Agenda item

(1)      The acceptance by the WMCA as the accountable body for the receipt of approximately £70m resource grant funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport was approved subject to agreement of suitable terms and conditions.

(2)      The funding delegations to the Monitoring Officer and s151 Officer to enter into the various funding agreements and contracts which would be reasonably required to enable delivery of the programmes were approved.

(3)      Authority to carry out overall commissioning of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund, including any procurement activity as required, was delegated to the Executive Director for Strategy, Integration & Net Zero, in consultation with the s151 Officer.

(4)      The WMCA retaining 2% of the funding for accountable body costs in accordance with standard policy, including covering the costs for temporary resourcing support to design and manage the Commonwealth Games Legacy Programme was agreed.

(5)      The funding allocations between the four programme pillars, based on the new higher quantum of funding that the WMCA would receive as its share, was agreed.

(6)      The principle of the reallocation of funding between programme pillars in the event of in-year underspends arising within individual pillars, using the WMCA’s change control process enabled by the Single Assurance Framework, was agreed.

(7)      The proposed decision-making and delivery processes for each pillar were agreed.

(8)      That the delivery timeline was likely to be constrained given the two-year

spending profile and the limited preparation time ahead of the funding coming on-stream in financial year 2023/24 was noted, subject to the WMCA making further representations to the Government with the aim of securing an extension to this time period so that the underspend could be maximised to deliver a long-term legacy programme, and a draft letter of consent being requested from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport so that constituent members could satisfy themselves on the conditions being set.

(9)      The West Midlands Growth Company being allocated at least £1.7m of this funding in 2023/24, was agreed subject to confirmation of the full funding coming to the WMCA, in line with the funding proposal set out in the separate West Midlands Growth Company report (item no. 6 above).

(10)    It was noted that the next steps and intended decisions would be brought to the WMCA Board meeting on 13 January 2023.

The board considered a report from the Executive Director of Strategy, Integration & Net Zero on the scoping of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund, a £70m resource investment that the WMCA would be granted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport from 75% of the unallocated contingency funding in the Commonwealth Games budget.

There was unspent contingency funding from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games which the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport had indicated it would allocate to the WMCA to spend on a Commonwealth Games Legacy Programme across 2023/24 and 2024/25. The WMCA and constituent authorities had agreed the following:

·       The overall split of unspent contingency funding between WMCA and Birmingham City Council to be 75% and 25% respectively;

·       The principle of allocating the 75% WMCA share in line with the B2022 Legacy Programme, other existing strategies and with WMCA governance and decision making processes;

·       Four thematic programme pillars and the indicative proportions to be shared between them;

·       The governance and decision-making process under which the 75% WMCA share would be managed.

Councillor Ian Ward indicated that Birmingham would wish this funding to be available to support future sporting events in the city, including athletics and football tournaments, but that the requirement to spend the money within the next two years would prevent this from happening. He therefore requested the Government to extend this timeframe in order for the region to maximise its long-term legacy programme.

Councillor Izzi Seccombe expressed disappointment at the level of funding proposed to be allocated to wellbeing and sustainability projects, given the important role it played in creating sustainable communities. The Executive Director of Strategy, Integration & Net Zero considered that a number of the pillars would be cross-cutting, and therefore he expected a significant number of them to include wellbeing-related activity. Councillor Peter Hughes indicated that he hoped the bidding process for this funding could avoid being overly bureaucratic so as to ensure as many expressions of interest as possible.

Resolved:

(1)      The acceptance by the WMCA as the accountable body for the receipt of approximately £70m resource grant funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport be approved subject to agreement of suitable terms and conditions.

(2)      The funding delegations to the Monitoring Officer and s151 Officer to enter into the various funding agreements and contracts which would be reasonably required to enable delivery of the programmes be approved.

(3)      Authority to carry out overall commissioning of the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund, including any procurement activity as required, be delegated to the Executive Director for Strategy, Integration & Net Zero, in consultation with the s151 Officer.

(4)      The WMCA retaining 2% of the funding for accountable body costs in accordance with standard policy, including covering the costs for temporary resourcing support to design and manage the Commonwealth Games Legacy Programme be agreed.

(5)      The funding allocations between the four programme pillars, based on the new higher quantum of funding that the WMCA would receive as its share, be agreed.

(6)      The principle of the reallocation of funding between programme pillars in the event of in-year underspends arising within individual pillars, using the WMCA’s change control process enabled by the Single Assurance Framework, be agreed.

(7)      The proposed decision-making and delivery processes for each pillar be agreed.

(8)      That the delivery timeline was likely to be constrained given the two-year spending profile and the limited preparation time ahead of the funding coming on-stream in financial year 2023/24 be noted, subject to the WMCA making further representations to the Government with the aim of securing an extension to this time period so that the underspend could be maximised to deliver a long-term legacy programme, and a draft letter of consent being requested from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport so that constituent members could satisfy themselves on the conditions being set.

(9)      The West Midlands Growth Company being allocated at least £1.7m of this funding in 2023/24, be agreed subject to confirmation of the full funding coming to the WMCA, in line with the funding proposal set out in the separate West Midlands Growth Company report (see minute no. 69 above).

(10)    It was noted that the next steps and intended decisions would be brought to the WMCA Board meeting on 13 January 2023.