MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING HELD ON 14 SEPTEMBER 2006 AT THE BELLA VISTA RESTAURANT, MILNROW, ROCHDALE

Present: 

Bryan Gray (Chairman)
Martin Harris
Joe Dwek
Peter Hensman
Pauleen Lane
Dave McCall
John Merry
John Moverley
Vanda Murray
Marie Rimmer
Anil Ruia
Mike Storey
Maureen Williams

 

Also Present: 

Steven Broomhead
Bernice Law, Secretary
Peter White 82/04
Patrick White 82/05
Simon Nokes 82/05
Ian Haythornthwaite 82/09

David Higham  GONW (Observer)
Phil Robinson NWRA (Observer)

PRESENTATION: “MAKING THE LINK”

The Board received a presentation from Jo Whittaker, Regional Director and David Smith, Client Services Director of Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS). The presentation, entitled Making the Link looked at how local environmental quality could be linked to economic improvement.  The Board was advised of the work of ENCAMS, particularly in relation to local environmental quality and related to anti social behaviour and why it is important for economic improvement.  Specifically highlighted was the work ENCAMs was undertaking in respect of the North West Liveability Foundation pilot programme and the draft Northern Way Cleaner Safer Greener policy.

82/01 INTRODUCTION AND APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from David Brockbank and Brenda Smith.

82/02 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13 JULY 2006 AND MATTERS ARISING

The minutes were approved as a correct record.

82/03 ACTION POINTS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 
 
The Board noted the progress made on the action points from the previous meetings.

ITEMS FOR DECISION
 
82/04 NEW EAST MANCHESTER URC: CLAYTON BROOK RELOCATION PROJECT
 
Pauleen Lane declared an interest in this item.

The Board was advised that the Clayton Brook project was designed to facilitate significant regeneration in East Manchester that would enable the clearance of a major site in the Eccleshall Street area to provide 410 housing units.  Eccleshall Street had been prioritised because of its very poor housing and environmental conditions, which were causing large scale blight in the area.

The Board noted that the new housing would provide a further critical step in the holistic regeneration of the area and that the project was a major priority for New East Manchester URC in order to help to double the population of New East Manchester to 60,000; and a key element of the Housing Market Renewal programme.

 The Board noted that the total cost of the project. The Board approved an investment to support the relocation of Greggs Bakery, which was a critical component of the wider scheme. Additional public sector funding would be provided by English Partnerships and the Housing Market Renewal Fund.

82/05 COMPREHENSIVE SPENDING REVIEW 2007

 The Board was advised that as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007, the Government was undertaking a sub national review of economic development.  The RDA network and the English Regions network (the Regional Assemblies) had already been asked to input into the review.  However HM Treasury had now asked each region to provide an input. The Board was therefore asked to review the first draft of the NW input, which had been developed by the RES Advisory Group.  The document had also been circulated to regional partners, who had been asked to provide comments by 12 September.  At the meeting, the Board received some of the feedback that had been received and gave particular comments on the document.

The draft advice had been presented under five drivers of productivity and employment and within each driver, the Advisory Group had considered what the region would need to achieve itself as well as actions by government to enable the NW to fulfil its potential.

The Board acknowledged that work was still ongoing to further develop the document and agreed that the Agency should continue to work with the Regional Assembly to finalise the region’s response.  The Board agreed that NWDA Chairman and the NWRA Executive should sign off the final version for onward submission to Government.
 
82/06 INDEPENDENT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IMPROVEMENT PLAN
 
The Board was advised that following the National Audit Office’s publication of the Agency’s Independent Performance Assessment on 7 June, which had assessed the Agency as Performing Strongly, the Agency had been required to produce an Improvement Plan to respond to the areas for improvement as highlighted in the Assessment.

The Board noted that the format for the Plan had been prescribed by NAO. The Board approved the Improvement Plan for onward submission to NAO.  The Board agreed to receive two progress reports each year. 
 
ITEMS FOR INFORMATION
 
82/07 NUCLEAR NATIONAL SKILLS ACADEMY
 
The Board was reminded that Nuclear was a key sector for the region and was identified as a priority within the RES.  The Board noted that the Agency had been working in close partnership with Cogent (the Sector Skills Council) and the LSC to identify the issues in respect of the relevant key skills and to develop appropriate solutions.  The Board agreed that a major success had been the location of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in West Cumbria, which was now taking a key role in addressing the skills challenges.

The Board noted that employers had identified a clear need for the creation of a Nuclear National Skills Academy (NNSA) which would have the Nucleus Centre as its delivery arm. Substantial work had been undertaken over the last two years to develop the proposals for the Academy and the Centre.  In addition, there was now a DfES led agenda to develop around ten to twelve National Skills Academies.  An announcement at the end of July had confirmed that the NNSA was one of eight out of seventeen applications short listed to the next round.  The Board noted that DfES would announce the successful academies in October.

The Board also noted that the site for the Academy had been confirmed as the Lillyhall site in Cumbria and that building work would commence in January 2007. 

The Board welcomed the considerable progress that had been made to date; and noted that:

• The Agency would work closely with SEEDA, SWRDA, Scotland and Wales to ensure national coverage for the Academy
• That all partners would be encouraged to ensure that the Nucleus Centre funding applications were progressed as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

82/08 CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
 
a) MediaCity: UK/ BBC North     

John Merry and Anil Ruia declared an interest in this item.

The Board was reminded of the BBC’s announcement in July, that Media City: UK would be the preferred developer. The Board noted that since then the Agency had been working with Media City:UK and the BBC to progress the project and was also working with the other Northern RDAs to ensure that Northern businesses took full advantage of the business and skills opportunities which would be created.  The Board noted that management and governance arrangements for MediaCity:UK were being established; the NWDA Chairman was leading a senior level Steering Group; and that an Executive Management Group involving Central Salford URC, Salford City Council, Peel Developments, the BBC and NWDA was in place to work through the elements of the Media City: UK implementation plan.

The Board acknowledged that the agreement with the developers was conditional upon a satisfactory Licence Fee agreement with Government and value for money.  The Board also noted that discussions were taking place with ITV regarding the TV company’s future plans.

The Board welcomed the news that CPRG had provided agreement, in principle, to the Agency’s proposed funding contribution to Media City: UK which would be for physical infrastructure and public realm works.  Final approval from CPRG was expected by the end of September / early October.

b) Burnley FE/HE Campus   

The Board noted the progress made to develop the Burnley FE/HE Campus, which was one of the Transformational Actions in the RES and was one of two interlinked projects, the other being Burnley Enterprise Park.  Both were progressing simultaneously.

The Board was advised that the Burnley Campus development proposed the acquisition and reclamation of land to relocate Burnley College to a new 17,500 sq m facility; provide a new 6000 sq m HE facility for UCLAN; and provide the education element of a proposed wider Burnley Education / Enterprise cluster.   The Burnley Enterprise project would provide significant regeneration in the town centre, allowing opportunities for enterprise growth and new business start ups. 800 jobs were expected to be created or safeguarded; 20 new businesses initiated; and 500 people assisted to improve their skills.
 
c) Lake District National Park Authority: Business Plan 2006/09   

The Board noted that on 18 August the Lake District National Park (LDNP) had published its Business Plan for the period 2006 to 2009.  Board Members were reminded that the Park had undergone a review of its performance and had proposed a number of changes to bring about improvement.  The Board acknowledged that the Business Plan was a first step towards the Park Authority demonstrating its commitment to improvement and achieving excellence in the long term.  

The Board was advised that the Plan was organised under four themes with five key outcomes and a number of delivery aims.  The Board noted the delivery aims with which the Agency would be involved.

The Board welcomed the production of the Business Plan and endorsed the Agency’s intention to continue to work with LDNP directly and through Cumbria Vision to bring about the improvements that were envisaged.  In particular Board Members agreed that the Park had taken an important initiative in helping to establish a new partnership to drive forward the vision and that the emphasis within the Plan on developing a prosperous economy and world class visitor experience was particularly encouraging.

d) Rural Renaissance Evaluation   

The Board was advised that a mid term evaluation had been conducted by consultants SQW of Rural Renaissance, the North West Regional Rural Recovery Plan, which was completed in May 2006.  The Board was reminded that the Rural Recovery Plan had been developed by the region and led by NWDA in the wake of the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001. 

The Board noted the outcome of the evaluation, which had confirmed that the Agency’s intervention in addressing the aftermath of Foot and Mouth was justified.  The Board acknowledged that the development of Rural Renaissance policy so close to the Foot and Mouth crisis had inevitably given rise to some problems, particularly around the targeting of resource.

The Board was advised that the evaluation had provided a number of recommendations around the development of future policy, programme delivery, performance monitoring and measurement. An action plan had been developed to take forward the recommendations.
 
e) Manchester and Liverpool City Region Business Cases   

The Board noted the progress that Manchester and Liverpool had made to develop their City Region Business Plans.  Following Manchester’s submission in March, representatives from the City had met Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and a revised Business Case had been developed which expanded on governance, accountability and delivery issues.  The revised document had been re-submitted to Government in July. 

The Board was advised that Liverpool’s Business Case proposals were less advanced. A Ministerial meeting with the city’s representatives was expected to take place in the autumn.
The Chairman reported on a very encouraging meeting he and the Chief Executive had attended recently with Merseyside Leaders and Chief Executives.

The Board noted that Ruth Kelly had written to both Manchester and Liverpool to outline her keenness to see appropriate governance arrangements in place, which would mean the alignment of strong city region leadership with share regional strategic priorities.

In addition, the Board noted that following the Central Lancashire Cities and Towns summit which Phil Woolas, Minister of State for Local Government attended, Central Lancashire partners would submit their Business Case by 29 September.  The Agency was being consulted as part of its preparation.
 
The Board also noted that the Local Government White Paper which was expected to be published shortly was likely to contain proposals for increased powers, freedoms and flexibilities at local level; and that there was a possibility that such proposals would be piloted in areas such as Manchester.  RDAs were being involved in shaping the White Paper through the Chief Executives’ Forum.
 
f) Northern Way Progress Report    

The Board noted the progress made with the Northern Way, since the strategic stocktake that had taken place in March: 

• Work was underway on the submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review, which would be complementary to the collective RDA submission and the North West submission.
• A clear framework had been agreed to determine the Northern Way’s Transformational Activities (TAs) and the top five TAs had been agreed.

The Board also noted that the Northern Transport Compact had met for the second time on 15 June and had:

• Focused on the Northern Prioritisation Framework and CSR submission
• Considered the M62 route action plan
• Reviewed the Northern Way submission to the Transport Productivity and Innovation Fund. 

g) LSC Re-organisation   

The Board received an update on the restructuring of the Learning and Skills Council:

• New LSC Regional Boards were being established to act as statutory bodies and that local Learning & Skills councils would be disbanded. 
• The Northwest Regional Board would include the five LSC Chairs and ultimately would be chaired by a private sector representative. (Roger Hoyle who chaired the Merseyside LSC was chairing the Regional Board for the time being.) The NWDA Chief Executive had observer status. 
• John Korzeniewski remained as the NW Regional Director, but no longer has responsibility for an individual LSC.  A new regional structure was being implemented.
• Former LSC Executive Directors were now known as Directors of Area.  There had been a number of staff changes. 

The Board agreed that there was a need for clarification around the role of the LSC Regional Skills team, that was being established as part of the new structure.
 
h) Audit Commission’s Annual Review 2005/06: Getting Better Value from Public Services   

The Board noted the summary of the Audit Commission’s key achievements for 2005/06 as published in the Commission’s Annual Review document which was released on 20 July.   The document highlighted the range of publications that the Commission had issued through the year as well as joint studies with the National Audit Office on a series of issues. 

In particular the Board noted the work that the Commission had done to develop a more challenging measure for single tier and county councils through a revised version of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA – the Harder Test).

The Board also noted the Commission’s five strategic objectives, which were to:

• Raise standards of financial management and financial reporting;
• Challenge public bodies to deliver better value for money;
• Encourage continual improvement in public services so they meet the changing needs of diverse communities and provide access for all;
• Promote high standards of governance and accountability;
• Stimulate significant improvement in the quality of data and the use of information by decision makers.

i) Achieving Innovation in Central Government Organisations   

The Board noted the report from Public Policy Group at the London School of Economics, on innovation within central government organisations, which had been commissioned by the National Audit Office.  The report summarised a list of innovative changes that each government department, including RDAs had submitted as part of the study.

The Board was advised that the study had concluded that whilst most of central government’s organisational or administrative innovations were diverse, the majority involved the improvement of performance management, introduction of new IT projects or web services, as well as some physical technology challenges.  The Board welcomed the fact that the most recent projects sought to “join up” government or improve users experiences of services. 
 
j) Climate Change Action Plan    

The Board noted the progress made since the June launch of the Consultation Document for the development of the Climate Change Action Plan:

• The formal consultation period closed on 5 September. As at 20 August forty formal responses had been received, which were overwhelmingly positive.
• During the consultation period 15 consultation events had been held with a range of interest groups.
• Presentations had been organised to take place during September, for Sub Regional Partnerships and Local Authorities as well as a special event for high Carbon Dioxide emitters.  Two Dinners would take place on 21 September and 23 October for business leaders and lead partners respectively.
• The Action Plan would be formally launched at an event on 9 November. 

k Casino Advisory Panel    

The Chief Executive gave a verbal update on his attendance at the Casino Advisory Panel earlier in the month.  A decision was expected in December 2006.
 
l Bickershaw Colliery 

The Chief Executive outlined the current position on the project and particular issues concerned with writedowns.  It was agreed that the decision on progressing the project would be delegated to the Chief Executive, the Chairman and Pauleen Lane.
 

82/09 FINANCE DIRECTOR’S REPORT 
 
The Board noted the Agency’s financial position for the period ending 31 July 2006.

The Board was advised of the Agency’s approach to Risk Management which was being developed in line with recognised best practice.  The Board noted that the Agency’s Risk Strategy was currently being reviewed and would be presented to the Audit Committee.  The Board was also advised that, the Agency’s Business Continuity Plan had been revised to reflect the new organisational structure.
 
The Board noted Delegations which had been approved during the period 21 July 2006 to 10 August 2006.

82/10 CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
 
The Chairman reported the following:-

• The West Cumbria Strategic Forum with Alistair Darling in the Chair met in July where he agreed to continue as Chair.  The challenge now is to produce a quality masterplan for West Cumbria
• The DTI are looking at locations for the Technical Strategy Board.  The Agency have, with Partners, proposed Daresbury which is supported by ONE.
• The Chairman reminded the Board about the AGM on 4 October and that the December Board meeting would be followed by the Annual Board Dinner.

82/11 MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE HELD ON 13 JULY 2006
 
The Board noted the Minutes from the Audit Committee held on 13 July 2006.
 
82/12 MINUTES OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUB COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 13 JULY 2006
 
The Board noted the Minutes from the Infrastructure Sub Committee meeting held on 13 July 2006.

82/13 MINUTES OF THE MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND TOURISM SUB COMMITTEE HELD ON 13 JULY 2006
 
The Board noted the Minutes from Minutes from the Marketing, Communications and Tourism Sub Committee held on 13 July 2006. 

82/14 MINUTES OF THE ENVIRONMENT SUB COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON 20 JULY 2006
 
The Board noted the Minutes from the Environment Sub Committee held on 20 July 2006.

DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place on Friday 20 October 2006 at Renaissance House, Warrington.