Agenda and draft minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 28 November 2007.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Board’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is Monday 10 March 2008 at 5.00pm.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation scheme.

This report sets out background information on progress with the review of the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS), and seeks comments from the Board on this matter. 

Board members considered a report which set out background information on progress with the review of the Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS), and sought comments from the Board on this matter. 

In accordance with paragraph 9 of the report, the Economic Development Partnership Board was requested to review the “Thriving City” chapter of the Sustainable Community Strategy. A draft was appended at Annex A and comments were invited. Following consideration of this draft chapter, it was proposed to prepare a more detailed economic development strategy and action plan for consideration by partners prior to the next Board meeting.

A colour copy showing the tracked changes to Annex A was distributed at the meeting. The following comments were made on the Annex:

• The sixth strategic aim should include the fact that the University was in the Top 30 in the world.
• In the new section about cross-cutting issues, “An independent group” should be changed to say “Future York Group”.
• The top level objective should include the previous reference to existing businesses, should promote York’s economy, and should mention about education partnerships and retail.
• The ninth strategic aim should mention about maximising income.
• The lead name under Partnership Arrangements should refer to the chair of EDPB rather than a specific name.

Board members looked forward to receiving the action plan to see what the tangible outputs would be.

RESOLVED:             That the progress in reviewing the Sustainable Community Strategy and the above comments on the proposed revisions to the “Thriving City” chapter be noted.

REASON:                  To help shape the effectiveness of future action.

This report sets out background information on progress with the review of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) for York, and seeks comments from the Board on this matter. 

Board members considered a report which set out background information on progress with the review of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) for York, and sought comments from the Board on this matter. 

A draft list of indicators had been submitted to Government Office with the caveat that it might be subject to change as the refresh of the Sustainable Community Strategy takes shape. Suggestions for the up to 35 indicators related to the Economic Development Partnership Board were detailed under paragraph 15 of the report.

In relation to NI152 about working age people, it was highlighted that this would be difficult to measure as the school leaving age was being raised from 16 to 18 and women’s retirement age had been increased from 60 to 65 and potentially men’s retirement age could be raised from 65 to 70. Officers reported they had raised this issue and were awaiting advice from the DWP on this.

It was agreed that officers would circulate to Members by email the proposed 35 national indicators and the 15 local ones, along with all the relevant economic development indicators contained in the 198 national indicators.¹

RESOLVED:             That the progress with the preparation of the Local Area Agreement and the above comments on the proposed draft indicators, which are still to be agreed with the Government, be noted.

REASON:                  To help shape the effectiveness of future action.

This report sets out background information on the Government’s Sub-National Review of economic development and regeneration (SNR), considers the implications of this for the Leeds City Region (LCR), and proposes specific actions to consider in order to maximise the benefits for York. 

Board members considered a report which set out background information on the Government’s Sub-National Review of economic development and regeneration (SNR), considered the implications of this for the Leeds City Region (LCR), and proposed specific actions to consider in order to maximise the benefits for York.

A summary of the proposals set out in the SNR was appended to this report (Annex A). Some of the proposed structural changes would require legislation and the Government had indicated that they would consult on how the regional strategy might be implemented and on the creation of a focused duty placed on local authorities to carry out assessments of local economies. This consultation was likely to take place early in 2008.

Paragraph 9 of the report detailed a number of actions, primarily for the Council, which were recommended to ensure that York helped to shape the LCR agenda and to articulate the ambitions and potential.

Board members highlighted that this could be an opportunity to increase and improve access to higher education in North Yorkshire, especially with the national challenge to increase the number of universities in towns.

It was queried how central this would be to Yorkshire Forward in future. It was reported that it was a fundamental shift for Yorkshire Forward but it was in the direction of travel already being taken, and Yorkshire Forward were working with the Council to put a programme of activity together.

RESOLVED:             That the actions set out in paragraph 9 of this report in order to maximise the benefits of the Sub-national Review and the Leeds City Region to York be noted.

REASON:                  To help shape the effectiveness of future action.

This report briefs Board members on issues/progress on key areas of economic development activity in the past six months, since the previous update in September 2007. 

Board members considered a report which briefed them on issues/progress on key areas of economic development activity in the past six months, since the previous update in September 2007. 

A performance report from york-england.com was circulated at the meeting for Board members’ information.

RESOLVED:             That the contents of the report be noted.

REASON:                  To help shape the effectiveness of future action.

This report sets out some options for the Board to consider regarding future membership and composition prior to formal approval by the Council. 

Board members considered a report which set out some options for the Board to consider regarding future membership and composition prior to formal approval by the Council. 

A review of the Council’s constitution was underway and would be considering the role of working groups generally. This provided an opportunity to consider the future status of the Board. Board members’ views were sought on two possible options for the future of the Economic Development Partnership Board:

Option 1 - the Board remains as a working group of the Council

Option 2 – the Board becomes a partnership body. In this case the Council would nominate representatives to the Partnership Board, and any actions considered by the Board which require a Council decision would need to be considered separately under the Council’s constitution. 

In both these cases the terms of reference presented to the last Board meeting would need to be re-written to reflect any decision made by the Council in its constitutional review.

In addition, there were four options left unresolved from the last meeting which required further consideration by the Board:           

1.      The establishment of a wider Economic Development Forum under the Board;       

2.      The number of private sector representatives to the Board and how these should be determined;  

3.      How best for the Education/Skills sector to be represented on the Board;         

4.      Whether the number of councillors should be extended from 3 to 4 to cover all political parties.

Board members made the following comments:

·        Option 2 should be supported, so that the Board could become a Partnership Body.

·        An Economic Development Forum should be established.

·        There should be six business sector representatives on the Board.

·        The Learning City York Partnership should be invited to appoint a representative to the new Board to cover education, skills and training.

·        There should only be 2 councillors on the new Board.           

RESOLVED:                (i)      That the Council consider the constitutional issues for reviewing the Economic Development Partnership Board in order that a newly constituted arrangement can commence as soon as possible in  the new municipal year, including the establishment of an Economic Development Forum working with the Chamber of Commerce, the Future York group and other stakeholders to determine its operation;

(ii)          That the Council be asked to support:

(a)          That the number of business representatives on the new Board be set at 6;

(b)          That the Learning City York Partnership be invited to appoint a representative to the new Board to cover education, skills and training;

(c)          That the number of Councillor representatives on the new Board be set at 2;

when it considers its future status under the constitutional review referred to at (i) above.

REASON:                     To help shape the effectiveness of the future role of the Board.

This is to inform the Board of the dates for future meetings of the Economic Development Partnership Board as set in the new Corporate Diary for the civic year 2008/09. Board members are requested to note the following dates:

Tuesday 17 June 2008 – 6pm

Tuesday 23 September 2008 – 6pm

Wednesday 26 November 2008 – 6pm

Tuesday 10 March 2009 – 6pm

This item informed the Board of the dates for future meetings of the Economic Development Partnership Board as set in the new Corporate Diary for the civic year 2008/09. Board members were requested to note the following dates:

Tuesday 17 June 2008 – 6pm

Tuesday 23 September 2008 – 6pm

Wednesday 26 November 2008 – 6pm

Tuesday 10 March 2009 – 6pm

RESOLVED:             That the above dates be noted.

REASON:                  To inform Board members.