Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Mayor updated Members on general progress in respect of a number of matters since the last meeting.

The Mayor noted he hosted the region’s first Transport Strategy event recently and was pleased how the excellent turnout had come together to discuss how we can build a transport system that is fit for the 21st century and one that has active travel right at its heart.

It was noted Clive Betts has now formally launched the Bus Review with his appointed expert panel of commissioners having held their first meeting and called for evidence. The Mayor encouraged stakeholder partners and residents to engage with the review by submitting evidence, completing the Bus Survey and working with Clive and his team.  It was suggested we should make sure we leave no stone unturned in understanding how we can deliver a bus service that best meets the needs of our communities.

Members were informed of the Mayor’s support for the expansion of the Children’s University in the region. It was noted that, led by Sheffield Hallam University, but working in partnership with local councils, this initiative shows that we’re a region in the vanguard of early years policy,  both in the ‘thinking’ but also the ‘doing’.

The Mayor informed Members he had continued to make sure our region has a voice in Westminster, noting he had led a Parliamentary debate, supported by many Members of Parliament from across South Yorkshire, making the case to the Government for clarity on how the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the replacement fund for both European and Local Growth funding, will be allocated and how it will work.

The Mayor thanked the Directors of Public Health for their support in joining a discussion here about how we can work together to tackle the Excess Winter Deaths issue.

The Mayor noted he had pressed for but was yet to receive a response from the Government to our request for the release of funds to enable us to deliver the Early Intervention Support Pilot.

The Mayor noted Brexit continues to create uncertainty which is damaging for our region and was due to meet with the Brexit Minister in the near future.

Finally, on the issue of devolution, it was noted that following James Brokenshires’ response to our letter, he is working with colleagues around the table on the next steps and will update stakeholders as soon as we have further clarity.

To identify whether there are any items of business that apply only to the South Yorkshire Members of the Mayoral Combined Authority, ie, where it would not be appropriate for non-SY Members to have voting rights.

It was agreed there were no agenda items for which the non-Constituent district Members should not have full voting rights.

RESOLVED, that Cllr Chris Read be appointed Vice Chair to the SCR Mayoral Combined Authority.

RESOLVED, that Cllrs Bob Johnson (Sheffield CC), and Alan Gardiner (Barnsley MBC), be appointed rotational Members of the SCR Mayoral Combined Authority for the forthcoming municipal year.

A report was received confirming the membership of the SCR Audit and Standards Committee for the forthcoming municipal year. It was confirmed the membership is politically proportional.

RESOLVED, that the SCR Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Notes the Members appointed to-date and notes that vacancies are in the process of being addressed by the districts

2. Notes the reappointment of Rhys Marshall and Angela Bingham as the 2 independent Members of the Committee

A report was received confirming the membership of the SCR Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the forthcoming municipal year. It was confirmed the membership is politically proportional.

RESOLVED, that the SCR Mayoral Combined Authority

1.  Reasserts its preference for the appointment of an ‘appropriate’ Chair of the Committee (to be appointed by the Committee itself).

2.  Notes the Members appointed to-date and notes that vacancies are in the process of being addressed by the districts

A report was received confirming the appointment to the SCR Thematic Boards.

It was noted the information is correct at the time of publication and vacancies are in the process of being addressed.

A report was received recommending the re-appointment of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Mayor as our representative on the Transport for the North (TfN) Board and to formally appoint Cllr Chris Read as substitute member.

RESOLVED, that the SCR Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Reappoints the Sheffield City Region Mayor to the position of TfN Board member for the Sheffield City Region.

2.  Appoints Cllr Chris Read as substitute representative.

3.  Agrees that appointments to the two seats on the TfN Scrutiny Committee may be sought from either Sheffield, Barnsley or Doncaster

Members’ apologies were noted as above.

None.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting; the reason(s) for such urgency to be stated.

None.

To identify where resolutions may be moved to exclude the public and press.  (For items marked * the public and press may be excluded from the meeting.)

None.

Declarations of Interest by individual Members in relation to any item of business on the agenda.

Cllr Dore declared a non-pecuniary interest at item 23 (LGF Investment Approvals) by virtue of being Leader of Sheffield CC, which has an interest in the Sheffield Housing Company.

None.

Members were advised of the receipt of 3 petitions.

• A 320 signature petition requesting the reinstatement of the Chapeltown to Meadowhall direct bus service.
• A 250 signature petition registering dismay and disapproval at the recently announced bus service changes for routes serving Maltby
• A 168 signature petition on behalf of the Burngreave Clean Air Campaign calling for better public transport links to the Northern General Hospital.

The Mayor thanked the petitioners for attending and delivering their petitions, and commented on the importance of sustainable transport.

The Mayor urged the petitioners to engage directly with the recently commissioned review of bus services to ensure their comments are appropriately captured by the consultation process.

The Mayor also actioned officers of SYPTE to respond to the petitioners direct to look at the matters raised in more detail.

RESOLVED, that the petitions be received.

A question was received from Mr Nigel Slack, and delivered as follows:

“Having noted the proposed changes to the ‘Code of Corporate Governance’, I was prompted to check the ‘Members Code of Conduct’ over concerns recently experienced with such issues within my own local council. Are there any checks made, with respect to proposed members of committees that ensure they meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct? In particular are checks made against evidence of breaches of the Nolan Principles or of failing to declare interests correctly?”

The Mayor welcomed this question and actioned the Monitoring Officer to discuss the matters raised outside of the meeting. The Mayor also confirmed he would be happy to then discuss the matter further if required.

RESOLVED, that the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th March are agreed to be an accurate record of the meeting.

A report was received asking the Mayoral Combined Authority as a body to adopt an agreed definition of antisemitism and agree its intention to do so in relation to Islamophobia to help ensure there is clarity about what antisemitism is and what Islamophobia is as part of the MCA and LEP’s general equal opportunities policy.

It was agreed to receive a follow up report in 6 months to review how the statements had been implemented.

Members expressed support for the adoption of similar definitions in respect of transphobia, homophobia and sexism.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority

1.  Adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism

2.  Agrees its intention to adopt a working definition of Islamophobia when there is greater clarity and a shared understanding of the term

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority

1.  Delegates authority to finalise the submission of the TCF business case to the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Mayoral Combined Authority, in consultation with the Mayor, based upon the framework set out in this report.

2.  Notes the submission of an outline proposal for the TCF Future Mobility Zones (FMZ) was made prior to the deadline on the 24th May 2019.

A report was received to provide an update on the progress in developing the draft business case for Sheffield City Region’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) submission due on the 20th June 2019.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority

1.  Delegates authority to finalise the submission of the TCF business case to the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Mayoral Combined Authority, in consultation with the Mayor, based upon the framework set out in this report.

2.  Notes the submission of an outline proposal for the TCF Future Mobility Zones (FMZ) was made prior to the deadline on the 24th May 2019.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Notes the work that has taken place to date on active travel

2.  Notes the intention to produce an Active Travel Plan

3.  Approves the award of a contract with Mr Zanzottera for the services of an Active Travel Project Director to the value of £123,200 for up to 2 years.

A report was received to set out the work done to date on active travel and to seek agreement to award a contract for the Active Travel Project Director role.

The Mayor commented further on the importance of the active travel agenda and its potential for having a significant, positive impact on a number of other themes and agendas.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Notes the work that has taken place to date on active travel

2.  Notes the intention to produce an Active Travel Plan

3.  Approves the award of a contract with Mr Zanzottera for the services of an Active Travel Project Director to the value of £123,200 for up to 2 years.

Further to the approval of new governance arrangements, a report was received to provide details of the current principles and approach to LGF scheme appraisal, to review the strengths and weaknesses of the current approach, and make a recommendation for strengthening current arrangements whilst ensuring no compliance requirements are compromised.

Members were advised the proposed options for consideration, suggested in light of the review of the current strengths and weaknesses of the appraisal process are; the appointment of an independent Chair of the Appraisal Panel (suggested as the LEP Board Vice Chair with the programme portfolio lead), to

ensure there is no loss of banking, commercial financial or investment expertise within the appraisal process for Business Investment Fund grants and loans by expanding the current CIAT approach to include business financial expertise, to produce, for decision makers, of a more detailed scheme overview and appraisal summary in addition to a clear assurance opinion and enable access to full business cases and appraisal recommendations (noting the need to balance commercially confidential information with transparency requirements for publication of papers) and to formalise and publish dates for assurance panels to be at least monthly or maintain the current 2 weekly approach.

Alternate approaches were noted within the report.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority approves the proposed options to strengthen the appraisal, assurance and decision-making processes.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Notes the 2018/19 outturn position (which is subject to external audit) for the Mayoral Combined Authority’s revenue budget and capital programme, including the reserves statement.

2.  Approves in principle the proposal supported by the LEP Board to reinvest some or all of the income accrued from LGF to support resourcing the development of business cases, subject to further work being undertaken to develop the proposition in detail

3.  Approves the revenue programme variations.

4.  Notes that the level and accounting for reserves (including the PTE revaluation reserve) will be reviewed as part of the MTFS refresh

5.  Approves the carry forward of £10.6m of underspend on the South Yorkshire transport capital programme.

6.  Approves the continuation of the Key Account Manager revenue programme, and delegates authority to the SCR Head of Paid Service and Section 73 Officer to extend the contract of the Investment Manager and to accept the grant

A report was received to present the outturn position for the revenue budgets and capital programme of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) for the financial year 2018/19.

It was noted this position will help to inform the process of business planning for 2020/21 and beyond.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Notes the 2018/19 outturn position (which is subject to external audit) for the Mayoral Combined Authority’s revenue budget and capital programme, including the reserves statement.

2.  Approves in principle the proposal supported by the LEP Board to reinvest some or all of the income accrued from LGF to support resourcing the development of business cases, subject to further work being undertaken to develop the proposition in detail

3.  Approves the revenue programme variations.

4.  Notes that the level and accounting for reserves (including the PTE revaluation reserve) will be reviewed as part of the MTFS refresh

5.  Approves the carry forward of £10.6m of underspend on the South Yorkshire transport capital programme.

6.  Approves the continuation of the Key Account Manager revenue programme, and delegates authority to the SCR Head of Paid Service and Section 73 Officer to extend the contract of the Investment Manager and to accept the grant

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Note the 2018/19 LGF outturn position and the impact on the

2019/20 LGF programme.

2.  Approve accepting the LGF grant of £29.9m for 2019/20

A report was received to provide an update on the 2018/19 LGF outturn position and the impact on the 2019/20 LGF programme.

The report also sought approval to accept the 2019/20 LHG grant funding.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.  Note the 2018/19 LGF outturn position and the impact on the

2019/20 LGF programme.

2.  Approve accepting the LGF grant of £29.9m for 2019/20

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.    Progression of Waverley Local Centre to full approval and award of up to £7m grant to Waverley Square ltd subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

2.    Progression of Specialist VFX Training Equipment to full approval and award of up to £0.91m grant to DN College Group subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

3.    Progression of Falstaff Phase 3 to full approval and award of up to £1.52m grant to Sheffield Housing Company subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

4.    Progression of UK Atomic energy project to full approval and award of up to £2.2m grant to UK Atomic Energy Authority subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table.

5.    Progression of Company Ref. 0067 to full approval and award of up to £0.124m grant to Company Ref. 0067 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

6.    Progression of Company Ref. 0095 to full approval and award of up to £0.05m grant to Company Ref. 0095 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

7.    Progression of Company 0096 to full approval and award of up to £0.249m grant to Company 0096 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

8.    Delegates Authority to the Head of Paid of Service, in conjunction with the Section 73 and the Monitoring Officer, to enter into the contractual arrangements required as a result of the above approvals.

A report was received requesting the approval for seven schemes with a total value over all years of £12.05m and seeking delegated authority be given to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the S73 and Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreements for the schemes.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority:

1.    Progression of Waverley Local Centre to full approval and award of up to £7m grant to Waverley Square ltd subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

2.    Progression of Specialist VFX Training Equipment to full approval and award of up to £0.91m grant to DN College Group subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

3.    Progression of Falstaff Phase 3 to full approval and award of up to £1.52m grant to Sheffield Housing Company subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

4.    Progression of UK Atomic energy project to full approval and award of up to £2.2m grant to UK Atomic Energy Authority subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table.

5.    Progression of Company Ref. 0067 to full approval and award of up to £0.124m grant to Company Ref. 0067 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

6.    Progression of Company Ref. 0095 to full approval and award of up to £0.05m grant to Company Ref. 0095 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

7.    Progression of Company 0096 to full approval and award of up to £0.249m grant to Company 0096 subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table

8.    Delegates Authority to the Head of Paid of Service, in conjunction with the Section 73 and the Monitoring Officer, to enter into the contractual arrangements required as a result of the above approvals.

RESOLVED, that the contents of the report are noted.

A report was received to present the reviewed Risk Management Policy and Risk Management Process.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority approves the revised Risk Policy and the Risk Management Process.

A report was received to present the revised Code of Corporate Governance.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority approves the revised Code of Corporate Governance.

A report was received to detail the proposed changes to the statutory officers of the Mayoral Combined Authority required to meet the MCA’s statutory duties.

The Mayor led Members in thanking Eugene and Andrew for all their work undertaken in support of the Combined Authority.

RESOLVED, that the Mayoral Combined Authority approves:

1.  The recruitment of a permanent Chief Finance Officer

2.  The appointment panel for the recruitment of the Chief Finance Officer to be made up of the Mayor, The Vice Chair of the MCA, the Chair of the LEP and the Head of Paid Service as advisor;

3.  The transfer of the finance function from SCC in to the MCA

4.  The recruitment of an Interim Chief Finance Officer for the period from July 2019 until a permanent post holder is recruited;

5.  The appointment of the Principal Solicitor and Secretary of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive as Monitoring Officer of the MCA

6.  The deletion of the post of Clerk to the MCA and delegate the functions of the Clerk to the Head of Paid Services and approve the Principal Solicitor making the consequential amendments to the constitution

7.  The implementation of a recruitment process for the appointment of the Head of Paid Service to the end of the present Mayoral Term of Office (2022)

8.  The appointment panel for the recruitment of the head of Paid Service to be made up of the Mayor, the Vice Chair of the MCA, the Chair of the LEP and a Local Authority Chief Executive as advisor

9.  The current contract of the Head of Paid service be extended in the interim until the appointment of a new Head of Paid Service takes effect;

10.       The appointment of 2 Non-Executive Directors of SYPTE