To receive a presentation by County Councillor Steve Count on the work that has been undertaken to-date and progress towards the establishment of the full Combined Authority.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed to the meeting County Councillor S Count who had been invited to the meeting to address the Council on an update on the Devolution Programme for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is appended in the Minute Book.
Councillor Count introduced himself as Chairman of the Shadow Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and explained that he would remain in post until the election of the Mayor in May 2017. Members were reminded of details of the Devolution journey that had taken place since June 2016 but had been ongoing for some 2-3 years previously. Attention was drawn to the main features of the Devolution agreement with an annual fund of £20m for 30 years for infrastructure, £100m fund for affordable housing and explained that although the budgets and powers had been devolved from Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council for transport the remaining services would continue to be delivered locally.
In highlighting other features of the Devolution agreement, Councillor Count advised Members of work currently being undertaken on Devolution deal 2 that would focus on deprived areas, health and social care, new homes, infrastructure and community safety and was anticipated for submission to government prior to the Spring budget.
Attention was drawn to the financial implications, in particular the ability to levy a supplementary business rate that was subject to approval from the business community and the total overheads that had been broken down for 2017/18, none of which would need to be met locally from the local authorities.
In discussing the governance arrangements for the Combined Authority, Councillor Count explained how the voting structures would work with responsibilities allocated to other members of the Combined Authority and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee arrangements that would be considered at Item No. 60 ante. Members were also provided with an update on progress of the various work streams, with each Council Leader having been allocated a specific work stream with Officer support.
In concluding his presentation, Councillor Count reminded Members of the timetable for implementation with the establishment of the Combined Authority in February 2017 and election of Mayor in May 2017.
In response to a question from Councillor B S Chapman on the specific areas of deprivation in Cambridgeshire, highlighting St Neots as a particular problem area, Councillor Count referred to pilot deprived areas identified for improvement in the Devolution area in accordance with the Indices of Deprivation for Cambridgeshire 2015 that would be used as example cases to roll-out further to other deprived areas in the future. He also referred to the St Neots Masterplan that had formed the basis of the initial Devolution deal proposals.
Councillor P D Reeve raised questions in relation to how the business community would take the decision on levying of the supplementary business rate and support for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, whereby Councillor Count explained that although unable to specifically answer the question he anticipated that this would be undertaken through the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would have a dedicated Officer support from the Combined Authority that had been allocated in the budget.
Councillor M F Shellens requested a copy of the Indices of Deprivation 2015 and highlighted his concern for skilled house building labour, whereby Councillor Count indicated his shared concern and explained that they would be addressing this issue through the provision of college courses and investigation of alternative house building methods to accelerate the provision of required housing in the area. Councillor Count also undertook to arrange for the circulation of details of the Indices of Deprivation to all Members following the meeting.
In concluding, the Executive Leader, Councillor R B Howe, drew Members attention to the second stage of the Devolution deal where the decision had been taken to focus on investment in our market towns through an integrated approach to economic development. Councillor Howe explained that it was anticipated that following the initial allocation of funding, alternative investment would be explored to generate further capital. In referring to shortage of housing, Councillor Howe questioned whether a suitable pilot provider for alternative house building could be identified within 12 months. In response Councillor Count explained that some of the larger housing allocations could be piloted with modular homes with a view to upscaling dependent upon the success of the constructions.
Actions:30 Minutes