Minutes:
The Chair welcomed the Mayor to the meeting and invited him to address the Committee.
The Mayor firstly acknowledged the loss of Cllr Jim Andrews BEM, the former Deputy Leader of Barnsley MBC, and added that his thoughts were with Cllr Andrews’ family and friends. He also apologised for missing the previous meeting and advised that he was keen to engage in the overview and scrutiny process.
In July Peel Group had announced that they were reviewing future operations at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) and had subsequently decided to close the airport. The MCA and Doncaster MBC had been working together to bring in alternative investment and were currently facilitating discussions between potential investors and Peel Group. The MCA had previously offered up to £7m to keep DSA open for up to 13 months while negotiations took place. Although the offer had been refused, it was still available. Doncaster MBC had stated that they would initiate the process for a Compulsory Purchase Order if necessary.
A Healthy Life Expectancy Lead had been appointed to advance the work addressing health inequalities across the region. The MCA was working with Harvard, Bloomberg and the World Health Organisation on a project around healthy life expectancy. This also linked to the work the Mayor would do as the new Chair of the Integrated Care Partnership.
Action: Democratic Services to add a report on health inequalities to the work plan.
In response to the cost of living crisis the MCA Board had approved proposals to provide support to South Yorkshire residents. This included linking charities, businesses, and food producers to provide cheap goods to those who needed them and the implementation of the £2 cap on bus fares earlier than nationally scheduled. It was hoped that this would also encourage more people to travel by public transport.
Another decision agreed by the MCA Board was to take the tram back into public ownership once the current contract with Stagecoach came to an end. In response to questions the Mayor advised that the geography and topography of South Yorkshire were challenges to extending the tram but that this would be explored further. He added that South Yorkshire needed an ambitious, long-term vision for a public transport network that connected the whole of the region.
The possibility of franchising the bus network was currently being explored but in the meantime the MCA was providing significant funding to protect as many services as possible following operator cuts. The MCA had committed £5.1m to provide alternative, tendered services to support school journeys for the next 2 academic years. Where possible services had been replicated but not all those lost had been able to be replaced. The MCA was working with schools and operators to find solutions.
The Committee also discussed:
Resolved that the update be noted.