Subject:

Subject:		Admission of New Member to the Board
Date of Meeting:		28 January 2025
Report of:		Chair of the Greater Brighton Economic Board
Contact Officer:	Name:	Andy Hill	Tel:	07833 483293
	Email:	andy.hill@brighton-hove.gov.uk
LA(s) affected:		All

FOR GENERAL RELEASE

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT

1.1 On 11 July 2024, NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) wrote a letter to the Chair of the Greater Brighton Economic Board (“the Board”) formally requesting to join the Board.

1.2 At the Greater Brighton Economic Board Meeting on 16 October 2024, a decision was agreed that NHS Sussex ICB should become a constituent member of the Board, joining the Greater Brighton Business Partnership (GBBP), subject to formal ratification from the Joint Committee members; Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, Crawley Borough Council, Lewes District Council, Mid Sussex District Council and Worthing Borough Council.

1.3 Local authority Board Members have taken an individual decision to ratify NHS Sussex ICB joining the GBBP. Full details of these decisions can be found in Background Documents.

1.4 At Brighton & Hove City Council the decision to ratify NHS Sussex ICB’s membership of the Board is tabled for Cabinet on Thursday 23 January, which is after the publication date for this paper. Likewise a decision will be taken by Crawley Borough Council on 22 January.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS:

2.1 That subject to agreement from Crawley Borough Council and Brighton & Hove City Council, the Board officially approves that NHS Sussex ICB joins the GBBP.

2.2 That subject to recommendation 2.1 the Board agree to amend the Board’s Heads of Terms at Appendix 1.

3. CONTEXT/ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

3.1 The Greater Brighton Economic Board was founded in April 2014 as part of the Greater Brighton City Region’s City Deal with Government.

3.2 The Board comprises the Greater Brighton Economic Joint Committee (“GBEJC”), on which the local authorities are represented; and the Greater Brighton Business Partnership (“GBBP”), on which the business, university and further education sectors, and South Downs National Park Authority are represented. Meetings of the Board compromise concurrent meetings of GBEJC and GBBP.

3.3 The following bodies are members of the Board:

i. Adur District Council

ii. Arun District Council

iii. Brighton & Hove City Council

iv. Crawley Borough Council

v. Lewes District Council

vi. Mid-Sussex District Council

vii. Worthing Borough Council

viii. Adur & Worthing Business Partnership

ix. Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership

x. Chichester College Group

xi. University of Brighton

xii. University of Sussex

xiii. South Downs National Park Authority

3.4 GBEJC comprises the bodies specified in paragraphs 3.3(i) to (vii); and GBBP comprises the bodies specified in paragraphs 3.3(viii) to (xii).

3.5 In July NHS Sussex ICB wrote a letter to the Chair formally requesting to join the Board and attended the Board meeting on 16 July as observers.

3.6 Board membership has been extended twice since the Board’s inception; Crawley Borough Council and Arun District Council joined the GBEJC in February 2018 and in October 2019 respectively.

3.7 Extending the membership of the Board triggers a variance in the Board’s Heads of Terms that requires the formal ratification of all Joint Committee members. Each member needs to individually ratify the membership of proposed new members in accordance with their own internal committee processes.

3.8 When considering the request by Crawley to join the Board in 2018, it was agreed that the Board should adopt a fair and consistent approach to organisations that express an interest in joining, and for proposed new members consideration would need to be given to the following five questions;

i. Does the organisation buy into the Board’s agreed vision and priorities?

ii. Do they share economic characteristics and represent the Greater Brighton functional economic area?

iii. Do they add capacity to help the Board deliver on its agreed vision and priorities? Will they add to the Board’s reputation, in terms of legitimacy, standing and reach?

iv. Are they going to actively participate and commit resource to supporting the Board and deliver the work programme?

This methodology was also employed with regards Arun District Council’s request to join in 2019. All of these questions were answered positively in the paper ratifying the extension of its membership and formally inviting the NHS Sussex ICB to become a constituent member of the GBBP. This paper was considered by GBEB on 16 October 2024.

3.9 The Integrated Care System that covers Sussex (NHS Sussex) is responsible for healthcare for 1.7 million people across Sussex. It employs 50,000 staff with the largest components being the 20,000 employees at University Hospitals Sussex and 8,000 at East Sussex Healthcare. The NHS in Sussex has an asset base that covers 236 GP Practices, 9 acute sites, and around 14 other sites. The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) has 850 employees, and commissions the services for NHS Sussex health care providers. It currently has contracts with 267 individual providers making the organisation a big driver of economic growth in the region, both with the number of people it employs and the amount it spends on procurement. The ICB has expressed an interest in becoming a formal member of the Board, which would broaden the geographical reach of the Board to all of Sussex.

3.10 NHS Sussex ICB attended the July Board meeting and Sussex Energy Launch as an observer. They have nominated a prospective representative to sit on the Board as well as a deputy and have also nominated a member of the Team to sit on the Programme Board. NHS Sussex ICB have also attended recent Sussex Energy meetings so are already participating in and adding value to the Board’s work.

4. ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

4.1 An alternative would be for the membership to remain as it is currently, but for the reasons outlined above and in the paper reviewed by the Board on 16 October, the decision was made to extend the membership to NHS Sussex ICB.

5. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION

5.1 The Board was consulted on the request from NHS Sussex ICB to join the Board and took the decision to invite the NHS Sussex ICB to join the Board in July 2024.~~extend the membership~~. The governance committees of constituent Board members have been consulted given the required change to the Heads of Terms as outlined in this report.

6. CONCLUSION

6.1 The Board is asked to approve that NHS Sussex ICB joins the GBBP. This is subject to formal agreement from Crawley Borough Council and Brighton & Hove City Council.

7. FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:

Financial Implications:

7.1 In joining the Greater Brighton Economic Board, NHS Sussex ICB will be required to make a budgetary contribution towards operational costs in line with other Business Partners as agreed within the Operational Arrangements 2024/25 at the Board meeting on 16 July 2024.

Finance Officer Consulted: Haley Woollard, Head of Corporate Finance & Deputy Chief Finance Officer

Date: 17/01/25

Legal Implications

7.2 The legal implications in relation to the recommendations are contained within the body of this report.

Lawyer Consulted: Siobhan Fry, Head of Legal, Commercial Date: 17/01/25

Equalities Implications:

7.3 The NHS Sussex ICB and wider NHS organisations are committed to reducing health inequalities. By working closely with NHS Sussex ICB and wider health partners, the Board can better address the challenge associated with health inequality and create the conditions where more residents can benefit from inclusive growth.

Sustainability Implications:

7.4 There are no sustainability implications directly related to this report. However, both the Board and NHS Sussex ICB have ambitious targets associated with net zero, and this will be a strong feature of the future work programme.

Any Other Significant Implications:

7.5 None

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Appendices:

1. Revised Heads of Terms for Greater Brighton Economic Board

Background Documents:

1. Ratification Decision by Adur District Council

2. Ratification Decision by Arun District Council

3. Ratification Decision by Brighton & Hove City Council[PS1]

4. Ratification Decision by Crawley Borough Council

5. Ratification Decision by Lewes District Council

6. Ratification Decision by Mid Sussex District Council

7. Ratification Decision by Worthing Borough Council