28 March 2023

MINUTES of MEETING of the STIRLING AND CLACKMANNANSHIRE CITY REGION

DEAL JOINT COMMITTEE held via MS Teams on 28 MARCH 2023 at 2.30 pm Present

Councillor Ellen Forson, Clackmannanshire Council (In the Chair) Councillor Martha Benny, Clackmannanshire Council

Councillor Janine Rennie (S)

Councillor Scott Farmer, Stirling Council Councillor Danny Gibson, Stirling Council (S) Councillor Neil Benny, Stirling Council

Ms. Eileen Schofield, University of Stirling Professor Leigh Sparks, University of Stirling

Mr. Graeme Duff, University of Stirling

In Attendance

Nikki Bridle, Chief Executive, Clackmannanshire Council Carol Beattie, Chief Executive, Stirling Council

Jane Burridge, Lead Transformation Officer, Clackmannanshire Council John Craig, Programme Manager, University of Stirling

Jeremy Greengrass, Regional Programme Management Office

Brian Roberts, Chief Operating Officer – Infrastructure and Environment, Stirling Council Mark Henderson, Communications, Stirling Council

Ann Jacob-Chandler, Head of Regional Programme Management Office Betty Brown, PA, Regional Programme Management Office

Nicola Drago Ferrante, Growth Deal Programme Officer Pete Leonard, Strategic Director, Clackmannanshire Council

Nicole McIntosh, Acting Project Manager, Regional Programme Management Office William Rutherford, Finance Manager, Regional Programme Management Office Sally Dimeo, Head of Treasury and Systems, University of Stirling

Kirsty Stanners, Section 95 Officer, Stirling Council

Steven MacDonald, Head of Economic Development, Stirling Council

Lee Robertson, Senior Manager, Legal & Governance, Clackmannanshire Council Sophie Gardiner, Solicitor, Legal & Governance, Clackmannanshire Council Gillian White, Committee Services, Clackmannanshire Council (Minutes)

CRD198 APOLOGIES AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Apologies were submitted on behalf of Councillor Chris Kane, Stirling Council and Councillor Kenneth Earle. Councillor Danny Gibson, Stirling Council, attended as substitute for Councillor Kane and Councillor Janine Rennie, Clackmannanshire Council, attended as substitute for Councillor Earle.

CRD199 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

None.

CRD200 URGENT BUSINESS

None.

CRD201 MINUTES – JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING – 24 JANUARY 2023

The minutes of the meeting of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal Joint Committee held on 24 January 2023 were submitted for approval.

Decision

The minutes of the meeting of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal Joint Committee held on 24 January 2022 were agreed as an accurate record.

***

Ms. Schofield, University of Stirling, agreed the accuracy of the minute, but sought clarity from the Joint Committee on their decision set out in Minute Reference CRD195 Active Travel Programme (Decision Number 2) in terms of what the Chief Officer’s Group (COG) could do to support the Joint Committee’s concerns around regional working for the Active Travel Programme.

Mr. Roberts advised the discussion during that item of business had focused on the outstanding points raised as to how the Active Travel Programme fits within the wider regional narrative. It was agreed that this would come back to Joint Committee as a future update. He advised that he would be happy to review off-line if there were still concerns from the COG as to what the actions would be. Ms Schofield requested that the COG be provided with a written note of the Joint Committee’s concerns.

Action

Mr. Roberts, Chief Operating Officer – Infrastructure and Environment, Stirling Council

There was also a concern from the COG that this work would not be within their remit. The Clerk advised that she would check on this point and would circulate the response to the Joint Committee and COG.

Action

Clerk to the Joint Committee (Lee Robertson)

CRD202 FORWARD PLANNING

JOINT COMMITTEE ROLLING ACTION LOG

The Joint Committee Rolling Action Log was submitted for information.

Councillor Neil Benny queried why the action from the last meeting in terms of regional working had not been reflected in the Rolling Action Log, he also referred to the meeting in January where Mr. Leonard advised that regional economic strategy work was happening in the background and a report had been due to come forward. Ms. Jacob-Chandler advised that the newly formed Regional Economic Advisory Group have met three times and they are also working through some of the questions around regional working. There is something evolving between these two pieces of work as well as a piece of work that Scottish Futures Trust and Arup are undertaking for REAG. The culmination of all these different strands of work will be reviewed and brought back to a future meeting. Councillor Neil Benny queried the timescales for a report to come forward, stressing the urgency, particularly given Falkirk’s Freeport deal.

Ms Jacob-Chandler advised that she will discuss the issues raised with the COG to get a steer in terms of practical timescales given the work around the regional economic strategy too. The COG meets on the 20th of April and feedback will be provided to the Joint Committee.

Action

Ms Jacob-Chandler, Head of Regional Programme Management Office

Decision

Subject to the action noted, the Joint Committee agreed to:-

1. Note the content of the Rolling Action Log.

(b) JOINT COMMITTEE FORWARD PLAN

The Joint Committee Forward Plan was submitted for information.

Councillor Neil Benny asked for more information on the membership of the Regional Economic Advisory Group (REAG) and their activities. Ms. Jacob-Chandler advised that a full update will be provided at the June Joint Committee Meeting. Brian Williamson, former chairperson of ThinkWhere and a local entrepreneur is acting as interim Chair as well as representing the voice of the private sector. Other members include the Dean of the University of Stirling, Management School, Dean of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Stirling, Principal/Vice- Principal of Forth Valley College, Chief Executive of NHS Forth Valley, the interim Head of Place for Scottish Enterprise, and the central lead for Skills Development Scotland.

With the exception of the other four private sector spaces and the third sector space which are in the process of being identified, everyone has attended the recent meetings. There have been good discussions around understanding the Deal landscape including the regional picture and identifying where the gaps are

within the board so that the right businesses/employers can be targeted. A potential event is being discussed to bring together local businesses as well as the Joint Committee and COG sometime in the summer.

The Joint Committee also raised the need for urgency and traction with getting the private sector on board.

Ms. Jacob-Chandler advised that she will feed this back to the REAG and that she will circulate a copy of the membership of the newly formed Regional Economic Advisory Group (REAG) to Joint Committee Members alongside biographies of each member.

Action

Ms. Jacob-Chandler, Head of Regional Programme Management Office

Decision

Subject to the actions noted, the Joint Committee agreed to:-

1. Note the content of the Joint Committee Forward Plan.

CRD203 STIRLING & CLACKMANNANSHIRE’S CITY REGION DEAL – PROGRAMME STATUS REPORT

The report, submitted by Ms. Jacob-Chandler, Head of Regional Programme Management Office (RPMO) updated the Joint Committee on the deal programme highlights and progress overview.

Decision

The Joint Committee agreed to:-

1. Note the content of the Programme Status Report.

CRD204 STIRLING & CLACKMANNANSHIRE CITY REGION DEAL – CULTURE, HERITAGE AND TOURISM PROGRAMME OUTLINE BUSINESS CASE

The report, submitted by Mr. Thomson (Project Manager, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Programme) sought approval of the Joint Committee for the Culture, Heritage, and Tourism Programme Outline Business Case (OBC) (Version 4).

Councillor Neil Benny asked for a formal explanation around the lack of progress with the Programme as the culture, heritage and tourism money is getting smaller every day given the inflationary pressures. He was concerned that schemes and projects to benefit both Stirling and wider Deal area have yet to be identified although he recognised that there is a review being undertaken around about the potential projects. He is seeking some clarity in terms of the speed and immediacy with which this is being pursued.

Mr. Thomson explained that there have been several iterations of the business case and that consultation had been undertaken throughout with members and governments. He expressed that officers were really keen to get the business case approved so it can be moved forward to the next stage. Workshops are provisionally arranged for members and key representatives from the tourism sector over the next couple of months to ensure that the right projects are being delivered in a timely manner.

Councillor Neil Benny suggested that decisions need to be made and these decisions taken forward, which means that the Joint Committee and partner organisations will have to take that “leap of faith” to stick with the projects and take them forward. He asked for confirmation as to timescales for delivery. Mr MacDonald confirmed that workshops are being organised and that officers will work as quickly as possible to get the right projects delivered.

Councillor Scott Farmer advised concerns had been highlighted around opportunities to undertake a full review of candidate projects given the changing circumstances. He was disappointed that there is no timeline in terms of the consultation and engagement with stakeholders. He felt it was important that the wider cadre of elected Members within both authorities should be part of the proposed workshops.

Mr. Thomson explained that it’s important that there is progress as soon as possible ensuring that the correct candidate projects are taken forward. The appraisal process has been agreed and the requirements of the Scottish Government in terms of the business planning stages are known. As the first priority is to have agreement on what the right projects are, it is essential that the workshops are put in place to ensure those discussions are taking place and agreement is reached on the projects.

Professor Leigh Sparks recognized the desire to do things quickly, but raised concerns around delivering the right projects. He highlighted the need for an understanding of the key issues and the strategy for addressing these. He raised concerns around some of the data analysis within the appendices and the weighting in Table 6. He raised concerns that the Programme was too process driven and lacked an understanding of the problems, the strategy, and the way in which gaps and the shortages are going to be tackled.

Mr. Thomson advised that the Culture, Heritage and Tourism program is based on a three-step process – stimulating higher levels of leisure consumption and those higher levels of leisure consumption expressed through visitors being attracted to come and to spend in the area. Those have to translate through to the primary objectives and benefits that are set out clearly within the OBC which have been agreed by the Scottish Government. He advised that it should deliver an economic dividend both in terms of the value of the spending visitors coming into the region and also in terms of the jobs which are supported as a result of that. With regards to the appraisal criteria, it is important that these are kept under review. The criteria that are built into the prioritization matrix model, have been developed and discussed at length through a workshop process with the CHT Program Board in order to refine and confirm them to make sure that they relate clearly to the

objectives from the program. Even when a decision is taken on candidate projects, they are still subject to appraisal and the purpose of that process is to make sure that the projects fit the criteria of delivering the economic benefit expected of the program. Mr. Thomson confirmed that he is happy that the mechanisms, checks and controls are in place to ensure that what is taken forward is consistently lined up with the objectives that have been agreed for the program. He is happy to explain why those particular criteria have been selected and the rationale behind that and to provide the Joint Committee with reassurance that they’re still appropriate, valid and can be tailored if necessary.

Professor Leigh Sparks expressed his concern that the CRD going to end up with an atomized process that is going to produce projects that don’t add to what is in place already and don’t solve the problems. It has been designed to look at an individual project element and he thought that it was missing the detail of what is needed in terms of developing things in this area, how it joins together.

Councillor Ellen Forson agreed with Professor Spark’s comments and advised that it is one of the reasons that the Joint Committee has asked for review and the workshops to be set up to ensure that the best outcomes are achieved. She advised that while there is some urgency to meet milestones, if the Joint Committee are not fully comfortable then the projects won’t be endorsed. The workshops are being set up to try and give all members of the Joint Committee and the wider group some further assurances things are moving forward.

Councillor Neil Benny wondered if there was the option of leaving some scope for a review of the criteria which are in Table 6 during the workshops.

Professor Leigh Sparks advised that he had two fundamental issues in that he needs to understand the strategy and he wasn’t sure that he’d get that information from the workshops are that are being planned. He advised that as he doesn’t know who will be involved in the workshop or what the process is for that, in terms of leaving the criteria open or amending them as part of that process.

Ms. Jacob-Chandler advised that it is within the Joint Committee’s gift to endorse this business case with conditions. She confirmed that what the Joint Committee are saying is that they are happy for the business case and the work to progress on the program, but that they want the workshop to be designed in a manner that answers some of these fundamental questions and has a strategy in place for what the key investments are going to be going forward, highlighting previous similar discussions had taken place in terms of the Japanese gardens and the Active Travel Programme.

Councillor Martha Benny suggested that as part of the endorsement process, there should be the flexibility for review further down the line.

Ms. Jacob-Chandler advised that there are multiple points to be addressed around speed, momentum and inflationary pressures whilst also ensuring the right strategic fit. She thought the way to achieve this is to move the OBC along and refine some of those guiding principles in the background. Some of the points around key issues and impact require to be fleshed out as part of the workshop. The Joint Committee needs to find a way of navigating these conflicting pressures, whilst building momentum so that the £15 million does not erode with inflation.

Ms. Beattie raised a concern that as officers, there hasn’t been clear steer from the Joint Committee about what has been asked for. She understood that that there is a perspective that the strategy doesn’t say anything in terms of additionally but she didn’t understand why it would help keeping the criteria open. She thought that the Joint Committee were dissatisfied with the strategic content which takes the OBC all the way back to the start again. She appreciated that it lies within the Joint Committee’s gift to decide that but she didn’t think that the criteria could be kept open if there is dissatisfaction with the strategy. She felt there needs to be a clarity of decision.

Councillor Neil Benny advised that what Ms Beattie has said is useful just for clarity because he thought reopening the entire strategic intent is not something which the Joint Committee should be doing at this stage because that is a recipe for massive delay. He suggested that the criteria which is in Table 6 remains to a degree open, delegated to the Chief Officer Group subsequent to this workshop. This would ensure that the criteria that is being selected is based on what is expected in terms of outcomes.

Councillor Leigh Sparks queried what the strategic intent is. Councillor Neil Benny advised that the intent is around about trying to get high value jobs in through the city, through culture and heritage and tourism.

Councillor Ellen Forson, also added that it is also around inclusive growth as part of community wealth building. She also had a concern that re-opening the entire strategy would cause a massive delay with every day the money is worth less. She also was concerned that this would mean going back to revisit the strategic intent of the entire deal.

Ms Bridle made the point that she has been involved with this for quite some time, but that it was an interesting discussion about the strategic intent because looking back, this particular set of funding was the one that nearly meant the deal didn’t get the go ahead at the time the deal was due to be signed. There was a lot of discussion around what the strategic intent is. Reminding the Joint Committee of the discussions and engagement around this, she advised that officers worked incredibly hard to persuade the government around this and did a lot of extra work to establish a strategic intent at that point. She appreciated that there had been quite a lot of changes in Joint Committee membership since then as well as with personnel that are involved around the deal. She advised that the deal was signed on the basis of the strategic intent that was set out in the heads of terms document and that the Scottish Government signed off on that strategic intent at that point.

Councillor Ellen Forson suggested that the gross value added (GVA) and everything else is all predicated with all the projects coming together to create a critical mass for the region, delivering inclusive economic growth and high paid jobs. She suggested that the Joint Committee may need to focus on the bigger picture. She advised that the Joint Committee have to decide whether to agree to endorse the business case, while leaving scope to discuss the criteria at the workshop. Following the workshop, if there is anything of material value that would change the business case, it is then brought back to the Joint Committee for consideration.

Councillor Scott Farmer suggested that it is about moving forward to having a refresh, looking at a potential candidate projects and to see how they can fit in with

the ideals of City Region Deal, which creates additional GVA. It’s also around inclusive growth and the community wealth building agenda. Endorsing the OBC document at this point in time does not preclude the Joint Committee tweaking anything when it comes back with the candidate projects following consultation at the workshops.

Mr Thomson advised, for information, that the appraisal criteria in this case were developed with the members of the CHT Program Board. The criteria does have to be kept under review to make sure that they are appropriate and effective in terms of taking forward the correct projects and making sure that those projects are aligned to the objectives.

Ms Jacob-Chandler confirmed that the OBC has gone to Scottish Government, but the endorsement has still to be received. The Scottish Government were happy with the early iterations of the business case with questions around benefits and project selection processes, which is similar to the questions raised by the Joint Committee. In terms of the financial profile for this program, we are hoping to spend from next year onwards. She advised that it is useful to have this debate properly and getting an agreed position as swiftly as possible so that the debate is not revisited at every project business case stage.

Councillor Ellen Forson asked that officers ensure that all Joint Committee members are invited to attend the workshops. She confirmed that the Joint Committee had identified a number of issues which would be discussed moving forward and particularly at the workshops. She advised the Joint Committee that attendance at the workshops is key to helping the process move forward.

Decision

Having identified issues in connection with the CHT Programme OBC (Version 4), the Joint Committee agreed to:-

Endorse the Outline Business Case (OBC) (Version 4) for the Culture, Heritage, and Tourism (CHT) Programme;
Note the revised processes which are in place for the identification of candidate projects for the CHT Programme, as set out within the report.
That further information/discussion is required on:
1. Speed of progress on the Culture, Heritage And Tourism Programme
1. Review of appraisal criteria for candidate projects
1. Review of data analysis within the appendices and weighting in Table 6 matrix model
1. Consideration of how individual projects will fit into the wider picture
1. Timeline in terms of the consultation and engagement with stakeholders
1. Consideration of involvement of the wider cadre of elected Members from both authorities in the proposed workshops

Developing an understanding of the strategic intent of the Programme and wider City Region Deal
- Inflationary pressures

Action

Mr. MacDonald, Head of Economic Development, Stirling Council and Ms Fyvie, Senior Manager, Clackmannanshire Council

CRD205 STIRLING & CLACKMANNANSHIRE CITY REGION DEAL – DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT 2022

The report, submitted by Ms. McIntosh, Project Manager (Acting), Regional Programme Management Office (RPMO) provided an update to the Joint Committee members on the draft Annual Report 2022 and the next steps.

Decision

Having considered the content of the report and the next steps, the Joint Committee made no recommendations for amendment.

CRD206 AOB

None.

The Chair declared the meeting closed at 3.39 pm.