A presentation was given which summarised the
MCA’s funding and assurance processes for Business Recovery
and Growth (BRG) projects.
The presentation gave the Board detail on:
- The responsibilities of the BRG
Board to bring together public and private leadership to deliver
the MCA’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), to scrutinise
ongoing activity and to develop policy on issues related to
business recovery, innovation, enterprise, and growth.
- The 3 pillars of the SEP: Growth,
Inclusion and Sustainability, and key interventions made to support
the Growth pillar.
- The governance of the wider MCA in
relation to the BRG Board.
- The specific responsibilities of the
Board: shaping and reviewing policy, priorities, and programmes,
and awarding and monitoring grants and contracts.
- The kind of information provided to
the Board to support its decision making.
- The MCA Assurance and Appraisals
process and assessment criteria.
It was noted that the BRG Board does not have
access to a specific fund for general investment, but does have
access to funding for specified programmes of activity. This
includes programmes such as Made Smarter along with funding
provided by the MCA Board for bodies of activity such as the
Business Renewal Action Plan work.
Members of the Board were critical of the
length of time it could take to fund projects. The response was
given that a balance is needed between an appropriate level of
assurance to satisfy Government devolution requirements and the
speed of the process. It was noted that how the MCA’s
obligations towards assurance are discharged is currently being
reviewed with an emphasis on ensuring that the balance between the
rigour of appraisal and speed of delivery is appropriate.
A summary was then given of the current
financial position in the Business area of the MCA’s work,
noting:
- The position of both revenue and
capital activity in the current financial year, and how the
business pipeline could be funded based on recommendations from the
Board.
- That the MCA Board could choose to
allocate budget where a fund does not already exist for
activity.
Roughly £4m of funds remained in the
Business Renewal Action Plan (RAP) previously provided in 2021, and
the Board requested an update on Renewal Action Plan to be
presented to the next Board meeting.
ACTION: Innovation Project Director to
provide an update to the February Board meeting regarding the
impact of spent RAP funds, and recommendations for allocating the
remaining amount.
An overview of how the business pipeline is
funded was given, noting that:
- There was no dedicated funding
stream owned by the Board for funding general business investment
although the Board could endorse opportunities to the MCA Board who
could choose to award funding
- The Assurance Framework was a
mechanism for ensuring that this money was spent responsibly.
- The MCA Board has made a £26m capital fund
available for financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24 against which the
five authorities had sought money for schemes. 20% would be
retained by the MCA to deliver the Mayoral manifesto and regional
priorities
- Beyond 2024, each of the four LAs would receive a
long-term Gainshare commitment to develop and deliver Place plans
whilst the MCA would receive 20% of funding to develop and deliver
a regional level plan.
- A financial update would be
presented to the MCA Board meeting in January, with detail on how
funding had been allocated and spent.
- Wherever possible, Gainshare funding
was used sustainably, including by making loans as opposed to
grants where possible.
RESOLVED: To note the information given
in the presentation.