Members’ apologies were noted as above.

It was noted written representations in relation to the proposed recommendations had been received in advance of the meeting from Lucy, and Lucy would therefore be included in the quoracy calculation.

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

None.

None.

None received.

A precis of matters arising from the previous meeting was provided for information.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 17^th July were agreed to be an accurate record and approved for signing by the representative of the Head of Paid Service.

A paper and accompanying presentation were received to provide an overview of the current economic landscape in Sheffield City Region and the emerging evidence to structure future priorities/activities in SCR in business growth, to be encapsulated within the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and Local Industrial Strategy (LIS)

Information was received to explain the process and timescales for development. It was noted the SEP and LIS are scheduled for publication in December 2019 but acknowledged there are a number of factors that may affect this intention.

Members considered where it would be beneficial to co-ordinate strategic development work with neighbouring LEP areas on matters of mutual interest.

Comparisons were drawn between the SCR and other city regions (nationally and internationally), indicating where there may be opportunities to use the SEP and LIS to drive local productivity upwards. Consideration was given to what local factors need to be addressed to achieve our productivity ambition in relation to various sectors.

The meeting considered what may be identified as the drivers of productivity, including skills and investment in research and development.

The Board considered the importance of growth being ‘inclusive’ to ensure this genuinely translates into improving the lives of the SCR’s residents. It was noted there is good practise evidence from other regions that could be utilised to inform this ambition.

Considering the proposed economic vision for the SCR, the Board agreed this shouldn’t be unnecessarily vague or unachievable and must be focussed around tangible outcome measures such as ‘what jobs will be delivered where’ and ‘what additional skills will be realised by when’. It was agreed more targeted metrics need to be developed in this area.

The Board requested that in taking this work forward, the outcome measures be formulated first and used to drive the determination of the policy measures.

Action: SCR officers to ensure the Board’s comments are incorporated into further strategic economic development work.

RESOLVED - that the Board notes the summarised evidence base and the emerging areas for prioritisation, and requests that further work be more built around tangible outcome measures.

A paper was received to outline the potential risks of a no-deal Brexit to the SCR economy.

It was noted the activities agreed by the LEP Board include the development and publication of a Brexit Toolkit for businesses to consider and evaluate their preparedness and seek additional support, active participation on the SCR Local Resilience Forum and, with other key local stakeholders, supporting businesses to collaborate on business intelligence, and lobbying civil servants on the importance of replacing European funding streams.

Consideration was given to what additional roles the SCR might be best placed to deliver to support local businesses through this process. It was acknowledged the local authorities and local Chambers of Commerce are more visible on Brexit than the SCR and proposed the SCR team might be best focussing its efforts on supporting their endeavours rather than duplicating activity.

It was suggested the SCR might be well placed to assist the Chambers of Commerce and local districts in providing additional support for certain sectors (ensuring any activities are based on appropriately robust market intelligence).

RESOLVED - that the Board notes the contents of the paper and agrees the merits of establishing an Economic Resilience Taskforce, subject to this being aligned with associated initiatives being led by the districts and Chambers of Commerce.

A paper and accompanying performance dashboards were received to provide the Board with up to date performance information on all business growth programmes delivered by the SCR Executive on behalf of the LEP and MCA.

The performance dashboards considered the SCR Growth Hub and the Business Investment Fund (BIF).

Members considered the importance of aligning reporting information to the SCR’s key outcome measures (as discussed at item 7).

Regarding the BIF report it was suggested the information could be presented broken-down by sector. However, it was suggested this would only be useful if it helps inform subsequent debate around how BIF investment has helped the SCR achieve its key outcome measures.

It was also suggested this reporting process could be used to assess the impact of concluded activities.

RESOLVED - that the Board notes the contents of the report.

Members were reminded that at the meeting on the 17th July 2019, it was agreed to consider Project 0098 via written procedures.

However, it was noted the required quoracy was not achieved via written procedures and the paper is therefore being returned to the Board for consideration.

The Board was informed that as part of the written procedures process, the option for a grant of 5% of scheme value (£619,000) was confirmed as acceptable from the options presented and this is therefore being presented for consideration by the Board.

It was noted project 0098 is a Sheffield based scheme seeking to support an inward investment opportunity to create a unique visitor experience. This inward investment scheme is closely aligned with a development, already approved, and aims to contribute to the Sheffield ‘Outdoor city’ strategy offer. The grant would be matched by private sector finance up to the £12.3m total project costs.

Consideration was given to whether this decision (if taken) would be comparable with similar past investment decisions. The Board was informed of the various factors which are taken into consideration in determining whether investment recommendations take the form or loans or grants. The importance of consistency was re-asserted.

RESOLVED, that the Board:

1. Approves the progression of Project 0098 to full approval and award of £619,000 subject to the conditions set out in the Board paper and associated annexes.

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

Presented for information.

No further matters arising.