Agenda and minutes

The chair welcomed everyone to the inaugural meeting of the Greater Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Oversight Committee and invited members and officers present to introduce themselves for the benefit of those watching the live broadcast online.

No declarations of interest were declared by members.

TheDirector: Governance and Partnerships, North Lincolnshire Council submitted a report requesting the Joint Committee to confirm its Terms of Reference.

The Director explained that the Joint Strategic Oversight Committee for Greater Lincolnshire had been established as an Executive Committee of the three upper tier local authorities that make up Greater Lincolnshire: North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council.

Its Terms of Reference attached as an appendix to the report set out the scope of the committee, its membership and administrative arrangements for the meeting. The position of chair and secretariat would rotate annually, starting with the Lincolnshire County Council Leader and North Lincolnshire Council respectively.Where formal commitment of resources was required, each local authority would take recommendations back through their relevant decision making process.

The terms of reference had already been considered and agreed by each member Council through its Executive.

Resolved – (a) That the Terms of Reference be confirmed, and (b) that substitute members at meetings be allowed from each member council’s executive members.

The Deputy Chief Executive, North Lincolnshire Council submitted a report which proposed to establish a Joint Intelligence and Strategy Unit (JISU) providing meaningful intelligence, insight and agreed recommendations on strategies and policies to support the agreed agenda of the Greater Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Oversight Committee (GLSOC).

The report stated that the core functions of the Greater Lincolnshire Strategic Oversight Committee were to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council, in so far as it related to their executive functions on the following themes: a) the development and application of strategy across the Greater Lincolnshire economic region; b) the development of opportunities to gain greater alignment across Greater Lincolnshire, where scale and scope were required and could enhance upper tier functions, and c) the strategic alignment of investment across Greater Lincolnshire.

To ensure that these objectives were being met and that the upper tier authority Leaders and Chief Executives were informed of key issues through insight and strategy development and to ensure a coordinated conduit for the GLSOC to commission through its partner organisations key work strands and policy development, there was a need to establish a supporting intelligence and strategy unit.

The Deputy Chief Executive in his report explained that the creation of the JISU would ensure added value through enabling both the economies of scale and scope that a Greater Lincolnshire approach offered with commensurate enhancement of capacity and capability that a more singular approach would negate. The JISU would be supported through existing upper tier officers and any request for additional resources would be subject to further GLSOC approval.

Proposed membership of the JISU was - Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council, Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, University of Lincoln and a Beis representative. Specific guests would be co-opted and invited to contribute depending on agreed topics. The initial proposed chair and secretariat of the JISU is through the GLEP.

The Deputy Chief Executive’s report concluded that the JISU would develop on behalf of the GLSOC clear outcomes, formalised reports, accountability and provided a summary overview of its activity. Any subsequent requirement for resources would be subject to a further report seeking authorisation prior to required approval through the executive of member authorities.

Resolved - That the proposed creation of the Greater Lincolnshire Joint Intelligence and Strategy Unit as described within the Deputy Chief Executive’s report be approved.

The Deputy Chief Executive, North Lincolnshire Council presented a report seeking confirmation of the Joint Committee’s strategic statement of ambition and approval of the strategic leadership of key themes and their sector development.

The Deputy Chief Executive referred to the three themes of the GLSOC (minute 4 above refers) and explained that for historic reasons the Greater Lincolnshire area had experienced several differing initiatives and strategic plans which whilst well-meaning and relevant often overlapped and / or failed to encompass fully a true greater Lincolnshire approach to strategic planning. It was also recognised that certain sectors of activity did not carry the same strategic relevance for all upper tier members of the committee.

A number of plans had evolved over recent years with the Strategic Infrastructure Development Plan, ‘Lincs Growth’ and more recently the ‘Greater Lincolnshire LEP Local Industrial Strategy’ being good examples of an increasingly unifying approach. To build upon this direction and momentum it was proposed that the GLSOC identified and took on board the strategic leadership of key themes and sectors which demonstrated issues of joint interest for the Committee’s members and where a unified greater Lincolnshire approach could add value.

The report therefore proposed a ‘Strategic Statement of Ambition’, ‘Strategic Themes’ and a ‘Proposed Structure’ for the Joint Committee as set out below -

Strategic Statement of Ambition

By working together across Lincolnshire we will achieve greater economic growth, wealth and influence for the county.  

Our residents will see better job prospects, greater investment and genuine devolution as we work in closer collaboration and speak with one voice on statutory responsibilities for the benefit of all.

Proposed Strategic Themes

The Greater Lincolnshire Strategic Oversight Committee takes on board the strategic leadership of the following themes and sector development:

-Tourism

- Food

- Infrastructure

- Skills

Also a joint oversight of the industrial de-Carbonisation agenda with the Humber Leadership Board and a nuanced and targeted approach to marketing for industrial and commercial sectors through the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP).

Proposed Structure

To enable the effective and efficient operation of the Joint Committee’s approach a programme management approach be adopted. This would allow the Joint Committee to have strategic capacity and oversight whilst also be aware of the performance of each of the strands of activity. In addition it would also utilise existing structures and assets thus also reducing costs and duplication. It was proposed that this role be undertaken through the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Each new work strand would establish and / or utilise existing structures where possible to feed progress into the Joint Committee whose role was to take action on exception reporting and to agree strategic direction. It was also proposed that to ensure ownership and performance reporting each strand would have a commensurate Local Authority /LEP lead.

The Deputy Chief Executive in his report explained that for the sector work strands of activity it was proposed that each of the Local Authorities /GLLEP each take a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Executive Director of Place, Lincolnshire County Council submitted a report seeking confirmation of strategic support for the delivery of the UK Food Valley ambition and the development of the proposition as set out in the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP) Board report attached as an appendix, and also recognition of the future resource implications arising from this commitment.

The report stated that he GLLEP had been developing a concept based on demonstrating and accelerating the current Greater Lincolnshire food cluster of land and sea to the UK economy and positioning Greater Lincolnshire as the UK's Food Valley.  The report attached as an appendix was considered by the GLLEP Board on Friday 26 February 2021 and its recommendations endorsed.

The Executive Director in his report explained that the ambitions and aspirations set out in the GLLEP Board report were aligned with the strategic priorities being agreed by the joint committee and linked closely with a range of existing projects and initiatives across Greater Lincolnshire, which each of the three upper tier authorities were engaged in. The strategy also set out a longer term approach to a) positioning Greater Lincolnshire as the UK's Food Valley; b) aligning existing and future activity to the position, and c) developing programmes that enhance and support the ambition of becoming the UK's Food Valley from the public sector, the private sector and the education and research sectors.

Resource and legal implications were summarised in the report which referred to likely required future approvals from the three member authorities through their own executive decision making process, especially in relation resource commitment to project development and delivery.

Ruth Carver, GLLEP emphasised the importance of this proposed ambition and strategy for the whole of the Greater Lincolnshire area.

Members welcomed the proposed strategy and commented upon the need to recognise the different sectors of sustainable food production as a joint enterprise, associated supporting public and private sector infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Resolved – (a) That the Joint Committee confirms its support for the UK's Food Valley strategy; (b) that the Joint Committee recognises the need for appropriate resource and capacity to be aligned to supporting the GLLEP project and developing appropriate detailed delivery support as required, and (c) that a further report setting out governance and resource proposals of the strategy be submitted to a future meeting of the Joint Committee.

The Executive Director of Place, Lincolnshire County Council presented a report which set out proposals for maximising the impact of Lincolnshire Day and sought support from each member/partner council to work up a programme of activities and requested the Joint Committee to approve a proposed programme of activity across the Greater Lincolnshire area as outlined in the report.

The report stated that Lincolnshire Day, historically celebrated on 1 October could be traced back to 1536 and highlighted the rich heritage that Greater Lincolnshire offered. It provided an excellent opportunity for the three partner authorities to showcase the benefits of working together across the Greater Lincolnshire region to promote the wealth of assets that Greater Lincolnshire offered and to instil pride across Greater Lincolnshire. Activity proposals would see the three member/partner authorities working with organisations such as BBC Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Agricultural Society (educational team), the tourism industry and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership to both develop and deliver a range of activities to celebrate Lincolnshire Day.

The Executive Director requested the Joint Committee to consider three themes for Lincolnshire Day in 2021. The themes would see a range of initiatives being developed and delivered that demonstrated the importance of Greater Lincolnshire as a key economic region of the UK. The themes were summarised in the report under the following headings:-

·         Theme 1: Think Bigger

·         Theme 2: Hidden Gems – Rediscovering Greater Lincolnshire

·         Theme 3: This Is Us

The report explained that delivery of the selected themes would utilise a range of channels and provided multiple opportunities for business promotion and networking.The approach would also enable schools to get involved in Lincolnshire Day.

The event would also be promoted through engagement with local media, including BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Radio Humberside and BBC Look North. This would link back to Lincolnshire's offer. To further add prominence to the day council buildings would fly Lincolnshire flags and an official Lincolnshire day ceremony with invited representatives from each council and other parties would be held. The delivery of this programme would deliver the following outcomes:

·         Increased pride in the County

·         An event that goes from strength to strength

·         Strong local activity that inspires and celebrates

·         Promotional effort that supports our year round campaigns

Each member authority would be required to commit resources to developing the communications and marketing programme required to maximise the impact of Lincolnshire day on the Greater Lincolnshire area. This would be reported to and considered at a future meeting.

Members also discussed the involvement of local partners which would be included in any future progress report.

Resolved – (a) That the themes and associated activities set out in the Executive Director’s report to promote and celebrate Lincolnshire Day be approved, and (b) that the Joint Committee receive a report back to a future meeting on a detailed programme of events and activities for the member/ partner councils to endorse in advance of Lincolnshire Day.

Resolved – (a) That the next meeting of the Joint Committee be held in June 2021 and a draft timetable of meetings for 2021/22 be considered initially with Chief Executives for subsequent approval with Leaders of the three member councils, and (b) that Chief Executives also consider circulating progress briefing reports to all members on a monthly basis in between formal meetings of the Joint Committee.