Decision details

Decision:

As Leader of Kent County Council, I agree to:

·         Kent County Council remaining a partner in and member of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) after it becomes a company limited by guarantee in 2020.

·         Confirm that the Leader of the Council will be the KCC nomination for appointment as a Director of SELEP Ltd, as per the proposed SELEP Board Membership arrangements.

·         Confirm that the Leader of Kent County Council will be the formal voting representative of KCC at SELEP Strategic Board meetings of SELEP Ltd and at the SELEP Accountability Board, the latter to be governed by the updated Joint Committee Agreement; and

·         Delegate authority to Kent County Council’s Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader and the Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport, to enter into relevant contracts, legal agreements and put appropriate arrangements in place required to implement this decision, including but not limited to, signing an updated Joint Committee Agreement governing the SELEP Accountability Board.

Background:

Kent County Council has been a member of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) since its inception in 2011, and the Leader of Kent County Council has been one of the twenty-eight SELEP Strategic Board Members.

The role of SELEP is to drive forward economic growth through strategy development, allocating funding, acting as an advocate for the area, and bringing together a range of stakeholders to co-ordinate action.

In July 2018, the Government published ‘Strengthened Local Enterprise Partnerships’, and in January 2019, published a new National Assurance Framework. These documents stipulate that all LEPs must become a Company Limited by Guarantee within a fixed deadline, and the Company must have no more than 20 Directors and 5 Co-opts. Failure to comply may result in the Government withholding funding to the LEPs (including Local Growth Funding).

To comply with Central Government’s rules, the SELEP Strategic Board has voted to become a Company Limited by Guarantee before 1 April 2020. It has agreed that Kent County Council will be invited to select a representative to become a SELEP Company Director; SELEP has stated the representative must be either the Leader of Kent County Council or a Cabinet Member.

More details are contained in the County Council report dated 12 September 2019: https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/s92048/Item%208%20-%20SELEP.pdf

The options are as follows:

·         Agree to continue to participate in the South East Local Enterprise Partnership after it becomes a company limited by guarantee. SELEP invites Kent County Council to select a SELEP Company Director from its Cabinet. The chosen KCC Director on SELEP will be asked to formally agree the SELEP Ltd Articles of Association and its Framework Agreement (that are currently being drafted by SELEP’s Accountable Body (i.e. Essex County Council)). Agreed participation also necessitates that Kent County Council sign a refreshed Joint Committee Agreement, which gives legitimacy to the SELEP Accountability Board (the current Joint Committee Agreement was signed in 2015 by SELEP).

·         Decide to withdraw from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership. If Kent County Council withdraws from SELEP, it significantly limits Kent County Council’s ability to prioritise its strategic aims within regional and national agendas. It removes its ability to influence the Local Industrial Strategy, and other regional strategic economic plans. It also places at risk the funding which is granted to Kent capital projects through SELEP (this includes the Local Growth Funding and Growing Places Funding). This funding is presently expected to be in excess of £150m between 2015 and 2021.

As Leader of Kent County Council, I agree to:

·         Kent County Council remaining a partner in and member of the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) after it becomes a company limited by guarantee in 2020.

·         Confirm that the Leader of the Council will be the KCC nomination for appointment as a Director of SELEP Ltd, as per the proposed SELEP Board Membership arrangements.

·         Confirm that the Leader of Kent County Council will be the formal voting representative of KCC at SELEP Strategic Board meetings of SELEP Ltd and at the SELEP Accountability Board, the latter to be governed by the updated Joint Committee Agreement; and

·         Delegate authority to Kent County Council’s Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader and the Corporate Director for Growth, Environment and Transport, to enter into relevant contracts, legal agreements and put appropriate arrangements in place required to implement this decision, including but not limited to, signing an updated Joint Committee Agreement governing the SELEP Accountability Board.