Issue - meetings

3.        PRE-SCRUTINY

The Committee chose to scrutinise the following items:

Cabinet Board Papers

3.1    Swansea Bay City Deal

The Committee received information in relation to the Swansea Bay City Deal as contained within the circulated report.

Members welcomed the report and thanked officers for their hard work. Members added that the deal was good for the County Borough, particularly as the borrowing cost for the Authority had been reduced from £21 million to £6.3 million. Members commented that working on a regional basis would help create jobs within the County Borough. Members referred to the section contained in the report regarding the Authority being the main Scrutiny lead, and questioned whether the membership would mirror that of the current Regeneration and Sustainable Development Scrutiny Committee. Officers informed Members that the arrangements were not known at this stage, and that the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Digital Officer and the Head of Legal Services were making enquiries into this. Officers added that scrutiny arrangements were different across the four authorities, therefore consideration would be required regarding the preferred model.

Members queried whether there was any flexibility in relation to the projects identified in the report and whether they could be subject to change in the future. Officers confirmed that projects could be changed as the framework made provision for this. Officers stated that some projects could have stronger business cases than others, and priorities could change in the future. Officers added that some projects were also at a more advanced stage than others that were in their infancy.

Members questioned whether the Steel Science/National Innovation Centre project was in a strong position, as this was an important initiative which would help support and sustain the local steel industry. Officers stated that conversations were ongoing with Swansea University where the project would be based on the Fabian Way campus. Officers reported that the Leader had been in discussion with Ken Skates, Assembly Member, regarding the matter. Officers informed Members that another related project was being explored outside of the City Deal.
 

Members stated that good public relations and effective communication was essential to keep the public updated on developments. Officers concurred, and stated that communication with the public was a high priority. Officers added that the benefits of the City Deal would be communicated widely.

Members raised concerns that the deteriorating local transport arrangements could exclude and isolate citizens, and prevent them from receiving the benefits of the City Deal. Members added that many transport providers were withdrawing their local services. Officers stated that transport issues were not being addressed under the remit of the City Deal; however officers agreed that a transport project should be undertaken separately to underpin the deal, with strong governance arrangements established. Officers informed Members that this issue was widely acknowledged by all partners. Officers added that the Authority were undertaking various pieces of work to address the issues being encountered within the county borough. 

Members queried whether it was proposed to combine the Scrutiny and Audit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3