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Confidential
New Anglia Board Meeting Minutes (Unconfirmed)
25th October 2023
Present:
Katy Davies (KD)
Shift Momentum
C-J Green (CJG)
Brave Goose
Claire Cullens (CC)
Norfolk Community Foundation
Dominic Keen (DK)
Britbots
Helen Langton (HL)
University of Suffolk
Neil MacDonald (NM)
Ipswich Borough Council
Kay Mason Billig (KMB)
Norfolk County Council
Andrew Mellen (AM)
Mid Suffolk District Council
Johnathan Reynolds (JR)
Opergy
Sandy Ruddock (SR)
Scarlett & Mustard
Carl Smith (CS)
Gt Yarmouth Borough Councl
Mike Stonard (MS)
Norwich City Council
Attendees
Sam Sutton (SS)
Mills & Reeve
Poppy Sutton (PS)
Mills & Reeve
Chris Starkie (CSt)
Norfolk County Council
Rob Hancock (RH)
Suffolk County Council
Chris Dashper (CD)
New Anglia LEP
James Allen (JA)
New Anglia LEP
Julian Munson (JM)
New Anglia LEP
Rosanne Wijnberg (RW)
New Anglia LEP
Helen Wilton (HW)
New Anglia LEP
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Actions from the meeting: (25.10.23)
None
1.
Welcome from the Chair
C-J Green (CJG) welcomed all board members to the meeting.
2.
Apologies
Apologies were received from David Pomfret, Matthew Hicks, Kathy Atkinson, Peter Brady and Pete
Joyner.
3.
Declarations of Interest
None
4.
Actions/Minutes from the last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 20th September were agreed as accurate.
5.
The Duties of Directors – Sam Sutton & Poppy Short from Mills and Reeve
Sam Sutton (SS) and Poppy Short (PS) from Mills & Reeve provided an overview of the
directors’ responsibilities during the integration of New Anglia LEP into Norfolk & Suffolk County
Councils. SS advised that the presentation would focus on the key responsibilities:
Duty to act with powers
Duty to promote the success of the company
Duty to consider the interests of creditors
Duty to exercise independent judgement
SS noted the importance of ensuring that all conflicts of interests are declared and recorded
including any indirect interest and noted that the impact of this on meeting quoracy needed to
be considered. If applicable it may be necessary to ask members for the quoracy requirement
to be waived.
SS also highlighted the fact that public sector directors may identify a conflict of interests
between the LEP and their employer and if so should consult their own internal policies.
SS advised that in practise claims about breach of duties are rare and largely related to
wrongdoing rather than accidental breaches.
Helen Langton (HL) noted that many of the decisions have been outside of the control of the
LEP or its directors and may not reflect their own opinions.
Poppy Short (PS) advised that the Directors should continue to work as best they could within
the framework provided by Government.
Johnathan Reynolds (JR) queried whether there was a conflict of interest for the Leaders of
NCC and SCC to lead the LEP integration and also being LEP directors.
PS advised that leaders need to consider Article 12 as to whether the restrictions reply
regarding directors’ responsibilities and meeting quoracy.
The board discussed the timeline for the integration and asked if there were key timescales that
Directors need to be aware of.
SS noted that the LEP and directors are having to react at short notice and need to be pragmatic
doing the best in the time available. It is vital to ensure that decisions are fully documented.
SS and PS confirmed that they were available for questions from board members.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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6.
New Anglia Innovation Board
Julian Munson (JM) presented the update report to the board noting the continued high level
of activity within the team.
He noted that with 25 innovation hubs the network is the largest in the country and includes
800 businesses and over 20000 people.
JM highlighted the development activities being carried out within the Connected Innovation
network and advised that the new website has now gone live.
Sub groups have been set up to look at investment to support the scale up of companies and
in October a day was hosted by UKRI at the John Innes Centre focussing on showcasing the
region in the agri-tech sector.
JM presented the Innovation Action Plan which he advised was the first of its kind outside of
metropolitan areas. The plan covers key areas for future work:
Identification of opportunities and areas for development
Strategic partnerships
Support for Innovation
Collaboration – the provision of national to local support
The plan will launched in December at Adastral Park.
JR thanked JM & James Allen (JA) for their continued hard work and highlighted the power of
collaboration across several counties.
JR advised board member that there was nationwide concern around economic development
in innovation and that he was hoping for support from the Autumn Statement on November.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
7.
Agri Food Industry Council
JA presented the report and highlighted progress in key areas:
Objectives - The AFIC delivery plan fully aligns with the Economic Strategy for Norfolk and
Suffolk and is regularly refreshed to ensure it remains relevant to the AFIC’s aims and
objectives.
Innovation UK launchpad – New Anglia LEP led a successful bid to the Launchpad
competition focused on Agri-Tech across the entire agri-food supply chain and our research
strengths covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Lincolnshire and Rutland.
This provides up to £7.5 million over 3 years for business-led innovation projects and wrap-
around support. The support will provide small scale financial assistance and large scale
investments and an innovation grant mentoring project will provide bid writing support across
both counties.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
8.
Chief Executive’s Report inc Confidential Items
Confidential
The board agreed:
To note the content of the report
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9.
Quarterly Management Accounts - Confidential
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the report
10.
Board Forward Plan
CJG reviewed the items on the agenda for the November meeting.
The Board agreed:
To note the content of the plan
11.
Any Other Business
None
