Issue - meetings

The Chair welcomed the Mayor to the meeting and asked Members to introduce themselves.

The Mayor thanked the Committee and acknowledged the importance of its work to the MCA. He added that he was looking forward to working with the Committee and its role would only become more significant as the MCA continued to evolve and additional powers were devolved.

In response to questions, the Mayor advised that the review of the MCA had led to the new governance arrangements which had been approved at the MCA Board on 5^th June. Removing thematic boards and making Leaders responsible for specific areas of work would improve transparency and accountability as well as was as fostering and strengthening the relationships between the MCA and local authorities.

In terms of the lines of communication between the Committee and the MCA Board, the Mayor reassured Members that he planned to attend meetings of the Committee regularly and he was happy to meet with Members on an ad hoc basis as and when issues arose.

ACTION: The Democratic Services Officer to arrange a minimum of 2 meetings per year between the Mayor, Chair and Vice Chair.

The Mayor agreed that public transport was the single biggest challenge facing the MCA but that it could only be resolved with support from Government. This message was being reiterated at meetings with Government officials at every opportunity and he felt that progress was now being made.

(The Mayor left the meeting.)