/January%202012%20Board%20Minutes

NORTHWEST REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY NWDA/138/02 Minutes of the Board Meeting held on 19 January 2011 at Renaissance House, Warrington at 10.00am

Present

Also Present

Robert Hough (Chairman) Peter Hensman (Deputy Chair) Vanda Murray (Deputy Chair) Tony McDermott John Stageman OBE Peter Allen Lord Peter Smith John Merry

Mark Hughes Steven Zdolyny (Minutes)

Apologies

Observer Sam Kabiswa, BIS

Joe Dwek Frank Hont David Higham, BIS Local

Alison Webster, (on behalf of BIS) 137/01 INTEREST

INTRODUCTION,

APOLOGIES

AND

DECLARATIONS

OF

Apologies were received from Joe Dwek, Frank Hont, Alison Webster, (on behalf of BIS) and David Higham, BIS Local.

Declaration of interests were received from:  

Vanda Murray and Peter Hensman in respect of Item 5, the Chief Executive’s Report, due to their directorships of North West Business Link; and Robert Hough and John Merry in respect of item 9, the Economic Development Report, due to their interests in Peel Holdings and Salford City Council respectively.

137/02

MINUTES OF LAST MEETING

The minutes of the meeting of 15 December 2011 were agreed as a true record of the meeting, with the following amendments: On page 1, apologies were received from Lord Peter Smith. Also Peter Allen was in attendance.

On page 3, the penultimate bullet was amended to read: “The NWDA continued to make excellent progress reducing its operational estate, leaving four properties by the end of December 2011.”

137/03

MATTERS ARISING

The Board reviewed the Matters Arising Schedule and noted there was no change.

137/04

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

With sadness, Robert Hough reported that a former member of staff, Chris Wilkinson, had died suddenly. Chris had joined the NWDA from English Partnerships in 1999 and transferred to the Homes and Communities Agency in September 2011.

Chris had made a significant contribution to the regeneration of the north-west. On behalf of the Agency, Robert expressed sincere condolences to Chris’ family.

Robert Hough congratulated John Stageman on his OBE, awarded in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. This was truly a well deserved award, reflecting the huge contribution made by John Stageman to the UK Biotechnology Industry.

Robert Hough also reported verbally on the following key points:  



Good governance, corporate standards and risk management continued to be maintained even though there was now a smaller Board.

Furness Enterprise had announced it would dissolve at the end of August because of a lack of funding. On behalf of the Board, Robert recognised the significant work undertaken by Furness Enterprise and reflected on the loss of the opportunity to support future businesses in this hard pressed area. It was important for BIS to recognise the wide impact of the closure of the NWDA upon local business support organisations which had delivered positive results.

Good progress continued to be made with the NWDA’s closure as set out fully in Mark’s report.

137/05

CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S CLOSURE AND TRANSITION REPORT

Mark Hughes introduced his report. Key points discussed included:  



The NWDA’s head office now contained less staff and many empty rooms, as the closure process continued at pace.

The first statutory transfer of people and projects to the BIS PMO had taken place smoothly on 1 January 2012. The second statutory transfer was due to take effect on 30 March 2012. There was about six to eight weeks to finalise the schedules for the second Transfer Scheme.

The NWDA continued to reduce the number of live projects along with those that would need to transfer for the BIS PMO to monitor.

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All remaining project novations and residual issues with assets and liabilities were continuing to progress as planned.

The transfer of the endowment and legal charges relating to Maryport Developments Ltd was on track for completion.

With ERDF there were a few outstanding issues which the NWDA was endeavouring to resolve prior to closure in conjunction with BIS and CLG. The required Knowledge Management work up to the end of March was substantial and so additional resource was being re-deployed to ensure that the excellent work to date could be maintained.

The NWDA had exceeded its own target by reducing its operational estate to only four properties. The NWDA disposal of surplus ICT equipment and furniture was also continuing as planned.

The value transfer of functions was on track.

North West Business Link’s closure was also continuing to plan, with good dialogue and co-operation with the liquidator. Only four staff remained to conclude the final steps to close the company.

One Employment Tribunal claim had been received in connection with Business Coaching for Growth (BCG). The NWDA’s ownership and board membership of North West Business Link would transfer to BIS as part of the second Transfer Scheme on the 30 March.

Further BIS Action Notes were received over the last month and these had been dealt with as required by NWDA. Progress with delivering the NWDA’s KPIs also continued on track or ahead of schedule.

The NWDA had set out a clear closure plan, stuck to it and kept EMB largely intact, with the breadth of skill and knowledge to complete the closure process properly.

The Board noted the Chief Executive’s report and made the following points:   

The Board was concerned that BIS had not yet resolved the outstanding issue of the re-investment of the VCLF legacy returns within the North West.

The Board recognised the important Knowledge Management work undertaken to date, the substantial amount of work still to be done and supported the need for additional internal resource to complete the necessary work.

The KPIs were most helpful and the dashboard was outstanding. The attention to detail shown by the executive provided the Board with confidence that the NWDA was progressing on track with its orderly closure.

137/06

FINANCE AND RESOURCES REPORT

Duncan Gray presented his report, which focussed on the NWDA’s financial performance as at December 2011.

The Agency was continuing to actively manage its programme spend within its budget allocation, completing or transferring projects in an orderly fashion and minimising the ‘overhang’ for BIS. Final accounts were being prepared for the year to 31 March 2012, along with interim nine month accounts to 31 December 2011.

Programme and administration costs continued to be lower than budget and the NWDA’s financial position remained in a controlled position.

The Board noted the positive Finance and Resources Report and thanked Duncan Gray and his team for their continued good work.

137/07

HUMAN RESOURCES PLAN UPDATE

Diane Summers presented this report, which was a final update on the Agency’s Human Resources Plan, as it entered the final phase of business closure. This flexible Plan had served the Agency well, with staff resources being properly managed.

In total 97 staff will have transferred to successor bodies. Nearly all staff transfers had been completed, with only 2 Olympics staff due to transfer on 1 February. More staff had also found new employment, which was positive.

67 staff remained with the Agency, with workloads being monitored and gaps filled as needed. Staff support was continuing until early February and outplacement support beyond this date.

The Board reflected on the outstanding professionalism shown by staff and took comfort that so many staff had secured their chosen route post NWDA. The Board noted the positive progress set out in this report and thanked Diane Summers and her team for all their excellent work in implementing the Plan and taking into account the interests of staff.

137/08 SUCCESSION ARRANGEMENTS FOR 4 LONG-TERM LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS IN THE NORTH WEST. Mark Atherton presented this report which set out the BIS and HMT approved succession arrangements for Newlands 1, REMADE, REVIVE and Ashton’s and Newman’s Flashes. This involved the novation of the contractually committed longterm management and maintenance costs to the Land Trust, along with the payment of a commuted sum.

The Board approved the payment of the commuted sum, to be held and managed by the Land Trust, as a single payment, contingent on the satisfactory completion of the Deed of Novation; or a reduced figure in the event that one or more parties failed to

reach agreement, the reduction being commensurate with the level of grant funding attributable to that party or parties.

137/09

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MONTHLY REPORT.

Tim Sheward introduced his final Economic Development report which focused on the steps taken to deliver and close the Agency’s existing programme.

The Board noted the report and expressed its significant disappointment in the decision of the National Institute of Health Research to decline the bid for future funding from the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre to develop as a centre of excellence.

137/10

MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE

John Stageman presented the key points recorded in the minutes of the Audit Committee held on 5 December. PwC audit work had continued but no material issues uncovered and NWDA processes remained robust. John thanked Dave Perkins for his excellent work which enabled the Audit Committee to understand and have confidence in the programme closure process.

The Board noted the minutes and agreed the work of the Audit Committee remained vital throughout the closure process.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting would be at 10.00 am on Thursday 23 February 2012 at Renaissance House, Warrington.

Meeting Closed at 12.00 noon.