Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed Jim Reay to the meeting. Mr Reay had been appointed Chair of the Berkshire Business Board and was to comment on the latter’s first meeting later in this meeting.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting of the Board.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 16 September 2024 were approved as a correct record.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Any other items which, pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chair decides are urgent.

There were no urgent items of business.

To receive an update on the workstream relating to the Berkshire visitor economy.

The Board received an update from Chris Joyce on two pieces of work relating to Berkshire’s visitor economy:

1          A development framework to guide all those with an interest in the success of Berkshire’s visitor economy and support them to work in partnership

2          An application to VisitEngland to secure Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) accreditation for Berkshire so that the county could take its place within the national structure for managing England’s visitor economy.

Amongst the main points made were that:

·       The partnership was required to access any government funding that might become available.

·       No additional funding was required to support the partnership at this stage.

·       The LVEP had been built around existing partnerships to avoid the need for extra resources, but future developments may require decisions on the relative priority of the LVEP to other work.

·       The partnership would link into a number of existing bodies.

·       The LVEP’s priorities had yet to be established.

·       The LVEP’s board was to have public and private sector members.

·       The work of the LVEP would integrate with the Berkshire Economic Strategy.

·       The Berkshire Business Board would be a participant in the LVEP.

·       The success of the LVEP would depend on the public and private sectors working together.

·       A resources and assets map could be produced.

·       The focus of activity and key metrics were being worked on building from what was already in place in Windsor & Maidenhead.

·       The impact of the tourist attractions on residents needed to be taken into account to ensure they were supportive of the LVEP.

Jim Reay added that business would want to support the LVEP.

The establishment of the LVEP was welcomed by the Prosperity Board as an opportunity to promote Berkshire as a tourist attraction whilst also seeking government funding.

To sign-off the Berkshire Economic Strategy.

The Board discussed a report updating it on the development of the Berkshire Economic Strategy (BES) 2025-2035. It was invited to adopt the BES and note that the six local authority partners were developing an action plan to implement the Strategy. The responsibility for developing an economic strategy for a functional economic area was one of the core functions which had transferred to local government from local enterprise partnerships on 1 April 2024. The six local authorities had commissioned Berkshire LEP to develop the new BES.

The Board noted that the local authority partners were to collaborate with the LEP and other partners to develop an initial 5 year action plan, to be owned by the Prosperity Board and for local government to take forward to deliver on the ambition of the BES.

The Board was reminded that all six Leaders had had the opportunity to review and contribute their views on the BES ahead of the draft being submitted to Government in November. Alison Webster indicated that all feedback had been taken into account. There remained a few typos that still needed to be corrected. She highlighted the main changes and indicated that there had been a focus on inclusivity.

The Strategy was welcomed by the Board as a thorough document with the right level of ambition whilst also taking account of the Government’s priorities. The use of the phrase “worldclass infrastructure” was however questioned.

It was noted that the action plan was being worked up by the LEP in consultation with the place directors. A workshop was likely to be held in the spring. Future reporting arrangements had yet to be finalised but would involve regular updates to the Prosperity Board. Officers were reaching out to all who could contribute to the work.

It was suggested that “sustainable growth” was a more appropriate objective than “good growth”. In addition, being a very diverse region added to the county’s strengths as it could benefit from such elements as pockets of migrant workers.

Having discussed the matter, the Prosperity Board endorsed the Berkshire Economic Strategy 2025-2035.

To receive a briefing on the Board’s financial position.

The Board received and noted an update on its financial position from Graham Cadle. This included details about expenditure and the funds received in the current year.

To receive an update on the first meeting of the Berkshire Business Board on 11 December 2024.

The Board received a report updating it on the Business Board which had held its first meeting on 11 December 2024. The members of the Board had been appointed based on their ability to demonstrate substantial leadership experience in Berkshire’s key industrial sectors, such as life sciences and AgriTech, creative and screen industries, IT and digital, visitor economy, retail and hospitality (high streets), and developers and construction. The aim had been to ensure that it would contribute to an inclusive board and economy. In addition, they were to represent a balanced sense of Berkshire identity with links to all local authority areas. It was also intended to develop a team of people with complimentary qualities.

Rhian Hayes briefed the Prosperity Board on the first meeting. She reported that there had been a lot of discussion and energy, with business representatives showing a genuine willingness to be involved in shaping Berkshire’s economy. Members had expressed a desire to contribute beyond providing advice, including making formal recommendations to this Board. They believed they could add value to by providing recommendations and comments on the items it would be considering. There had been a consensus that Berkshire’s landscape was complex. Members had emphasised the need for clear guidance on expectations and had suggested their terms of reference should be updated to outline clearly what was being asked of them and had highlighted the importance of creating processes for the agile distribution of information and feedback. They had also supported keeping the Board small to ensure agility and productive discussions, with the option to increase incrementally if needed. The emphasis should be on ensuring that the right voices were on the Board.

Councillor Brooks stated that the first meeting had been very encouraging, not least the members desire to make recommendations. He added that the big voices were also supporting the county’s SMEs.

Jim Reay stated that there was a general desire to see the Strategy in place and concerns about Berkshire not losing out under the Government’s devolution proposals. They had been keen to leverage existing mechanisms. There was a need to be nimble and get on with things in the short term, whilst working on the longer term aims. Those present were keen to bring their knowledge to the table but recognised how complex it was going to be. It had been a good start. Mr Reay encouraged everyone to be bold and focus on the benefits.

The Chair thanked Mr Reay and indicated that the Prosperity Board looked forward to working with the Business Board and wished it luck.

To note that the next meeting of the Board will be held at 12 noon on Monday 17 March 2025.

The Board noted that its next meeting would be held at 12 noon on Monday 17 March 2025.