New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)

23^rd July 2019

Present:

Claire Cullens (CC)

Norfolk Community Foundation

David Ellesmere (DE)

Ipswich Borough Council

Doug Field (DF)

East of England Coop

Matthew Hicks (MH)

Suffolk County Council

Pete Joyner (PJ)

Shorthose Russell

Johnathan Reynolds

Nautilus

Lindsey Rix (LR)

Aviva

Sandy Ruddock (SR)

Scarlett & Mustard

Alan Waters (AW)

Norwich City Council

Jeanette Wheeler (JW)

Birketts

Tim Whitley (TW)

Attendees

Graham Plant (GP)

Great Yarmouth Borough Council - For Andrew Proctor

Catherine Richards (CR)

East Norfolk Sixth Form - For Nikos Savvas

Mark Ash (MA)

Suffolk County Council - For Sue Roper

Professor Andrew Lovett

UEA - For Item 6

Paul Winter (PW)

Skills Board Chair - For Item 7

Chris Dashper (CD)

New Anglia LEP

Ellen Goodwin (EG)

New Anglia LEP - For Item 6

Chris Starkie (CS)

New Anglia LEP

Natasha Waller (NW)

New Anglia LEP - For Items 7 and 8

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)

New Anglia LEP

Helen Wilton (HW)

New Anglia LEP

Actions from the meeting: (23.7.19)

Action Log

Change the status column to “target date”

Climate Change Adaption and Carbon Reduction Action Plan

Distribute the presentation to board members

Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

A business case is required which will be presented at the September meeting

July Programme Performance Reports

A programme summary including performance against targets will be included in future NAC

reports

Welcome from the Chair

Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked Jo Warr from Norwich Castle for

hosting.

DF advised that the agenda would be amended so that Item 7 would come before item 6 as the

Skills Board Chair had to leave the meeting early.

Apologies

Apologies were received from John Griffiths, Steve Oliver, Andrew Proctor, David Richardson, Sam

Chapman-Allen, Dominic Keen and Nikos Savvas.

Welcome from Norwich Castle

Jo Warr (JWa), Head of Development at Norwich Castle, welcomed the Board to Norwich Castle

and thanked the LEP for their support for the current Gateway to Medieval England Project which

aims to raise the profile of Norwich as a cultural centre.

JWa provided an overview of changes to the castle over the past century and reviewed the plans to

reinstate the Norman floor level and reconfigure the internal layout of the keep to replicate the

original rooms. The new layout will incorporate the British Museum Partnership Gallery which will

be the first permanent British Museum exhibition outside London .

When the project has been completed in the spring of 2021 the new design, along with improved

access to all levels, will allow the castle to host a much wider range of functions as part of the

project’s aim to establish the castle as a state of the art cultural and community venue.

Declarations of Interest

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

Item 11: July Programme Reports: New Anglia Capital Report: DF declared an interest in Nova

Farina and SupaPass.

Minutes of the last meeting 25^th June

The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 25^th June 2019.

Chris Starkie (CS) reviewed the action log. It was agreed to change the status to a date to

provide more detail.

ACTION: Change the status column to “target date”

Skills Delivery Board

Paul Winter (PW), Chair of the Skills Board, addressed the meeting and highlighted key

elements of the report detailing the progress made over the past year notably delivery of

skills plans in additional sectors, reviewing Skills Deal projects and reaffirming the Youth

Pledge.

PW reviewed the process of setting up the new Skills Advisory Panel (SAP) as required by

Government where minor work is required to fulfil the requirements noting that the new

arrangements will require closer links between the LEP Board and the SAP.

DF asked for further details on the Governance requirements of the SAP. PW advised that

the voluntary sector needed to be included and discussions were underway with the

Community Foundations to address this. PW noted that the Board was currently very large

which may need to be addressed to ensure if remains effective.

The meeting discussed the implications of the end of the ESIF funding. CS advised that this

had been guaranteed by Government until the end of 2022 and would be replaced by the

Shared Prosperity Fund the details of which are still unknown.

Alan Waters (AW) noted that skills environment was very crowded which meant that it was

not always clear where companies could obtain support. PW agreed that there were too

many initiatives and that clarification was required.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the transition from a Skills Board to a Skills Advisory Panel as required by

Government and to continue to endorse its activities

Climate Change Adaption and Carbon Reduction Action Plan

Professor Andrew Lovett (AL) addressed the meeting presenting the findings of the scoping

study into CO2 reduction as commissioned by the LEP.

AL advised that the report detailed observed changes in temperature when looking at trends

over two 30 year time periods which take fluctuations into account. It was noted that

Norfolk and Suffolk have experienced a 0.5 degree increase in temperature over summer

months and nearly a 1 degree rise in winter over the two 30 year periods studied.

The study then looked at projected changes based on 4 different pathways representing

different amounts of global surface temperature increase.

AL presented projected changes in temperature and precipitation and also in sea levels

noting that there were significant changes depending on the relevant pathway.

The report noted that there had been a 32% reduction in emission of greenhouse gases

since 2005 largely due to changes in manufacturing and in households but transport

emissions have not reduced by the same amount and consequently now make up a larger

share of CO2 emissions.

The meeting was advised that the national average for CO2 emissions was 5.4 tonnes per

person with both Norfolk and Suffolk slightly above this level. It was noted that to abide by

levels stated in the Paris Agreement this needed to reduce significantly to 1.7 tonnes per

person.

The data was presented split by local authority with variations reflecting the make-up of the

area. It also identified the 37 highest emitters which make up 22% of emissions.

LA advised that the study had identified key priorities where changes could be made and

where the LEP could provide support.

Domestically - adaptation of building stock to improve energy efficiency and develop

heating alternatives for off-gas areas.

Transport - increase public transport and use of electric vehicles with the associated

requirement for more charging points.

Agriculture - improved water management and enhanced carbon sequestration such as

tree planting schemes or improved cultivation processes

Energy - improved efficiency as demand increases along with enhanced distribution and

transmission.

Tim Whitley (TW) asked if the study provided a breakdown of transport by vehicle type as

this would assist in identifying which interventions would target the highest emitters. AL

advised that this is not currently part of the study and would require further research.

The meeting noted that the changes could not just be achieved by the LEP alone and

partners would need to work together to achieve the reductions. National policy will also

play a key role.

The Board discussed the issues around bringing in offshore power.

Johnathan Reynolds (JR) advised that the SE energy hub was in the very early stages of

looking at an offshore energy grid and this was vital to the development of the offshore

energy sector. Matthew Hicks (MH) confirmed that 30% of the UK’s energy came ashore

at Sizewell but that development was being done on a piecemeal basis will a lack of

connectivity between projects.

Lindsey Rix (LR) suggested that the LEP could support those companies looking to become

carbon neutral.

David Ellesmere (DE) proposed targeting support for the largest emitters and also for the

LEP to coordinate purchasing requirements related to CO2 reduction in order to provide

increased buying power.

JR noted that the findings of the scoping report needed to be considered in every decision

the Board made and the LEP needed to identify those gamechanger projects which support

CO2 reduction and identify gamechanger projects and carbon offsetting ideas.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report and presentation

• To support the development of an action plan to tackle some of the key findings of the

report

• To receive the presentation

In order to ensure the Annual Accounts were signed off it was agreed that Item 12 would be

addressed before Item 8.

Draft Annual Financial Statements - Confidential

RW confirmed that the accounts had been reviewed by the Audit & Risk Committee on 1^st

July and changes agreed that the meeting have been made.

DF noted that the LEP now employed over 50 people and proposed discussing with CS how

HR could be monitored going forward.

The Board agreed:

• To note the contents of the report

• To approve the annual financial statements and audit management letter for signing by

the Chair

Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

CS presented the proposal to the meeting providing the background to the issues facing

apprenticeship schemes and the proposal to make the funds available for apprenticeships.

The LEP will act as a promoter of the scheme and work with SMEs to ensure they have the

tools and equipment in place to utilise it. CS advised that Aviva has already signed up and

other large companies are being approached

CS confirmed that the scheme will need ongoing funding and a meeting with county

representatives will take place in August to progress the business case. A more detailed

plan will be presented at the September Board.

DE proposed that, if successful, the scheme could be expanded and if there is sufficient

demand for specific training this could be used to request additional courses locally.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the £60,000 budget to develop a cost-effective model to support the transfer

of apprenticeship levy to SMEs in partnership with colleagues from Norfolk and Suffolk

County Councils

• To receive a business case at the September board meeting

Growing Business Fund: Large Company Grant Programme

Chris Dashper (CD) reviewed the proposal which has already been approved by the IAC

noting that one application has already been received and approved by the IAC subject to

Board approval of the programme.

Jeanette Wheeler (JW) confirmed that this programme would help the Growing Business

Fund Panel where it has been challenging to make applications meet the criteria required for

the other funds.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the introduction of a GBF Large Company Grant programme

MH left the meeting

Chief Executive’s Report

CS highlighted key items in the report and asked for questions.

LIS - Further strategies have now been published. New Anglia will publish its LIS in October

having been brought forward to the 2^nd wave.

Place Branding - This will be launched at the AGM and the invitation will go out this week to

approximately 300 businesses and partners.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

July Programme Performance Reports

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) reviewed the reports for July.

Business Growth Programme - The Programme is on track to meet its spend target and

new activity for the next three years is being finalised. The process of seeking additional

ERDF funding to extend the Small Grants Scheme for a further year has begun.

New Anglia Capital- CD reviewed the report and asked for questions from the Board.

DF asked for details of the split between NAC and private funding. CD advised that overall

NAC has invested 40% of funds to the 60% provided by private funding. This is against a