New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Confirmed)
27th March 2019
Present:
David Ellesmere (DE)
Ipswich Borough Council
Doug Field (DF)
East of England Coop
John Griffiths (JG)
St Edmundsbury Borough Council
Matthew Hicks (MH)
Suffolk County Council
Dominic Keen (DK)
High Growth Robotics
Steve Oliver (SO)
MLM Group
William Nunn (WN)
Breckland District Council
Andrew Proctor (AP)
Norfolk County Council
David Richardson (DR)
UEA
Lindsey Rix (LR)
Aviva
Sandy Ruddock (SR)
Scarlett & Mustard
Nikos Savvas (NS)
West Suffolk College
Alan Waters (AW)
Norwich City Council
Jeanette Wheeler (JW)
Birketts
Tim Whitley (TW)
BT
Attendees
Shan Lloyd (SL)
BEIS
Sue Roper (SuR)
Suffolk County Council
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP
Chris Starkie (CS)
New Anglia LEP
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)
New Anglia LEP
Helen Wilton (HW)
New Anglia LEP
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Actions from the meeting: (27.3.19)
Amendments to Articles of Association
To include details of the term of appointment of the Deputy Chair
RW
March Performance Reports
To provide details of employment numbers for the agri tech sector
CS
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Welcome from the Chair
Doug Field (DF) welcomed everyone to the meeting including Jonathan Agar (JA), the CEO of
Birketts and thanked him for hosting the board meeting.
2
Apologies
Apologies were received from Johnathan Reynolds, Claire Cullens and Pete Joyner
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Welcome from Birketts
JA welcomed the Board to the meeting and provided a presentation covering the history of the
company, its wide ranging work and its mix of clients. JA stressed the importance of continually
developing the company and the benefits of being based on an Enterprise Zone .
The meeting was given details of the range of clients currently using Birketts including many
household names and also the plans for development focussing on the education, energy and the
public sectors.
JA also reviewed the Birketts Charitable Fund which donated £75k across Norfolk and Suffolk in
2018 and encourages staff to take part in volunteering and charity work. He also stressed the
importance of the staff health and wellbeing and the ongoing support provided to staff within the
organisation.
DF thanked JA for his presentation and invited David Richardson (DR) to address the meeting.
DR raised the issue of mental health problems in particular in relation to the recent deaths among
students at the UEA. DR noted the issues faced by the Norfolk and Suffolk Trust and advised that
additional support would be provided for students at the university. DR asked all Board members
for their support in raising awareness of the issues faced and in and providing support where
possible.
Tim Whitley (TW) expressed his support to DR.
He then updated the meeting on Quantum Tech and advised that on 26th March the first
presentation of a high speed link using Quantum Tech had taken place at Adastral Park. This now
forms part of national research infrastructure and promoted the region on the national stage
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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 Projects
Projects for Approval
Board members declared an interest in specific projects and left the room for discussion of and
voting the relevant project - Andrew Proctor (AP), Matthew Hicks (MH), Tim Whitley (TW), David
Richardson (DR) and Sue Roper (SuR)
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Minutes of the last meeting 27th February 2019
The minutes were accepted as a true record of the meeting held on 27th February 2019.
Actions
Chris Starkie (CS) advised the meeting that the update on the inclusion of CO2 reductions in
the Economic Strategy would be included at the July meeting.
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Delivery Plan
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) updated the meeting on the work carried out to date on the LEP
delivery plan which is based on the guidelines received from Government.
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AP queried the figures detailing the number of homes constructed.
CS advised that these figures related to homes completed by LEP investment in
infrastructure projects.
David Ellesmere (DE) asked if, given the recommendation received following the Annual
Review, there were plans to include a ministerial quote in the plan. Shan Lloyd (SL)
advised that, as there are 38 LEPS all of which have delivery plans, there were no current
plans to include ministerial quotes in them.
RW asked for comments and amendments to be sent to her.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the Delivery Plan and delegate the authority to the LEP Chief Executive to
make minor amendments as required before publication
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2019/2020 Budget
RW reviewed the proposed 2019/20 budget.
Dominic Keen (DK) queried the level of certainty in future income. CS advised that future
funding was dependant on the Government Funding Review which was hoped for in the
Autumn.
Lindsey Rix (LR) asked whether further clarity could be provided on the 3 year plans even if
it includes a level of uncertainty in some of the income streams.
CS confirmed that Keith Spanton is currently working on future budgets based on known
funding.
RW proposed providing an update on core and programme financials to the Board on a
quarterly basis.
DF thanked RW for her work on the budget.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the operating budget for 2019/20
To approve the proposal on financial reporting
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Brexit
CS highlighted the key points of the report and noted that, given the fluid situation, it was
challenging to write the report as the data constantly required updating.
He advised that the LEP was continuing to provide the most up to date information to
business and noted that the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce was taking on 2 additional
members of staff to support businesses on Brexit.
William Nunn (WM) noted that the same proposal could be discussed at the next Norfolk
Leaders meeting.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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Capital Growth Programme Call including Confidential Discussions
DF proposed that board members with interests in each application to leave as and when
the item was discussed.
Chris Dashper (CD) provided the meeting with an overview of the process carried out and
details of the numbers of applications received. He advised that those projects deemed to
be rejected were being considered for signposting to other sources of funding.
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Confidential
The Board discussed those projects recommended for approval:
AP, Matthew Hicks (MH) and Sue Roper (SuR) declared an interest in this item and left the
room.
Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils - Norfolk & Suffolk Innovation Network: £440k
This was approved by the Board.
AP, MH and SuR returned to the room
TW declared an interest in this item and left the room
University of Suffolk - Digital Skills & Innovation Accelerator: £6.497m
This was approved by the Board.
TW returned to the room
Suffolk New College - Digital & Technology Skills Hub: £1.6m.
City College Norwich - Digital Technology Factory: £6.098m
These were approved by the Board.
DR declared an interest in this item and left the room
University of East Anglia - Institute of Productivity (IoP): £4.461m. (£14,130,161m
requested)
Confidential
A conditional grant was approved by the Board.
AP voted against the proposal.
DR returned to the room
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The Board discussed those projects recommended for deferral
CD advised that those projects in Table 2 which are based within Enterprise Zones and
therefore further investigations into alternative funding options is appropriate.
John Griffiths (JG) if the JAYNIC Innovation Centre was only being rejected as it was on an
EZ as it has scored relatively highly.
CD noted that there were other funding options available to this project and that there were
delivery and cost benefit issues with this project.
The Board agreed to defer these projects.
The Board approved the grant of £200k from the Growing Places Fund to the National Trust,
Releasing the Sutton Hoo Story.
The Board agreed to the reject of the projects detailed in Table 3
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the funding to the following projects:
o
£440k to Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils- Norfolk & Suffolk Innovation Network
o
£6.497m to the University of Suffolk- Digital Skills & Innovation Accelerator
o
£1.6m to Suffolk New College- Digital & Technology Skills Hub
o
£6.098m to City College Norwich- Digital Technology Factory
To provide an offer of £4.461m to the University of East Anglia’s Institute of Productivity
with the condition that the proposal is put back before the Board for final approval
following the completion of further investigation
To approve the recommended decision option for each of the projects in tables 2 and 3.
(Table 2: Recommended to defer and Table 3: Recommended to reject)
To approve the Growing Places Fund grant of £200,000 to the National Trust, Releasing
the Sutton Hoo Story
TW left the meeting
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Local Assurance Framework
RW reviewed the process carried out to update the Local Assurance Framework and asked
for approval from the Board
SL Confirmed that the framework was a consolidated one based on the recent Government
reviews.
The Board agreed:
To note the contents of the report
To adopt the 2019 Local Assurance Framework
To adopt the updated Scheme of Delegation
To adopt the updated Accountable Body Agreement
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European Structural and Investment Funds Strategy
CS reviewed the paper included in the meeting papers and asked for questions from the
Board.
The Board agreed:
To approve the contents of the European Investment Strategy Update and
recommended its adoption to the New Anglia ESIF Committee
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Amendments to the Articles of Association
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RW reviewed the paper and highlighted those areas of change requiring Board approval.
Observers Policy - RW advised that the existing Articles of Association do not allow for
alternate directors to attend and vote at Board meetings. Any amendment to directors
would have to follow a formal process to revoke and appoint each director for any given
board meeting.
It is recommended to retain the clause not permitting alternate directors but to adopt a policy
of allowing observers who can participate in Board meetings and discussions but will not
vote or contribute to the quorum.
Substitutes at committees - RW recommended that substitutes are not permitted at
committee level in order to align with the above policy.
Term of chair - Previously this was not specified but the wording has been amended to
clarify the term.
It was agreed that the term of appointment for the deputy chair would also be included.
ACTION
To amend the Articles of Association to include details of the term of the Deputy Chair
RW
NS proposed the inclusion of 6th Form Colleges under Item 5.3.1 as a source of Education
Sector members.
RW advised that there 28 days from the date of issue to sign which allowed West Suffolk
and East Suffolk Council to be members rather than their predecessor authorities.
The Board agreed:
To approve the following documents
o The Articles of Association of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Limited,
amended to reflect the agreed changes to the LEP Board as a result of the LEP Review
o The written resolution to be sent to the LEP’s members to approve the adoption of the
new articles
o The class consents for each of the three classes of members, consenting to the
variation of their class rights through the adoption of the new Articles of Association
o The letter to the company’s auditors informing them of the proposed written resolution
To retain the clause in the Articles of Association not permitting alternate directors
To permit directors to appoint an observer at directors’ meetings who will have no voting
rights or form part of the quorum
Not to allow substitutes at Committee level
To amend the Articles of Association to confirm the term of appointment of the Chair as
three years
To include details of the term of appointment of the Deputy Chair
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Chief Executive’s Report
CS presented the paper to the Board and asked for questions.
CS advised that, following an open recruitment process, Martin Williams from Santander
Corporate Banking, is proposed as the new independent member of the Investment
Appraisal Committee (IAC).
This appointment was confirmed by the Board.
It was noted that County representation on the IAC is still to be agreed.
Local Industrial Strategy - It is proposed that an Independent Economic Panel is set up
which will provide quality, independent advice and information to the LEP. The Panel will be
made up with 3 or 4 experts from business and academia with strong reputations within their
respective fields who come from outside Norfolk and Suffolk. The Board are asked to
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approve the proposed approach for the Independent Economic Expert Panel.
This was agreed by the Board.
Sizewell C - CS confirmed that the draft LEP response to the consultation paper had been
circulated to Board members for comment. MH proposed strengthening the response and
advised he would feed in his comments for inclusion.
Annual Review - CS reviewed the letter received following the Annual Review and noted the
change in ratings advising that this was the case for many LEPS.
CS advised that they were seeking greater clarification on what steps are required to obtain
an exceptional ranking.
CS reviewed the Place Branding paper and the timescales for the next phase of work and
noted that a stakeholder group would be established which would report into the main Board
on a monthly basis.
The Board was advised that a meeting had been held with the Combined Authority and
West Norfolk Council to discuss the future working relationship
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To confirm the appointment of Martin Williams to the IAC
To agree to the formation of a Local Industrial Strategy Independent Expert Panel
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March Programme Performance Reports
RW reviewed the March reports and asked for questions from the Board.
Agri Tech Report - AW queried asked how many people were employed in the agri tech
sector.
CS advised he will confirm numbers.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the reports
To receive details of employment numbers for the agri tech sector
CS
15
Growth Deal Project Change Request
CD reviewed the change request to reallocate £415k from the NATS A11 Corridor Package
to the NATS City centre Package.
This was approved by the Board.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the reports
To reallocate £415k from the NATS A11 Corridor Package to the NATS City centre
Package
16
Finance Report
RW reviewed the finance report and asked for questions from the Board.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
17
Board Forward Plan
CS advised that the plan has been updated and will be circulated with the minutes.
As requested by the Board the Growth Hub will be providing a presentation at the May
Board.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the plan
18
Any Other Business
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DE provided an overview of the Princes Street Enterprise Zone noting that the Birketts office
sits at the heart of the zone which is fully occupied. He updated the Board on other key
developments in the area including the Connexions building which has been redeveloped as
office space, The Maltings development and potential investments by hotel chains in another
site. DE advised that there as a high level of interest in development in other buildings
including plans for a multi-story car park.
Next meeting:
Date and time of next meeting:
10.00am - 12.30pm, 23rd May 2019
Venue: The Council Chamber, King’s Lynn Town Hall, King’s Lynn, Norfolk
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