited to attend future meetings as appropriate. 

2.  That the quorum for the Committee be reduced to 2.

3.  That Mr Cowley and Ms Molloy develop a framework for future  monitoring and evaluation across all programmes of the LEP for consideration at a future meeting of the Committee. 

No interests were declared in relation to items appearing on the agenda.

Resolved: That Minutes of the meeting held on the 8^th January 2016 are confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

No matters were raised under this heading.

Mr G Cowley, Chair of the Growth Deal Management Board reported that £251m of Growth Deal funding had been awarded and 29 out of a total of 39 Growth Deal projects would either be completed or have started by Autumn 2016.

There had been some slippage on certain projects and a variety of approaches had been used to address this, often involving including additional support from Officers. It was noted that that in some cases the delays had proved beneficial in that the additional time provided an opportunity for further work to be done on projects which had resulted in improved schemes. Concern was expressed in relation to the current capacity of Officers to support the work of the LEP and it was suggested that this should be included as an item in the Risk Register as it could impact on delivery across all LEP activity.

With regard to the future it was proposed that a Business Plan be developed for the LEP to identify future opportunities, develop a pipeline of potential projects, and drive income generation in order that the LEP could become more self sufficient and independent. It was also noted that a constitution for the Combined Authority was being drafted and it was suggested that a constitution should also be developed for the LEP.

Resolved:

1.  That the update on activity by the Growth Deal Management Board is noted.

2.  That consideration be given to addressing future officer capacity in terms of support for the LEP and that the potential impact of current capacity across all LEP activity be included as an additional item in the Risk Management Register.

3.  That a Business Plan and Constitution be developed for the LEP.

The summary for Business Support Management Board will follow.

The Committee considered updates from the individual LEP Committees and noted the following points.

a)  City Deal Executive and Stewardship Board - The Committee noted that the policy/finance landscape had changed following recent government announcements and that in the future more innovative funding methods would need to be explored. It was noted that Mr, J Carter, Chair of the Board was due to attend the next meeting of the Committee.

b)  Lancashire Enterprise Zone and Governance Committee - The Committee discussed the potential challenges in securing occupiers at the Lancashire Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing Enterprise Zone at Samlesbury and noted the importance of securing a variety of occupiers from within and outside the BAe supply chain. The Committee also recognised the importance of ensuring that the training facility to be provided within the EZ complimented other external educational/training facilities in the area.

c)  Lancashire Skills and Employment Board - The Committee noted that the Area Based Review would look at Further and Higher Educational/training across Lancashire and seek to identify any shortfall or duplication of provision. 

d)  Transport for Lancashire Committee - It was recognised that the Committee was working well with a number of large scale schemes moving forward and had established a good reputation with Government.

Resolved: That the updates are noted.

Ms Molloy reported that the quorum and membership of the Committee would be amended as part of the planned review of the LEP Assurance Framework which would also look at the future structure and role of the LEP.

The review would also include the development of a monitoring and evaluation workplan, an Investment Strategy and Business Plan for the LEP and a refresh of the Strategic Economic Plan.

Resolved: That the report is noted.

The next Performance Committee meeting is scheduled to be held on Friday 2^nd September 2016, 2pm, Cabinet Room 'C', County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next scheduled meeting would be held at 2.00pm on the 2^nd September 2016 in Cabinet Room 'C' – the Duke of Lancaster Room at County Hall, Preston.

(Not for publication – exempt information as defined in paragraph 41 (Information provided in confidence relating to contracts) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  It is considered that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information).

The Committee considered the current version of the Risk Management Register and acknowledged that little had changed since the last meeting.

Resolved:

1.  That the current capacity of officers to support the work of the LEP be included as an item in the Risk Management Register in relation to the potential impact on delivery across all LEP activity.

2.  That an updated version of the Risk Management Register be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.