To consider the attached report.
Decision:
The Executive Board AGREED unanimously to:
a) Approve the Portfolios, the generic portfolio role description and their allocation between Board members (Appendix 1);
b) The creation of the five, portfolio-themed informal Board and Joint Assembly Working Groups to bring the energy and expertise of Joint Assembly members to strategy and project development earlier and agrees their membership and terms of reference (Appendix 2), subject to Councillor Lewis Herbert joining the Transport Working Group to support Councillor Ian Bates as the Transport Portfolio Holder;
c) Agrees Board meetings should be 2-monthly during 2018, with a review of frequency midway through the year;
d) There should be a longer interval between the Assembly and Board of around 3 weeks as soon as practicable and notes the proposed reporting improvements of that advice at appendix 3;
e) Agrees the principles for officer delegations and scheme of delegation for the Greater Cambridge Partnership in Appendix 4;
f) Note and endorse the principles for the setting of the Joint Assembly work programme in Appendix 5;
g) A review of governance arrangements commencing a year after implementation, to consider how effective the changes have been; and
h) Note other actions taken to improve public questions and ensure all Executive Board member declarations of interest are up to date.
Minutes:
The Executive Board considered a report seeking approval of a package of proposals to strengthen governance arrangements of the GCP. The aim was to make better use of the expertise of Joint Assembly members earlier in the project and programmedevelopment lifecycle; to strengthen pre-decision scrutiny and clarify roles and responsibilities. The report also set out how the public questions process was being improved and stakeholder engagement strengthened.
The Chairperson reported that the Joint Assembly had supported these proposals and confirmed its support for the draft principles for setting its Work Programme. It had also nominated representatives to sit on the proposed Working |Groups, in anticipation of the Executive Board approving the recommendations contained in the report.
At this stage in the proceedings the Chairperson invited Wendy Blythe to ask her questions relating to this item, which had been submitted in line with the provisions of Standing Orders. He explained that a response to the question would be covered in the officer presentation on the report. Details of the question and answer are set out in Appendix A to the minutes.
In introducing the proposals the Programme Director explained that the Executive Board and Joint Assembly had been reflecting on a number of aspects of the programme, including governance. A task and finish group had developed a package of proposals which aimed to preserve the identified strengths of the governance arrangements but also identified areas for improvement. It was proposed to adopt a portfolio holder approach, to provide clear Executive Board member leadership of the various aspects of the programme. Working Groups would be set up, chaired by the relevant Portfolio Holder. This would engage with Joint Assembly members much earlier in the policy and planning process, making full use of their expertise. Reporting arrangements would improve and there would be a longer gap between Joint Assembly and Executive Board meetings. It was proposed to review the new arrangements about a year after implementation to endure they had met the objectives.
The Executive Board was invited to consider and comment on the proposals, taking into public questions and officer responses. The response to questions of clarification and main points of discussion are summarised below:
The Chairperson reported that this was the last meeting Tanya Sheridan, would attend, after two hard working years as Programme Director. He recalled that Tanya had been instrumental in the formation of the City Deal and getting it up and running. On behalf of the Executive Board and officers he expressed enormous appreciation for the hard work Tanya had put in during easy and difficult times.
The Executive Board AGREED unanimously to:
a) Approve the Portfolios, the generic portfolio role description and their allocation between Board members (Appendix 1);
b) The creation of the five, portfolio-themed informal Board and Joint Assembly Working Groups to bring the energy and expertise of Joint Assembly members to strategy and project development earlier and agrees their membership and terms of reference (Appendix 2), subject to Councillor Lewis Herbert joining the Transport Working Group to support Councillor Ian Bates as the Transport Portfolio Holder;
c) Agrees Board meetings should be 2-monthly during 2018, with a review of frequency midway through the year;
d) There should be a longer interval between the Assembly and Board of around 3 weeks as soon as practicable and notes the proposed reporting improvements of that advice at appendix 3;
e) Agrees the principles for officer delegations and scheme of delegation for the Greater Cambridge Partnership in Appendix 4;
f) Note and endorse the principles for the setting of the Joint Assembly work programme in Appendix 5;
g) A review of governance arrangements commencing a year after implementation, to consider how effective the changes have been; and
h) Note other actions taken to improve public questions and ensure all Executive Board member declarations of interest are up to date.
Supporting documents: