To consider the recommendations of the General Scrutiny Committee on engagement with the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and other partnership options to deliver growth and jobs in Herefordshire.

The chairman of the general scrutiny committee introduced the report. He thanked members of the task and finish group, and officers who had provided support. He noted that it had been a thorough investigation but that much had changed since it had been completed including a general election and election of the West Midlands mayor.

The programme director housing and growth summarised the key points of the report. He reminded members that the devolution agenda was continuing to develop nationally. The task and finish group had focused on the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) but had also considered evidence from other areas of the country.

It was reported that the council was in discussion with other members and non-constituent members of the WMCA about the benefits of working towards non-constituent membership for Herefordshire as opposed to the current observer status. The council would not be able to apply for a change in membership until 2021, 4 years after the 2017 Order. Observer status came at a cost of £25k per year. The council was in discussion to establish if that cost could be reduced before making a decision on whether to continue as an observer.

The importance of being able to influence regional policy was noted. Other arrangements for doing this included working through the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and through less formal partnerships with other councils.

It was noted although there was an aim for Herefordshire Council to be self-sustainable, the combined authority would be the conduit for significant future investment in the west midlands and that in order to influence the direction of this investment for the benefit of its residents Herefordshire Council would need to engage with the WMCA.

Group leaders were invited to give the views of their group.

The leader of the green group stated that she agreed with a lot of the comments made but queried whether £100k to be an observer at the WMCA for four years represented value for money. She also highlighted the opportunities for working with welsh authorities.

The leader of the independent group commented that the report was very comprehensive and that his group supported the recommendations. He noted previous benefits of working with Hay-on-Wye in terms of tourism. He expressed concern that much of the investment through the WMCA was focussed on Birmingham and queried how much control the regional authority would have over the council if it joined the combined authority. The group leader also asked if it was possible the council would be pressed to join a combined authority in the future and if it was known how Worcestershire intended to proceed.

The programme director housing and growth explained that the council was exploring whether arrangements with the LEP were adequate to keep Herefordshire at the combined authority table rather than pay for observer status. While there was a political push towards combined authorities, it was proving difficult for the government to get the economies of scale it was looking for and other matters were higher priority at the current time. The future direction of national policy on combined authorities would be monitored.

The chairman of the general scrutiny committee stated that Worcestershire had been invited to give evidence to the task and finish group but had declined to do so.

The leader of the it’s our county group stated that his group were broadly supportive of the recommendations but felt that conversations should also take place with other local authorities in a similar position to Herefordshire, not just those who were geographically nearby. 

It was also explained that each member of the combined authority, which is the elected mayor as the chair of the combined authority and the leaders of the seven constituent members, had one vote. As a result the mayor and the leaders of the constituent member authorities had to work together to achieve their objectives.

Resolved that:

(a)  the proposed responses to the recommendations set out at appendix 2 are approved.