Agenda item

(i)         Joint Report of the Assistant Chief Executive and the Corporate           Director of Regeneration and Economic Development.

(ii)        Presentation by the Head of Strategic Programmes and Performance,            Regeneration and Economic Development.

The Chairman asked the Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance to give Members an overview as regards the County Durham Economic Partnership (for copy see file of minutes).

The Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance reminded Members that the Vice-Chair of the CDEP, Sue Parkinson had been in attendance at the last meeting of the Committee in June to give an update on the work of the CDEP and the new Chair of the CDEP, Professor Brian Tanner was appointed in September 2012.  Councillors were made aware that Professor Brian Tanner was Dean of Knowledge Transfer at Durham University and also a Director of Kromek, an imaging company based at NETPark, Sedgefield.   

Members noted that the CDEP had been established in 1994 and was the forum at which the Local Authorities that comprised the two-tier local government at the time could negotiate and discuss, together with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) and Higher Education and Further Education Colleges and so on as regards how funding such as Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and Single Programme would be allocated.  The Committee learned that subsequent to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in 2009 there were significant changes to the CDEP, with there now being over 60 organisations representing the public, private and VCS sectors. 

The Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance explained that “Altogether Wealthier” was the priority for both the SCS and County Durham Partnership, with the Regeneration Statement vision being as described in the previous agenda item.  It was noted that in order to chart progress the CDEP had several “measures of success” to be achieved by 2030, not performance indicators in the traditional sense, rather positions that could help show impact had been made.  These included:

·        Increase the employment rate to 73% of the working age population (achieve and maintain pre-recession levels).

·        Increase the number of businesses by 4,300.

·        Have a gross household disposable income of 103% of the regional figure.

·        Have a per capita Gross Value Added (GVA) of 87% of the regional figure.

·        To ensure “nobody is left behind”, that deprivation, as measured nationally against the Index of Deprivation, is reduced such that the number of Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in the bottom 20% falls from 174 to 64.

Members were asked to note a graph showing the employment rate since January 2004 with the average for County Durham being close to the national average around 2007 followed by a sharp decline with the recession.  It was noted that there had been a slight upturn over the last 12 months, though this was dominated by part time or temporary positions. 

Councillors noted that the inherited partnership structure was heavily seminar based and comprised of a board and several working groups.  It was explained that the new structure followed a more strategic model with strong leadership, a stronger relationship with the NELEP and a view to having a clear message for Durham with enhanced influencing capacity.  Members learned that there would be an Annual Conference which would see wider networking and scrutiny involvement, including AAP leads, in order to set policy frameworks.  The Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance added that the approach to partnership working had also been refreshed, with the board and working groups looking to use market intelligence to help set strategy and focus for actions.  The Committee noted that this new approach also included collaboration on key economic issues with partners in order to exploit opportunities and increase influencing abilities.

Councillors learned that the new structure consisted of:

·        CDEP board

·        Business Enterprise and Skills Working Group

·        Economic Infrastructure Working Group

·        Thriving Durham City Group

It was also noted that there was 3 forums that worked alongside, those being:

·        Housing Forum

·        Rural Forum

·        Cultural Partnership

Members noted that Councillor E Tomlinson chaired the Rural Forum and Mr R Kelly, former Chief Executive of Gateshead Council was the Chairman of the Cultural Partnership.  Councillors noted that the key priorities were in line with those from the Regeneration Statement including: influencing and informing wider decision making with the NELEP and North East Leadership Board (Combined Authority);  enabling effective investment planning within the County; and creating more opportunities for employment, including for young people.   

The Chairman asked whether the membership of the CDEP board was flexible, and would be able to adapt as required.  The Head of Strategy, Programmes and Performance explained that the board could be flexible as required.

Resolved:    

That the report and presentation be noted.