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New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed) 22nd June 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 |
John Griffiths (JG) | West Suffolk Council |
Pete Joyner (PJ) | Shorthose Russell |
Dominic Keen (DK) | Britbots |
Helen Langton (HL) | University of Suffolk |
Steve Oliver (SO) | SWECO |
Corrienne Peasgood (CP) | Norwich City College |
Andrew Proctor (AP) | Norfolk County Council |
Johnathan Reynolds (JR) | Opergy |
Alan Waters (AW) | Norwich City Council |
Jeanette Wheeler (JW) | Birketts |
Attendees | |
Shan Lloyd (SL) | BEIS |
Carolyn Reid (CR) | Norfolk County Council |
Rob Hancock (RH) | Suffolk County Council |
Natasha Waller (NW) | 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 |
Actions from the meeting: (22.6.22) | |
None | |
1 | Welcome from the Chair |
C-J Green (CJG) welcomed all board members to the meeting. | |
2 | Apologies |
Apologies were received from Matthew Hicks and Sandy Ruddock. | |
3 | Declarations of Interest |
None | |
4 | Actions/Minutes from the last Meeting |
The minutes of the meeting held on 25th May were agreed as accurate. CJG noted that there are no outstanding items on the action log. | |
5 | Skills Advisory Panel Progress Update |
Claire Cullens (CC) presented the board with an overview of the SAP’s main achievements since the last board update including details on the evidence base which was commissioned and which now provides a clear starting point for activities for all partners on which to build. CC noted the key changes in the skills environment explaining that Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPS) are part of a Government plan to give local businesses a stronger voice in skills planning and advised that the Norfolk Chamber is leading on the local plan and the Local Skills report will be the starting point for discussions. CC advised that funding of SAPs has been reduced with nothing further expected and the remining funding would be used to focus on two key objectives:
CC highlighted the main skills challenges:
CC provided an overview of the Shared Prosperity Fund and noted that funds have been allocated to Norfolk and Suffolk to improve numeracy. CC also advised that £1m has been secured for Skills Bootcamps to support 240 learners and the tender is currently open for providers. Funding has only just been confirmed and timescales are challenging with 50% of learners required to start by September. Moving forwards CC stressed that it is important to ensure there is a core team able to act rapidly to take advantage of opportunities. Collaboration continues to be vital both in terms of working with partners and listening to the challenges being voiced across the region. CC advised that it was clear what works well for the SAP and what challenges were faced therefore it was vital to keep momentum going and not wait for a new structure to evolve. | |
Helen Langton (HL) agreed that Government timescales were punishing and this was being seen access the board with other funds and expressed concern that this would impact on the delivery when funding is delayed as the tight deadlines cause issues for both learners and staff working on the projects. Johnathan Reynolds (JR) expressed concern about the disconnect between the national plans and local and cluster issues. He noted that a lot of work had been carried out and it was important not to lose what had already been done given future changes in the skills arena. Chris Starkie (CS) provided the board with details of the team of LEP staff working on the various skills arenas. CS agreed that slow Government decision making was the block in delivering across range of programmes where agreements were delayed but timescales were not being changed to accommodate the delays. The Board agreed:
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6 | Norfolk and Suffolk Enterprise Zones: Progress Update |
Julian Munson (JM) provided an overview of the Enterprise Zones (EZ) successes to date and advised that over the past 10 years over £620m of public and private match funding has been secured providing nearly 5000 jobs. This investment has released a number of sites which would not otherwise have been suitable for businesses to use. JM highlighted the developments of successful partner projects where the LEP has been involved in collaboration including the Ella May Barnes and Proserv buildings, Treatt HQ and Nar Ouse Phase 1. JM noted that the board had signed off the 5 Year Strategic Plan in March 2021 which aligns with Government’s plans for clean growth and innovation and strategically aligns with growth corridors and priority places and clusters. Even though Government has turned down requests to extend the benefits of Enterprise Zones work is continuing such as providing grow on space for businesses on the NRP, making improvements to the entry point at Scottow and working with Hethel to investigate the development of other energy sources such as hydrogen. John Griffiths (JG) noted that West Suffolk Park was virtually full and thanked the LEP team for their support in achieving this success. CS advised that LEPs and partners had been lobbying Government to extend EZs and would continue to do so. The Board agreed:
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7 | Chief Executive’s Report |
CS presented his report to the board and highlighted key items. Shared Prosperity Fund – CS noted that this fund includes business support and stressed that, while the Growth Hub has supported over 12000 busineses and 53000 hours of face to face help, funding ends in the middle of next year. A collborative proposal is being develped and will be brought to the July board meeting. CS advised that discussions around County Deals are continuing. HL asked if there was still confidence in the target date of April 2023 given other Government delays. CS agreed that the current transition path would be challenging and that work was underway to produce a plan for funding in 2023/24 looking at a slimmed down LEP and agreeing areas of focus. |
JR asked whether intelligence was being collated on the impacts of inflation and the cost of living crisis. CS confirmed that this was being gathered and fed into the Cabinet office on a regular basis although frequency of the reporting has been reduced by Government. CS noted the significant amount of work ongoing the deliveries this year and encouraged the board to continue to support this work The Board agreed:
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8 | HR & Operating Policies |
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW) presented the following LEP policies presented for their annual review and approval by the board:
The board was also invited to approve the Remuneration Committee Terms of Reference. The Board agreed:
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9 | June Programme Performance Reports |
RW presented the June reports. Enterprise Advisor Network – This programme will now be match funded from ESF funds rather than Pot C. Gatsby benchmark 1 – the careers programme target runs to August 2023 and has an incremental approach to achieving it. RW advised that the Careers Hub manager, Glen Todd, is leaving to become a teacher and David Ladbrook from the Opportunity Area will be taking on the role. The Board agreed:
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10 | Board Forward Plan |
CJG reviewed the items on the agenda for the June meeting. The Board agreed:
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11 | Any Other Business None. |