Agenda and minutes

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council, welcomed Members of the Shadow Board, supporting officers and members of the public and press to the first public meeting of the Greater Cambridge City Deal Shadow Board, held at the Guildhall in Cambridge.

An apology for absence has been received from Councillor Steve Count, Cambridgeshire County Council.  Councillor Ian Bates will attend the meeting on his behalf.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Steve Count (Cambridgeshire County Council), Antoinette Jackson (Cambridge City Council) and Chris Malyon (Cambridgeshire County Council).

Councillor Ian Bates and Liz Bisset were in attendance on behalf of Councillor Steve Count and Antoinette Jackson, respectively.

The notes of the previous meeting held on 18 November 2014 were confirmed as a correct record.

Andrew Limb, Head of Corporate Strategy at Cambridge City Council, reported that feedback from the Cabinet Office and the Treasury on the economic assessment and trigger proposals for the Greater Cambridge City Deal was expected imminently.  Mr Limb and other partners on behalf of the City Deal were therefore still in negotiations with Government but it was hoped that this issue could soon be resolved.

Debbie Goodland, Community Engagement and Business Support Manager, and Mark Miller, External Communications Manager, from Cambridgeshire County Council presented a report setting out the proposed Communications Strategy for the Greater Cambridge City Deal.

The report outlined the main aims of the Communications Strategy, key challenges to be expected in co-ordinating communications for the City Deal and its partners, together with methods and techniques of communication that could be used and the key messages to be delivered. 

It was noted that meetings of the City Deal Executive Board and Assembly, should these bodies be formally established as part of the governance model for delivery of the City Deal, would be held in public.  As such, agendas and associated reports for meetings would be published in accordance with usual democratic processes.  It was important, therefore, to ensure that information was communicated in a timely fashion from a media perspective and that, in respect of specific schemes being delivered as part of the City Deal, engagement with any interested parties took place at an early stage.  Members of the Shadow Board agreed that community engagement would be a key part of delivering schemes through the delivery of City Deal schemes.

The communications teams from the three Councils would need to look at their respective communications projects going forward and review how they aligned with the City Deal and this Communications Strategy.  In terms of budgets, clarification was given that the cost of communications for specific transport schemes would be built into the anticipated cost of the whole scheme as part of the capital funding allocation. 

The Shadow Board REQUESTED that the three partner Councils review the cost of their communications work and associated budgets to ensure that there was adequate provision across the three communications teams to deliver the City Deal’s Communications Strategy.  The Shadow Board also:

(a)        AGREED the general approach to communications for the City Deal, as set out in the report.

(b)        AGREED the protocol, key messages and methods for engaging, as set out in the report.

(c)        NOTED that the issue of communications resource would be included in a later report on resources that may be needed to deliver the City Deal.

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council, introduced a progress report on the Greater Cambridge City Deal work streams and asked for updates on each work stream, which were noted as follows:

Communications

The Communications Strategy had already been considered at this meeting.  It was noted that four briefings were scheduled to take place in December with a transport focus, raising awareness of transport schemes proposed for delivery.

Finance

South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council had allocated contributions for City Deal funding in their Medium Term Financial Strategies.  Officers were still working on the issue of local contributions, together with the question of pooled budgets.  A further update should be available in December.

Governance framework

The proposed governance framework to support delivery of the Greater Cambridge City Deal, together with Terms of Reference and Standing Orders for the proposed Executive Board and Assembly, were in the process of going through the various decision-making structures of the three partner Councils. 

Housing

South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet had recently approved the appointment of a post to bring forward the Housing Delivery Vehicle, with interviews scheduled imminently.  It was hoped that by December the Shadow Board would be informed of the location of the first rural exception site for affordable housing as part of the City Deal, with the University indicating that it was also ready to contribute towards its delivery as part of a Joint Venture.

Investment programme

Consultants continued to work on the list of prioritised schemes according to economic impact and deliverability.  The City Deal Assembly in mid-January would be given an opportunity to assess the outcomes of that work and provide recommendations to the Executive Board.  The Board, at its meeting at the end of January, would be required to make a decision as to which specific schemes go forward. 

Payment-by-results mechanism

Officers, on behalf of City Deal partners, were still in negotiations with Government on this issue.

Skills

A way of delivering the 420 additional apprenticeships, as proposed in the signed City Deal document, had been identified.  Officers were keen to hold discussions with the Learning and Skills Council to establish the best ways of locally influencing how skills were delivered.  A meeting was planned later this month with senior officers to shape the final mechanism and an update report would be submitted to the Shadow Board in December.

Strategic Planning

Discussions between the three partner Councils regarding a proposed shared service were ongoing, with a desire to become as efficient as possible.

The Shadow Board NOTED the report and updates.

Councillor Lewis Herbert, Leader of Cambridge City Council, presented the Greater Cambridge City Deal Shadow Board’s forward plan.

The Shadow Board APPROVED the forward plan and AGREED to add the following items:

-       the inclusion of a formal item on Housing for the Executive Board meeting in February 2015;

-       the inclusion of reference to a workshop in February or March 2015 on ‘smart city’ and digital opportunities relating to economic development.