Greater Brighton Economic Board
10.00am 19 October 2021
Virtual Meeting
MINUTES
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Present: Councillor Lamb (Chair) Allcock, Ash-Edwards, Humphreys, Gunner, Nicholson, Mac Cafferty and Parkin
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Business Partners: Shona Campbell, James Dempster, Andrew Green, Clare Mason, Dean Orgill, Andrew Swayne, Prof Adam Tickell
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PART ONE
11 Procedural Business
11a Declarations of substitutes
11.1 Shona Campbell was present as substitute for Prof. Humphris.
11b Declarations of interests
11.3 There were none.
11c Exclusion of the press and public
11.4 In accordance with Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (“the Act”), the Board considered whether the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any item of business on the grounds that it is likely in view of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during it, there would be disclosure to them of confidential information as defined in Section 100A (3) of the Act.
11.5 RESOLVED- That the press and public not be excluded.
12 Minutes of the previous meeting
12.1 Resolved- That the minutes of the previous meeting be approved and signed as the correct record.
13 Chair's Communications
13.1 There were none.
14 Coast to Capital Expression of Interest Update
14.1 The Board received a verbal update from Matthew Wragg that provided an update on the Local Enterprise Partnership review that formed part of the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper as well as an update on regional projects.
14.2 In response to a question from Andrew Swayne, Matthew Wragg confirmed that the date of publication of the Levelling Up White Paper was not currently uncertain.
15 Greater Brighton Recovery Report and Action Plan
15.1 The Board considered a report of the Chair, Greater Brighton Officer Programme Board that present the results of rapid research by consultants as a snapshot of the City Region economy as it emerged from the pandemic and the results of the associated workshop held.
15.2 In response to a question from Andrew Swayne, Caroline Hayes stated that the furlough scheme had ended two weeks previously, so it was difficult to interpret any impacts at this early stage. There was an apparent slow down in economic growth that would hinder companies’ ability to increase their workforce.
15.3 In response to questions from Councillor Mac Cafferty and Councillor Allcock, Caroline Hayes explained that a higher number of young professionals were moving to London that was demonstrated in the rise of 1 – 2 bedroom properties. Middle aged professionals were much more likely to be able to adopt hybrid working arrangements and were therefore seeking property outside of the capital as the need to be physically present in their workplace was much reduced. This trend had seen a rise in the demand for and prices of property on a local level.
15.4 Board Members engaged in a wide-ranging debate on its strategic goals and priorities and reflected upon how it should operate as a collective unit.
15.5 Councillor Humphreys moved a motion that Local Authority Leaders be invited to the Officer Programme Board to discuss the matter.
15.6 Following a vote, the motion was carried.
15.7 RESOLVED-
1) That the Board note the findings of the research, carried out by Hatch (appendix 1)
2) That the Board note that the draft action plan is still in an early form, and work will commence to broaden the scope of the plan to reflect the regional projects and ambition.
3) That the Board delegate authority to the Greater Brighton Programme Board to continue working on the draft action plan, taking into account any Board Member discussion and reflecting strategic steer on priorities given at this meeting, and seek sign off via Local Authority CEOs and Board Business Partners at the appropriate time, so that work can commence at pace. Local Authority Leaders would be invited to a meeting to discuss and input into the draft action plan.
4) That the Board delegate authority to the Greater Brighton Programme Board to oversee the delivery of the action plan and monitor and evaluate progress.
2.1 That the Board note that work has begun to source a live data feed to inform future decision making.
16 Climate Summit - Next Steps
16.1 The Board considered a verbal update from Geoff Raw detailing a review of the Climate Summit and a progress update on next steps.
17 GB10 Pledges on the Environment
17.1 The Board considered a report of the Chair, Greater Brighton Officer Programme Board that provided an annual progress update on the Greater Brighton 10 Pledges on the Environment.
17.2 In response to a question from Councillor Allcock, Kirsten Firth stated that a broad picture of carbon outputs for the region could be provided however, each member authority had slightly different targets so this would provide just a general view rather than a detailed trajectory.
17.3 RESOLVED-
1) That the Board notes the progress demonstrated on the 10 Pledges on the Environment since October 2020.
2) That the Board supports the actions needed to take the Pledges forward in the next year to October 2022.
3) That the Board receives a further annual update on the 10 Pledges in autumn 2022.
18 Investment Programme Progress Update
18.1 The report was taken as read. During discussion, it was highlighted that some authorities were absent in the list of ongoing and projects. It was further observed that this may be down to the absence of Local Growth Funding allocated in recent years.
18.2 RESOLVED- That the Board note the report and the Investment Programme Update at Appendix 1.
The meeting concluded at 12.00pm