Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED to appoint Councillor Alan Rhodes as Chair as a result of Councillor Graham Chapman stepping down.

To acknowledge the new member from Nottingham City Council.

The Committee noted that Councillor Jon Collins replaced Councillor Graham Chapman as the Nottingham City Council representative.

Councillor Jon Collins.

None.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 September.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 September were confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Update from Ian Curryer, Chief Executive, Nottingham City Council.

Ian Curryer, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council updated the Committee on the proposed Combined Authority (CA), and the devolution deal.  The following information was provided:

(a)  the second reading of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is next week. At the moment, the D2N2 deal (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) is ‘paused’.  This is equally an issue in West Yorkshire. Officers have been assured that any pause will not impact on the final scale of the deal;

(b)  Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has written to the Home Office expressing his support for devolution.  Anne Western, Leader of Derbyshire County Council has been working with the Police and Crime Commissioner in Derbyshire.  Replacing the existing Police and Crime Commissioners with a single Mayor would reduce the governance layers in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire;

(c)  more deals are now being created nationwide, which is helpful in terms of learning about their governance.  The North East, Tees Valley and West Midlands deals are now available to view;

(d)  in devolution deals around the country, elected Mayors have different degrees of influences over voting arrangements.  In the Sheffield City region, the Mayor must be on the majority side of a vote.  The West Midlands have a slightly different alternative.

  These votes will take place mainly when it comes to the subject of additional powers; 

(e)  a ‘one-size fits all’ approach’ could be disadvantageous for parts of the country that feature two-tier local government;

(f)  Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have a very different make-up to other proposed CA deals, with 19 authorities within the D2N2 area.  This is a much larger number of authorities than in any of the other proposed deals, as all the deals thus far relate to unitary areas;

(g)  the D2N2 CA could include a Cabinet containing all 19 constituent members, with a Mayor as Chair.  One proposal could be an executive cabinet of 7 with the Mayor as Chair, along with representatives from the two counties, 2 cities and two districts, although thinking needs to be hardened on this issue;

(h)  the D2N2 deal is currently one of 8 or 9 main deals.  There are a host of proposed County Council details, but they are less advanced than the D2N2 proposal;

(i)  Government have suggested that a smaller cabinet might lead to smoother working, but this decision would lie with the constituent authorities themselves;

(j)  if the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) were to join it would make 21 members of the Combined Authority.  In Sheffield, the LEP come along to meetings as an observer;

(k)  it is fundamental that powers are not transferred up the Mayor from Councils;

(l)  housing is an issue that is sensitive in a lot of districts, and should be bundled together with ‘right to buy’ as an issue that needs further negotiation with Government;

(m)  getting Leicestershire included in any deal is unlikely, as they are much further behind D2N2 authorities;

(n)  the case for the CA must be built publicly –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Presentation by Allen Graham, Chief Executive, Rushcliffe Borough Council.

Allen Graham, Chief Executive of Rushcliffe Borough Council introduced a presentation on the European Structural and Investment Funds Employ Local Project, highlighting the following points:

(a)  Employ Local is a funding initiative to get people into the workplace whilst helping employers. 

(b)  connecting with schools is being discussed so that careers advice can be delivered;

(c)  the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would be a key partner in building an employment hub for the D2N2 region.  This model would draw on the Nottingham City Council example;

(d)  the number of big businesses in the region are dwarfed by micro and small businesses.  Big companies do not need the help of this fund, whereas Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME’s) do;

(e)  the area based review needs to go at the same pace as it’s equivalent in Sheffield.  If this is not possible, then a better understanding of each other’s issues is required.

RESOLVED to note the presentation.

To consider changing the date of the meeting scheduled for 18 March.

RESOLVED to discuss whether the meeting in March 2016 is to be cancelled at the December meeting of the Committee.