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MINUTES OF THE FORTY NINTH MEETING OF SOUTH
EAST ENGLAND
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
HELD ON 16th JULY 2003 AT
SEEDA HEADQUARTERS
Present
James Brathwaite CBE (Chairman)
Professor Sir Clive Booth (Deputy Chairman)
Cllr. Ken Bodfish OBE (Deputy Chairman)
Elizabeth Brighouse
Barry Camfield
Poul Christensen
Robert Douglas
Cllr. Sarah Hohler
Janis Kong OBE
Mary McAnally
Terry Mills
John Peel
Dr Peter Read CBE In Attendance
Anthony Dunnett (SEEDA, Chief Executive)
Paul Hudson (SEEDA, Director, Development and Infrastructure)
John Parsonage (SEEDA, Director, Learning and Skills)
Charlotte Dixon (SEEDA, Director, Economic Inclusion and Sustainability)
Jeff Alexander (afternoon only) (SEEDA, Director, Business and International)
Item 1 Welcome and Apologies for absence
Apologies were received from:-
Cllr. Keith House
Cllr. Thornber CBE
Marianne Neville-Rolfe (Agency Secretary and Director, Strategy and Corporate
Services)
Paul Martin (Regional Director, Government Office of the South East)
Item 2 Minutes of last meeting (11th June 2003)
Matters arising
1. The minutes were approved as a correct record of the Board meeting of 11th
June 2003, and were signed by the Chairman.
2. The action items were reported as in hand. Peter Read is having discussions
with John Peel, Jeff Alexander and Phil Bailey on interfacing with large companies
and the make up of the Business Committee. Private company research involvement
in SESTAC is being considered. PSA2 is on the agenda of their next meeting.
SEEDA is meeting the President of the CBI on a 6 monthly basis. The Chief Executive
has received confirmation from the Government Office that acquisitions in connection
with the Ashford Growth Area can go ahead. The Social Dialogue Committee will
meet on 30th July. The Universities at Medway will be reconsidered at Major
Projects Committee in December.
Item 3 Declarations of Interest
3. John Peel declared an interest in item 9 as MAS is delivered by EEF South
4. Sarah Hohler declared an interest in item 12 through Locate in Kent
5. Rob Douglas declared an interest in item 5 as he is the Chairman of Surrey
LSC
6. Liz Brighouse, as a member of Oxford County Council, declared an interest
in item 10
7. It was agreed that all members could remain for the debates, and participate
factually.
Item 4 Chairman's Report
8. The Chairman reported on his meeting with the Prime Minister. Whilst there
as a member of the Small Business Council, he took the opportunity to raise
transport issues in the context of regeneration. The majority of the discussion
concerned rural affairs. Although CTRL and road schemes were raised with both
the Prime Minister and the new Minister of Transport, Kim Howells, the Chairman
felt that the message was not being heard, and that SEEDA's ability to
deliver the RES is being jeopardized. The Prime Minister had expressed his
support for CTRL Domestic service in discussion with the Chairman. The first
quarter results for GDP show a slowing economy.
9. The Chairman also reported that he had greatly enjoyed his visit to South
Hampshire and that there were a lot of exciting projects underway in both
Portsmouth and Southampton.
ACTION:
Chairman, Chief Executive, Paul Hudson and Marianne Neville Rolfe to work out
best approach to achieve transport improvements. Meetings to be arranged
in Whitehall for Chairman.
Item 5 Learning and Skills Division: update on activities
10. John Parsonage presented an update on Learning and Skills activities.
A copy of his presentation was circulated with the Board papers. He said that
this was an exciting time for his division with the skills strategy launched
by Government at the beginning of July, and the Tomlinson Report heralding
the end of GCSEs. Copies of the skills strategy were available for members.
11. SEEDA's skills strategy attempts to achieve a confluence between
the national strategy and SEEDA's policy as defined in the RES. It concentrates
on addressing market failure and working with specific sectors. Work is going
very well on taking forward the FRESA. The action plans will be brought together
and submitted to Government by the end of the year, following Board involvement,
fitting regional to national strategy. The national skills strategy emphasizes
level 2 courses, whereas in this region the need is for level 3+ to enable
GDP to grow. This is being considered in conjunction with the LSCs, encouraging
different FE colleges to specialize in different subjects.
12. Initiatives in the Isle of Wight have been very successful at addressing
the long-standing skills problems there. Other flagship projects have been
carried out in Berkshire, in non-deprived parts of the region.
13. The intention is to have the model for a workforce development brokerage
system running by December so that anyone seeking information on skills for
business need only have one access telephone number. There is great demand
for a system that is simple for either a skills provider or business to access,
and the board agreed that work on this should not be delayed whilst sector
skills councils (SSCs) came on stream. The proposed SSCs are likely to be offering
a brokerage system but will only cover about 65% of the workforce in the SE,
with the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) covering the rest. The revival
of national sector skills councils, which are intended to work closely with
both the RDAs and LSCs at regional level, will pose logistical problems including
in areas such as funding. It could be helpful to have Margaret Salmon, the
Chair of SSDA, to meet RDA Chairs.
14. In discussion, Rob Douglas reported that the feedback he has heard within
Whitehall is that the SE is seen as a leader in skills development, and had
produced the best FRESA. We have to be aware that other regions may not be
as well advanced in their relationships with their Business Links and Small
Business Service.
15. Clive Booth congratulated the team on their achievements and encouraged
them to ensure that regional issues are reflected in Whitehall rather than
dictated by them. Members expressed some concern that partners may not be able
to carry forward our successful pilots when SEEDA withdraws and that best practice
may not be spread across the region. John Parsonage said that the skills forum
was taking exit strategies very seriously so that good initiatives were not
lost. The importance of SEEDA Board members on the Boards of the regional LSCs
was stressed to ensure linkage. Members supported a major conference on Learning
and Skills in the South East, involving all partners, but organized by SEEDA
as the central link.
ACTION:
John Parsonage to arrange another meeting of SEEDA Board members involved in
LSCs. SEEDA to promote a skills conference.
Item 6 Science Engineering and Technology
16. The Board noted the paper, which reported on the progress made on the
SET agenda, and the proposals put forward by the South East Science and Technology
Advisory Council (SESTAC). Members were advised that the House of Lords report
in Science and the RDAs has just been published, with some high expectations
from RDAs.
17. The Chief Executive outlined his early ideas for a centre of entrepreneurship.
A brainstorming session will be held early in September with leading academicians
from key global region partners. A paper will be presented to the October Board
meeting, developing these ideas.
Item 7 State of the Environment
18. David Jordan, regional director of the Environment Agency, presented a
report on the "State of the Environment in the South East". The
Agency's report has just been issued. A copy of the slides is attached
to the minutes. The Agency's work covers water quality, waste, water
resources, flood risk, climate change, land quality and biodiversity.
19. David Jordan stated that the Environment Agency had been very successful
at controlling point of source pollution through regulation, but that small
companies were not included within the legislation. It requires a cultural
change for individuals and small businesses to realise that their actions can
have a significant effect but the reality is that small businesses contribute
greatly to both air and water pollution. Another main area of the Agency's
work is in flood prevention to minimise future economic and social losses.
1 in 7 homes in the SE are at risk from flood, and business losses in the Lewes
flood ran at more than £ ¼ mn per business plus unaccountable
losses (e.g. stress related). Water usage is highest in the SE.
20. Waste management is another area that requires involvement from all sectors.
There are economic benefits to waste minimisation that need to be demonstrated
to business.
21. Traffic in the SE has risen 21% since 1990 compared to 6% in London. Journeys
are longer, and the rate of traffic increase greater than in other regions.
David Jordan agreed to provide relevant statistics to assist SEEDA in lobbying
for the necessary investment in transport infrastructure. The Environment Agency
is not against development in the South East; it regards sustainable development
as a business opportunity in terms of construction, waste and water management.
22. Members asked how many of the region's roads would fail new European
air quality standards. David Jordan said he would send the data to the Secretariat.
Members agreed to raise awareness of waste and water management and pollution
within their own networks, especially to small businesses. Businesses are fearful
of more regulation, but would respond if convinced of a quick return on any
initial investment. If David Jordan were to produce a list of the top 3 environmental
improvements that businesses could make, then SEEDA would promulgate them.
Members thanked David Jordan for an interesting and stimulating presentation.
Charlotte Dixon agreed to co-ordinate an action paper that will be attached
to the minutes, taking forward the discussion.
ACTION:
Peter Read to raise with business committee; Mary McAnally to provide media
contact details; David Jordan to provide transport statistics and top 3 environmental
improvements to Secretariat; James Brathwaite to raise with Small Business
Council. Charlotte Dixon to prepare action paper with Sustainable Development
Committee for internal usage.
Item 8 MORI presentation on Stakeholder Survey
23. Rachel Williams from MORI presented the results for SEEDA from a stakeholder
survey on all RDAs commissioned by the DTI. RDAs were able to add a few of
their own questions to the generic survey. A copy of her presentation is attached
to the minutes.
24. Overall SEEDA ranked second to the NWRDA across the RDAs with regard to
customer perception, which is commendable r3cognising the regional identity
and support for regeneration in the North West, compared to the South East.
25. The report on each region will be published on the relevant Government
Office web site, linked to the Dti site. A technical report will be made to
Dti as this was a pilot study. Stakeholders are generally satisfied with SEEDA's
actions and see it as an effective partner. Overall, SEEDA's satisfaction
rating was 2nd highest, and areas where respondents were less satisfied usually
reflected areas in which we have a lower level of engagement than some other
regions. The results, whilst encouraging, offer plenty of scope for improvement.
26. Members were assured that this survey provided a good basis to work from
to raise the profile and image, and that the sampling technique had produced
a robust and valid survey. Members felt that any future satisfaction survey
should include staff as a major stakeholder, and that more questions drawn
up by SEEDA should be included.
ACTION
Executive to tease out action plan. Marianne Neville-Rolfe to prepare future
Board paper.
Item 9 Major Projects Update: Sectors and Clusters
27. Peter Taylor, Head of Sector Development, presented the paper on sectors
and clusters. A copy of his presentation is attached to the minutes. 150 programmes
now operate within the strategy, and the work of the sector team is beginning
to pay tangible dividends it has taken time to encourage businesses to work
co-operatively, and some networks are operating at sub-optimal levels, i.e.
with less than 150 members. The cluster fund is now running with 17 different
clusters seeking to create sustainable networks.
28. A noticeable success has been the Manufacturing Advisory Service. 200
companies have received advice, the first 20 of which saved 2m tons of waste
between them. In order to embed lean manufacturing more deeply, each new applicant
has to bring 3 or 4 of their supply chain with them into the system so that
300 companies will be involved over time. The first company is Sunseeker, run
by Robert Braithwaite who is not a relation of the SEEDA Chairman.
29. Other successes have been in providing accelerators to help second stage
companies to get their product to wider markets and getting the tourist industry
web enabled. Attempts to work with the corporate finance sector were resisted
by the industry. The work with the automotive industry in motorsport valley
has a very high political profile.
30. Work is ongoing on intellectual property and the NHS, to take intellectual
property back into the pharmaceutical industry and fuel product development
in all health care industries. A conference is planned for the autumn to be
chaired by the Chairman.
31. Working with sectors and clusters is an important way of getting close
to business, and should be presented as an investment in business development
rather than a cost as it has substantial leverage.
Item 10 Chief Executive's Report
General Report
32. Members noted the Chief Executive's general report. Anthony Dunnett
reported to members that Paul Hudson, Director of Development and Infrastructure,
had been voted amongst the top most admired 10-regeneration experts by his
peers by Regeneration and Renewal Magazine.
33. The Chief Executive updated members on the launch of the Design Champions
Club and the Sustainability Checklist. The Design Champions event was well
attended and local authorities were very supportive. The launch of the sustainability
checklist was the most popular event SEEDA has held, with would be delegates
being turned away. 50 attendees signed up on the day for a pilot process to
understand the sustainability of any project. The checklist has been produced
in conjunction with the Building Research Establishment. Full details are available
on the website: www.sustainability-checklist.co.uk .
Project Report
34. The Board reviewed, noted and approved various SEEDA programme investments.
Communicating with MPs, MEPs and Peers
35. Following the recent receptions for MPs and Peers, Charlotte Dixon prepared
a discussion paper so that an action plan can be drawn up. It was agreed that
it was more effective to meet with elected representatives from one political
party at a time, but that it was important to interact more so that the message
to keep investing in the region was broadcast by as many different groups as
possible. The Peers had been particularly receptive.
36. The proposed programme of meetings was approved, with a 6 monthly summary
of region wide and individual constituency activity to be prepared for circulation
to all local, regional and national elected representatives. MPs should be
informed of any major intervention within their constituency.
ACTION:
Secretariat to set up schedule of meetings with MPs and Peers. Area
Directors to prepare six-monthly activity summaries. Selected Board and Executive
members to attend Party annual conferences. A dedicated SEE-Online channel
is considered for elected representatives.
Item 11 High Wycombe Enterprise Hub
37. Approval was sought in principle for the establishment of the High Wycombe
Enterprise Hub, which will focus on industrial design. It will build on the
strengths of Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College and Brunel University,
and the existing industrial expertise that exists in the High Wycombe area.
The town struggles to retain graduates and entrepreneurs as there is a shortage
of local, well paid jobs. The High Wycombe Hub will be the 17th Enterprise
Hub.
38. Members asked the Hub team to ensure maximum synergy was gained between
this proposed Hub and the proposed Woodland Chilterns Enterprise Gateway. The
Board gave policy approval for the establishment of the High Wycombe Enterprise
Hub.
Item 8 Operational Review
Finance Report
39. The operational and programme spend as presented was accepted by the Board.
Members noted the improved rate of expenditure further to the Board's
previous request to initially cover profile. A discussion on over profiling
may be needed later on in the year.
Item 13 Audit Committee
40. The revised Terms of Reference for the Audit Committee were presented
to members. Issues arising from the meetings of 11th and 24th June were discussed.
National Audit Office has agreed that governance can be dealt with by the Audit
Committee. NAO, the Chief Executive and the Internal Auditor always give clear
explanations of technical issues to members of the committee so that they can
make informed decisions. Provided sufficient time is allowed for each meeting,
the current schedule of 3 meetings a year is sufficient. The Tilmanstone case
was settled, but has provided learning points that need to be presented to
the Board, with suitable recommendations. There have been similar issues across
all the RDAs and predecessor bodies.
41. The Board approved the revised Terms of Reference and noted the records
of the meeting held on 11th June and the teleconference of the 24th June 2003.
Item 14 AOB
42. Rob Douglas reported on the meeting between RDA Chairs and Charlie Bean
that he attended on behalf of Jim Brathwaite. The Bank of England is driven
by the rate of inflation which is a national figure so are less interested
in regional statistics. They are however interested in regional information
to inform national decision making.
43. Anthony Dunnett reported on the English Regions Network review. The Select
Committee process held by the South East Regional Assembly is seen to be successful
and will be copied in other regions. SEERA have asked for the Chair, Chief
Executive and four SEEDA Board members to join a forum every four months with
the Chairman and six Vice Chairs of SEERA to discuss subjects for future scrutiny
and areas of potential disagreement, rather than handling those reactively
at their Executive Committee arena. Sarah Hohler agreed, and the two Vice Chairs-
Ken Bodfish, and Clive Booth, - Ken Thornber and John Peel were nominated to
join the forum.
44. The Head of Secretariat alerted members to the arrangements for the December
Board meeting, which will be held in South East House in Brussels on December
11th, preceded by a dinner for the region's MEPs the night before.
Item 14 Date of Next Meeting
45. The next meeting of the SEEDA Board will be on 16th September 2003 at
SEEDA Headquarters, Guildford
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