Mr Rob Bridge, Chief Executive of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to present on progress made with the Independent Improvement Board and the Best Value Report.
Contact:45 Minutes
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Mr Rob Bridge, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority who had been invited to talk about the Combined Authority Improvement Agenda.
With the assistance of a Power-point Presentation (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) Mr Bridge introduced himself to the Council and outlined the background to his appointment as Chief Executive.
As part of his presentation the Council were reminded that the previous nine months had been a challenge for the Combined Authority. A Best Value Notice had been issued in January 2023 identifying a range of themes for improvement including Governance and Decision Making, Project Plans and Delivery, Procurement, Partnership Working and Culture, Capacity and Confidence. Highlights of the concerns which were raised in these areas were then reported to the Council.
Mr Bridge then went on to report on work which had been undertaken to address these concerns since May 2023. These included the recruitment of a new permanent Corporate Management Team who were seeking to drive change and embed new ways of working. Work was also ongoing to look at the core governance and related activities which needed to be in place as well as looking to the future and the deepening of devolution opportunities. The Authority was also working on the development of behaviours, values and people policies within the organisation which was now beginning to pay dividends. Whilst there was still further engagement to be undertaken, positive change was now being recognised.
Mr Bridge then talked through each of the themes identified within the Improvement Notice in turn. In doing so, he highlighted the outcomes and improvements which had been delivered to date and those which were scheduled for delivery between October and January 2024 when the notice was expected to expire.
Finally, and in talking about the future aspirations for the organisation, Mr Bridge explained that these included a continuing focus on improving partnership working and building an organisational culture. Developing an organisation which was clear on direction, and which was ready for deeper and further devolution opportunities and one in which there was confidence and assurance at both a national and a regional level. It was hoped that the CPCA would come be seen as a trusted partner and ally to constituent councils and partners and thus demonstrate their important role within the complex local government environment within Cambs and Peterborough.
Arising from the presentation, Councillor S L Taylor enquired about the timescale for the commencement of the adult education project in St Neots and it was agreed that an answer would be provided outside of the meeting. In more general terms, reference was made to the Single Assurance Framework and the need to improve project delivery and the communication of timescales.
In response to questions regarding local government reorganisation and specifically whether he considered there to be too many layers of local government in Cambridgeshire, Mr Bridge explained that local government reorganisation was not a straightforward process and came with several challenges. As to whether it was better for local Council’s to seek re-organisation themselves or to have it forced upon them, Mr Bridge explained that this would always be dependent upon the circumstances. Inevitably it may be easier if all local councils agreed, but securing agreement was more difficult than people realised.
Arising from a question as to his thoughts on the development of a second devolution deal, Mr Bridge explained that the Secretary of State had outlined his intention at the Local Government Authority conference in July to achieve further devolution by giving all mayoral combined authorities the same access to powers and devolution powers. Indications from Government suggested that they wished Authority areas to develop a singular framework to enable the subsequent selection of what is right for a particular area. Work was now starting to see what that might look like for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
In response to a request from Councillor T D Sanderson, Mr Bridge undertook to circulate a structure chart of key contacts at the CPCA and their contact details.
Councillor C H Tevlin expressed her disappointment that she did not feel adequately briefed by the CPCA on the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) and bus franchising and requested further information on the timeline and the plans to engage with Huntingdonshire going forward. In response to which, the Council had already been informed that the LTCP had not been approved at the September Board meeting and there was further work now to be undertaken.
In terms of franchising and bus reforms, Members were advised that there had been no decision taken at this stage. An outline case was currently being put through an audit process to establish whether such a model makes sense. A process would then need to be undertaken to understand what could be delivered in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Mr Bridge undertook to take away the comments about the need to engage with wider constituent council members as part of this review. An update on discussions as part of the Network Review was also provided and Members noted that there 51 routes being re procured, with 18 being reviewed.
In response to a question regarding the difficulties of reconciling the varying views and ambitions of all the towns and cities into a vision for Cambridgeshire and the areas where there might be some emerging agreement, the Council were advised that the vision for the region would build upon the visions and the corporate plans for each of the Constituent Authorities. However, there were some common threads which had already been identified around adult education, a single transport pot, business productivity and inward investment. Mr Bridge was confident that the Authority would be able to find some common themes with subsets underneath each one which recognise each area, something which Government was also keen to see. Discussions were also ongoing with the mayor about those areas which received little attention.
Referring to the fact that many members of the public did not understand the functions of the CPCA, Mr Bridge was asked to explain why the Combined Authority should matter to the average resident in Huntingdonshire. In so doing, he explained that residents should see from the CPCA improved transport, improved infrastructure, investment, the right skills opportunities etc. However, residents should not need to worry about which layer of government delivers services, they should just be seeing improved public services and infrastructure.