CONSTITUTION OF
THE
THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE CITY DEAL
JOINT COMMITTEE
1.1
The Thames Valley Berkshire City Deal Joint Committee (“the
Committee”) is constituted as a joint committee of the six
Berkshire unitary authorities in accordance with arrangements made
under Section 101 (2) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972 and
the Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of
Functions)(England) Regulations 2012.
1.2 The purpose of the
Committee will be to take decisions on behalf of the six
authorities under the Thames Valley Berkshire City Deal with a view
to securing the following outcomes over the 3 years from 1 April
2014:
Employment and Skills Gateway:
·
To reduce youth unemployment by 50% within 3
years;
·
To generate 1,300 new employment opportunities for
young people including helping 800 sustain work for at least six
months;
·
To develop new approaches to reduce churn in the
labour market ensuring 900 young people do not make a repeat claim
within 9 months of their last, and increasing the earnings of 450
young people by 10%;
·
To deliver improvement in existing schemes including
1,500 new work experience placements;
·
To create 300 additional apprenticeships and 800 new
Youth Contract Wage Incentives.
Growth Hub:
·
To set up a one stop shop web site as the single
gateway for Berkshire’s growth businesses, providing access
to information, an overview of grants and business support services
that are available, and an open innovation platform.
·
To offer a programme of coaching, advice &
training, and ‘account management’ from an experienced
team that will assist businesses develop strategies and plans for
growth. The Growth Hub will partner with other national offerings
such as MAS, UKTI, GrowthAccelerator, TSB, and with the LEP’s
Funding Escalator.
·
To offer a competitive grants programme to directly
fund businesses that need between £10k and £40k to
develop new products, prove new technologies and get ideas to
market.
·
To develop a business network delivering relevant
events and topical activities across Berkshire, to provide
knowledge and information exchange for growth
businesses.
·
To be Located at the University of Reading but
reaching out across Thames Valley Berkshire through local
‘touch points’.
2
MEMBERSHIP
2.1
The Committee will consist of six members with each of the six
Berkshire unitary authorities appointing one member to the
Committee plus 6 non-voting co-opted representatives of the Thames
Valley Berkshire LEP. A substitute
member may be nominated for each voting and non-voting member of
the Committee to deputise when necessary.
2.2 A
member appointed to the Committee will hold office until such time
as he/she is removed and replaced by his appointing authority or
ceases to be a member of the Council by which he was appointed then
membership will cease.
3
APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN AND
VICE-CHAIRMAN
3.1 The Committee will, at its annual meeting in
each year, appoint a chairman and the chairman will, unless he
resigns his office or ceases to be a member of the Committee,
continue in office until a successor is appointed at the next
annual meeting. In the event of the
Chairman ceasing to be Chairman at any time before an annual
meeting, the Committee may elect a member of the Committee to be a
temporary Chairman to hold office until a Chairman is elected at
the next annual meeting.
3.2 The Committee may, at its annual meeting in
each year, appoint a Vice-Chairman and the Vice-Chairman will,
unless he resigns his office or ceases to be a member of the
Committee, continue in office until a successor is appointed at the
next annual meeting. In the event of
the Vice-Chairman ceasing to be a member at any time before an
annual meeting, the Committee may elect another member of the
Committee to be a temporary Vice-Chairman until a Vice-Chairman is
elected at the next annual meeting.
3.3 The Chairman and
Vice-Chairman will not be members of the same Council (unless (but
only for as long as) the non-availability or unwillingness to serve
of any member or members at any relevant time prevents this clause
from being observed).
4.
MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
4.1
The first meeting of the Committee will be the annual meeting for
the year then current and thereafter the first meeting held after
31 Mayin any year will be the annual meeting.
4.2 At all meetings, the
Chairman, if present, will preside. If
the Chairman is not present, the Vice-Chairman, if present, will
preside. If both the Chairman and the
Vice-Chairman are absent, the meeting may choose a person to
preside at that meeting. Any powers
exercisable by the Chairman at a meeting of the Committee will be
exercisable by any other person presiding at the meeting in
accordance with this clause.
4.3 If there are equal
numbers of votes for and against a proposal, the person presiding
will have a second or casting vote.
There will be no restriction on how they choose to exercise a
casting vote.
4.4 The Committee will
hold ordinary meetings at least twice a year (including the annual
meeting) except that:
4.4.1 The
Chairman may in their discretion cancel any ordinary meeting if in
their opinion there is insufficient business to be
transacted;
4.4.2 A
special meeting may be convened at any time on the requisition of
the Chairman or at least two members of the Committee
4.4 The
Committee Procedure Rules set out in Bracknell Forest
Council’s Constitution will apply (mutatis
mutandis) to the proceedings of the
Committee.
4.5
The quorum will be three voting
members. In the event that a quorum is
not present at any meeting of the Committee within 15 minutes of
its notified commencement time the meeting will stand adjourned to
a time and place to be determined by the
Chairman.
5
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE
5.1
The function of the Committee is to monitor and take decisions in
relation to the implementation of the Thames Valley Berkshire City
Deal on behalf of the six Berkshire unitary
authorities.
5.2 For the avoidance of
doubt, it is agreed that the Committee will not be responsible for
making decisions on:
5.2.1
Changes to the policies and targets of the
Councils.
5.2.2 The
determination of the budget of the Councils regarding the
Project.
5.3 The Committee will
not be empowered to acquire land or any interest in
land.
5.4 The
Committee may arrange for work to be carried out directly or on an
agency or contract basis by any of the Councils.
6
OFFICERS, STAFF AND
ACCOMMODATION
6.1
The proper officer within Bracknell Forest Council being the Head
of Democratic & Registration Services will be the Clerk to the
Committee and the Section 151 Officer of the Accountable Authority
will be the Treasurer to the Committee
6.2
The Borough Solicitor of Bracknell Forest Council will be the Legal
Adviser to the Committee.
6.3
The City Deal Project Manager will be directly responsible to the
Committee.
6.4 The Committee will secure the provision of (but not
employ) such staff, accommodation and other resources as the
Committee considers necessary for the discharge of its
responsibilities.