New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)

25^th September 2019

Present:

Sam Chapman-Allen (SC)

Breckland Council

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

John Griffiths (JG)

West Suffolk Council

Pete Joyner (PJ)

Shorthose Russell

Dominic Keen (DK)

Britbots

Helen Langton (HL)

University of Suffolk

Andrew Proctor (AP)

Norfolk County Council

Johnathan Reynolds (JR)

Nautilus

Nikos Savvas (NS)

West Suffolk College

Alan Waters (AW)

Norwich City Council

Jeanette Wheeler (JW)

Birketts

Tim Whitley (TW)

Attendees

Louise Aynsley (LA)

Suffolk County Council

Shan Lloyd (SL)

BEIS

Josh Fedder (JF)

BEIS

Jai Raithatha (JaR)

Suffolk County Council

Vince Muspratt (VM)

Norfolk County Council

Chris Dashper (CD)

New Anglia LEP - For Items 8 and 9

Julian Munson (JM)

New Anglia LEP - For Item 5

Lisa Roberts (LiR)

New Anglia LEP - For Item 6

Chris Starkie (CS)

New Anglia LEP

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)

New Anglia LEP

Helen Wilton (HW)

New Anglia LEP

Actions from the meeting: (25.9.19)

Action Log

Enterprise Zones

Details of the overall EZ investment and the funding split to be provided

A confidential update on the stalled sites to be provided to the Board

Local Industrial Strategy

A one page summary of the key points of the LIS to be distributed to board members

LiR

Revised forward to be circulated to board members

LiR

Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Pool

To be added to the reporting cycle and included as a major board item along with the skills

update

AOB

CO2 Action Plan to be added to the forward plan

Details of funding streams and relative timescales to be produced

Welcome from the Chair

Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting

Apologies

Apologies were received from Steve Oliver, Lindsey Rix and Sandy Ruddock

Declarations of Interest

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

Nikos?

Minutes of the last meeting 23^rd July 2019

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

Actions from last meeting updated as follows:

UEA Enterprise Fund - Chris Starkie (CS) reminded board members that there was still a

vacancy on the Enterprise Fund Board. Claire Cullens (CC) and Dominic Keen (DK)

expressed and interest and it was agreed that they would rotate the role between them.

Enterprise Zones

Julian Munson (JM) presented the Board with an update on the Enterprise Zones (EZs).

JM provided high level details of each of the current EZs highlighting the levels of investment

and noting any ongoing issues with the sites.

The board was advised that the development of EZs has provided the dual advantage of

allowing local firms to expand as well as attracting new companies to the area.

DK asked for further details about the tenants occupying the sites and the split between

smaller and larger companies. The board was advised that there was an even split between

business types and that sites and prospective tenants were reviewed on a case by case basis

on application.

Tim Whitley (TW) asked if the total investment could be provided including a public and

private split and also splitting the figures between the Norfolk and Suffolk EZs.

ACTION: Details of the overall investment and the funding split to be provided

David Ellesmere (DE) noted that most Ipswich EZs were very successful and that although

progress had been very slow on the Island Site he felt that steps were now being taken and

would like the site to retain its status.

The Board discussed those sites which were being promoted at MIPIM in October.

Pete Joyner (PJ) asked if there were any requests from prospective tenants which could not

be met. JM advised that there was limited offer available in terms of residential and student

accommodation as most of the sites offered industrial units or offices.

ACTION: A confidential update on the stalled sites to be provided to the Board

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report and presentation

• To receive updates on the stalled EZ sites and also details of the total investment split by

private / public investment and into Norfolk and Suffolk EZs

Local Industrial Strategy

Lisa Roberts (LiR) provided the Board with the background to the introduction of Local

Industrial Strategies (LIS) and the work undertaken by the LEP to produce the LIS for Norfolk

and Suffolk.

The approach was agreed by the Board in September 2018 and the process has included

extensive collaboration between partners which has included partner summits and 3 leaders’

sessions.

The updated evidence base, along with these sessions, have highlighted key themes and

emerging interventions. LiR advised that the evidence base has been scrutinised by

Government and the link from evidence to interventions has been praised.

The draft LIS has been issued to partners and the 70 pages of feedback received has been

reviewed and changes incorporated where possible. LiR confirmed that the structure of the

document has been laid down by Government and is not subject to change.

LiR highlighted the key strategic opportunities identified in the LIS and noted that partners

were keen to progress many of the interventions as soon as possible. Work is ongoing to

identify funding sources to support these opportunities.

LiR noted that the inclusion of the digital sector as a unique area of opportunity was originally

challenged by Government and she thanked partners for providing the additional evidence

which supported its inclusion.

LiR provided high level information on the key areas of the LIS.

PJ noted that 3 specific sectors where highlighted and it made sense to concentrate on those

areas of the economy where we are unique but noted that other sectors ie tourism may feel

alienated. LiR agreed and confirmed that a tourism action plan would be produced and

further work would also incorporate the voluntary sector to ensure inclusion.

DE congratulated LiR and her team on the work carried out and noted the limitations imposed

by Government. He asked for amendments to be made to the infrastructure links so that they

noted that investment was required to realise these opportunities. He also asked for

reference to the Cambridge - Ipswich - Norwich triangle to be included.

TW also expressed his support for the work and confirmed that Adastral Pak had been

identified as the leading source of patents in the country. TW noted that the forward

reinforced the idea of the area being a leading agriculture area and that ICT was not

mentioned. He proposed that the forward should be revised to make it more cutting edge.

LiR advised that the amendments requested by the Board will be made and the LIS will then

be submitted to Government for review. The exact process for this review be still being

agreed but on completion any amendments will be incorporated.

ACTION: The revised forward is to be circulated to board members

LiR

Matthew Hicks (MH) noted that the endorsement process for local authorities had posed

challenges given that the LIS was still being revised during the process.

CS advised that format for the process had been put to chief executives and that both

counties had produced different proposals for endorsement.

Jeanette Wheeler (JW) asked what the key areas of focus would be for the Board and asked

for them to be included in a future report back to the Board.

Helen Langton (HL) reitereated this and asked for a one page summary to be provided to the

Board to ensure that a clear message is communicated.

LiR

ACTION: A one page summary of the key points of the LIS to be distributed to board

members

DF proposed that the Chair and the CEO should have the authority to make minor

amendments to the LIS with any more significant changes being returned to the Board for

approval.

The draft LIS was endorsed by the Board who requested to receive a copy of the final version

which will be submitted to Government.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To endorse and sign off the Norfolk and Suffolk Local Industrial Strategy subject to the

amendments agreed at the meeting

• To delegate authority to make minor amendments to the LEP Chair and CEO with major

changes to be returned to the LEP Board for approval

• To receive the revised Foreward and a one page summary of the key points

Apprenticeships Levy Transfer Pool

CS presented the proposal to the meeting which provides further details of the business case

as requested at the July board meeting.

The meeting discussed the challenges faced in creating and filling apprenticeships.

It was noted that it was important that those businesses using the fund were recognised. The

scheme also needs to be incorporated into the reporting schedule.

ACTION: The Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Pool is to be added to the reporting cycle and

included as a major board item when the skill update is provided

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To endorse the outlined business plan

• To endorse a further £60,000 of funds to allow support to continue for an additional year

• To receive future reports on the outputs of the scheme

Innovative Projects Fund

Chris Dashper (CD) presented the proposal which requested an annual allocation of £500k to

the programme for 2019/20 and 2020/21 from LEP funds.

The board was advised that, following the successful first call of the Innovative Projects Fund,

local authority partners in Norfolk and Suffolk agreed to match the LEP’s funding allocation

through their respective pooled business rates. This has resulted in a £1.5 million pot being

made available to prospective projects under a 2019/20 call.

It was noted that during the last call the applicants had been local authorities and this time

there would be increased promotion to SMEs to attract more applicants from businesses.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the establishment of the £1.5m Innovative Projects Fund jointly with local

authorities from Norfolk and Suffolk

• To approve the new governance arrangement including the Terms of Reference

• To approve the launch of a 2019/20 Innovative Projects Fund Call in October 2019

Voluntary and Community Sector

CD presented the paper providing the board an update on the LEP’s Voluntary and

Community Sector Challenge Fund.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

Brexit

CS reviewed the latest Brexit report and updated the board on the funding being allocated by

Government to support businesses.

It is proposed that, rather than the LEP running extra events for companies, the LEP will

supporting those already being run such as those organised by the Chambers of Commerce.

CS advised that Government has made 3 offers of funding to aid Growth Hubs to provide

various elements of business support but that some funding must be used end by the end of

October therefore the LEP is assessing the benefits of this support to ensure that is is used

effectively.

CS advised that there has been a slow down in applications to the funding programmes and

the LEP is proposing the establishment of a taskforce to provide support for businesses

facing short term difficulties following Brexit.

Andrew Proctor (AP) expressed concern about the use of public funds to support ailing

businesses and highlighted the challenges in applying criteria to funding requests.

He expressed support for providing advice but not funding. This view was supported by John

Griffiths (JG).

CS proposed bringing further details back to the October board meeting.

JW agreed that this was a difficult area but that the LEP had supported businesses in the past

who faced short term issues.

AP agreed that the funding could be used to provide further capacity to support companies.

DE suggested that the proposed criteria for funding applications be brought to the next board

meeting.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To receive details of the funding criteria at the October board meeting

Working Agreement with the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority

CS presented the paper and the agreement which had been drafted by CPCA.

DE asked whether the agreement could be amended and asked for the inclusion of the

development of the East-West Rail link to Ipswich.

JG suggested it was reviewed by the Economic Development Officers to update the

agreement to include local developments.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

• To approve the agreement subject to the above amendments

Chief Executive’s Report

CS asked for questions from the board on the report.

He updated the board on Kwasi Kwateng’s visit to Lowestoft and confirmed that he had raised

the issue of the impact of wind farms on Suffolk coastal villages.

CS reviewed Appendix A which requested approval of the investment in the Anglia Capital

Group by New Anglia Capital which is a reallocation of existing funds.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the report

September Programme Performance Reports including Dashboards

Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) reviewed the reports for September and highlighted key areas.

RW noted that excellent progress has been made in catching up on the underspend from last

year.

Nikos Savvas (NS) noted that the target for providing homes was 2026 and asked how the

shortfall would be met. CS noted this target was in line with those set by local authorities and

the LEP would work with them to support them meeting the targets.

The Board agreed:

• To note the contents of the report

Board Forward Plan

CS reviewed the Forward Plan and asked for requests for additional items.

The Board agreed:

• To note the content of the plan

Any Other Business

Johnathan Reynolds (JR) asked when the action plan for targeting CO2 reduction will be

produced.

ACTION: Action plan to be added to the forward plan - HW

DK asked for details of the various funding streams detailing when each pot will run out.

ACTION: Details of funding stream and their relative timescales to be produced - CD

Next meeting:

Date and time of next meeting:

10.00am - 12.30pm, 30^th October 2019

Venue: The Main Auditorium, The Carnegie, Cage Lane, Thetford, IP24 2EA