Agenda item

Report of the City of York Council Chief Finance Officer

Considered –

A joint report by Debbie Mitchell, Chief Finance Officer, City of York Council and Nick Edwards, North Yorkshire Council, which provided a finance update in relation to spending plans to November 2023, set up costs of the Combined Authority (CA) and the LEP reserves.

Nick Edwards introduced the report and gave an overview of the key points, as summarised below:

·       A budget of £600k had been agreed for costs of implementation of the CA for 2022/23, on the basis that it would be established on 1 November 2023, and of this £582k had been spent

·       The Committee were being requested to approve a further £1m for 2023/24 which would cover the costs of staff time, provide funds for specific projects including Brownfield, Net Zero and ICT infrastructure and provide some contingency

·       Any expenditure to be charged to the implementation budget would continue to be signed off by both CYC and NYC s151 officers

·       On establishment of the CA implementation costs would be repaid to the constituent councils.  The LEP would also cease to exist and any reserves it held at that point would be distributed to the constituent councils in accordance with the original funding contributions to the running of the LEP

·       Should the CA not proceed the risks would be shared equally between CYC and NYC.  NYC had cash flowed the implementation costs and held the LEP reserves

·       Once established the CA would receive funding of £10m for 2023/24 for the Mayoral Capacity Fund, Transport Capacity Fund and an Investment Fund (gainshare)

·       The Adult Education Budget (AEB) would require £494k of match funding, and staffing which would have a part year cost of £1.6m in 2023/24 and a full year cost of £4.5m, £1.9m of which would be funded from project specific grants and £1m from the Mayoral Capacity Fund

·       A report on the overall budget for the CA would be brought to a future meeting of the committee for approval

There followed a short discussion with the key points as summarised below:

·       It was noted that once the CA was established it would be helpful to track back-office costs compared to spend and delivery

·       It was noted that should the CA not go ahead the risk would be borne by CYC and NYC on an equal basis, and it was important that the project continue to progress to reduce this risk

The voting members of the committee indicated their unanimous support for the recommendations in the report.

Resolved –

1)    The implementation spend of £582k incurred to 31st March 2023 be noted and the budget of £1m for continued implementation costs up to the creation of the Combined Authority in November 2023 be approved

2)    It be noted that North Yorkshire Council (NYC) will continue to cash flow the implementation and set up costs of the Combined Authority (CA) on the understanding that these costs will be repaid once funding is released on creation of the Combined Authority in November

3)    It be noted that any remaining reserves held by the LEP as at 1st November 2023, when the CA will be created, will be repaid back to the contributing authorities on a pro rata basis