Issue - meetings

Following Scrutiny the report was noted.

Jonathan Burnes gave a summary of the dashboard information and project specifics:

Starting with the RAG Status (Red, Amber, Green):

Skills: Apprenticeship figures are lower than anticipated, moving the status from green to amber. Efforts are underway to improve these figures with all partners involved.

Red Risks:

•         Increased Construction Costs.

•         Projects Not Delivering on Outputs/Outcomes.

•         Flood Risk Management Mapping: Officers awaiting feedback from Welsh Government and Natural Resource Wales for mitigation.

Red Issues:

•         Slippage/Reforecasting: Projects and programmes are addressing slippage, with improvements seen in Quarter 3 compared to Quarter 2. They are continuing their efforts to catch up by Quarter 4.

•         Delivery Against Project Milestones: Driven by financials and deliverables of outputs like buildings and course delivery which is impacting the wider infrastructure.

Benefits:

•         Jobs: Increase of 119 jobs between Quarter 2 and Quarter 3, now totalling 742 jobs, mainly due to the waterfront project.

•         Investment: Increased by £64 million between Quarter 2 & Quarter 3, now totalling £459 million of the £1.3 billion investment.

•         Procurement Schedule:

•         Minimal changes noted from Quarter 2 to Quarter 3.

Members noted an increase in jobs to 742, but felt it was concerning that the total projected number was approximately 9,700. They asked what the current job projection is and given the job losses in the region, is the programme on track to create more employment, or is it falling short?

Officers initially set a target of 9,000 jobs, now forecasting 9,700. This forecast mainly includes direct jobs in construction, with wider impacts yet to be recorded. They advised that significant job increases will be seen once evaluations are complete.

Currently, 7 out of 36 projects are completed, with 17 infrastructure projects in the pipeline. Officers explained that as these projects progress, job numbers should increase. Officers monitor and mitigate delivery risks, providing annual updates and evaluations to release funding.

Members were informed that there are evaluation profiles and benefit definitions used to track progress and detailed reporting on each project is extensive, covering over 100 deliverables, including job creation.

Members understood the officers' points but had concerns about job projections at 71/72 Kingsway. They noted that a flexible office space provider occupies 20,000 Ft2. and noted that they could house anywhere from 10 to 100 people.

Members accept the uncertainty of how many people will occupy the space but emphasised the importance of other jobs being created as well. Members noted that significant job increases won't be visible until businesses are fully operational, and contracts are in place.

Members asked for a breakdown of the 742 jobs by area, particularly focusing on Pembroke Dock Marine as it is a low-income area.

Officers explained that the dashboard benefits summary shows how the 742 jobs are distributed across projects. Pembroke Dock Marine it has 77 jobs logged but more have been created and not yet reported due to pending evaluations. Since the infrastructure was only completed last summer, job numbers are expected to increase as the area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4