Subject:

Subject:		Greater Brighton Economic Board Operational Arrangements for 2023/24
Date of Meeting:		18 July 2023
Report of:		Chair, Greater Brighton Officer Programme Board
Contact Officer:	Name:	Andy Hill	Tel:	01273 291873
	Email:	andy.hill@brighton-hove.gov.uk
LA(s) affected:		All

FOR GENERAL RELEASE

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT:

1.1 This report outlines the preparatory steps needed to support the operational aspects of the Greater Brighton Economic Board (“the Board”) in 2023/24.

1.2 This report should be read in conjunction with the Heads of Terms for the Board. The Heads of Terms (HoTs) is attached at Appendix 1. This shows the changes in membership proposed in this report following the merger of Chichester College Group and Greater Brighton Metropolitan College in the summer of 2022.

1.3 The reporting and accountability arrangements for the Board are set out in the Heads of Terms as referenced in paragraph 1.2. These arrangements require the Board to submit an annual report to each of its representative bodies.

1.4 The Board’s 2022/23 Annual Report is attached at Appendix 5.

1.5 The One Public Estate (OPE) Memorandum of Understanding between the Local Government Association (LGA), Cabinet Office and the Greater Brighton OPE Partnership (“the Partnership”), led by Brighton & Hove City Council, requires the Partnership to “provide an end of year report highlighting overall achievements and progress with delivery of OPE projects”. The Greater Brighton One Public Estate Programme Annual Report 2022/23 is attached at Appendix 6.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS:

That the Board:

2.1 Agree and secure the budgetary contributions sought to fund the cost of running the Board and delivering its workplan in 2023/24.

2.2 Note that Brighton & Hove City Council shall continue to act as Lead Authority for the Board in 2023/24.

2.3 Approves the 2022/23 Annual Report and Board members submit the report to their respective organisations.

2.4 That the Board notes the content of the One Public Estate Programme’s 2022/23 Annual Report.

2.5 Agree that during 2023/24 there will be a review of the Board’s governance and operational arrangements and a sub-group of Board members will be established to oversee this review.

2.6 Agree the Heads of Terms attached at Appendix 1, which reflect changes to the Board’s membership and notes that they need to be approved by each body represented on the Board.

3. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

3.1 The budget to support the running costs of the Board in 2022/23 was £211,486 which included a carry-forward of £97,686 from 2021/22. The budget underspend at 31 March 2023 (the actual carry-forward of non-committed funds) was £49,671. This figure does not include money committed in 2022/23 but not due to be spent until 2023/24. It does include the allocated contingency (£10,000) and Scrutiny (£2,000) funds, which need be included in the budget, but as in previous years were not needed to be called upon. A breakdown of the 2022/23 forecast, budgetary contributions and spend is attached as Appendix 2.

3.2 The £49,671 remaining budget in 2022/23 has been rolled-over into 2023/24. This means that for 2023/24 there is a total budget of £255,121 (including contingency) for the cost of running the Board and the delivery of its work-plan (see table below).

3.3 In a bid to ensure that costs for contributing member organisations are kept to an acceptable level, sought contributions have not increased since 2020/21. However, given the rate of inflation over the last 12 months is starting to impact on the cost of running the Board, it is proposed that the 2023/24 contributions sought are increased by 3.5%. For each member there has been an uplift of 3.5% from the 2022/23 contribution and these contributions are detailed in section 3.4 below.

3.4 In line with sections 12 and 13 of the HoTs, Brighton & Hove City Council is seeking the following contributions from the Board’s member organisations:

Organisation	2023/24 Contribution
South Downs National Park Authority	£7,970.00
University of Sussex	£7,970.00
University of Brighton	£7,970.00
Chichester College Group	£7,970.00
Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership	£7,970.00
Adur District Council	£10,100.00
Arun District Council	£24,695.00
Brighton & Hove City Council	£52,300.00
Crawley Borough Council	£20,785.00
Lewes District Council	£15,170.00
Mid Sussex District Council	£24,600.00
Worthing Borough Council	£17,950.00
Total 2023/24 Contributions	£205,450.00
Carry-forward from 2022/23	£49,671.00
Total Budget for 2023/24	£255,121.00

3.5 Appendix 3 outlines the approach used in 2023/24 to determine the contributions that are being sought.

3.6 The budget to support the running costs of the Board in 2023/24 totals £166,663, leaving £88,458 for the 2023/24 workplan, which as in previous years should include £10,000 of contingency funding.

Running Costs 2023/24

Salary costs (including on-costs) and expenses

£112,102.00

Finance support

£7,911.00

Legal support

£10,834.00

Democratic Services support

£4,616.00

Scrutiny

(charged £500 (excluding venue) on a ‘pay as you go’ basis)

£2,000.00

GBEB Communications

£24,950.00

GBEB Annual report, printing and other materials

£2,750.00

Venue hire, hospitality, and refreshments

£500.00

Additional costs e.g. IT, travel

£1,000.00

Total running costs

£166,663.00

Total Work Plan

£88,458.00

Contingency

£10,000.00

Grand Total

£255,121.00

LEAD AUTHORITY:

3.7 On 26 April 2022, the Board agreed that Brighton & Hove City Council continue to act as Lead Authority for 2022/23. As outlined in section 1.8 of the HoTs, lead authority arrangements are reviewed every two years and therefore this arrangement is maintained in 2023/24.

3.8 In October 2023, each local authority represented on the Board will be invited to submit an expression of interest in fulfilling the role for 2024/25 – 2025/26. The Board shall then instigate a procurement exercise to select the most appropriate authority for that role.

2023/24 BOARD MEETING DATES:

3.9 The Board meeting dates for the new municipal year have been set as follows:

· 18 July 2023

· 17 October 2023

· 6 February 2023

· 23 April 2024

3.10 As in 2022/23, it is proposed that all meetings will commence at 10:00. Meetings will be held at various locations across Greater Brighton.

3.11 This meeting schedule is correct as of July 2023, but may change as part of a wider review of the Board’s governance arrangements.

MEMBERSHIP AND CHAIRPERSON:

3.12 As outlined in section 6 of the HoTs, the Chair will be elected annually by the Joint Committee members. The Chair of the Joint Committee shall, by virtue of their democratic mandate, be the Chair of the Board. It is for the Joint Committee to elect the Chair.

3.13 The Chair must be formally appointed at the Board’s first meeting in the new municipal year. In previous years the election process has been agreed within this paper at the April Board meeting. The April Board meeting was cancelled this year so the process was not formally agreed. However, the same process for electing the Chair has been in place since the Board’s inception, so the sensible approach was to repeat this process again.

3.14 Brighton & Hove City Council’s Democratic Services ran the process, and Cllr Beccy Cooper (Worthing Borough Council) was elected as Chair.

ANNUAL REPORT:

3.15 As outlined in section 4.1 of the HoTs, the Board shall submit an annual report to each of the bodies represented on the Board. The annual report for 2022/23 can be found at Appendix 5.

REVIEW OF WORKING PRACTICES:

3.16 Since the Board’s inception in 2014 there have been four, two-hour public meetings per annual Board cycle, supported by occasional ad-hoc meetings focused on key issues e.g. pandemic response. Following nearly 10 years of operating in the same way there is a need for a review of the way the Board operates, to ensure it remains relevant and effective in a very different economic and political landscape from which it was founded in 2014.

3.17 The recommendation at 2.5 is that a sub-group of Board members be established to critically review current governance and working arrangements. This will include the Board’s function and purpose, number and type of meetings and the establishment of sub-groups to oversee key themes. The group will be tasked with developing a series of recommendations which will be presented to the wider Board for approval in a separate session to be arranged for September. This meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss the future direction and focus of the Board. The Group will develop a Terms of reference which will be agreed at it’s first meeting.

3.18 A sub-group looking at sustainable infrastructure will also be established following the governance review highlighted in 3.17. The purpose of this group will be to understand and oversee work relating to key infrastructure, including transport, energy, water and digital connectivity. Terms of reference will be drafted for the group which will set out its key aims and objectives and associated timelines.

4. ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS:

4.1 The proposals are in accordance with the governance arrangements agreed by the Board.

5. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION:

5.1 Not applicable.

6. CONCLUSION:

6.1 To ensure that the Board transitions smoothly into the new municipal year, Board members are asked to agree the recommendations outlined.

7. FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:

Financial Implications:

7.1 An annual operating budget is agreed with the Board for the forthcoming financial year to enable the Accountable Body to provide legal, financial, communications and administrative support to allow the Board to deliver its work-plan. Annual contributions are made from member authorities to the Accountable Body toward this budget. The contributions from member authorities totalling £205,450 are detailed within paragraph 3.4 of this report. The apportionment of contributions from unitary, district and borough councils are based upon the size of their working age populations and are detailed within Appendix 3. The budget for the financial year 2023/24 will reflect anticipated spend for the work-streams ahead including a provision for contingency. The estimated spend of £255,121 for the year is detailed in paragraph 3.6. The forecast spend for the year also includes a sum for work plan of £88,458 plus a contingency of £10,000. A summary of the budget for 2022/23 together with the spend incurred for that financial year is detailed in Appendix 2. A projected underspend of £49,671 is forecast for 2022/23, subject to confirmation of the outturn position of the accounts, and this will be carried forward to support the budget for 2023/24.

Finance Officer Consulted: James Hengeveld, Head of Finance

Date Consulted: 07/07/23

Legal Implications:

7.2 These recommendations are in line with the Heads of Terms and the OPE Memorandum of Understanding. Changes to the Heads of Terms must be varied by a resolution of the Board and approved by each body represented on the Board. The proposed sub-group is not a sub-committee and will not have decision making powers.

Lawyer Consulted: Alice Rowland, Head of Commercial Law

Date: 07/07/23

Equalities Implications:

7.3 None

Sustainability Implications:

7.4 None

Any Other Significant Implications:

7.5 None

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Appendices:

1. Heads of Terms for Greater Brighton Economic Board

2. 2022/23 Forecast, Contributions and Spend

3. Approach for Calculating 2023/24 Funding Contributions

4. Greater Brighton Economic Board Call-In Protocol

5. Greater Brighton Economic Board Annual Report 2022/23

6. Greater Brighton One Public Estate Programme Annual Report 2022/23

Appendix 1: Heads of Terms for Greater Brighton Economic Board (18 July 2023)

1. Establishment, Purpose and Form

1.1. The Greater Brighton Economic Board (“The Board”) shall be established from the Commencement Date.

1.2. The over-arching purpose of the board is to bring about sustainable economic development and growth across Greater Brighton (‘the City Region’). To achieve this, the principal role of the Board is to co-ordinate economic development activities and investment at the regional level.

1.3. The Board comprises the Greater Brighton Economic Joint Committee (“GBEJC”), on which the local authorities will be represented; and the Greater Brighton Business Partnership (“GBBP”), on which the business, university and further education sectors will be represented

1.4. Meetings of the Board comprise concurrent meetings of GBEJC and GBBP.

1.5. GBEJC shall be a joint committee appointed by two or more local authorities represented on the Board, in accordance with section 120(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

1.6. The Board may appoint one or more sub-committees.

1.7. For the two years starting with the Commencement Date, the lead authority for the Board shall be Brighton & Hove City Council (“BHCC”), whose functions in that capacity shall include the provision of scrutiny (see paragraph 4.3), management of the call-in and review process (see paragraph 8), and the support detailed in paragraph 12.

1.8. Unless the Board resolves otherwise, before the start of the third year following the Commencement Date, and every two years thereafter, the Board shall review the lead authority arrangements and, subject to paragraph 1.9, invite each of the local authorities represented on the Board to submit an expression of interest in fulfilling the role of lead authority for the subsequent two year period. The Board shall then instigate a procurement exercise to select the most appropriate authority for that role.

1.9. Notwithstanding the appointment of a successor lead authority pursuant to paragraph 1.8, the incumbent lead authority may retain such of their Accountable Body functions as are necessary to enable that local authority to comply with its on-going commitments and liabilities associated with its Accountable Body status.

2. Interpretation

2.1. In these Heads of Terms –

i. ‘Commencement Date’ means 1^st April 2014.

ii. ‘City Region’ means the area encompassing the administrative boundaries of BHCC, Adur District Council, Worthing Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Crawley Borough Council and Arun District Council; and ‘regional’ shall be construed accordingly;

iii. ‘economic development’ shall bear its natural meaning but with particular emphasis given to :

- Employment and skills;

- Infrastructure and transport

- Housing;

- Utilisation of property assets;

- Strategic planning;

- Economic growth.

iv. ‘Accountable Body’ means the local authority represented on the Board carrying out the function set out in paragraph 12.2.

3. Functions

3.1. The Functions of the Board are specified in paragraph 3.2 below and may be exercised only in respect of the Region.

3.2. The functions referred to in paragraph 3.1 are as follows:

i. To make long term strategic decisions concerning regional economic development and growth;

ii. To be the external voice to Government and investors regarding the management of devolved powers and funds for regional economic growth;

iii. To work with national, sub-national, regional and local bodies to support a co-ordinated approach to economic growth across the region;

iv. To secure funding and investment for the Region;

v. To ensure delivery of, and provide strategic direction for, major projects and work stream enabled by City Deal funding and devolution of powers;

vi. To enable those bodies to whom section 110 of the Localism Act 2011 applies to comply more effectively with their duty to co-operate in relation to planning of sustainable development.

vii. To incur expenditure on matters relating to economic development where funds have been allocated directly to the Board for economic development purposes; and for the avoidance of doubt, no other expenditure shall be incurred unless due authority has been given by each body represented on the Board.

3.3. In discharging its function specified in paragraph 3.2 (Viii) above, the Board shall-

i. (save in exceptional circumstances) seek to invest funding on the basis of-

a Proportionality, by reference to the economically active demographic of each administrative area within the city Region;

b Deliverability;

c Value for money and return on investment / cost benefit ratio; and

d Economic impact to the City Region as a whole.

ii. Delegate implementation of that function to the lead authority, who shall also act as Accountable Body in relation to any matters failing within that function.

4. Reporting and Accountability

4.1. The Board shall submit an annual report to each of the bodies represented on the Board.

4.2. The Greater Brighton Programme Board shall report to the Board and may refer matters to it for consideration and determination.

4.3. The work of the Board is subject to review by an ad hoc join local authority scrutiny panel set up and managed by the lead authority.

5. Membership

5.1. The following bodies shall be members of the Board:

i. Brighton & Hove City Council

ii. Adur District Council

iii. Worthing Borough Council

iv. Lewes District Council

v. Mid-Sussex District Council

vi. Crawley Borough Council

vii. Arun District Council

viii. University of Sussex

ix. University of Brighton

x. Chichester College Group

xi. Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership

xii. Adur & Worthing Business Partnership

xiii. Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership

xiv. South Downs National Park Authority

5.2. GBEJC shall comprise the bodies specified in paragraphs 5.1(i) to (vii); and GBBP shall comprise the bodies specified in paragraphs 5.1(viii) to (xiv).

5.3. Each of the bodies listed in paragraph 5.1 shall be represented at the Board by one person, save that BHCC shall, by reason of it being a unitary authority, be represented by two persons (as further specified in paragraph 5.4).

5.4. Each local authority member shall be represented at the Board by its elected Leader and, in the case of BHCC, by its elected Leader and the Leader of the Opposition.

5.5. Each business sector member shall be represented at the Board by the Chairman of that member or by a person nominated by the Board of that member.

5.6. Each university member shall be represented by a Vice Chancellor or Pro Vice-Chancellor of that university or by a person nominated by that university member.

5.7. Each further education member shall be represented by its Principal or the Chair of its Governing Body or by a person nominated by that further education member.

6. Chair

6.1. The Chair of GBEJC shall, by virtue of his/her democratic mandate, be Chair of the Board

6.2. If the Chair of GBEJC is unable to attend a Board meeting, the Board shall elect a substitute from its local authority member representatives provided that no such member representative attending in the capacity of a substitute shall be appointed as Chair of GBEJC / the Board.

6.3. The Chair will be elected annually by members of the GBEJC. Election of the Chair will be conducted through a formal process performed by the Democratic Services Team of the Lead Authority. The elected Chair will be appointed at the first meeting of the Board in the new municipal year. A Chair may be re-elected but shall not serve as Chair for more than 4 years.

7. Voting

7.1. Each person represents a member of GBEJC, and each person representing a member of the GBBP, shall be entitled to vote at their respective meetings.

7.2. Voting at each of the concurrent meetings of GBEJC and GBBP shall be by show of hands or, at the discretion of the chair, by any other means permitted by law, and voting outcomes reached at those meetings shall be on a simple majority of votes cast.

7.3. Where voting at a meeting of GBEJC results in an equal number of votes cast in favour and against, the Chair of GBEJC shall have a casting vote.

7.4. Where voting at a meeting of GBEJC results in an equal number of votes cast in favour and against, the motion/proposal/recommendation under consideration shall fall in relation of GBBP.

7.5. Where the respective voting outcomes of GBEJC and GBBC are the same, that shall be taken as the agreed Board decision and the Board may pass a resolution accordingly.

7.6. Where the respective voting outcomes of GBEJC and GBBP differ, the Board –

i. May not pass a resolution relating to that matter; and

ii. May refer the matter to the Chief Executive of the lead authority, who may consult with members of the Board or such other persons as are appropriate, with a view to achieving agreement on the matter between GBEJC and GBBP by discussion and negotiation.

7.7. Where, pursuant to paragraph 7.6(ii), agreement is reached the matter at issue shall be remitted to, and voted upon at, the next meeting of the Board.

7.8. Where, pursuant to paragraph 7.6(ii), no agreement is reached the motion/proposal/recommendation at issue shall fall.

8. Review of decision

8.1. Decisions of the Board will be subject to call-in and review in the following circumstances:

i. Where a local authority voted to agree a recommendation at a GBEJC meeting, but the decision of the Board was not to agree the recommendation.

ii. Where a local authority voted against a recommendation at a GBEJC meeting, but the decision of the Board considered that the interests of the body they represent had been significantly prejudiced; or

iii. Where any local authority represented on the Board considered that the interests of the body they represent had been significantly prejudiced; or

iv. Where any local authority represented on the Board considered that the Board had made a decision beyond its scope of authority.

8.2. The procedure for requesting, validation, and implementing a call-in and review is specified in Schedule 1.

8.3. Where a request for call-in is accepted, the Board decision to which it relates shall be stayed pending the outcome of the call-in.

8.4. Following call-in, the panel convened to review a Board decision may refer the decision back to the Board for re-consideration. Following referral, the Board shall, either at its next scheduled meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose, consider the panel’s concerns over the original decision.

8.5. Having considered the panel’s concerns, the Board may alter its original decision or re-affirm it. Paragraph 8.1 shall not apply to the Board’s follow-up decision. In consequence, the latter decision may be implemented without further delay.

9. Substitution

9.1. Subject to paragraph 9.2, representatives are expected to attend all meetings however, where a representative of a member of the Board is unable to attend a Board meeting, a substitute representative of that member may attend, speak and vote, in their place for that meeting.

9.2. A substitute member must be appointed from a list of approved substitutes submitted by the respective member to the Board at the start of each municipal year.

10. Quorum

10.1. No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Board unless at least one third of all member bodies are present, and both GBEJC and GPBBP are quorate.

10.2. Quorum for GBEJC meetings shall be three member bodies.

10.3. Quorum for GBBP meetings shall be three member bodies.

11. Time and Venue of Meetings

11.1 Ordinary meetings of the Board shall be convened by the lead authority and will rotate around the City Region.

11.2 The Chair of the Board may call a special meeting of the Board at any time, subject to providing members with minimum notice of two working days.

12. Administrative, financial and legal support

12.1 The lead authority shall provide the following support services to the Board:

i. Administrative, as more particularly specified in the Memorandum of Understanding pursuant to paragraph 13;

ii. Financial (including the Accountable body function specified in paragraph 12.2); and

iii. Legal, comprising Monitoring Officer and Proper Officer functions in relation to GBEJC meetings.

12.2 The function of the Accountable Body is to take responsibility for the financial management and administration of external grants and funds provided to the Board, and of financial contributions by each member of the Board, as more particularly specified in the Memorandum of Understanding Pursuant to paragraph 13. In fulfilling its role as Accountable Body, the lead authority shall remain independent of the Board.

12.3 Other members of the Board shall contribute to the reasonable costs incurred by the lead authority in connection with the activities described in paragraphs 12.1 and 12.2, at such time and manner as the Memorandum of Understanding shall specify.

13 Memorandum of Understanding

13.1 Members of the Board may enter into a memorandum of understanding setting out administrative and financial arrangements as between themselves relating to the functioning of the Board.

13.2 The memorandum may, in particular, provide for –

13.2.1 Arrangements as to the financial contributions by each member towards the work of the Board, including:

13.2.1.1 The process by which total financial contributions are calculated;

13.2.1.2 The process for determining the contribution to be paid by each member;

13.2.1.3 The dates on which contribution are payable;

13.2.1.4 How the Accountable Body shall administer and account for such contributions;

13.2.2 Functions of the Accountable Body; and

13.2.3 The terms of reference for the Greater Brighton Officer Programme Board.

14 Review and Variation of Heads of Terms

14.1 The Board shall keep these Heads of Terms under review to ensure that the Board’s purpose is given full effect.

14.2 These Heads of Terms may be varied only on a resolution of the Board to that effect, and subject to the approval of each body represented on the Board.

Appendix 2: 2022/23 Forecast, Contributions and Spend

1. The 2022/23 budget to support the running costs of the Board and the delivery of the workplan totalled £211,486. This was made-up of the 2021/22 roll-over of £20,686 and the contributions as set out in the table below (Table 1).

South Downs National Park Authority	£7,700
University of Sussex	£7,700
University of Brighton	£7,700
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College	£7,700
Adur District Council	£9,620.00
Arun District Council	£22,798.00
Brighton & Hove City Council	£53,437.00
Crawley Borough Council	£18,672.00
Lewes District Council	£15,190.00
Mid Sussex District Council	£23,288.00
Worthing Borough Council	£16,995.00
Total contributions 2022/23	£190,800.00
Roll-over from 2021/22	£97,686.00
Total budget 2022/23	£288,486.00

2. The 2022/23 budget forecast was as follows:

Salary costs (Including on-costs)	£108,311
Finance support	£7,643
Legal support	£10,468
Communications support (Adur & Worthing Councils)	£24,950
Annual Report and other materials	£2,750
Democratic Services support	£4,460
Scrutiny (Charged at £500 on a ‘pay as you go’ basis)	£2,000
Venue hire & refreshments	£500
Additional costs e.g. IT, travel	£1,000
Total Costs*	£162,082
Work plan items	£116,404
Contingency	£10,000
Grand Total	£288,486

*Excluding contingency.

3. The actual 2022/23 spend (including all known commitments as at 31^st March 2023) was as follows:

Salary costs (including on-costs)	£71,624
Finance support	£7,643
Legal Support	£10,468
Communications support (Adur & Worthing Councils)	£24,950
Annual Report and other design/materials costs	£2,304
Democratic Services support	£4,460
Scrutiny	£0
Venue hire & refreshments	£0
Additional costs e.g. IT, travel, training	£2,143
Total Costs	£123,592

Work Plan Items
Rebranding & Website	£12,000
Hydrogen Sussex	£26,883
Cost of Living Crisis/Economic Outlook Study (IES)	£16,340
Creative Industries Strategy	£21,900

Total Workplan Items	£77,123

Contingency	£0

Grand Total Expenditure	£200,715

The budget remaining as at 31^st March 2023 is £87,771. A significant component of this is a staffing cost underspend due to several vacancies through 2022/23. This underspend includes the £10,000 Contingency and £2,000 Scrutiny items, which need to be included in the budget, but as in previous years were not needed to be called upon. This leaves an effective underspend of £75,771. Some of this has already been committed to projects during 2022/23 though not actually physically spent by 31 March 2023. This includes £20,000 to develop an economic dashboard, agreed by the Board in February, The Greater Brighton Food Plan (£15,000) and some work outstanding on the Creative Industries Strategy (£3,100). The actual carry-forward of non-committed funds is therefore £49,671.

Appendix 4: Greater Brighton Economic Board Call-In Protocol

1. Requesting a Call-in

1.1. Call-in is a process via which decisions made by the Greater Brighton Economic Board (GBEB) but not yet implemented can be challenged by GBEB members and referred to an independent ‘call-in panel’ for consideration.

1.2. Any decision made by the GBEB may be called-in up to five working days from the date of the meeting at which the decision was taken.

1.3. Call-in may triggered by any one or more of the constituent members of the GBEB. Such a request shall be made in writing to the Chief Executive of the lead Local Authority (i.e. the Local Authority responsible for GBEB administration at the time of the call-in request) and shall include the reasons for the request and any alternative decisions proposed.

1.4. A request for call-in may be made by any GBEB member local authority:

i. where a local authority voted to agree a recommendation at a GBEJC meeting, but the decision of the Board was against the recommendation;

ii. where a local authority voted against a recommendation at a meeting of the GBEJC but the decision of the Board was to agree the recommendation;

iii. where any local authority represented in the Board considered that the interests of the body they represent had been significantly prejudiced; or

iv. where any local authority represented in the Board considered that the Board had made a decision beyond its scope of authority.

1.5. The Chief Executive may refuse to accept a call-in request which in his/her opinion is frivolous, vexatious or defamatory or where no reason for the decision to be called-in is given.

1.6. Should the request be accepted, the Chief Executive will call-in the decision. This shall have the effect of suspending the decision coming into force and the Chief Executive shall inform the relevant decision makers of the call-in. The Chief Executive shall then call a meeting of the GBEB call-in panel to scrutinise the decision.

1.7. The GBEB call-in panel must meet within seven working days of the Chief Executive accepting the call-in request. Should the call-in committee fail to meet within this period, or meet but not be quorate, then the original decision shall come into force at the expiry of the seven-day period

2. The GBEB Call-in Panel

2.1. The GBEB call-in panel shall include members representing each of the constituent members of the GBEB (i.e. both the Greater Brighton Economic Joint Committee and the Greater Brighton Business Partnership).

2.2. The GBEB call-in panel could potentially also include co-opted members from other bodies. Any decision on co-option would be made annually by the GBEB.

2.3. Each constituent member of the GBEB shall appoint a member to the GBEB call-in panel. No member of the GBEB call-in panel may also be a member or substitute member on the GBEB – GBEB call-in panel members should be independent of the GBEB to the degree that they have not as individuals been involved in the decision that they are being asked to consider as a call-in.

2.4. The Chair of the GBEB call-in panel shall be appointed annually by the GBEB.

2.5. Appointments to the GBEB call-in panel shall be annual.

2.6. Substitution is permitted on to the GBEB call-in panel. However, no substitute member may be or have been a GBEB member or substitute.

2.7. The GBEB call-in panel shall make decisions on the basis of a majority vote. If the vote is spilt then the panel Chair shall have a casting vote.

2.8. Quorum. To be quorate a meeting of the GBEB call-in panel shall require at least one third of members to be in attendance.

2.9. For the purposes of call-in no distinction shall be made between representatives from the members of the Greater Brighton Economic Joint Committee and representatives from the members of the Greater Brighton Business Partnership: all members of the call-in panel will vote together.

3. Call-in meetings

3.1. The GBEB call-in panel will consider call-in requests at a special call-in meeting. Typically, the call-in panel will hear from:

i. the GBEB member who made the call-in request (where a request has been made by more than one member the Chair of the GBEB call-in panel will decide whether to take representations from all the signatories to the call-in request or to ask the signatories to make a single representation). The member(s) who requested a call-in will explain why they feel the original decision was unsound and will suggest an alternative decision.

ii. the GBEB. The GBEB Chair (or another GBEB member or an officer supporting the GBEB at the request of the GBEB Chair) will explain why the original decision was made and will provide any additional information they feel is germane. Where the GBEB Chair is a signatory to the call-in request, then another GBEB member (or officer supporting the GBEB) shall attend the call-in meeting to represent the GBEB. This representative will be chosen by the Chief Executive of the lead authority, after discussion with GBEB members.

iii. Other organisations, stakeholders or members of the public may be granted the right to make representations to the call-in panel at the discretion of the GBEB call-in panel Chair. However, in general the intention should be to re-examine the decision originally made not to hold a broader enquiry into the decision in question.

3.2. Call-in does not provide for the call-in panel to substitute its own decision for the original GBEB decision, but merely to refer the matter back to the GBEB. The GBEB can only be asked to reconsider any particular decision once.

3.3. In essence the call-in panel is simply tasked with deciding whether the decision in question should be referred back to the GBEB to be reconsidered. Therefore the only substantive decision the GBEB call-in panel can make is whether to refer the decision back to the GBEB or to let the original decision stand.

3.4. In deciding whether to refer a decision back to the GBEB, the call-in panel shall have regard to:

i. Any additional information which may have become available since the original decision was made

ii. The implications of any delay in implementing the original decision

iii. Whether reconsideration is likely to lead to a different decision

iv. The importance of the matter raised and the extent to which it relates to the achievement of the GBEB strategic priorities

v. Whether there is evidence that the decision-making rules in the GBEB constitution have been breached

vi. Whether there is evidence that the GBEB consultation processes have not been followed

vii. Whether the decision taken is not in accordance with a policy previously agreed by the GBEB

viii. Whether there might be an alternative way of dealing with the matter in hand short of referral back to the GBEB

3.5. If having scrutinised the decision, the GBEB call-in panel feels that the decision was seriously flawed, it may refer it back to the GBEB for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns.

3.6. Implementation of any decision referred back to the GBEB remains suspended until the GBEB has met to reconsider the matter. However, should the GBEB call-in panel choose not to refer the matter back to the GBEB for reconsideration then implementation may begin immediately following the call-in committee meeting.

3.7. The GBEB shall reconsider any matter referred back to it by the GBEB call-in panel either at its next scheduled meeting or at a special meeting called for the purpose. Having considered the concerns expressed by the GBEB call-in panel the GBEB is free to make any decision it chooses including re-affirming its original decision.

4. Call-in and urgency

4.1. The call-in procedure set out above shall not apply where the decision being taken is urgent. A decision will be urgent if any delay likely to be caused by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the interests of the GBEB or the general public across the ‘Greater Brighton’ region. The record of the decision, and notice by which it is made public, shall state if in the opinion of the GBEB the decision is an urgent one and therefore not subject to call-in. This is subject to the agreement of the Chief Executive of the lead authority.

4.2. Any decision exempted from call-in for reasons of urgency shall be communicated to the Chair of the GBEB call-in panel by the Chief Executive of the lead authority, together with an explanation as to why the decision has been deemed urgent. The intention is that urgency exceptions are used sparingly and only where there is an overriding reason to do so.

	A	B	C	D
Local authority	Total population 2021	Working age (16-64) population 2021	VAT/PAYE Businesses 2022	VAT/PAYE Business units 2022	Business units per 1,000 working age residents	A as % of total Greater Brighton population	B as % of total Greater Brighton working age population	D as % of business units in Greater Brighton area
Adur	64,300	38,500	2,370	2,690	69.87	6.58%	6.10%	5.47%
Arun	160,800	94,100	5,710	6,580	69.93	16.45%	14.91%	13.37%
Brighton & Hove	277,200	199,300	14,995	17,170	86.15	28.35%	31.58%	34.89%
Crawley	112,400	79,200	3,590	4,785	60.42	11.50%	12.55%	9.72%
Lewes	99,900	57,800	4,350	4,955	85.73	10.22%	9.16%	10.07%
Mid Sussex	152,600	93,700	7,360	8,355	88.95	15.61%	14.85%	16.94%
Worthing	110,600	68,400	3,945	4,695	66.64	11.31%	10.84%	9.54%
Totals	977,800	631,000	42,320	49,210		100	100	100

Organisation	% of working age population (Census 2021)	2023/24 Contribution Calculation
Adur District Council	6.10%	£10,100.00
Arun District Council	14.91%	£24,695.00
Brighton & Hove City Council	31.58%	£52,300.00
Crawley Borough Council	12.55%	£20,785.00
Lewes District Council	9.16%	£15,170.00
Mid Sussex District Council	14.85%	£24,600.00
Worthing Borough Council	10.84%	£17,950.00
Total	100%	£165,600.00