Agenda and minutes

The Chair will welcome attendees to the meeting and make opening remarks.

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting.

Given that the meeting has not taken place for several months, a short round of introductions took place.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies received were from Deborah Harrold – Agewell, Councillor Lorraine Ashman - SMBC Town Lead, Harvey Katarina - Young People’s Representative, Leona Bird – SVCO

To confirm the minutes of the Local Board meeting held on 10 February 2022 as a correct record.

Minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 2022 were confirmed as a correct record.

To receive any declarations of interest from members relating to any item on the agenda.

No additional declarations of interest were registered.

To receive the updated Terms of Reference and agree board membership for 2022/23.

Rina Rahim (RR) provided overview of the proposed governance arrangements. Updated Terms of Reference (ToR) were agreed by SMBC Cabinet in May 2022. The group were given an overview of these ToRs, the report is also included within the agenda pack circulated to members.

It has been agreed that set elements of the project governance can be managed by the S151 officer under delegated powers, this includes spend profiles.

RR provided an overview of the board membership. Membership of the board will be reviewed annually, which is an amendment to the status quo. There are several non-active members. Towns Fund PMO will contact these members to understand rationale for this and appetite to continue. Where attendance is continually poor, or interest no longer exists, members will be removed by the PMO. It is proposed that additional members can be suggested by existing board members.

Cllr Hughes suggested that the Young Persons representative should be sourced from local schools as well as existing methods.

It is proposed that the board will meet 4 times per annum and that members would be required to attend a minimum of 2 meetings per annum unless there are exceptional circumstances. 

Action: Terms of Reference to be updated to include 50% attendance annually is mandatory and would trigger individual board member review.

Question: Adrian Eggington (AE)- what is the rationale for quarterly meetings?

Answer: RR- this aligns with project reporting and reporting to DLUHC. Board meetings will take place after project submission to accountable body (SMBC) but before submission to DLUHC, in order that amends can be made where required.

AE- there should be more business/commercial representation on the board. Would the BC Chambers be able to suggest possible reps?

Action: Jude Thompson to contact relevant individuals at BCC to explore potential membership suggestions. Debbie Downs to also review from a WMP perspective to understand whether they have any local contacts.

Action: PMO to contact board members to confirm their interest to continue as a board member.

Any suggestions should be forwarded to the PMO for contact and consideration.

Alan Reynolds (AR) advised there was previously a trader’s association in the area, although this has since disbanded. Local conversations are being had to understand appetite to restart this. They would be a suitable attendee.

Cllr Hughes noted that there is another SMBC Cllr who is also a market trader who could also be approached.

To receive updated documentation for completion and return to the Programme Management Office.

As the Accountable Body for the Towns Fund Programme, Sandwell Council has a statutory duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct. The code of conduct sets out the expectations placed on all members of the Town Deal Board.

Board members were informed the Code of Conduct and Register of Interest Forms were updated following SMBC Cabinet approval of governance arrangements. Updates included the removal of 'Superboard' reference and updated Title of Town Deal Boards.

Code of conduct forms will be circulated to board members by the PMO. This will also include a register of interests.

Meeting documentation will now, as per amended governance proposals, be made publicly available.  Members that attend all three Town Deal Boards will only be required to complete and submit the forms to the PMO once.

Questions invited, none forthcoming.

To receive an update on programme activity since the submission of Summary Documentation in March 2022.

RR provided members an update on programme activity. Details of all projects, their RAG ratings and spend profile were included within the presentation and will be circulated to board members.

RR provided an overview of project profiles at present. These will be shared with board members as projects progress in order to understand where projects are spending in line with the profile.

Project outputs, RAG ratings and key milestone updates will also be reported on to board members.

RR shared provisional project reporting timeline. This will be circulated to members in due course.

The RAG rating template has been provided by DLUHC. RR explained the relevant metrics. The template, which includes full details, will be shared with board members for their information.

Question: James Morris (JM)- what is the change management process?

Answer: RR- minor changes to the project, or changes to locally identified outputs or outcomes, will be managed locally. DLUHC have given us flexibility in managing this as accountable body.

Major changes to projects, or project outputs, will be managed through a formal change request submitted to DLUHC for approval.

RR provided board with a brief overview of existing project spend across projects.

To receive any other business raised by members for discussion.

Any Other Business

Members were advised to confirm whether there were any days/times to avoid for future meetings to aide attendance.

Action: PMO to circulate survey to capture board member preference on meeting day/times.

AE thanked members for attendance and brought the meeting to a close.

The Chair will make closing remarks and close the meeting.

Date of Next Meeting:

To be arranged for w/c 21st November or 28th November

Actions agreed at meeting.