Draft Minutes. 1. Welcome and Apologies Action As above.

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1 West of England Local Enterprise Partnership Board meeting Agenda item 3 Wednesday 30 th November 2016, Engine Shed, Temple Meads, Bristol Present: Stephen Robertson, Chair Cllr Tim Warren, Bath & NE Somerset Council Esther McMorris, Nine Feet Tall Guy Stobart Mike Jackson, North Somerset Council Cllr Matthew Riddle, South Gloucestershire Council Mayor Marvin Rees Bristol City Council Cllr Nigel Ashton, North Somerset Council In Attendance Patricia Greer, WoE LEP John Malyckyj, WoE LEP Pete Davis, WoE LEP Robert Sinclair, Bristol International Airport Ashley Ayre, Bath & NE Somerset Council Nick Horne, Knightstone Housing Group Kalpna Woolf, LEP Skills Group Chair James Durie, Business West Amanda Deeks, South Gloucestershire Council Stephen Hughes, Bristol City Council Neil Way, Jeff Way Electrical Prof Steven West, UWE Antony Corfield, WoE LEP Tim Richens, Bath & NE Somerset Council Prof Joe McGeehan, Toshiba Research Labs Apologies: John Pritchard, GKN Aerospace Services Limited Draft Minutes 1. Welcome and Apologies Action As above. 2. Declarations of Interest Members interests are recorded in the published Registers of Interests: In addition: Stephen Robertson declared that he had been appointed Board Advisor to Sofology Ltd Prof Joe McGeehan declared that he had recently become a member of the Council of Trustees for St Monica's Nick Horne declared himself to be a member of the Bristol Homes Board 3. Minutes of the meeting of 21 st September 2016 The minutes were approved as a true record. 4. Update Recent Media Patricia Greer and Tim Richens updated the Board on recent media interest in the LEP. Members expressed a clear desire to be informed as soon as possible should a similar situation arise. 1

2 Prof West said that it was important to note that Board members were there as representatives not as individuals, so there had been the need to respond as a university on a reputational basis. 5. Autumn Statement Patricia Greer gave a summary of the possible impact of the Autumn Statement but explained that in terms of the Growth Fund, the actual figures had yet to be announced. A Productivity Fund of 23.6b had been announced, details of the bidding process were not yet clear. The BEIS green paper on industrial strategy was due to be published and the LEP would engage at the appropriate moment. The importance of developing a clear narrative for the West of England was stressed as an aid to future bidding processes. It was agreed that Patricia Greer would meet with Cllr Ashton and Robert Sinclair to consider how best to take forward the financing of a study for a surface link to Bristol Airport. (Board Members were reminded that in the register of interests Robert Sinclair was Chief Executive of Bristol Airport) Patricia Greer 6. LEP Cross Cutting Groups updates a) SME Group update Neil Way Updated the Board on the Growth Hub. A Growth Hub manager could now be recruited as the funding was in place to support it until April The importance of a re-vamped website was stressed making it a hub for information and materials aimed at SMEs. The new manager would have the opportunity to work on this and move to a position where the Hub could pay for itself. There was scope for the successful candidate to grow the role. It was noted that the Antony Corfield was about to meet with Unitary Authority officers to explore ideas around the future of the Growth Hub. The LEP Board noted the progress made by the cross-cutting SME Group and agreed to provide comment on the development and future role of the West of England Growth Hub. b) Skills Group Kalpna Woolf The update of the Skills Prospectus was highlighted; the aim was to make it a web-based document to allow greater flexibility. Members could communicate any views prior to the next meeting. 2

3 7. Annual Business Skills Survey 2016 Andrew Engeli and Oliver Allies, both from Wavehill gave a presentation on the recent Skills Survey. A discussion followed: It was noted that an action plan would be created once conclusions had been reached. Concern was expressed about attitudes to and the take-up of apprenticeships. Mayor Rees said that having committed to ensure that all young people in Bristol had access to apprenticeships he was concerned at the findings of the survey. There was scope for further collaboration between the councils and business. 8. Equality and Diversity Kalpna Woolf Kalpna Woolf presented the report. The following points were made: It was suggested that when the work was completed some key targets should be identified. The Bristol Business Conference Inclusive Growth, was to be held on 14 th December 2016 at City Hall. Action: Date to be circulated to the Board There were opportunities that could be identified by having such a diverse business base and population with trading relationships across the world. John Malyckyj 9. LEP Industrial Strategy Patricia Greer presented the report. The LEP Board noted the report. 10. LEP Governance Patricia Greer presented the report and then sought views on the following discussion points: I. Do you agree with section 2a of the report which sets out the history of our current LEP arrangements? There was broad agreement that it was a fair reflection however James Durie felt that there were some issues that he wished to explore further outside the meeting. II. Do you agree with section 2b of the report which sets out some of the issues with the current LEP governance arrangements? One point to consider was that of cost, compared to other LEPs Perhaps the number of meetings could be reduced to maintain input from business With a need for greater accountability and transparency then attempting to reduce costs could have a negative impact 3

4 It was important to set a clear purpose, and make transparent where the decision making lay The LEP had been promoted as being business led in the early days but the reality had been that it was more of a partnership with the formal decision making made elsewhere. III. Do you agree that the LEP board has a role in ensuring that there is business input into regional decision making? (section 3 a) It was important to define what input means. Was it, views and advice rather than decision making? The Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) and Strategic Leaders Board (SLB) would be decision making bodies, the roll of the LEP Board would be advisory. It was noted that the MCA would have the power to levy business rates but with the agreement of the business community. The original intention and vision of the Government was that LEPs should be business led but the reality had been different. Some funding opportunities would come via the MCA and some via the SLB, so this needed to be considered in looking at the role of business. Consider how other MCAs and LEPs were dealing with the issues There was an opportunity to learn from the experiences of the last few years and clean up the structure IV. What are your views on LEP Board business representation? (section 3a) It was important for the business community to understand the exact purpose of the Board. There was a need to build something that was sustainable The role of the Sector Groups and participation within them needed to be explored, was the spread of representation correct and were we sure that the business conducted was relevant? Whereas elected members have a mandate from the electorate this wasn t so clear as far as business representatives were concerned. Consider how best to encourage wider involvement within the LEP structure to ensure better representation across the key sectors. V. Do you agree with the proposed sub board structure and do you agree that there should be business members of the sub boards? (section 3b) What are your views on the backgrounds/skills of the board members? It was pointed out that some of these matters remained the statutory responsibility of the authorities as expressed through the formal structure of the committees and boards Experience had indicated the difficulties of involving business in areas where elected council members had responsibilities to discharge such as in planning and housing; this needed to be considered going forward. It was important to consider how to streamline the structure to make best use of people s time Perhaps there should be further contact with sector chairs to explore these matters further The importance of continued support from the LEP office The sector groups could be streamlined and the number of meetings reduced in order to maintain the interest of the business community 4

5 A different approach might be for the sub-groups to appoint task and finish groups to undertake specific projects with tangible outcomes thus engaging with people with specific skills or expertise in a particular thread of work There was general agreement that the LEP website should be revamped and enhanced. Patricia Greer thanked the Board for their input and indicated that further thoughts off-line were welcome. 11. LEP Narrative It was agreed that this item be carried over to a future meeting. 12. Nuclear South West and Hinkley Antony Corfield updated the Board on current activity. It was noted that matters were beginning to develop at Oldbury and the Board should keep this in mind. There appeared to be no publicly available plan that indicated a timeline of activity and this related to a lack of information regarding the skills agenda and what might be required. Cllr Ashton suggested that this should be the subject of a report at the next SLB in January. The delay in decision making had contributed to the stop/start nature of the information being released. The LEP Board noted the report and the next steps in the programme. 13. Bristol Quarter Enterprise Zone Extension/Bath and Somer Valley EZ Pete Davis presented the report. That the LEP Board: a) the MoU for the Bath & Somer Valley EZ attached at Appendix 1 and authorised the Board Chair to sign on behalf of the LEP b) Authorised the Board Chair in consultation with the LEP Chief Executive to agree and endorsed the final Implementation Plan for the Bath & Somer Valley EZ for submission to Government by 14 December to enable the EZ to be enacted in April c) Noted progress made in finalising the draft MoU for the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, and authorised the LEP Chair to approve it once a draft has been considered by the Mayor of Bristol. 5

6 14. West of England Investment Board One Front Door Pete Davis presented the report. There was still a need for further clarity regarding the Bristol OPCR project and whether the MOU was ready for sign-off. Stephen Hughes felt that all outstanding issues had been resolved. Action: Pete Davis to follow up issue of MOU. The Chair requested that the next report covered the risks of under and overprogramming. Action The LEP Board gave views on the scheme decisions and endorsed the recommendations made in paragraph 3 a) r). Pete Davis Pete Davis 15. West of England Growth Fund Members noted the report. 16. AOB It was noted that the LEP Conference would be taking place on 16th January Next meeting: Friday 24 th February 2016, , Engine Shed, Bristol 6