GREATER BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE DIRECTORS HELD:

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1 GREATER BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING DRAFT MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE DIRECTORS HELD: Friday 17 th June :30 15:00 hrs Mills & Reeves Offices, Colmore Row, B3 2AB ATTENDANCE Andy Street (Chair) Steve Hollis Chris Loughran Andrew Cleaves Simon Marks Patrick Hanlon Anita Bhalla Matthew Rhodes Saqib Bhatti Cllr John Clancy Cllr Bob Sleigh Cllr George Adamson Cllr Greg Chance Cathy Gilbert John Lewis Partnership formerly of KPMG Deloitte Birmingham Metropolitan College Arcadis (nee EC Harris) Handelsbanken Creative City Partnership Encraft Younis Bhatti & Co Leader, Birmingham City Council Leader, Solihull MBC Leader, Cannock Chase DC Cabinet Member, Redditch BC University of Birmingham IN ATTENDANCE Lesley Bradnam Birmingham City Council (item 3) Roger Mendoca LEP Executive (item 7) Nicola Hewitt Marketing Birmingham (item 9) IN SUPPORT Katie Trout Lisa Hamilton Helen Harper APOLOGIES Mike Hopkins Cllr Richard Grosvenor Cllr Michael Wilcox Cllr Steve Claymore Cllr Danny Cook Professor Cliff Allan Mark Rogers GBSLEP Director GBSLEP Executive GBSLEP Executive South & City College Leader, East Staffordshire BC Leader, Lichfield DC Deputy Leader, Tamworth BC Leader, Tamworth BC Birmingham City University Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council 1 Welcome & Apologies LEP Chair 1.1 Steve Allen of Mills and Reeve welcomed the Board. 1.2 The Chair thanked the Steve Allen for hosting the Board. 1.3 The Chair welcomed Cllr Greg Chance, Deputy Leader portfolio holder for transport, planning and regeneration at Redditch BC, replacing Cllr Campion as North Worcestershire s representative. The Board noted Page 1 of 7

2 thanks to Cllr Campion for his support and insights on the LEPs agenda over the past few years. The Board welcomed Chris Loughran as the proposed new Deputy Chair for Delivery. Noted and welcomed Cathy Gilbert who was attending as alternate to Cliff Allen. 1.3 Apologies were noted from Cliff Allan, Mike Hopkins, Mark Rogers, Cllr Claymore, Cllr Wilcox, Cllr Grosvenor, Cllr Danny Cook. 2 Notes/Matters Arising from the last meeting 18 th March 2016 LEP Executive 2.1 The LEP Board agreed the draft notes of the last meeting. The following matters arising were outlined: 2.2 Para 2.2 EZ Extension and Curzon Investment Plan will now come to the July Board. There will be a prior briefing at the Leaders meetings scheduled for 30 June. 2.3 Para 5.4 Budget and pooling LG Pension Scheme assets briefing note was noted. 2.4 Para % business rates pool pilot initial discussions have started on whether there should be a West Midlands pilot. The Board noted that any proposal will need to be discussed fully with all LAs and also the LEP given the current pooling arrangement. It will therefore need to come back to a future meeting. Board further noted that the early indication is that the retained levy in the GBS business rate pool is higher than anticipated. A full report will be brought the July Board. 2.5 Para 7.6 European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) Strategy a refreshed ESIF Strategy has now been submitted to DCLG for comments, feedback is due and a full report on ESIF and Intermediate Body status will be brought to the July Board. 2.6 Para 7.7 Energy Strategy approved by the Chair in consultation with Simon Marks and Matthew Rhodes to enable an ESIF call to be launched. The Strategy will be reviewed and refined further going forward. 2.7 Para 8.3 devolution across the 3 LEP geography noted still a live issue to be progressed with HMT and DCLG. 2.8 Para 10.5 Competitive positioning following consideration by the WMCA it has been agreed that they will fund the additional work required to take Mark Your Mark to the next stage. A full procurement process has been undertaken. 9 bids were received and an appointment should be announced soon. Page 2 of 7

3 2.9 Para 11.3 LEP Executive structure this has been finalised following a consultation period. A number of jobs have been advertised with some more to follow shortly Para 13.1 Life Sciences Leadership Board this is in the process of being set up and Anoop Maini has been appointed to support its establishment and the development of a vision and a commercially focused strategy on a short-term basis. 3. Reflection of the Last Year and AGM LEP Board 3.1 Thanks were noted to those who had supported in the organisation and presentations at the AGM. 3.2 The Board considered and discussed the need for more work to be done to get the Greater Birmingham message widely communicated across a global stage. 3.3 The Board noted promotional work being progressed at a Midlands Engine level and noted Cathy Gilbert s involvement in this work. 4. Strategy for Growth KPIs LEP Board 4.1 Lesley Bradnam attended the meeting to provide an update on the Strategy for Growth KPIs, LEP Performance Dashboard and GBSLEP Labour Market Briefing. 4.2 The Board noted 2 KPIs that had been updated since the last meeting: o o Decrease in unemployment the gap with the national average has grown from 1% in December 2015 to 1.6% in April 2016 NVQ data was released in April 2016 and showed no change Noted also that increase in NVQ4 by 2.3%, so gap with Core Cities has slightly closed. 4.3 The Board noted the latest claimant unemployment count shows a fall in May 2016 of 425 to 36,280. The rate fell by 0.1pp so remains at 3.9% when rounded. 4.4 Following discussion the Board sought more data on Core City LEPs comparison and key figures/data that can be captured. 5 Report of the Nominations Committee Nominations Committee 5.1 The Board noted that formal approval was given to increase the number of Directors from 18 to 19 with the additional Director being an A Director; 5.2 The noted the resignation of Alan Volkaerts as an A Director; Page 3 of 7

4 5.3 The Board noted the resignation of Chris Webster as an A Director; 5.4 The Board noted the resignation of Tracy Westall as an A Director; 5.5 The Board noted the resignation of Albert Bore as a B Director; 5.6 The Board noted the resignation of Cllr John Campion as a B Director; 5.7 The Board agreed to appoint Simon Marks as an A Director; 5.8 The Board agreed to appoint Matthew Rhodes as an A Director; 5.9 The Board agreed to appoint Chris Loughran as an A Director; 5.10 The Board agreed to appoint John Clancy as a B Director; 5.11 The Board agreed to appoint Greg Chance as a B Director; 5.12 The Board agreed to appoint Tracey Onslow-Fage as an alternate B Director; 5.13 The Board agreed to reappoint six B Directors and their six Alternate Directors; 5.14 Noted for the purposes of S177, S184 and S185 of the Companies Act 2006 and Article 64 of the Company s Articles of Association, to note directors interests; and that the Annual Return for the Company has been filed at Companies House. 6. GBSLEP SEP Refresh SEP Steering Group 6.1 The Board received an overview of the outline to be applied to the refreshed SEP covering key issues to be included/considered which will form the basis of the refreshed plan. 6.2 The Board noted the additional reference to our global standing as part of the vision. 6.3 The Board noted and agreed the addition of the Quality of Life indicator. 6.4 Following discussion the Board agreed to keep NVQ3 as a main KPI, but maintain an overview of NVQ4 and NVQ6 and review other skills targets. Page 4 of 7

5 6.5 The Board noted the need for innovation to be more embedded within programmes, for the area s diversity to be better reflected and the need to strengthen references to culture and heritage. 6.8 Following recommendations made in the report and discussions, the Board agreed the outline for the refreshed SEP, the headline KPIs and targets and the next steps for finalising the SEP refresh for sign off at July LEP Board. 7. LGF Programme Update and Round 3 Bid Growth Team 7.1 Roger Mendoca, Interim Programme Manager, GBSLEP attended the Board to provide an update on the current LGF programme and proposals for the Round 3 bid. 7.2 The Board Directors noted that 100% of available Growth Funds in 2015/16 were successfully invested in our projects. The Board thanked the team for its hard work in ensuring this full spend was achieved. 7.3 The Board noted current forecasts for programme spend in 2016/17 and 2017/18 and proposed actions to manage variances. 7.5 The Board further noted the feedback on the emerging Local Growth Fund Round 3 bid, including cross LEP/CA packages and indicative allocations and other potential funds. 7.6 The Board agreed to delegate preparation and submission of the LGF3 snapshot to the SEP Refresh Steering Group, in conjunction with the Chair. SEP Steering Group As above 8. West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Update LEP Board 8.1 Katie Trout introduced the item and the Board noted recent developments in relation to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). 8.2 The Board agreed the following in relation appointments on the WMCA Boards: i. Agreed the GBSLEP Chair, Andy Street, be appointed as member of the WMCA Board with both the Deputy Chairs for Strategy and Delivery named as alternates; ii. iii. Agreed no GBSLEP representative (in addition to LA members) to be appointed to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or the Audit Committee; and Agreed delegated authority to be given to the GBSLEP Chair to agree appointments to sub-boards / working groups as required with the decision to be reported to the Board for noting. 8.3 The Board further noted the publication of a Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) for the WMCA and developments with regards to devolution and the DIEM model being used. Page 5 of 7

6 9. Inward Investment MoU LEP Board 9.1 Nicola Hewitt of Marketing Birmingham attended the Board to present the paper on the Inward Investment MoU. 9.2 The Board agreed that Marketing Birmingham continues to be the designated, required single point of contact for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) foreign direct investment (FDI) enquiry handling on behalf of the GBS LEP following a new contract award. 9.3 The Board further accepted and adopted the MoU as circulated and the proposed protocols as laid out in the appendices. 10. Midlands Engine Investment Fund LEP Board 10.1 Pat Hanlon provided the Board with an update on progress on setting up the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, including the appointment of British Business Bank to oversee the management of the funds The Board noted the governance structures that had now been established including the creation of the Midlands Engine Strategic Oversight Board which Pat Hanlon will be the GBSLEP nominated representative with Katie Trout, as nominated alternate. 11. Skills Update Paper: GBS Institute of Technology (IoT) and Apprenticeship Organisation (AppOrg) GBSLEP Employment & Skills Board 11.1 The LEP Board noted progress made with establishing an Institute of Technology and AppOrg in the GBSLEP area, which arose out of the recommendations from the recent Birmingham and Solihull Area Review The Board further noted a more detailed report will be brought to the July Board on skills. 12. Spatial Plan for Growth - Housing Optimising Assets Group The Board noted the current position with regards to challenges faced by the housing shortfall and ongoing discussions being progressed by LA Leaders with other authorities outside the Greater Birmingham HMA to address this. The Board noted and agreed the need for the conclusion of this work in order to accelerate preparation of the GBSLEP Spatial Plan for Growth, whilst acknowledging recent developments that may have an impact on the outcome. The Board considered the role of strategic planning in delivering ambitions for the Greater Birmingham & Solihull and West Midlands area. Page 6 of 7

7 13. Greater Birmingham Development Fund LEP Board 13.1 Item deferred to July LEP Board 14. Communications & Engagement LEP Executive The Board noted recent communications activity since the last report, covering press and PR, stakeholder engagement and social media activity and additional events undertaken by Anita Bhalla. The Board noted the appointment of Story Comms as external media support agency. 15 Midlands Engine LEP Board 15.1 Noted the progress being made in developing the Midlands Engine (ME) and its aims. 16. West Midlands Combined Universities (WMCA) 16.1 Noted paper to report that Birmingham City University, Coventry University and the University of Wolverhampton have joined forces to meet the demands and ambitions of devolution across the region and the West Midlands Combined Authority in particular through the creation of The West Midlands Combined Universities (WMCU). 17. Notes of meetings LEP Pillar Boards 17.1 The Board noted discussion points and outcomes for action from: a) Business & Innovation Pillar Board 25/05/16 b) Innovation Board 11/05/16 c) Optimising Assets Sub-Board Feb & Apr. d) ICG 24/2/16 18 AOB LEP Board 18.1 The Board noted a request from the Director for Skills for any feedback or views on current LEP Skills Structure to feed into July Board The Board noted that Lisa Hamilton will be leaving the LEP Executive team at the end of June and thanked her for all her hard work in support of the LEP since its formation in Page 7 of 7