If the standing chairman is not present, the first item of business will be to elect a chairman for the meeting from the voting members present.

Councillor Steve Charmley was elected as chairman for the meeting.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from councillors AW Johnson, M Pate and S Davies.

To receive details of any Executive Member nominated to attend the meeting in place of the voting Member representing their Authority.

Councillor P Morgan substituted for Councillor AW Johnson.

Councillor S Charmley substituted for Councillor M Pate.

Councillor A McClements substituted for Councillor S Davies.

To receive any declarations of interest by members of the Committee in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2016.

Resolved that:

the Minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To approve the revised Marches LEP Accountability and Assurance Framework.

The Marches LEP director introduced the report. She explained that the Accountability and Assurance Framework (AAF) set out how the Marches LEP operated, managed its finances and ensured that it was held to account for the expenditure of public money. The updated AAF complied with the latest guidance from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), who were reported to be comfortable with the new document. The LEP was required to have an up to date AAF in place before funds were put through for 2017/18.

Once the joint committee had given its agreement to the updated AAF, the LEP’s Accountable Body S151 Finance Officer was required to write to the DCLG to certify that the AAF had been implemented and met the revised standards.

The director reported that the updated AAF would be uploaded to the Marches LEP website.

Resolved that:

a)    the Joint Committee members agree the proposed changes to the Accountability and Assurance Framework.

To approve the Marches Skills Plan 2017.

The Marches LEP director introduced the report. She stated that the new skills plan had been worked on for the last 6 to 8 months and that the skills lead officers from each of the partner authorities had been heavily involved in the drafting. The plan had been endorsed by the LEP Board with minor amendments. The skills action plan would be reviewed at the quarterly skills board meetings. 

The director clarified that the proposed skills round tables were not intended to replace the skills board. Employers and providers had wanted a forum for a more generic debate about skills in their area and the round table sessions would facilitate this. Dates for the sessions were to be confirmed, starting in April 2017.

The impact of the apprenticeship levy on employers in the marches area was discussed. It was noted that only a small number of private sector employers across the area would meet the threshold of having 50+ employees. The LEP director reported that further detailed guidance was awaited from central government.

It was noted that a considerable amount of consultation had taken place in drafting the new skills plan and that it was a slimmed down, more focussed document than previous plans.

Resolved that:

a)    the Marches Enterprise Joint Committee agrees the draft Marches LEP 3 Year Skills Plan and Action Plan as detailed in Annexe 1 and Annexe 2 to the report.

To confirm future meeting dates as:

Wednesday 12 April 2017

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Wednesday 16 August 2017

Wednesday 11 October 2017

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Wednesday 14 February 2018

Wednesday 11 April 2018

(Unless otherwise confirmed, meetings of the MEJC will take place at the Craven Arms Community Centre, Newington Way, Craven Arms and will commence at 10am.)

The planned dates for future meetings were noted.