New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed)

25^th June 2019

Present:

Claire Cullens (CC)

Norfolk Community Foundation

David Ellesmere (DE)

Ipswich Borough Council

Doug Field (DF)

East of England Coop

John Griffiths (JG)

West Suffolk Borough Council

Matthew Hicks (MH)

Suffolk County Council

Pete Joyner (PJ)

Shorthose Russell

Dominic Keen (DK)

High Growth Robotics

Steve Oliver (SO)

MLM

Andrew Proctor (AP)

Norfolk County Council

David Richardson (DR)

UEA

Nikos Savvas (NS)

West Suffolk College

Lindsey Rix (LR)

Aviva

Alan Waters (AW)

Norwich City Council

Jeanette Wheeler (JW)

Birketts

Attendees

Shan Lloyd (SL)

BEIS

Sue Roper (SuR)

Suffolk County Council

Vince Muspratt (VM)

Norfolk County Council

Gordon Chetwood (GC)

Pasta Foods - For Item 5

Jonny Newton (JN)

Newton Commercial - For Item 5

Steve Earl (SE)

Panel Graphics - For Item 5

Carly Earl (SE)

Panel Graphics - For Item 5

Chris Dashper (CD)

New Anglia LEP

Julian Munson (JM)

New Anglia LEP - For Items 8, 10 and 12

Chris Starkie (CS)

New Anglia LEP

Glen Todd (GT)

New Anglia LEP - for Item 6

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)

New Anglia LEP

Helen Wilton (HW)

New Anglia LEP

Actions from the meeting: (25.6.19)

GE Update Report - Confidential

To provide the Board with regular reporting of the pipeline of visits relating to inward

investment and subsequent outcomes

MIPIM 2019

To provide the Board with an update on the brand strategy

LEP Operating and HR Policy Updates

An annual update on the progress of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy to be

added to the Forward Plan

Any other Business

UEA Enterprise Fund - Any board member wishing to sit on the board should contact Chris

ALL

Starkie

LEP Beneficiaries: Circulate those presentations made to the Board and add the item to the

Forward Plan

Welcome from the Chair

Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies

Apologies were received from Sandy Ruddock, Tim Whitley and Johnathan Reynolds.

Declarations of Interest

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

David Richardson (DR) and Jeanette Wheeler (JW) declared an interest in item 7.

Minutes of the last meeting 23^rd May

The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 23^rd May 2019.

LEP Programme Beneficiaries

Chris Dashper (CD) presented that item noting that New Anglia LEP has recently reached

the milestone of awarding the 700th grant to local businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk through

its growth grants programmes Growing Business Fund (GBF) and Small Grants Scheme

(SGS). He confirmed that the board would be receiving individual presentations from 3

companies which had benefited from LEP funding to demonstrate the impact on their

business.

Pasta Foods

Gordon Chetwood (CG) addressed the Board and provided an overview of the history of the

company advising that they had received £500k from the GBF as well as a bridging loan to

allow the installation of a new production line at a time when the bank would not support

their investment plans. The installation of production line capital which was a major factor

in supporting the business recovery at a challenging time.

GC advised that the uncertainty over Brexit has resulted in customers using Pasta Foods

rather than suppliers in Europe and capacity has now been increased significantly.

GC explained that Pasta Foods is the only company in the world producing pasta and snack

pellets in the way it does and this unique approach has enabled the company to grow and

benefit from the current market conditions.

GC thanked the Board for the support provided by the LEP both in the funding and the

flexibility in its approach.

The Board and CG discussed the staffing, skills and salary levels at Pasta Foods. CG

stressed the importance of supporting staff and advised that training is provided for all

employees including for middle management to assist in career progression.

Newton Commercial

Jonny Newton (JN), MD of Newton Commercial, addressed the Board and provided an

overview of the company which makes interior and trim for British Classic cars.

The skills and techniques are traditional and carried out by hand but in 2017 LEP funding

was used to purchase a CAD/CAM cutter allowing patterns to be digitalised. This makes

cutting is more efficient with less waste allowing reskilling of staff to work in other areas of

the business.

Further funding with the LEP has been secured and be used for additional investment.

JN reiterated the importance of the funding the LEP provides and the difference it makes to

small businesses.

Alan Waters (AW) asked about the various skill levels within the businesses. JN advised

that apprentices were taken on who were them moved onto the minimum wage and then

progressed through the factory. Flexitime, bonuses and other staff benefits are important

and this culture is a key factor in their high level of staff retention.

JG asked for details of the main competitors and JN confirmed that there were other

companies who worked on a smaller scale whereas Newton Commercial specialised in key

areas and was looking to expanding into other markets such as hot hatch cars.

JN advised that any future legislation banning older cars would have significant impact on

the business.

Panel Graphics

Steve Earl (SE) briefed the meeting on the successful history of the company including

winning a Queens Award for International Trade. This achievement was applauded by the

Board.

SE explained that the company produces non-reflective coatings for plastic which are used

in cars and planes and in the medical and maritime industries among others.

Carly Earl (CE) confirmed that Panel Graphics have received 3 GBF grants since 2014

which have been used for industrial units, and state of the art milling machines and office

facilities.

Turnover has grown from 200k in 1998 to £6m in 2019 and net profit has tripled in the past

2 years.

SE stressed the impact the LEP’s funding had made on the business in providing

investment when there were no other sources available and the positive effect this has had

on staff recruitment.

AW enquired about the range of pay rates within the company. SE advised that the starting

rates was around £9 per hour but there were escalation processes in place allowing staff to

progress more through pay grades. Staff retention rates are excellent and a package of

staff benefits is in place with regular and social events held.

SE advised that the next possible investment was a glass cutting machine as there was

potential in this market. There is scope for company expansion but this requires purchase

of land which is currently prohibitively expensive therefore the solution could be a joint

investment with other companies.

JW asked if the company was involved in R&D. SE advised that they applied for R&D

grants each year and carry out R&D to come up with solutions to customer issues.

JW noted that those companies which had presented had been through the funding

application process multiple times which meant that there was a real business case for

allowing multiple investment requests.

DE noted it was important for the LEP to maintain support for some companies faced

challenges in repaying loans.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report and presentations

Enterprise Adviser Network

Glen Todd (GT) provided an overview of the EAN which is made up of 8 Enterprise

Coordinators some of whom where TUPE’d over from Norfolk & Suffolk County Councils

and are managed by the EAN and Careers Hub manager.

GT confirmed that the Network is engaging with 83 mainstream and FE schools giving a

76% coverage of the 144 schools across the region. He stated that, given that there will

always be some schools who do not engage, he felt that a rate of 90-95% would be viewed

as successful. GT noted that the team was on target to meet or surpass their target of

engaging with 85 schools.

GT asked the Board to be ambassadors for the network and support in the recruitment of

Enterprise Advisors as the team worked to allocate one advisor per school.

GT noted that the team are specifically looking to include advisors from the agrifood and

renewable energy sectors.

Andrew Proctor (AP) asked whether the team were involved in apprenticeships. GT advised

that the team are promoting apprenticeships as well as the Youth Pledge and the range and

content of apprenticeship is promoted within schools to parents as well as pupils.

The Board discussed the challenges faced when engaging schools and the aim of the EAN

in providing information on the wide range of training and educational options available for

students.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To receive the EAN presentation

• To support the recruitment of Enterprise Advisers by championing the Network

Capital Grant Programme - Institute of Productivity

JW and DR left the room.

CD presented the paper and reviewed the history of the application noting the reduction in

funding from that in the original request. The Board had already approved the reduced

amount and asked for details of the delivery outputs from the smaller grant.

CD advised that the proposal reflects the same outputs and delivery as the existing

application but uses an existing building which will be refurbished rather than building a new

one.

Match funding has also been secured reducing the LEP’s funding to around 60% of the total

cost.

CS noted that one of the considerations from the last meeting was that the businesses had

not yet been involved given the speed it had progressed but the UEA have assured that they

will be in the future. It is proposed that their involvement be a condition of the funding.

It was agreed that a member of the LEP Executive team should sit on the board.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the award of Capital Growth Programme grant funding of £4.461m to the

Institute of Productivity

JW and DR returned to the room.

GE Update Report - Confidential

DF asked for the Board to be kept up to date on similar events and conversations with a

pipeline of contacts and outcomes established.

ACTION: To provide the Board with regular reporting of the pipeline of visits relating to

inward investment and subsequent outcomes

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To receive regular reports on key visits and discussions relating to inward investment

Chief Executive’s Report

CS thanked all those who had been involved in the ongoing development of the Local

Industrial Strategy and asked for questions on the report.

Steve Oliver queried the delay to the spending on the Gt Yarmouth Flood Defences. CS

confirmed that the Environment Agency to whom the funding has been allocated will be

spending their £8.2 m in the following year after that of the Treasury. The project will

continue as planned but the spend will be in the next financial year.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

MIPIM Update Report and Proposal for 2019

JM presented the paper to the Board and provided an update on the results of MIPIM 2018

and the resulting leads.

JM reviewed the revised approach to MIPIM 2019 and the proposal being presented to the

board of the condensed model focussing promoting a reduced number specific investment

opportunities at key events.

AP expressed his support but noted that taking fewer sites posed challenges in ensuring

that the right sites were included.

JM proposed also using the opportunity to launch the new brand and stated that it was vital

to include those sites which are ready for investment noting that the exact number of sites

included was flexible.

Matthew Hicks (MH) asked for specific details of the outcomes of leads generated from

2018. JM advised that contacts for investments in Norwich and Gt Yarmouth were close to

signing and there had also been interest in Bury and along the A14 corridor.

The meeting discussed the challenges in recording outputs and noted that not all contacts

come from MIPIM and could have taken place anyway made regardless of attendance at

that event.

DR noted that absence from such events can be noted but that the costs should be kept

down where possible.

Pete Joyner (PJ) noted that importance of using opportunities to promote and reinforce the

new brand.

The Board requested an update on the strategy for using the new brand.

The Board agreed:

• To note the contents of the report

• To approve the proposal including spend of £28,788, the covering approach, format and

costings for MIPIM UK 2019

• To receive details of the brand strategy

June Programme Performance Reports

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) reviewed the June reports and asked for questions from the Board.

JM reviewed the Enterprise Zone reports noting that job creation was slightly lower than

expected and initial estimates for the space were being reviewed.

SO proposed including details of productivity as a success monitor as well as job numbers

The Board agreed:

• To note the contents of the report

Innovation Board Chair Appointment

JM reviewed the paper and thanked DR for his contribution.

DR noted the success of the Board and felt that recent expansion of the Board had been

very successful. DR proposed Johnathan Reynolds as the new Chair.

AP proposed the inclusion of a Local Authority members of the board.

The meeting discussed the suggestion with DR noting that it needed to be someone who

was committed and able to attend regularly.

The Board agreed:

• To note the contents of the report

• To approve Johnathan Reynolds as Chair of the Innovation Board

• To add a member of a Local Authority to the Board

• To endorse the thanks to DR for his contribution over the past 3 years

• To approve the Innovation Board’s Terms of Reference

LEP Operating and HR Policy Updates

RW presented policies as included in the meeting pack and asked for approval from the

board.

David Ellesmere (DE) reviewed the process carried out to amend the policy and thanked JW

for her input.

It was noted that the Diversity and Equality Policy had been split into internal and external

sections and the Government’s requirements for female board representation had been

included. The policies will be reviewed annually by the board.

The Board discussed how the policy would be monitored and was agreed that an annual

report on the implementation of the policy would be made to the Board and would be added

to the forward plan.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement

• To approve the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy and Statement

• To receive an annual report covering progress of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity

Policy implementation including examples. To be added to the Forward Plan

Board Forward Plan

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the plan

Any Other Business

UEA Enterprise Fund - CS advised that he will be the board member for the LEP Executive

team and asked for a volunteer from the Board in addition.

ACTION: Board members to contact CS if they are interested in joining the board (ALL).

Nikos Savvas advised that the International Festival of Education had just taken place and

has been very successful with over 60 speakers involved.

It was agreed that the presentations from beneficiaries of LEP funding had been very useful

and it was agreed that this should be an annual board item.