AGENDA ITEM 9

BOROUGH OF POOLE

COUNCIL

26 OCTOBER 2010

JOINT SCRUTINY OF THE MULTI-AREA AGREEMENT (MAA): REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ECONOMY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

  1. PURPOSE
  2. To consider and adopt the recommendations of the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee and following the Joint Scrutiny of the MAA held 8thJune 2010.
  3. DECISIONS REQUIRED
  4. That Council endorsethe Report of the Joint Scrutiny held 8th June 2010 and commend it for adoption by the Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset MAA Board, together with the recommendations set out below at paragraph 3.7.
  5. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION
  6. The Report of the Joint Scrutiny held 8th June 2010 was presented to the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 2nd September 2010. A summary of the main findings and recommendations were contained therein. One of the main issues identified was the lack of knowledge amongst the elected members of the Councils throughout the County of Dorset of the MAA, its objectives and its achievements.
  7. The potential, offered via the MAA, to achieve awards for the sub-region of Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset was emphasised. The principal findings and recommendations of each individual theme were highlighted. These themes were identified as; Transportation, Governance, Communication and Economic Development, Housing and The Green Knowledge Economy.
  8. The notable emergent points arising from the scrutiny was the potential rewards for the area in terms of attainment of greater freedoms and flexibilities in line with the then Government’s commitment to devolve power. It was stressed that the requests made of Government departments should be clear in what was being sought and why. Strong leadership and partnership working, arising from the work of the MAA, was considered to be a significant factor in the success of the MAA. Improvements in engagement with representative of the business sector and the development and adoption of a matrix to identify and manage risk, were identified as objectives requiring to be met.
  9. Support for applying the principles of the Green Knowledge Economy was endorsed and the potential it offered as a unify concept for both rural and urban areas was acknowledged.
  10. Reference was made to the session led by Cathy Francis, Deputy Director of Local and Sub-Regional Economic Development and Digital Inclusion represent the Department of Communities and Local Government. In conclusion, the MAA was considered to be well placed to embrace the emerging concept of ‘local enterprise partnerships’.
  11. The Report of scrutiny has to be referred to each of the other partners namely, Bournemouth Borough Council and Dorset County Council before being presented to the MAA Board. A proposed timetable for the obtaining partner approval and presentation in November, was noted. Confirmation that the Member representative of the Borough of Poole would present the Report to the MAA Board wasalso noted.
  12. The Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommended that the following be approved and adopted:-

Transportation Theme

  1. That measures are developed to provide clear evidence of the MAA’s impact on the Multi-Modal Transport Study.
  1. A regular bulletin on the progress of the Intelligent Transport System should be disseminated through the MAA to elected members and other stakeholders/interested parties.
  1. That the perspective of partners/stakeholders in tourism be taken in to consideration when work is undertaken to gain evidence and opinion about transportation issues.
  1. The opportunity to more fully exploit the freedoms and flexibilities from the government is pursued more rigorously.

Governance

  1. That the MAA Board seek to strengthen the role and engagement of the private sector particularly small businesses and businesses within the rural sector either through representation on the Board (the preferred option) or by direct consultation as and when appropriate.
  1. The Board should give consideration to a communication strategy to improve dissemination of information throughout the business sector and to give particular consideration to rural areas and businesses.
  1. In representing their elected member colleagues, Council Leaders should raise the profile of the MAA through greater dissemination of relevant information particularly those involved in economic development and secure greater involvement of those members in supporting and championing the concept of the MAA.
  1. Each Local Authority involved in the MAA make a commitment to support the work of the MAA through directing resources when and where needed to progress work, particularly considered high priority.
  1. There should be greater acknowledgement of the roles and contributions of the District authorities within the MAA Board and amongst officers leading the key themes. The representative from the District Councils should ensure a named substitute attends in their place at any time a meeting is convened relating to the MAA Board and/or any relevant sub-groups, which they are unable to attend.
  1. That the MAA Board pays close attention to emerging coalition government statements on opportunities and benefits from transitions of MAAs into new models such as Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and pursues such developments if appropriate to ensure the work to date within the MAA continues.
  1. To exploit any other emerging opportunities and localism associated with the Coalition Agenda as and when appropriate.
  1. To consider how the MAA may be utilised to support the Efficiency Agenda.

Housing Theme

  1. To explore further opportunities of joint working within the other theme groups, in particular “Planning” and “Transport” whilst taking account of local needs.
  1. The Scrutiny Panel acknowledges the work undertaken to date in setting up partnership working within the MAA and looks forward to revisiting the housing theme at a later date to review progress.
  1. As with the transportation theme, officers are asked to develop measures to provide clear evidence of the MAA’s impact on housing developments.
  1. The opportunity to more fully exploit the freedoms and flexibilities from the government is pursued more rigorously.

Green Knowledge Economy

  1. The Panel supports the consideration and expression of commitment by the MAA Board to the exploration of the opportunities presented in supporting the principles of a Green Knowledge Economy.

3.8I urge Council to adopt the above recommendation.

Supporting papers – Joint Scrutiny 8th June 2010 Report (available on the Borough of Poole Website:

Joint Scrutiny Report PDF

Councillor Ron Parker

Portfolio Holder for Developing a Dynamic Economy

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