Agenda item - Greater Cambridge City Deal partnership budget 2015/16

To consider the attached report by Chris Malyon, Chief Finance Officer at Cambridgeshire County Council

The Joint Assembly RECOMMENDED to the Executive Board that:

(a) The following options in relation to the functions set out in the report be adopted and that budgetary provision be made within the 2015/16 Greater Cambridge City Deal non-project costs budget for:

· central coordinating functions in the sum of £150,000 per year for two years;

· strategic communications in the sum of £60,000 for two years;

· economic assessments in the sum of £10,000 per year for two years;

· Smart City in the sum of £20,000 per year for two years;

· inward investment team to a maximum sum of £150,000, subject to the conditions set out in that section of the report;

· support for the delivery of additional housing in the sum of £200,000 per year for two years.

(b) The City Deal budget for non-project costs as set out in section 6 of the report be approved for the financial year commencing 1 April 2015.

(c) The currently unutilised funding, as set out in section 8 of the report, be retained for other needs that are expected to arise to progress the City Deal objectives, including potential investment in infrastructure schemes, and be carried forward at the year-end subject to any further demands that may be agreed by the Board within the financial year.

(d) These allocations be reviewed at the mid-year point and any amendments to these sums or additional elements be made at that point.

Consideration was given to a report scheduled for submission to the Executive Board on 27 March 2015 which sought approval of a budget for non-project costs for the 2015/16 financial year.

Chris Malyon, Chief Finance Officer at Cambridgeshire County Council, presented the report and stated that the funding in relation to the Housing Development Vehicle had been included in the budget, but that the Assembly’s ‘in principle’ support would be taken into account when presented to the Executive Board.

Mr Maylon clarified that non-project costs were those costs associated with delivering the broad range of City Deal outcomes beyond the capital costs of delivering the infrastructure investments. These included the delivery of additional affordable housing in the Greater Cambridge area, the creation of over 400 new apprenticeships, exploration of smart or digital solutions to the area’s economic barriers, assessment of the economic impact of the City Deal programme and the co-ordination, leadership and communication of the initiative overall.

In going through each section of the report, discussion ensued as follows:

Central leadership and co-ordinating functions

Clarification was sought as to whether this section of the report was essentially seeking permission to fund the recruitment of two posts by way of a Programme Director and a Project Manager. Members of the Assembly noted that that this was correct, with the draft roles of both posts set out in Appendix A of the report. Furthermore, it was intended that the Programme Director would report to one of the three partner Council Chief Executives, whichever was supporting the Chairman of the Executive Board. The overarching role of the Programme Director would principally be to deliver the objectives of the City Deal. Joint Assembly Members expressed the importance of ensuring that the Executive Board gave significant thought to the sort of person it wanted appointing as Programme Director, emphasising how crucial it would be to get the right person in place.

Reassurance was given to Members of the Assembly that, in supporting delivery of the City Deal, the Programme Director and Project Manager posts would support the work of the Joint Assembly. This was also the case for any officer working on any aspect of the City Deal.

Strategic communications

It was noted that this section of the report also sought permission to recruit.

The Chairman stated that the Joint Assembly would also need some support in this area to assist in the promotion of its work and the communication of key messages.

Skills and economic assessment

The skills aspect of the report would be considered as part of a separate item at this meeting. The economic assessment section was noted.

Smart Greater Cambridge

Clarification was sought as to what the proposed £20,000 would be spent on. The notion was that this money would be made available to buy-in expertise, run events and potentially run pilot schemes, as well as potentially take advantage of other funding streams.

Inward investment

Cambridge Network was leading development of a project to promote Greater Cambridge as a place to find and buy products and services, a place to invest, a place to do research and development, as well as support Greater Cambridge companies in trading and bringing in investment and be a gateway and advisory service for those wishing to locate and invest in the area. The City Deal partner Councils were being asked to contribute £60,000 for 2015/16 and £90,000 for 2016/17. Claire Ruskin, Chief Executive of Cambridge Network, explained that the project would cost approximately £200,000 to run per year, with other sources of funding expected from other bodies such as the Local Enterprise Partnership and the University. She explained that the project would operate a sustainable funding model after the first two years, meaning that no further investment from City Deal partners would be necessary to support delivery of the project.