Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair welcomed Leaders and apologies were noted as above.

The Mayor announced that as of the time of the meeting, 4,672 responses had been received to the Bus Franchising Consultation. The Consultation had reached the half-way point, and further public engagement events were planned across the region.

£17.6m of funding for bus services in South Yorkshire had been announced by the Department for Transport, which would help to retain vital services across the region. The Mayor thanked the previous Transport Secretary for their support and stated that he was looking forward to working with the new Transport Secretary. 

UNICEF’s World’s Children Day had been marked by the announcement that the MCA’s Safe Space to Sleep: Beds for Babies project had supported 1000 families across South Yorkshire.

The Mayor highlighted the long-term work which was being undertaken to tackle violence against women and girls which included:

• Campaigns such as 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence and Reclaim the Night Sheffield.
• A whole system approach working with women and girls at risk of entering the criminal justice system, most of which were also victims of violence and abuse.
• Meetings of the South Yorkshire Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Group, to discuss victims’ experiences.

The South Yorkshire Music Hub was highlighted by the Mayor, and he congratulated the 150 young musicians from across the region who performed at the Royal Albert Hall in front of 4,000 people last Thursday for the Music for Youth Prom.

Finally, the Mayor highlighted that the MCA had contributed £2,000 to help establish a new junior parkrun at Millhouses in Sheffield, where over 330 children had taken part.

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.

None.

None.

None.

N Talbot presented the following question:

The LEVI fund supports local authorities in England to plan and deliver charging infrastructure for residents without off-street parking. The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) last discussed the LEVI capability fund in March 2024 at committee meeting. Please provide an update of the progress of planning and delivering local electric vehicle charging infrastructure for residents without off-street parking. How many LEVI-funded on-street Charge Points have been installed and are operational?

The Mayor highlighted that the Government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, overseen by the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles (OZEV), supported Local Authorities to work with the charge point industry. In South Yorkshire, the four Local Authorities were working collaboratively with the MCA on a joint South Yorkshire wide LEVI programme to deliver public charge points.

He added that the MCA was in the final stages of programme design and tender compliance, in liaison with OZEV, and intended to begin procurement of a provider early in the New Year.

C Broome presented the following question:

This Authority declared a Climate Emergency in 2019. Since then, the region has already gone through well over half the all-time carbon budget it set itself to address it. Meanwhile, the national Climate Change Committee has advised against airport expansion without a national capacity-management framework being in place. The stated commitment to developing sustainable aviation fuel in South Yorkshire, whilst commendable, does not require the reopening of an airport to support it. With average global temperatures over the last year already 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, will the Board look seriously at the climate implications of reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport?

The Mayor acknowledged that climate breakdown was a real and existential threat, however there was an opportunity for South Yorkshire to be at the forefront of the next energy transformation, and to drive forward sustainability.

He reiterated his commitment to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport to create a thriving regional airport and a world leading centre for sustainable aviation. The Business Case recognised that reinstatement of aviation activity would inherently lead to related air-based carbon emissions. It also recognised that there were mitigating factors including the displacement of air traffic from other airports, the promotion of the clean or low carbon aviation sector, and the construction of new buildings.

The following question from W Yau was presented:

The previous board noted that future funding beyond the next financial year is subject to the muti-year Spending Review Settlement review conducted by the Treasury for 2026 onwards. Within future settlements is the City Regional Sustainable Transport Settlement known as CRSTS. Is the CRSTS funding part of this review? Will the Mayor still be committed to the £30m previously ring-fenced funding for Doncaster Sheffield Airport station, or has progress with a preferred bidder or a potential claw-back by the government changed the priorities, if so what are these alternative plans for both the funding and the transport infrastructure for the airport?

The MCA understood that the Government was committed to the CRSTS1  ...  view the full minutes text for item 315.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 12th November 2024 be agreed as a true and accurate record.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on the 12th November 2024 be agreed as a true and accurate record.

RESOLVED That the Board:

1.    Retain the child concessionary single fare at £1.00 and publish a future policy approach to fare setting.

2.    Cease the tram fare cap at the end of December 2024 and support the DfT’s £3 fare bus cap.

3.    Agree to the development and implementation of a marketing and communications campaign to educate customers to know their fare (bus and tram) so they understand which ticket or fare provides the best value for their needs.

A report on Child Notified Fares and the Fare Cap Strategy was presented, which noted that:

• Retaining the child concessionary fare at £1 would result in budget implications for the MCA, but that raising the fare to £1.10 would result in the loss of up to 300,000 young person journeys.
• Retaining bus fare caps at £2 would result in significant costs for the MCA.
• The expected average fare in South Yorkshire was calculated at £2.60.
• A marketing campaign to promote better value for money products and to ask the public to state their destination when purchasing a ticket was proposed.

Leaders highlighted the importance of the marketing campaign alongside the ongoing Bus Franchising Consultation in ensuring that public voices were heard.

The Mayor emphasised the value of multi-fare tickets and that the £3 fare cap was a cap on the ticket price and not the standard fare.

RESOLVED That the Board:

1.    Retain the child concessionary single fare at £1.00 and publish a future policy approach to fare setting.

2.    Cease the tram fare cap at the end of December 2024 and support the DfT’s £3 fare bus cap.

Agree to the development and implementation of a marketing and communications campaign to educate customers to know their fare (bus and tram) so they understand which ticket or fare provides the best value for their needs.

RESOLVED That the Board:

1.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Skills and Employment, Health Inequalities, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for up to £11m to deliver the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer programme across financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

2.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Health Inequalities and Skills and Employment, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to work with South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to develop and submit applications to NHS England for up to £10m to deliver the Growth Accelerator programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

3.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Skills and Employment and Economic Growth, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for up to £14.8m to deliver the extended UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

4.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the s73 and Monitoring Officer, to enter into funding agreements for UK Shared Prosperity Fund in accordance with the submitted Investment Plan, local delivery plans and any conditions agreed with Government and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

5.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Economic Growth and s73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Department for Business and Trade for up to £2.4m to deliver the Made Smarter programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

6.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to approve onward grant, negotiate terms and approve entering into legal agreements for the schemes above.

7.    Note the previously approved application for funding under the name Universal Support is now to be known as Connect to Work

A Programme Approvals report was presented to Leaders which noted that the Autumn Statement had meant the MCA was in a positive position to receive further funding for programmes.

RESOLVED That the Board:

1.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Skills and Employment, Health Inequalities, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for up to £11m to deliver the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer programme across financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

2.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Health Inequalities and Skills and Employment, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to work with South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board to develop and submit applications to NHS England for up to £10m to deliver the Growth Accelerator programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

3.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Leads for Skills and Employment and Economic Growth, Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) for up to £14.8m to deliver the extended UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

4.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the s73 and Monitoring Officer, to enter into funding agreements for UK Shared Prosperity Fund in accordance with the submitted Investment Plan, local delivery plans and any conditions agreed with Governmentand to approve any subsequent grant offer.

5.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Economic Growth and s73 and Monitoring Officer, to develop and submit applications to the Department for Business and Trade for up to £2.4m to deliver the Made Smarter programme across financial year 2025/26and to approve any subsequent grant offer.

6.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Growth Business and Skills, in consultation with the Section 73 and Monitoring Officer, to approve onward grant, negotiate terms and approve entering into legal agreements for the schemes above.

Note the previously approved application for funding under the name Universal Support is now to be known as Connect to Work.

The Decisions & Delegated Authority Report was presented.

RESOLVED That the Board note the decisions and delegations made.