MINUTES OF THE BOARD MEETING HELD ON 18 OCTOBER 2007 AT MICC, MANCHESTER

Present: 
Bryan Gray (Chair)
Sir Martin Harris
Joe Dwek
Peter Hensman
Pauleen Lane
Dave McCall
John Moverley
Vanda Murray
Marie Rimmer
Anil Ruia
Brenda Smith
Mike Storey
Maureen Williams 

Also Present: 
Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive
Patrick White, Executive Director of Policy /Secretary
MarkHughes (94/04,94/05)
Ian Haythornthwaite (94/07)

94/01 INTRODUCTION, APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Apologies were received from David Brockbank, John Merry and Phil Robinson (NWRA).

94/02 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2007 AND MATTERS ARISING

The minutes were approved as a correct record.

94/03 ACTION POINTS FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS 
 
The Board noted the progress made on the action points from previous meetings.

94/04 LIVERPOOL NHS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CENTRE (BRC)

The Board was advised that the NHS Biomedical Research Centre would create a unique facility in the UK that would deliver major benefits to the region by:

• Creating the only Department of Health Centre for infectious diseases in the UK; delivering a major component in sector support infrastructure; and consolidating a major unique selling point for the region, particularly Merseyside.
• Providing a national focus for research and securing long term public and private funding traction.
• Forming an international beacon for inward investment and R&D collaboration for industry.
  The Board was advised that the BRC would provide a significant opportunity for the North West region to establish itself as a national leader in infectious diseases research. 
• Agency investment would support the development of a Bio-analytical facility; a Medical Microbiology Facility; a High Throughput Screening Facility; and Health and Population Sciences Space Rationalisation.  It would also fund a BRC Business Manager post.

The Board noted that the centre was expected to be completed and launched by June 2009.

The Enterprise and Skills Sub Committee, at its meeting on 19 September 2007,  had reviewed the project in detail and had agreed to recommend Board approval of the proposed Agency investment.

The Board approved Agency investment towards the project.

94/05 BUSINESS RESOURCE EFFICIENCY PROJECT

The Board was advised that the Business Resource Efficiency project aimed to improve the competitiveness and productivity of the region’s companies by reducing their exposure to environmental risk and improving their resource efficiency.  The Board noted that the project aimed to:

• Save businesses £50m pa, increase sales by £25m and safeguard a further £55m sales.
• Reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions by 200,000 tonnes, reduce water consumption by 1.3m cubic metres and reduce raw materials by 800,000 tonnes pa.
• Provide 2,800 North West businesses with environmental and corporate responsibility support services over three years. 
• Provide 600 individuals with work based training.

The project would achieve this through providing environmental advice and support to businesses; and specialist information support.  It would also provide flexible delivery capacity and impact evaluation.

The Board noted that the project would be led by the existing ENWORKS partnership.  Delivery would be integrated within Business Link Northwest.

The Board was advised that, over the next three financial years, the project would: create 437 and safeguard 672 jobs; assist 2,800 businesses and provide work based training for 600 individuals.

Additional outputs would include:

• £50m cost savings.
• 800,000t raw material savings.
• 200,000t carbon dioxide savings.
• 1,300,000m3 water savings.
• £25M sales increased.
• £55M sales safeguarded.

The Board was advised that the Agency was being asked to provide an investment over three years for the first phase of the project.  The Board noted that the project was expected to lever appropriate funding from the EU Northwest Operational Programme and support from national programmes such as Envirowise and the Carbon Trust. 

A second phase of the project would be developed, subject to the completion of a successful evaluation of the project after the first twelve months.

The Enterprise and Skills Sub Committee had reviewed the project at its meeting on 19 September 2007 and had agreed to recommend Board approval of the proposed Agency investment.

94/06 CHIEF EXECUTIVES REPORT

a) Media City: UK Update      
The Board received an update on the development of the Media City:UK project. The Board noted that a stakeholder event would take place on 20 November 2007 to present the shared vision and begin the development of most of the support programme.  The Mediacity:UK Prospectus would be published shortly.

The Board also noted that the Managing Director of Mediacity would be recruited by Peel Media during November and was expected to be in post early in 2008.

b) NW ICT Strategy     
The Board was reminded of the successful outcomes from the previous NW ICT Strategy, particularly in respect of the first generation broadband coverage, which was now reaching 99.9% of businesses and citizens in the region.  There were still, however, a number of barriers in place that were preventing businesses from fully exploiting the capabilities of the available content and applications. The Agency was currently revising the region’s ICT Strategy to ensure that the remaining barriers were addressed.

The Board was advised that should ICT within the region be fully optimised the potential impact for the NW economy would be a 3.7% productivity increase that would equate to a £3.7bn uplift over a five to seven year period.  The private sector was fully involved in the development of the Strategy.

The Board noted that subject to a detailed review and approval by the Enterprise and Skills Sub Committee, the Strategy would be officially launched in March 2008.

c) Select Committee on Education and Skills: Ninth Report   
The Chief Executive reported that in August 2007 the Education and Skills Select Committee published its report on post 16 Skills, to which he had provided evidence on behalf of all the RDAs. 

The Board noted that the Committee had commended Government on its sustained focus on Skills and agreed that it was vital that the policy focus continued under new departmental arrangements. 

The Board noted the Committee’s findings which centred on:

• The need for a more coherent support to employers.
• The need for a comprehensive review and thorough analysis of the current Skills infrastructure. 
• The Train to Gain (TTG) programme - the Committee had received evidence which had raised questions about the quality of provision; and in some cases TTG appeared to be creating an extra unwelcome layer.

The challenges that Sector Skills Councils were facing in terms of representing the views and needs of very diverse sectors; and of SMEs in particular. Some also appeared to have capacity issues.

The Board noted the Committee had recommended that Funding for Skills “infrastructure” should be carefully targeted and that Government and the LSC should make explicit the criteria by which they assess the work of Train To Gain (TTG) brokers, as well as the steps they are taking to achieve value for money.

The Chief Executive reminded the Board that in the North West, TTG was delivered by Business Link NW; and that the NW was the only region to deliver an integrated brokerage service. The Board noted that for 2006/07, 91% of employers had confirmed their satisfaction with the service.

The Board was also reminded that the Agency had been working closely with the LSC to develop TTG as a holistic service that would support businesses and increase productivity by addressing the skills needs of their workforce; and that the service would be responsive to employer needs across all skills levels.  The Board welcomed the fact that the Select Committee’s findings would be used to inform the development of TTG for the future.

The Board also welcomed the news that as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement made on 9 October 2007, the Chancellor had confirmed that from April 2009 RDAs would manage the Skills Brokerage arrangement within an Integrated Business Link Service.  Appropriate resources would pass from the LSCs to RDAs via the Single Pot.

d) Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation   
The Board noted that on 5 October 2007 Lord Sainsbury had published his review of the UK Science and Innovation system.  The review had examined how the role of science and innovation sought to ensure that the UK remained competitive; and had concluded that the UK was well placed to take advantage of the new markets opened up by globalisation.

The Board noted that Government had accepted all the recommendations from the review and welcomed the fact that the report had been very positive about the role of RDAs.  As a result of the review RDAs were being asked to 

• Concentrate on four areas of Innovation. (i.e. user driven collaborative R&D, Knowledge Transfer, Clusters; and Start up and Growth of new businesses).
• Collaborate with the Design Council to improve design in high tech clusters.

The Board noted that within the report, there was a suggested mechanism for RDAs to allocate spend against the Technology Strategy Board’s priority areas.  The Board agreed that this would need some thought and consideration as well as some testing in terms of the practicalities, budget implications; and timing; and welcomed the fact that the Agency would work with RDA colleagues to agree a consensus on the way forward.
 
The Board also noted that the report included specific case studies on Manchester University’s success (particularly in respect of RENOVO and Neu Tec) and Daresbury and its success as a model for elsewhere.

e) Government’s Draft Legislative Programme    
The Chief Executive reported that on 8 October 2007 he had attended an event at which Beverley Hughes in her capacity as Regional Minister, presented for review the Government’s draft legislative programme, which would be formally announced in the Queen’s Speech in November.

The Board noted that the Programme contained at least 23 Bills, of which the following were of particular relevance to RDAs:

• Climate Change;
• Education and Skills;
• Employment Simplification;
• Energy;
• Housing and Regeneration;
• Local Transport;
• Planning Reform; and
• Planning Gain Supplement.

The Board agreed that the event reinforced the Government’s commitment to devolvement to the regions by allowing, for the first time, discussion prior to the Queen’s Speech.

The Board noted that at the event, Beverley Hughes confirmed that her driving theme was Partnership and that she wished to carry out her role as Regional Minister in three ways:

• To act, within Whitehall, as an Ambassador for the North West.
• To be central Government’s representative within the region.
• To ensure that central Government is doing its best for the region.

f) Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR)    
The Board noted the key measures relevant to RDAs that had been included in the CSR announcement made on 9 October 2007.  They were as follows:

• That the RDA single programme budget would be £2,140m by 2010/11 from a base of £2,274m in 2007/08. 
• Confirmation of the RDAs’ commitment to savings of £349m by 2010/11.  HM Treasury had asked RDAs to keep an element of this to fund new responsibilities. 
• RDAs would take responsibility for a single brokerage service for skills development and business support delivered through Business Link.
• RDAs would also take responsibility for Economic impact of major events (e.g. flooding) and SNR implementation (specifically the new planning role).

g) Strategic Direction for Transport: Northern Way Study into Transport Priorities   
The Board noted that The Northern Way had recently published a study into transport priorities which formed the basis of the Northern Way’s submission for consideration by Government as part of its Comprehensive Spending Review.  The study stated that there was a compelling case for a “northern cross rail” to connect Leeds, Manchester and other northern cities.  It also proposed that the congested Manchester hub should be tackled as it was constraining the transport system in the north and beyond.  Overall the study defined a strategic direction for transport in the North to support productivity. 

The Board was advised that the Study looked ahead over the next twenty to thirty years; and that Northern Way was seeking to secure Government commitment to the proposed investment through CSR and beyond.  The Northern Way acknowledged that the planning process was such that it was likely to be at least ten years before anything transformational could occur.  However the view was that in the interim, there were plenty of opportunities to achieve visible and worthwhile progress; and the study advised that work necessary to deliver the longer term priorities and improvements should not be delayed.

The Board noted that from the Northern Way Growth Fund had already been used to facilitate and foster partnership working across the North, but given that the Fund would come to an end in March 2008, the Study called for successor funding to be used to support discretionary transport expenditure on short term capital projects and the development of medium and longer term solutions.

h) University of Cumbria Strategic Plan 2007/12     
The Board noted that the University of Cumbria had recently published its five year Strategic Plan from 2007 to 2012.  The Plan consisted of three strategic goals, which were underpinned by five core themes and a number of key performance indicators. 

The Board welcomed the news that during September 2007 the University had made good progress in respect of recruitment; and that there was a clear indication that the University would make a significant capital investment in West Cumbria as part of its Estates Strategy.
 
i) National Skills Academy for Nuclear – Announcement on Location     
The Board noted that on 24 September 2007, Skills Minister David Lammy had announced that the Head Office for National Skills Academy for Nuclear would be located in Cumbria.  The decision had been made by an employer – led shadow board; and premises were now being sourced.

The Board was advised that the Skills Academy was a wholly owned subsidiary of Cogent, the Sector Skills Council for the chemicals, pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymer industries.  It would assist employers in the Nuclear industry to tackle the current and future skills barriers and challenges that they face in relation to Government’s changing nuclear agenda.

The Chief Executive reported that the Agency was active in the development of the project and that a member of NWDA staff was seconded to provide support.

j) Cumbria Vision – Appointment of New Chairman  
The Chief Executive reported that Roger Liddle had been appointed as the new Chairman of Cumbria Vision, to replace David Brockbank who would step down from the position on 30 November 2007.  The Board took the opportunity to thank David for his excellent chairmanship, which had helped to establish a strategic body for Cumbria.
 
k) Carlisle    
The Board was reminded that following the floods in January 2005 which had a dramatic economic effect on Carlisle/North Cumbria, John Prescott, the then Deputy Prime Minister, had launched the Regeneration prospectus, Carlisle Renaissance.  The Board noted since then that real progress had been slow and in particular the private sector had become frustrated.   The Board was reminded that Carlisle had been identified as one of the cities/towns for growth in the RES.

The Chief Executive reported that, given the circumstances he and the NWDA Chairman had held a meeting with over 30 private sector representatives as well as representatives from Cumbria Council and Carlisle City Council.  It was clear that there was a need to develop a prioritised economic regeneration action plan for the Carlisle City Region, to be led by the private sector.  To help to deliver this, a leadership group, from the private sector, was being established, which would be supported by the local authorities. 

l) Proposed Measures to Address the Problems Facing Farming and Allied Businesses in the Region following the recent FMD Outbreak in Surrey
The Board noted that since 3 August 2007 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) had created significant cash flow issues for businesses that were unable to access the market place at a time of prime market value.  The Board was advised that SWRDA had already agreed a financial support package and other RDAs were working up similar packages to help farmers and allied businesses. 

Within the NW, calls for support had come from a number of agricultural organisations, including a request for support for a regional marketing campaign for lamb. 

Given the above the Agency had decided to put together a proposed package of support that would provide:

• Business support brokered by Business Link.
• Support for increased marketing to the consumer.
• Support to farming benevolent charities.

The Chief Executive reported that since planning this activity Hilary Benn the Secretary of State for the Environment had announced, on 8 October 2007, a £12.5m package of support for farmers in England affected by the current movement restrictions. The Secretary of State had also outlined a number of measures to relieve the burden of red tape on farmers affected.

The Board decided that the Agency should proceed with its planned support activity, given that:  

• Defra had made no provision for business support to assist these businesses in financial planning or marketing.
• The regional marketing of lamb was a ‘quick win’ within the region that would deal with immediate problems and increase consumer awareness.
• Negotiation with the Farming Help charities was already underway prior to the Secretary of State’s announcement, to which the RDAs had no prior access.

The Board therefore agreed Agency investment to provide a package of financial support as described above.

m) Manchester Economic Commission     
The Board noted that a Commission of globally and nationally high profile economists and business leaders had been engaged by AGMA and Manchester Enterprises to provide an independent review of Manchester’s economy. The Agency was providing support to the Commission.

The Commission would be chaired by Sir Tom McKillop, Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland; and its remit would be to:

• Provide a shared evidence base that would be used to underpin policy choices in respect of future priorities for strategic investment and raise understanding across the Manchester City region (and other City Regions) about how the economy and sectors work.
• Establish a replicable model to assess and understand the future development of the City Region’s economy. 
• Offer early input into the forthcoming RES review and hence provide a valuable contribution to the debate on what more needs to be done or changed to ensure that both the City Region and North West economies are able to compete effectively with their economic peers.

A final report would be published in August 2008.

n) New East Manchester: Regeneration Company of the Year  
The Board welcomed the news that New East Manchester (NEM) had recently been awarded Regeneration Agency of the year in the Regeneration and Renewal Awards.  The judges had noted that the URC’s achievements were substantial, with around 74,300 sq m of business and retail floorspace being built and occupied; 3000 jobs being created; and more than 3500 homes having been constructed or being built.  In addition GCSE A to C grade passes in the area had increased from 24% to 49%.  Most importantly more local residents had stated that they were happy with their neighbourhood (68% in 2005 compared to 46% in 1999).

Although some of the achievements were physical the judges of the competition had acknowledged that the URC’s programmes had focused on social issues and that education and skills were particularly targeted.  The judges commended NEM on its broad base and the strong social element to its agenda, successfully combining physical investment and physical change with community involvement and development of the social capital base of residents.

The Board noted that Liverpool Vision was a finalist in the competition.

o) Regeneration and the Race Equality Duty  
The Board noted that the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) had recently published a report of a formal investigation into Regeneration and Race Equality Duty in England, Scotland and Wales.   The investigation was led by CRE Commissioner Julia Chain; and had been conducted in response to allegations of unequal distribution of funds, failure to consult ethnic minority groups, and concern that regeneration did not adequately take into account the disadvantages experienced by some ethnic groups. 

The Board noted that the investigation had concentrated largely on the practice of local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales; and RDAs in England; had looked at whether regeneration spending was helping to promote integration between different ethnic groups; and had considered how the race equality duty had influenced Regeneration.

The Board noted that the Commissioners had made 51 recommendations aimed at local authorities; RDAs; the Audit Commission, Audit Scotland and the Wales Audit Office; and the Commission for Equality and Human Rights; as well as a number of other organisations.  For RDAs specifically, the recommendations were as follows:

• If it was not already the case, RDAs should ensure that the promotion of racial equality and good race relations was appropriately embedded in key regeneration strategies and supported by a timetabled action plan.
• Leadership should be demonstrated through the promotion of the business case for racial equality among private sector partners and local businesses and promotion of the sustainability agenda in a way that meaningfully includes racial equality and good race relations.  If this was not the case, equality champions at corporate and departmental levels should be appointed and supported to help promote the mainstreaming of the race equality duty.
• Necessary steps should be taken to mainstream racial equality across the organisation and ensure that this work was properly resourced and built into the corporate performance framework.
• The extent to which the organisation’s race equality duty was incorporated into existing and proposed regeneration programmes and accompanying guidance should be reviewed.

The Board was advised that there were also a number of generic recommendations to be applied to RDAs around impact assessment, ethnic monitoring and data collection; community engagement; and partnerships and procurement.

The Board was reassured that the Agency already had Equality Champions in place across the Agency as well as a range of activity in place to address some of the recommendations above.  Also the newly re-focused Equality and Diversity team would enable the Agency to raise its game, particularly in respect of the Race Equality duty; and the Agency would continue to develop this agenda, under the guidance of the Equality and Diversity Sub Committee, taking into account the recommendations from the CRE investigation as appropriate.

m) 2012 Games – Business Opportunities      
The Board noted that the London Development Agency was working with the Olympic delivery organisations, DBERR and all Regions and Nations to develop a UK-wide Electronic Brokerage Service (EBS) to improve the accessibility of 2012 contracts to all UK companies.  Olympic procurers would be encouraged to open up their supply chains and advertise their contracts on EBS.   The Board was advised that RDA Chief Executives had agreed that RDAs should support this, subject to reassurance that the costs would be shared equally between all Nations and Regions.  Consequently the Agency was working with LDA and Business Link Northwest to deliver an operational model for the implementation of EBS in the NW, so that companies, through Business Link support would be able to build their capacity to compete for 2012 contracts.

n) 2012 Golf Open Championships     
The Chief Executive reported that the R&A had announced that the Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf course would host the 2012 Open Golf Championship.  It would also support the Preston Guild in the same year, with which the Agency would be developing programme support in order to ensure its success.  The Board agreed that this was excellent news for the region.

o) Policy Framework    
The Board was reminded that the wide range of policies, procedures and processes which the Agency had in existence had been cited as an organisational strength in NAO’s Independent Performance Assessment.  The Board noted that the Agency had now structured its policies and procedures into one corporate portfolio to ensure consistency of quality; compliance in terms of legislation and governance; and ease of reference. 

p) Accommodation   
The Chief Executive reported that a recent review of the Agency’s accommodation requirements had highlighted that there were opportunities for efficiency savings, as well as pressure on the space at Renaissance House which had now surpassed its maximum operational capacity.  In addition the transfer of the ERDF function from GONW would result in additional personnel to be accommodated.  Proposals to address this had been scrutinised by Sir Martin Harris, on behalf of the Board.  The Board agreed the proposed revised accommodation arrangements subject to DBERR approval.

q) Staffing Issues  
The Board noted that following discussions between the NWDA Chief Executive and the Capital of Culture Company, Bernice Law would take up a secondment position as the Culture Company’s Chief Operating Officer. 
 
94/07 FINANCE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

The Board noted the Agency’s financial position for the period ending 31 August 2007.

The Board was also advised of the following:

Administration     
RDA Chief Executives had agreed in principle to the level of administrative savings to be delivered by the RDAs collectively across the three year planning period (2008/09 to 2010/11).   In addition each RDA was required to reduce expenditure on administration to below 10%.

Prompt Payment   
In August 97% of undisputed invoice payments were made within the 30 day prompt payment criteria, against an annual target of 95%.   The Board noted that prompt payment had been steadily improving since the beginning of the financial year, with year to date performance at 94%. 

EU Objective 2   
The Board received an update on the recent European Commission (EC) audit of the Northwest Objective 2 Programme.

The Board was reminded that, in September 2006, it had approved the Clayton Brook (East Manchester) project, involving the relocation of Greggs Bakery to free up land for housing development.  Further costs had since been identified in respect of the Agency's contribution to professional fees associated with delivering the project.  The Board agreed that the investment should be revised.

The Board noted the delegations for the period 10 August 2007 to 21 September 2007.

The Board approved the delegation in respect of “Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain – Automotive”.

94/ DATE AND TIME OF THE NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will take place at 12.30pm on 15 November 2007 at the Oakmere Conference Centre, Liverpool.