Agenda and decisions

Apologies for absence were received from Jonathan Browning, Councillor Shaun Davies, Councillor Steve Eling, Councillor Tony Jefferson, Councillor Peter Nutting, Tim Pile, Councillor Izzi Seccombe and Stewart Towe.

·         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Roger Lawrence on recently being awarded LGiU Leader of the Year.

·         The Mayor congratulated Councillor Pete Lowe on being appointed the new leader of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council.

The minutes were agreed as a correct record.

The forward plan of items of future business was noted.

(1)       The comments received from the Constituent Councils, the Police & Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable, and the resulting revisions to the Scheme were noted.

(2)       The proposed two-stage consultation process, including the revised timetable, and revised Governance Review and Scheme to be consulted upon was noted and agreed.

(3)       It was agreed to receive a further report at 22 March 2019 WMCA Board detailing the outcome of the consultation. (Note proposed change of date to accommodate timetable).

(1)       The Mayoral Q&A event held with members of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 28 September 2018 was noted, along with:

(a)       The committee’s views on the need for a ‘prescribed/dedicated’ time slot within the Mayor’s diary for such events;

(b)       Proposals to increase the number of events to three per year, in order to facilitate a wider range of questioning, and ensure greater transparency;

(c)        The continued need for the WMCA Board to ensure that pre-decision scrutiny was embedded throughout the work of the WMCA.

(2)       The recommendations of Overview & Scrutiny Committee arising from the Mayoral Q&A event were approved:

(a)       A report on Brexit, and the implications for the region, to be presented to the WMCA Board as soon as possible, as it was considered that there was a need for a co-ordinated regional approach on the potential impacts and mitigations of Brexit.

(b)       Any WMCA Air Quality Strategy should be drafted in co-ordination with all constituent authorities, and include reference to impact on non-constituent authorities;  also  the WMCA should develop a region-wide database for all local authorities to input into, and to access information.

(c)        The WMCA should provide leadership on vehicle emission standards impacting on air pollution, and therefore any decision on the engine type to be used in the proposed Sprint vehicle should avoid the use of diesel; and WMCA should seek to be the market leader in environmental emissions.

(d)       Overview & Scrutiny Committee should undertake pre-decision scrutiny on any proposals or recommendations arising out of the Ring & Ride review prior to its consideration by the WMCA Board.

(3)       The following questions being asked of the Mayor were noted, which, in accordance with the WMCA’s constitution, he was required to provide a written response to the committee, within two months:

(a)        To provide a detailed breakdown on how the Mayor had utilised the £2m central Government funding allocated to the WMCA to boost mayoral capacity and resources, and whether any of this funding had been, or was intended to be, allocated to support an effective scrutiny function.

(b)        To provide greater clarification on the extent to which the Mayor was utilising the powers provided within the Bus Services Act 2017 in respect of bus franchising.

(c)        To provide further details on the support being provided by Transport for West Midlands to ensure vehicles operated on subsidised routes achieved high standards of environmental emissions.

(d)        To provide further details on the number and percentage of housing delivery programme targets that would be designated as ‘affordable homes’, and also social housing.

(e)        To provide further information of the economic benefits that the Mayor envisaged for the region as a result of hosting the Commonwealth Games 2022, and how this would contribute to the region’s inclusive growth.

(1)       The participation by the WMCA in the WM5G Project was approved.

(2)       The proposed governance structure for the WM5G Project was confirmed and approved, and permission was granted for the Joint Venture and Delivery Entity to be incorporated and the Overaching Grant Agreement entered into (including any associated ancillary documentation) in conjunction with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

(3)       An allocation of £4.75 million to the Delivery Entity, subject to the normal WMCA Assurance Framework, to be allocated to projects using the governance structures set out in this paper was confirmed and approved.

(1)       The financial position as at the end of September 2018 was noted.

(2)       The Authority’s mid-year Treasury Management position against the approved strategy was noted.

(1)       The allocation of Transforming Cities Fund to the schemes set out in section 7 of the report, in line with the guidance set out by the Department for Transport, was approved.

(2)       The approach for managing the Transforming Cities Fund allocations as set out in section 9 of the report was endorsed.

The Strategic Vision for Bus was approved.

The minutes of the meeting were noted.

The minutes of the meeting were noted.

The minutes of the meeting were approved.

The minutes of the meeting were noted.

The minutes of the meeting were noted.

The minutes of the meeting were approved.

The minutes of the meeting were noted.

That date of the next meeting was noted.

[In accordance with s100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business as it is likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as specified in paragraph 3 of the Act.]

The public and press were excluded from the remaining items of business.

(1)       The decision by the Black Country Joint Committee that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, funding from the Black Country Land and Property Investment Fund (LPIF) was made available to the City of Wolverhampton Council as Accountable Body for the fund to facilitate the delivery of the Phoenix 10 project was noted.

(2)       It was approved that a derogation was provided in respect of the Phoenix 10 project with regard to the Commissioning Framework for the Black Country Land and Property Investment Fund (approved by WMCA Board in September 2017) in recognition of the fact that the outputs from the project would be delivered outside the agreed timeframe; subject to:

(a)       a business case agreed by WMCA that followed the principles of the HM Treasury ‘Green Book’ analysis and which would also establish if those further derogations were were necessary; and

(b)       the additional conditions set out in section 5 of this report.

(3)       It was approved that the consent to derogation was specific and exclusive to the Phoenix 10 project, and did not set a precedent for any future decisions.

(4)       The WMCA’s Chief Executive, Section 151 Officer, Director of Housing & Regeneration and Head of Governance collectively, and in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Finance & Investments, were provided with delegated authority to agree the detailed business case for Phoenix 10 and those further derogations that might be necessary as set out in Section 4.

(5)       It was noted that as a result of the proposed investment in Phoenix 10, the overall package of outputs might differ from original expectations.  The extent of any variation would be informed through consideration of the detailed business case for Phoenix 10.

(1)       The recommendation from the Government Actuary Department for the Administering Authority to develop a plan to address the employer-risk inherent within the closed West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority Pension Fund (WMITA PF), part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) was noted.

(2)       The principles approved by the West Midlands Pension Fund Pensions Committee and further due diligence being undertaken to consider consolidation of the West Midlands’ LGPS Pension arrangements was noted.

(3)       It was noted that this report had been seen, consulted and commented upon by the Constituent Authorities via their Finance Directors.

(4)       The merger of the WMITA PF with the West Midlands Pension Fund was approved in principle.

(5)       The Director of Finance and the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Finance & Investments were given delegated authority to conclude all necessary work.