Agenda and minutes

The Mayor welcomed everyone to the meeting and he introduced the Members present.  Apologies for absence were noted as above.

Mayor Jarvis MBE reported with great sadness the death of Councillor Nuala Fennelly, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.  Nuala had led from the front.  Her passion, talent and drive to improve the life chances of young people in Doncaster through her work on the region’s Education, Skills and Employment Board and to serve her community were, and will remain, humbling.  Nuala would be very greatly missed.

Mayor Jones CBE added that Councillor Nuala Fennelly was the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Schools for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.  She had sadly passed away on 8 March 2021 after a short illness.  She was a fantastic advocate for children and young people.  She would be sadly missed, but not forgotten.  She expressed the MCA’s sincere condolences to Councillor Nuala Fennelly’s husband, family and friends.

Mayor Jarvis MBE stated that tomorrow, 23 March 2021, would mark the one year anniversary since the Prime Minister had told everyone within the country to stay at home, save lives and to protect the NHS.  It had been a year like no other.  The latest Covid-19 position across South Yorkshire, like other parts of the country, showed that with the return of schools and more testing this had resulted in an increase to the case rates.  In better news, to date, approximately 90% of people aged 60 and over in South Yorkshire have received their first vaccination dose, which was a great achievement.  The impact of the vaccination programme was such that case rates by age group showed that the elderly now had the lowest case rates.  In essence, we were being saved at the top end by the vaccines, and rates were rising at the bottom end with more testing of young people and workplaces.

Members noted that the pressure on the NHS had reduced significantly.  Despite all of this, it was important to continue to be vigilant, to observe the social distancing rules and to do everything possible to stop the spread.

Mayor Jarvis MBE referred to the Budget that had been presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer earlier in the month.  Members’ attention was drawn to the extension of support to businesses and people to enable them to get through the immense challenges that had arisen from the Covid-19 pandemic.  But sadly, as Mayor Jarvis MBE had already made clear publicly, there were some egregious decisions, particularly in relation to how the Government intended to prioritise its £4bn Levelling Up Fund.  If South Yorkshire was going to be transformed, then it would need to be done so under its own steam; extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures.  The decisions that would be taken by the Board today would put into place an £860m stimulus package for the region that would support the young people through a South Yorkshire Young People’s Pledge by investing in our places through £360m of funding projects in the next 12 months alone and the creation of the South Yorkshire Renewal Fund, which was worth up to £500m  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

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.

Members were informed of the means by which the meeting would be conducted, to be compliant with appropriate legislation and pursuant of SCR’s own Constitution.

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.

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 noted that Non-Constituent Members were welcome to participate in the discussion of every item on the agenda.

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

Mayor Jarvis MBE declared an interest in the matters to be considered at agenda Item 13 entitled ‘Capital Programme’ which may relate to the Barnsley central constituency.

Mayor Jones CBE declared an interest in the matters to be considered at agenda Item 13 entitled ‘Capital Programme’ which may relate to Doncaster, by virtue of being the Mayor of Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.

Councillor Johnson declared an interest in the matters to be considered at agenda Item 13 entitled ‘Capital Programme’ which may relate to Sheffield, by virtue of being the Leader of Sheffield City Council.

Councillor Sir Houghton CBE declared an interest in the matters to be considered at agenda Item 13 entitled ‘Capital Programme’ or any other items on the agenda which may relate to Barnsley, by virtue of being the Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

None.

None.

None.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 January 2021 were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

A report was presented which summarised a proposed package of up to £860m of Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) funding, collectively known as the South Yorkshire Renewal Fund, to create a stronger, greener and fairer region.

Mayor Jarvis MBE commented that this was a hugely significant moment for South Yorkshire.  The proposals within the paper provided real firepower to unlock the growth within the economy and the support to the young people of South Yorkshire.  He commended the work undertaken by Members and officers to reach this point.

RESOLVED – That Members:-

i)       Endorsed the use of up to £860m of MCA funding to support the recovery and renewal effort in South Yorkshire and to begin delivery immediately.

ii)      Agreed the £32.3m package of Mayoral Combined Authority investment in infrastructure, flooding, bus and active travel in 2021/22, as set out at paragraph 2.3 of the report.

iii)     Agreed a focused package of MCA support for South Yorkshire’s young people requiring the:-

·      Introduction of a one year programme to extend the existing 11 – 18 travel concession to 21 year olds so that all South Yorkshire’s young people between 11 and 21 can benefit, to run until June 2022 (as set out at 2.4 – 2.6 of the report).

·      Delegation to the MCA Head of Paid Service, in consultation with the S73 Officer, Monitoring Officer and the Executive Director of SYPTE, the authority to take the requisite steps to implement this concession enhancement proposal (paragraph 2.12 of the report).

·      Agreed the wider complementary support being made available by the MCA to create jobs, training and employment opportunities for those impacted by the pandemic, including measures to support young people (paragraph 2.7 of the report).

iv)     Agreed to the MCA S73 Officer entering into discussions with Government to secure borrowing arrangements for up to £500m of investment (paragraph 2.8 of the report) and to report back once a proposal had been developed in order to seek the consent of the MCA to the functions covered by borrowing and the borrowing cap proposed.

v)      Approved the proposed investment principles at paragraph 2.11 of the report.

Approved the proposed next steps to implement the South Yorkshire Renewal Fund, as set out at paragraph 2.12 of the report, so that this could be operational from April 2022.

A report was submitted which proposed a budget and accompanying financial strategies for the financial year 2021/22.  The proposed budget provided resource totalling c.£358m to enable the activity required to deliver upon the objectives set out in the MCA’s Corporate Plan.

Major Jarvis MBE wished to place on record his thanks for the work of the MCA finance team for the development of the 2021/22 Budget that was set in front of Members for approval.  At around £357m the resource available to the MCA in the new financial year was at a record level.  The significance of the Budget should not be underestimated for us, as a region.  It was one that captured a major programme of transport, housing and regeneration works, the first ever locally controlled Adult Education Budget investment, as well as projects funded out of the un-ringfenced devolution resources.

RESOLVED – That the Board:-

i)       Approved the adoption of the revenue and capital budget estimates for the year.

ii)      Approved the local contributions for the year.

iii)    Approved the Reserve Strategy.

iv)    Approved the Treasury Management Strategy.

Delegated authority to the Section 73 Officer to facilitate the creation of a Project Feasibility Revenue Reserve through an intra-group transaction.

Mayor Jarvis MBE commented that the items which had been discussed so far during the meeting had all related to the future.  It was also critical to ensure that the current programme of investment was delivered.

A report was presented which sought:-

i)       Approval of one scheme with a total value of £9.45m Transforming Cities Fund Tranche 2 (TCF2) and Getting Building Fund (GBF).

ii)      Approval of four Transforming Cities Fund Tranche 2 (TCF2) Outline Business Cases (OBCs) to proceed to Full Business Cases (FBCs) and early release of development cost funding with a total value of £3.31m.

iii)    Approval of early release of business case development cost funding for one Transforming Cities Fund Tranche 2 (TCF2).

iv)    Approval of early release of business case development cost funding for one Active Travel Fund Phase 2 (ATF2) scheme.

v)     Approval of four change requests for existing Local Growth Fund (LGF) projects.

vi)    Approval of four change requests for existing Getting Building Fund (GBF) projects.

vii)   Approval of one change request for an existing Getting Building Fund and Transforming Cities Fund Tranche 2 (TCF2) project.

viii)  Approval to award Adult Education Budget (AEB) Grants to five Further Education Establishments, three Local Authorities and one six form college.

ix)    Approval to award Adult Education Budget (AEB) funding to successful applicants through the MCA procurement exercise being currently undertaken.

x)     Approval for delegated authority to be granted to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Section 73 Officer and the Monitoring Officer to enter into legal agreement for the schemes.

RESOLVED – That Members considered and approved:-

i)       Progression of “Quality Streets – Active Travel and Digital Infrastructure” project to full approval and award of £9m grant to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council subject to the conditions set out in the Assurance Panel Summary at Appendix A to the report.

ii)      Progression of “A635 Active Travel Link OBC” to FBC and delegated authority be given to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Section 73 and Monitoring Officer to agree an appropriate early release of development cost funding of up to £0.41m TCF2 to BMBC subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table at Appendix B to the report.

iii)    Progression of “A61 Active Travel” OBC to FBC and delegated authority be given to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Section 73 and Monitoring Officer to agree an appropriate early release of development cost funding of up to £1.72m TCF2 business case development cost funding to BMBC subject to the conditions set out in the Appraisal Panel Summary Table at Appendix C to the report.

iv)    Progression of “Parkgate” OBC to FBC and early release of development cost funding of up to £1m to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (‘SYPTE’) subject to the conditions set out in the Assurance Panel Summary at Appendix D to the report.

v)     Progression of “Rail Station Improvements” OBC to FBC and release of development cost funding of up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

A report was presented which summarised the amendments that had been incorporated into the two frameworks which were presented for consideration by Members so that they could be submitted to Government for approval before 31 March 2021.

The MCA and LEP were required each year to update and publish its Assurance Framework to outline the robust, transparent and effective governance arrangements that were in place.  There was also a requirement following devolution, for the Assurance Framework to be approved by the four Government departments.  The MCA was also required to produce and publish a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework alongside the Assurance Framework to outline how projects and programmes funded with devolved and awarded monies would be robustly monitored and evaluated, which also required Government approval.

Major Jarvis MBE commented that as the levels of investment and resources flowing through the MCA were increased, it was absolutely critical to continue to be transparent, open and accountable in the decision-making processes.  He believed that the MCA was in a very strong position in relation to this.

RESOLVED – That Members:-

i)       Noted at section 2.3 of the report, the key amendments that had been made to the Assurance Framework to ensure compliance with the Government’s requirements on Gainshare and the Gateway Review Process.

ii)      Considered and endorsed the updated Assurance Framework set out in Appendix 1 to the report, pending any amendments required by the MCA, and gave consent for it to be submitted to Government by 31 March 2021 for approval.

iii)    Considered and endorsed the updated Monitoring and Evaluation Framework set out at Appendix 2 to the report, pending any amendments required by the MCA, and gave consent for it to be submitted to the Government by 31 March 2021 for approval.

Gave delegation to the Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Mayor, to agree any final changes required by the Government for them to approve and sign-off both Frameworks.

A report was presented which provided Members with an update on the decisions and delegations made by the MCA, which were in addition to those made under the Scheme of Delegation, and the decisions and delegations made by the Thematic Boards.

RESOLVED – That members noted the decisions and delegations made.