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Public
New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed)
25th May 2022
Present:
Kathy Atkinson (KA)
Valeo Snack Foods
Claire Cullens (CC)
Norfolk Community Foundation
Stuart Dark (SD)
King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Council
David Ellesmere (DE)
Ipswich Borough Council
C-J Green (CJG)
Brave Goose
Matthew Hicks (MH)
Suffolk County Council
Pete Joyner (PJ)
Shorthose Russell
Dominic Keen (DK)
Britbots
Helen Langton (HL)
University of Suffolk
Corrienne Peasgood (CP)
Norwich City College
Andrew Proctor (AP)
Norfolk County Council
Sandy Ruddock (SR)
Scarlett & Mustard
Alan Waters (AW)
Norwich City Council
Jeanette Wheeler (JW)
Birketts
Attendees
Helen Wilson (HWi)
Chair, New Anglia Cultural Board
Peter Brady (PB)
Chair, Council for Digital Tech
Shan Lloyd (SL)
BEIS
Rob Hancock (RH)
Suffolk County Council
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP
Julian Munson (JM)
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: (25.5.22)
None
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Welcome from the Chair
C-J Green (CJG) welcomed all board members to the meeting.
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Apologies
Apologies were received from John Griffiths & Johnathan Reynolds.
3
Declarations of Interest
None
4
Actions/Minutes from the last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 30th March were agreed as accurate.
CS reviewed the action log and confirmed all items have been completed.
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New Anglia Cultural Board Update
CJG introduced Helen Wilson (HWi), chair of the New Anglia Cultural Board, who provided
the board with a presentation on the work of the board and the launch of the new cultural
manifesto.
HWi highlighted the success of the board in collaborating and working in partnership with the
LEP which has attracted match funding and significant inward investment into the region
making culture one of the fastest growing sectors.
HWi noted the unprecedented change in the landscape requiring a fresh approach therefore
the manifesto has been developed to address new challenges and direct the work of the
board over the next 18 months.
Future work will be targeted around the benefits that culture can bring to health & wellbeing,
inclusive growth and the region’s unique cultural offering both in attracting investment and for
visitors.
Corrienne Peasgood (CP) asked what could be done to link culture and skills development.
HWi advised the Collaboration; Place; Change initiative had been very successful in
developing managers within the cultural sector and another such skills development scheme
is planned.
Helen Langton (HL) advised that the University of Suffolk was working with Snape Maltings
and offered to link the Cultural Board with the Integrated Care Academy to develop the health
and wellbeing work further.
Chris Starkie (CS) thanked HWi for her leadership and the time she dedicates to the board.
He stressed the success of the board in attracting match funding noting that he recently
spoke at Sutton Hoo where National Heritage advised they had only invested following the
LEP’s involvement.
He noted that the LEP was considering a bid to the Create Growth Programme which would
build on the Start East programme.
Alan Waters (AW) provided an overview of the work being carried out in Norwich to support
creative businesses recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
CGJ thanked HWi for her hard work and for the presentation. HWi left the meeting.
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The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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Industry Council for Digital Tech Update
Julian Munson (JM) welcomed Peter Brady (PB) to the board as the new chair of the council
for Digital Tech and noted the work which Neil Miles had done in progressing the role of the
council.
JM highlighted the key successes since the last board update noting in particular:
Connected Innovation the project now includes 16 hubs and 5 research/academic
institutions and a programme of events is planned to showcase their capabilities and
strengths. There are also wider events being considered or progressed through the LEP’s
innovation team around FinTech, Space / Satellite Applications and Marine Science.
Policy influencing and advocacy - the Council and its members have actively influenced UK
Government in developing new policies and strategies that respond to the needs of the
ICT/digital sector in the region as well as providing a showcase for major new programmes
that attract the interest of decision makers.
Enabling Digital Skills - Work in ongoing with the Digital Skills Taskforce chaired by Chris
Sargisson identifying gaps in resourcing and areas where businesses are experiencing
difficulties in attracting skilled staff.
PB presented his view of the role of the council noting his background in the sector and also
his knowledge of the support required by SMEs.
PB stressed the importance of skills retention given the important role of digital tech in the
region as well as generating new talent. He also highlighted the importance of reskilling
existing staff to ensure their skills stay relevant.
PB noted the support provided by Anglia Capital Group and the guidance they have provided
in completing the funding round and suggested setting up links with companies who can
provide advice on financial and legal advice to those in the sector.
He advised of a reluctance of businesses to invest in innovation and R&D given the economic
climate and felt the Council should promote this and support companies investing in this area.
PB noted that some companies had started up and taken risks during the pandemic and
identified new opportunities and these needed to be supported.
The meeting discussed the work required to ensure the tech community and the education
providers work together to identify gaps in training and how they can be addressed.
PB noted that recruitment should be more creative and that linking with the colleges and
universities can support this providing feedback on requirements and taking on suggestions
from businesses.
HL felt that links to businesses should not be left until after graduation but established at the
earliest stage. HL also highlighted the importance of technology in the growth of the health
sector and requested that this sector is included in further discussions.
CS thanked PB for his role as chair and mentioned the ongoing conversions with George
Freeman MP as Minister for Innovation and noted the LEP was pushing for our region to be
part of the development of 30 Innovation clusters which will support innovation in smaller
companies rather than just those with past significant innovation.
CJ thanked PB who left the meeting.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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LEP Operating Budget 2022/23 Confidential
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the operating budget for 2022/23
8a
LEP Capital Budget 2022/23 Confidential
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve the capital budget for the 2022/23 financial year
8b
Business Net Zero Efficiency Scheme and Growing Places Fund
Chris Dashper (CD) presented the two proposed funds to the board a new capital grant
programme aimed at SME support for growth and efficiency and the continuation of the LEPs
existing Growing Places Fund as a loan provision scheme. Both programmes will be supported
financially through the Growing Places Fund repaid loans budget.
The Business Net Zero Efficiency Scheme will provide support to businesses in the form of grants
to improve business efficiency and will help to deliver progress towards achieving the LEP Net
Zero strategic ambitions. Outputs will be agreed with each project but will be centred around
clean growth, increased efficiency and producvity and reducing emissions.
The Business Net Zero Efficiency Scheme will have an initial budget of £2.47m.
The loan fund is a continuation of the successful Growing Places Fund and will focus
exclusively on offering repayable loan funding, running a project call to stimulate demand and
generate a range of new project proposals with a likely funding requirement of £500-£700k.
Budget for the fund for GPF for 2022/23 will be set initially at £2.536m.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
To approve a new SME grant intervention for 2022/23, the Business Net Zero Efficiency
Scheme, with an initial budget of £2.47m
To approve the continuation of the Growing Places Fund for 2022/23 with a budget of
£2.536m.
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County Deals Confidential
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The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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Chief Executive’s Report including a confidential item
CS highlighted the inclusion of Growth Hub statistics in the report and noted that currently
funding for Growth Hubs runs out in 2023-24.
CS updated the board on the successful visit from the delegation from Dubai to the Norwich
Research Park and confirm that work would continue to strengthen these links.
£1m funding for skills bootcamps has been received which will support 240 learners over the
next year however target dates for completion have not changed. These will be challenged
given the delays in processing the bid.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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New Anglia Capital Report Confidential
CD presented the report bi-annual New Anglia Capital Report.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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May Programme Performance Reports
RW presented the reports and highlighted key items to the board:
Growth Deal and Getting Building Fund RW advised that this ended in March and noting the
efforts of the team to maximise spend and ensure funds were transferred to projects where
possible. In order to meet the deadline a number of capital swaps were carried out and
monitoring of these projects will continue.
Growth Programme - a reduction in applications has been seen at the start of the year and
work is ongoing to address outputs.
C-Care A new report has been included on this programme which runs to June 2023 and is
being delivered in collaboration with partners.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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Quarterly Management Accounts Confidential
RW also advised that the annual audit has begun and is ongoing.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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Board Forward Plan
CJG reviewed the items on the agenda for the June meeting.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the plan
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Any Other Business
None