New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)

18^th October 2018

Present:

Doug Field (DF)

East of England Coop

Dominic Keen (DK)

High Growth Robotics

Johnathan Reynolds (JR)

Nautilus

David Richardson (DR)

University of East Anglia

Lindsey Rix (LR)

Aviva

Sandy Ruddock (SR)

Scarlett & Mustard

Nikos Savvas (NS)

West Suffolk College

Jeanette Wheeler (JW)

Birketts

In Attendance:

Martin Wilby (MW)

Norfolk County Council (For Andrew Proctor)

Mark Bee (MB)

East Suffolk Coastal & Waveney Council (For John Griffiths)

Kevin Maguire (KM)

Norwich City Council (For Alan Waters)

Tom McGarry (TM)

EDF Energy - For Item 3

Jacqueline Bircham (JM)

Norwich Opportunity Area - For Item 6

Vince Muspratt (VM)

Norfolk County Council

Shan Lloyd (SL)

BEIS

Chris Dashper (CD)

New Anglia LEP (For Items 9 & 10)

Chris Starkie (CS)

New Anglia LEP

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)

New Anglia LEP

Helen Wilton (HW)

New Anglia LEP

Actions from the meeting: (18.10.18)

Brexit

To receive details of the impact of Brexit on current LEP Projects

Capital Growth Programme Call

To build a process into the call to ensure that all applicants receive a timely response

LEP Review

To receive clarification re the term of appointment for education members following the

reclassification

Welcome from the Chair

Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting including Martin Wilby, Mark Bee and Kevin

Maguire who were deputising for Andrew Proctor, John Griffiths and Alan Waters respectively.

DF thanked Tom McGarry for hosting the Board meeting at Sizewell.

Apologies

Apologies were received from: David Ellesmere, John Griffiths, Matthew Hicks, Steve Oliver,

Andrew Proctor, William Nunn, Alan Waters and Tim Whitley.

Welcome to Sizewell

Tom McGarry (TM) provided the meeting with an update on the Sizewell C project advising

that the next phase of consultation was due to start in January 2019 with the planning

application to be submitted in 2020 and construction due to start 2021.

The presentation covered the plan to replicate large amounts of Hinkley Power Station when

building Sizewell C in order to reduce costs.

TM discussed the skills requirements for the project and the ongoing work to meet shortfalls.

TM stressed the benefits of Sizewell C and requested support from the Board in promoting

the project.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the presentation

Declarations of Interest

Full declarations of interest can be found at http://www.newanglia.co.uk/about-us/the-board/ .

Item 9 - Capital Growth Programme Call: Nikos Savvas and David Richardson.

Minutes of the last meeting 19^th September 2018

The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 19^th September 2018.

Opportunity Areas

Jackie Bircham (JB) presented the Board with an overview of the Norwich and Ipswich

Opportunity Areas (OAs) which had been identified as areas facing challenges to social

mobility based on the Social Mobility Commission’s Index. The Board was advised that the

OA projects will run for 3 years after which findings will be implemented as appropriate to

other areas of the country.

JB reviewed the priority areas identified in both Ipswich and Norwich and the Board watched

a video on the work carried out in the Norwich Opportunity area.

JB stressed that the work to date had showed that there was no lack of aspiration in young

children in these areas but they needed to be shown the route to achieve them.

Jeanette Wheeler (JW) asked about the impact of the lack of SENCO support given the

numbers of pupils identified as needing further help with their learning.

JB advised that the Inclusion Charter considered this issue and noted that schools had been

asked to come up with proposals regarding what would make a difference to pupils which

could include addressing this problem.

Kevin Maguire (KM) asked about the impact of the proposed closures of the Childrens

Centres should they proceed.

JB agreed that this would be an issue as the original plan had been to contact the relevant

families via the Childrens Centres. The project is now having to consider other ways to

reach out to the relevant children and families wherever they are rather than focussing on

the centres. This could include supermarkets and other community venues.

As a member of the Ipswich OA Board Nikos Savvas (NS) updated the meeting on the

challenges the OAs faced with the limited funding available to them.

Sandy Ruddock (SR) noted the importance of good diet and regular exercise on the ability

to learn and suggested that the latter issue could be implemented with minimal cost.

JB agreed but noted the challenges schools face in delivering the main curriculum meant

that they often focussed on this even though exercise could help their educational

achievements. JB noted that research was being carried out and when the evidence was

produced on the results of programmes such as the Daily Mile it may be incorporated in the

future.

NS stressed that the OAs had no power to change the curriculum or force schools to adopt

any of the measures suggested.

JB asked to Board to support businesses going into schools and also in offering work

experience and also raise the profile of Norwich and Ipswich as OAs.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the presentation

• To support the OAs by raising their profile with businesses

Brexit

Chris Starkie (CS) presented the meeting with a paper covering the LEP’s work to date on

Brexit as requested at the last Board meeting.

The Board was advised that there were four main workstreams:

Intelligence - The LEP will continue to act as an information resource to government based

on engagement with business, business intermediaries and local authorities.

Advice - A plan is being developed to provide succinct information on areas of concern to

businesses including the impact of the future UK-EU relationship on companies.

Funding - The LEP is working both regionally and nationally to help shape the future of

funding and has been making the case to Defra regarding transitional funding.

Strategic Opportunities - The LEP is delivering on the ambitions set out in the Economic

Strategy and many actions will be impacted by Brexit either as opportunities or challenges.

Dominic Keen (DK) asked what the LEP could do to help business if market conditions

deteriorated significantly.

CS advised that the workstreams he cited were interlinked and funding would be used to

increase capacity for support as required in order to support companies across the LEP

area.

Lindsey Rix (LR) asked if Board members were receiving questions about Brexit from

businesses. JW felt that businesses were still largely ignorant on the support available for

them now and this would need to be addressed by promoting the help which the LEP could

provide.

LR asked if an analysis of the LEPs current projects had been carried out. CS confirmed

that this would be completed.

Mark Bee (MB) noted that even small changes would have a significant impact of

businesses and it would be beneficial to have the information on these impacts collated in

one place.

David Richardson (DR) suggested that it would be useful to understand the benefits

available from early trade agreements.

JW asked if work was being done to understand the increased costs of doing trade, the

impacts of these on businesses and whether the Board can do anything to address these.

Johnathan Reynolds (JR) noted the importance of understanding impact on specific sectors

and whether any challenges can be exploited as game-changing opportunities.

The Board agreed:

• To support the approach detailed in the paper

• To receive details of the impact of Brexit on current LEP Projects

LEP Review

CS presented the paper included in the meeting pack detailing the progress made on

implementing the LEP Review.

LR asked whether the level of female representation was a specific target. Shan Lloyd (SL)

advised that this was an ambition and that Government recognised the challenges given the

number of Board members coming from Local Authorities which was outside the LEP’s

control.

It was agreed to change the wording from “target” to ”ambition”.

The Board was advised that, in order to achieve the requirement of having two thirds of

board members from the private sector, it was proposed to amend the LEP’s articles of

association to class education members as private sector and to then to recruit 2 more

private sector members in order to increase the number of private sector board members to

12.

Martin Wilby (MW) asked if the Board was able to be challenge the requirements laid down

for the split of private and public sector board members. CS advised some councils had

already asked for this to be reconsidered but that Government had reiterated that the

requirement would stand.

KM asked if the 3^rd Sector was represented and was advised that these were included as

private sector.

NS stressed that this provided the opportunity to recruit 2 new high quality board members.

JW agreed and noted that this would also give the chance to expand the representation of

sectors on the board.

NS asked if he and DR needed to leave the room for the vote. It was agreed that this was

not a requirement.

DR asked for clarification re term of appointment for education members following the

reclassification.

JR noted that a change to the articles would be needed to allow Education board members

to send substitutes.

The meeting voted on the proposal to amend the LEP’s articles of association to increase

the number of private sector board members to 12.

10 Board members voted in favour of the proposal with 1 Board member voting against.

DF proposed that the Articles be amended to allow the Board Members representing

Education to be allowed to send deputies.

This was agreed by the meeting.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To maintain its existing approach to the recruitment of its chair.

• To appoint a deputy chair by February 28^th 2019.

• To amend the LEP’s articles of association to class education members as private

sector.

• To amend the LEP’s articles of association to increase the number of private sector

board members to 12.

• To amend the articles of association to allow education sector board members to

send deputies to board meetings

• To amend the wording from “target” to ”ambition” in relation to the recruitment of

female board members

• Agree to work towards increasing the female representation amongst private sector

board members.

• Ask the LEP chair to write to education and local authority members to highlight the

gender balance recommendations in the LEP Review and ask for support in helping

the LEP board achieve the targets set by Government.

• To receive clarification re the term of appointment for education members following

the reclassification

Capital Growth Programme Call

DR & NS left the room.

Chris Dashper (CD) reviewed the paper as included in the pack noting that the call would

focus on projects relating to skills, productivity and innovation.

DF noted the importance of infrastructure in the delivery of economic growth across the

region and stressed the importance of understanding how such projects would be delivered

if there were not prioritised in the call.

DF also asked for the mechanism for replying to applicants to be included.

CD noted that there would be other opportunities for infrastructure projects in future funding.

MW stressed the importance of importance of infrastructure in the delivery of productivity

gains and jobs. CD agreed but noted the call was focussing on delivering direct outputs

rather than these indirect outputs.

CS noted the £34m awarded to Norfolk County Council for infrastructure projects some of

which had been carried over from the previous financial year as it was unspent and there

was still slippage in the current ongoing projects.

The Board agreed:

• To approve the launch of a focused call on Skills, Innovation and Productivity, to

allocate the remaining £19m of the Capital Growth Programme

• For a process to be built into the call to ensure that all applicants received a timely

response.

NS & DR returned to the room

Innovative Projects Call

CD reviewed the paper as included in the pack detailing the background to the call and the

source of the fund as Pot C revenue.

CD advised that this funding will be available again and will increase as occupancy of the

Enterprise Zones increases.

JW stressed her support for the proposal and noted that some projects may not

automatically have the sustained funding in place which was detailed in the paper but would

still benefit from support at this stage.

DK asked if there was a preference for the number and size of projects.

CD advised that there was no specific requirements and the focus would be on the outputs

and contribution to the delivery of the Economic Strategy.

JR asked if the call could be linked to the Innovation Board as projects are presented to the

Board and which cannot be funded.

CD advised that this had been considered but it was felt that the call could not be linked to

only one Board however the views of the Innovation Board could be fed in.

MB asked about the funding for expanding Broadband across Norfolk and Suffolk.

It was agreed that this fell under the capital projects call and that it was important to have

funding available for innovative projects.

NS noted that there were various projects going on to delivery digital connectivity locally and

it would be beneficial to pull these together.

The Board agreed:

• To approve the specification and launch of a call for innovative growth projects to be

supported through EZ Pot C income

• To approve the eligibility framework

Eastern Agritech Report

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) updated the Board on the progress made on the Eastern Agritech

initiative and recommended to the Board that New Anglia continues to support the initiative

subject to the conditions laid down in the paper.

DF asked if there was an alternative option available which would maintain the programme if

the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority failed to secure the funding

detailed in the paper.

CD advised that if this occurred the framework allowed for the LEP to pick the initiative up

and deliver it alone.

DF clarified the reporting requirements and RW advised that reporting to the Board would

take place on a quarterly basis.

DR stressed the importance of equal branding for the project as historically the role of New

Anglia in the initiative had not been obvious.

The LEP Board agreed:

• To approve the continuation of the programme in partnership with the Cambridge

and Peterborough Combined Authority, providing a financial contribution of £1m

towards the programme in 2018/19 under the terms laid out in the report

Chief Executive’s Report

CS presented his report to the Board and asked for questions.

CS provided an update on Banham Poultry and advised that he is meeting the MD on 19^th

October to discuss development plans and investment.

DF advised the meeting that Emily Manser was leaving the LEP as Growth Deal Manager.

DF expressed the thanks of the Board for Emily for her hard work in delivering the

programme.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

October Programme Performance Reports

RW presented the report included in the meeting pack.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the reports

Finance Report

RW reviewed the finance report and asked for questions from the Board.

DF asked if the further £200k from Government for the implementation of the LEP Review

had been factored in. CS advised that this would be done when confirmation was received.

RW confirmed to the Board that, at the AGM on 19^th September, approval had been given

for the Board to appoint the new auditors and confirmed that Price Bailey had been

selected.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the appointment of Price Bailey as auditors

Board Forward Plan

CS reviewed the items to be covered at the November Board meeting and that revisions to

the programme was ongoing