Agenda item

Report No:   CAB/SE/18/012

Portfolio Holder: Alaric Pugh           Lead Officer: Julie Baird

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: (20 February 2018)

(1)     The Overarching West Suffolk Growth Investment Strategy, as attached at Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/18/012, be approved;

(2)     subject to the safeguards set out within Report No: CAB/SE/18/012, as detailed in Table 1 at paragraph 6.4, decisions on expenditure  made from the previously approved capital and revenue Growth Investment Fund, be agreed as follows:

(a)     in accordance with Section 1.3 (b) of the Cabinet Procedure Rules contained within Part 4 of the Constitution which allows the Leader to amend the delegations to individual Cabinet Members, the relevant Portfolio Holder and Leader, in consultation with the statutory officers, be authorised to make decisions of up to £0.5m expenditure;

(b)     Cabinet be authorised to make decisions of up to £2m expenditure; and

(c)     Council shall make decisions where the expenditure is anticipated to exceed £2m.

(3)     The Monitoring Officer shall make the necessary amendments to the Cabinet’s scheme of delegation in accordance with her existing delegation, and be authorised to make other amendments to the Constitution as a consequence of (2) above.

The Cabinet considered Report No: CAB/SE/18/012, which sought approval for a new Overarching West Suffolk Growth Investment Strategy, together with associated governance arrangements and delegation proposals.

The principles for the Overarching Growth Investment Strategy flowed from the Strategic Framework 2018 – 2020, which were scrutinised by the St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) and Forest Heath District Council (FHDC) Overview and Scrutiny Committees on 8 and 9November 2017, and further to incorporation of appropriate amendments, the principles were approved by both SEBC and FHDC Cabinets at a joint meeting on 14 November 2017.

Having approved a set of principles by which to develop the Overarching Growth Investment Strategy, this had now been produced and was attached to the report, together with an Executive Summary as Attachment A. The Strategy aimed to support the vision and objectives in the recently adopted West Suffolk Strategic Framework 2018-2020 and set out how the West Suffolk Councils (FHDC and SEBC) would invest to achieve these strategic priorities contained in the Framework.

Councillor Alaric Pugh, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Growth, drew relevant issues to the attention of Cabinet, including that the Strategy included opportunities in four key areas (housing, business, infrastructure and inclusive growth) for investment in Growth across West Suffolk; not all of which the Councils had a role or could deliver. As such, the document  would also act as a window to channel and focus energies and activities of external stakeholders and investors.

Members noted that additional investment opportunities would continue to be presented to the Councils from external stakeholders. The development of an assessment framework/guidance would be completed over the coming months to be available for proposals (both internal and externally) to be considered, taking into account various elements required as summarised in paragraphs 1.6 to 1.8 of the report.

The proposed approaches to investing in growth and associated governance arrangements, together with proposed delegation thresholds to authorise applicable funding commitments from the previously approved capital and revenue Growth Investment Fund were provided in the report.  The delegations, as set out in the table at paragraph 6.4 had been proposed to allow decisions to be made more quickly and efficiently to enable opportunities to be seized, whilst ensuring decisions remained in accordance with the Strategy, and were subject to safeguards to ensure a democratic process was undertaken so the Council did not take unnecessary risks with public funds. It was noted that the proposed delegation thresholds applied to all investments with the exception of property and land acquisition, which would be guided by the emerging West  Suffolk Councils’ Asset Management Strategy.

Councillor Pugh commended  the Assistant Director (Growth), her team and other officers across the organisation for the significant amount of work that had contributed to the formulation of the Growth Investment Strategy.  He considered it symbolised the transformation of local government and epitomised the exemplary forward thinking approach of the West Suffolk Councils towards investment in growth. 

The Cabinet supported Councillor Pugh’s sentiments and were satisfied that the delegation thresholds were acceptable. Members recognised that in order to promote economic growth that benefitted communities, the West Suffolk Councils needed to consider the investment role they could play to i) shape local places, while also ii) ensuring their own financial self-sufficiency, in order to safeguard the provision of support and services for West Suffolk’s communities now and for future generations.  Members considered this had been successfully captured in the Strategy.

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

(1)    The Overarching West Suffolk Growth Investment Strategy, as attached at Appendix A to Report No: CAB/SE/18/012, be approved;

(2)    subject to the safeguards set out within Report No: CAB/SE/18/012, as detailed in Table 1 at paragraph 6.4, decisions on expenditure  made from the previously approved capital and revenue Growth Investment Fund, be agreed as follows:

(a)    in accordance with Section 1.3 (b) of the Cabinet Procedure Rules contained within Part 4 of the Constitution which allows the Leader to amend the delegations to individual Cabinet Members, the relevant Portfolio Holder and Leader, in consultation with the statutory officers, be authorised to make decisions of up to £0.5m expenditure;

(b)    Cabinet be authorised to make decisions of up to £2m expenditure; and

(c)    Council shall make decisions where the expenditure is anticipated to exceed £2m.

(3)    The Monitoring Officer shall make the necessary amendments to the Cabinet’s scheme of delegation in accordance with her existing delegation, and be authorised to make other amendments to the Constitution as a consequence of (2) above.