Agenda and minutes

          The minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2016, having been circulated, were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Panel considered a report of the Lead Officer – Scrutiny, which sought approval of the recommendations following the Panel’s Scrutiny Review into Apprenticeships in the City Region.

The review was undertaken via a series of evidence gathering sessions which culminated with a report and a series of recommendations for the Panel to endorse, prior to submission to the Combined Authority.

RESOLVED: That

1)    the report be noted; and

2)    the Combined Authority be asked to consider the recommendations and report to a future meeting of the Panel.

The Panel considered a report of the Lead Officer – Scrutiny, on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Order (the Order).

The Panel was reminded that the initial Order to establish the office of Mayor, and to make arrangements for the election of a Liverpool City Region (LCR) Mayor in May 2017, passed through Parliament in July 2016. All of the constituent LCR authorities had consented to the Order.

A final draft of the LCR Order was attached at Appendix 3. The powers set out in the Order were detailed in Appendix 4, alongside the Devolution Deal agreements which were relevant, together with details of how those powers would be exercised.

A set of Governance Principles, previously agreed by the Combined Authority on 20 November 2015, and which remained unaltered, were attached at Appendix 1b. It was reported that these Principles would form the basis of the Combined Authority Constitution from May 2017. The LCR Order was entirely consistent with those Principles.

It was further reported that a generic Overview and Scrutiny Order would apply to all Mayoral Combined Authorities, and a draft of this was attached at Appendix 5. The Panel was advised that the principles by which the Combined Authority would operate the scrutiny function were consistent with the draft Order and would be incorporated into the Combined Authority Constitution. A copy of the scrutiny principles were attached at Appendix 2.

The Panel requested an opportunity to examine a copy of the revised Constitution, which would reflect the powers and functions as contained within the LCR Order, along with other generic Orders, and their implementation. The Lead Officer – Scrutiny, advised of the expected timetable for consideration of these documents and a special meeting of the Panel would be convened for this purpose.

RESOLVED: That the Panel

1)    note the progress made on the implementation of the Devolution Deal; and

2)    receives further updates in relation to the development of the revised Combined Authority Constitution, currently being produced.

The Panel considered a report of the Lead Officer – Scrutiny, which updated Members on the Scrutiny Panel Work Programme.

Members identified a further piece of work they wished to undertake on how the Combined Authority (CA) informed people of its role and responsibilities  and how it engaged with the public across the City Region. It was considered timely to look at such issues and to make recommendations to the CA as to how greater public awareness might be achieved.

RESOLVED: That

1)    progress on the Work Programme be noted; and

2)    a review commence on how the Combined Authority (and the future Mayoral Combined Authority), informs and promotes its role and activities and engages the public across the City Region.

The Panel considered a report of the Lead Officer – Scrutiny, which set out the details of a number of recent significant decisions that had been made by the Combined Authority.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.