Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Community Partnerships, Public Protection and Maidenhead

That Cabinet notes the report and recommends to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)              That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix C - governance structure is approved, subject to the Monitoring Officer being authorised to make minor amendments to the Functions and Procedure Rules in conjunction with the participating authorities.

iii)             That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated to agree and enter into a legally binding agreement between the six member authorities setting out the supporting arrangements and responsibilities between the authorities - particularly that between the lead authority (known as the accountable body) -  and the other member authorities and go through the relevant democratic process if required.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and recommended to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)             That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix C - governance structure is approved, subject to the Monitoring Officer being authorised to make minor amendments to the Functions and Procedure Rules in conjunction with the participating authorities.

iii)            That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated to agree and enter into a legally binding agreement between the six member authorities setting out the supporting arrangements and responsibilities between the authorities - particularly that between the lead authority (known as the accountable body) - and the other member authorities and go through the relevant democratic process if required.

The Chair introduced the report to Cabinet by saying that over the last few years, the relevant Council Leaders had met quite regularly to look at how their collective power could be used to lobby Central Government. A change in administrations at most of the local Berkshire authorities had meant that a lot of new faces were now present around the table. Central Government were keen for this and had also proposed an elected mayor, however all of the unitary authorities in question, had rejected this idea. The local enterprise partnership (LEP) funding was also to be ended by Central Government from the end of March 2024, with these budgets being handed back to local authorities. To further these discussions, a board was to be established, which would focus upon six different workstreams, which were:

•                Net Zero

•                Health & Inequalities

•                Education Skills

•                Affordable Housing

•                Set-Development

•                Strategic Infrastructure

The Chair then invited Andrew Hill to address Cabinet for 3 minutes as a registered public speaker.

The Chair responded to Andrew Hill’s comments and said that he agreed with some of his points about barmy ideas being brought forward by the previous administration when it came to LEP funding. He said that there had been numerous schemes that had been financed by the LEP, which had been decided by the previous administration dubiously. Stephen Evans said that these responsibilities would transfer to the borough from 1 April 2024, who would then in the short term, commission the LEP. A choice would then be available in the future as to whether or not to continue with that relationship. 

Councillor Bermange said that he wished to highlight the proposed governance arrangements for the proposed committee. He said that the executive decision making would be subject to overview & scrutiny panels, with the ability being there to call-in decisions that are made by the board. Business would also be conducted in public and also have the provision for public questions to be asked. He said that previous projects may have been a bit of a white elephant, which he hoped would be avoided with these new governance procedures.

Councillor Del Campo said that decisions made at the meeting would have to be unanimous and in order for them to be quorate, everyone would need to be in attendance. In addition, it showed that people could work well across multiple political parties. The Chair said that their partnership cabinet had showcased this well.

Councillor Reynolds was happy to second Councillor Werner’s report.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and recommended to Full Council:

i)               To agree to the establishment of a fully constituted Joint Committee (to be known as the Berkshire Prosperity Board) from May 2024 to deliver a Berkshire-wide vision for inclusive, green and sustainable economic prosperity.

ii)             That the proposed constitution for the Joint Committee as set out in Appendix A - Functions and Procedure Rules for a Joint Committee, Appendix B - responsibilities of the accountable body and Appendix C - governance structure is approved, subject to the Monitoring Officer being authorised to make minor amendments to the Functions and Procedure Rules in conjunction with the participating authorities.

iii)            That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated to agree and enter into a legally binding agreement between the six member authorities setting out the supporting arrangements and responsibilities between the authorities - particularly that between the lead authority (known as the accountable body) - and the other member authorities and go through the relevant democratic process if required.