Agenda item

To note the report.

David Smith (Director of Economic Development and Sarah Nurden (KMEP Strategic Programme Manager) were in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr M Dance (Cabinet Member for Economic Development) introduced the report that provided Members with an update on the latest activity and response from Kent County Council to Government concerning the reforms to leadership, governance, accountability, financial reporting and geographical boundaries within the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

2.       Mrs S Nurden informed the Committee that the Government issued a report in July 2018 that set out a series of commitments and reforms to be implemented by LEPs before April 2019. In September 2018 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government held a workshop and announced that the governance work would form part of a three-stand policy by Government. The first strand would be reforming the governance of LEPs to ensure that the role of the LEP was appropriate; the second strand focused on the strategy whereby Government anticipated that LEPs would write local industrial strategies by March 2020; and the third strand looked at the UK shared prosperity fund, whereby Government would expect to see the local industrial strategies, written by the LEPs, acting as key drivers in pulling down the UK shared prosperity funding. Mrs Nurden directed Members to the appendices within the report which contained the letter from the Kent and Medway Enterprise Partnership (KMEP) to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) regarding the retainment of geographical boundaries of the LEPs, the draft SELEP implementation plan, and the letter from the County Councils Network (CCN) to the Secretaries of State to retain local authority representation on the LEP. Mrs Nurden said that there had been no indication of Minister’s reactions following the submission of the SELEP implementation plan, however, sought agreement from Members to report on the Government’s response at a future Committee.

(a)  In response to Members request for clarity as to what the Government aimed to achieve through its series of reforms, Mr Smith said that this had been challenged by Council Leaders (as set out in appendix A) as there was no clear fault that the proposal aimed to remedy. The key concern was that the Government sought to achieve greater accountability in LEPs through local authority representation whilst at the same time, dilute the local authority’s role in the development of the strategy. Mr Smith assured Members that the accountability of Kent County Council and the decisions it took fell within the terms of the County Council’s procedures and rules. Kent County Council was not dictated to by SELEP, the SELEP was a vehicle where the views of a number of interests could be brought together to produce a strategy and form bids to Government for finance. Mr Smith said that the LEP did not obstruct the traditional reporting process to scrutiny committee, Full Council or Cabinet Committees and assured Members that the accountable body of the local authority continued to report in line with Council procedures.

(b)  Mrs B Cooper (Corporate Director of Growth, Environment and Transport) said that both the Environment and Transport Cabinet Committee and the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee were informed of all key decisions taken by Kent County Council. Whether the decision was a Kent County Council generated scheme, a SELEP scheme or Department for Transport Scheme, the GET directorate ensured that full governance was applied.

(c)   In response to questions about LEP transparency and accountability, Mrs Nurden offered Members the opportunity to liaise outside of the meeting regarding any questions or concerns they wished to address.

3.    RESOLVED that the update report be noted.