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SUMMARY BOARD
MINUTES OF THE TWELTH MEETING
HELD ON THURSDAY
20 JANUARY 2000
AT SEEDA HEADQUARTERS
Members Present:
Allan Willett CMG (Chairman), Professor Clive Booth, Cllr. Ken
Bodfish OBE, Cllr. Kit Oliver, Bryan Davies, Jim Baker, Caroline
Williams, Janis Kong, Barry Camfield, Sarah Ward OBE, Cllr. David
Rogers, Russ Nathan CBE
Apologies for absence:
Cllr. Kevin Wilson
Others in Attendance: (for
all or part of meeting)
The Rt. Hon. Hilary Armstrong (Minister for Local Government and
the Regions) Anthony Dunnett (Chief Executive, SEEDA), Jeff Alexander
(Agency Secretary, SEEDA), Phil Bailey (SEEDA), John Parsonage
(Director, SEEDA), Paul Hudson (Director, SEEDA), David Saunders
(Regional Director, GO-SE), Cllr. Keith House (Chair, Regional
Assembly), Paul Bevan (Director, Regional Assembly), Nick Clarke
(DETR)
Summary
of Meeting:
The
Board: -
- Held
a wide-ranging discussion with the Minister on the Regional
Economic Strategy and SEEDA's key initiatives. Representatives
of GO-SE and the Regional Assembly contributed to the discussions.
- Noted
that the Government were now actively engaged in looking at
Departmental proposals for funding under the next round of the
Comprehensive Spending Review.
- Welcomed
the Government's response to SEEDA's Regional Economic Strategy.
- Discussed
the implications of the Learning and Skills Councils Prospectus.
- Agreed
a number of recommendations for the Skills Development Fund
2000/2001.
- Reviewed
progress on establishing a Regional Venture Capital Fund
- Reviewed
a Land and Property project and noted actual and forecast operational
and programme spend for 1999/2000.
Visit
by Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong
The Board welcomed the Minister.
The
Minister opened discussion by stressing that the Government's
regional policy was designed to tackle imbalance within regions
as well as between regions. The Minister also noted that a sustainable
future should be kept in mind whilst seeking to improve economic
performance.
Board
Members and guests then held a wide ranging discussion covering
the range of SEEDA's responsibilities. Members stressed that the
main overarching objective was to focus on delivering the RES
and thereby creating the wealth that benefited the nation.
The
Board took the opportunity of bringing some specific issues to
the Minister's attention including the plight of the South East
Coastal Towns, the recognition that key initiatives (e.g. Enterprise
Hubs) should feature in disadvantaged areas, the involvement of
major IT companies in the Wired Region initiative, the Sector
Groups, SEEDA's work in the rural areas, particularly with the
aim of encouraging a living countryside, the intention of involving
the community and finally ensuring that sustainable development
is seen as something practical and is part of all SEEDA's work.
The Minister welcomed the wide variety of initiatives pursued
by SEEDA and concluded the discussion by encouraging SEEDA to
continue to develop the good relationship with GO-SE and the Regional
Assembly.
Learning
and Skills Councils Prospectus
The Board held a discussion on the Learning and Skills Council
Prospectus. It was recognised that the level of RDAs influence
on the development of LSCs was still uncertain but that SEEDA
would have a role in the appointments process. There was a concern
that it would be a challenge to involve business people because
the perception was that LSCs were government led bodies. In addition
further clarity was needed on the 60% non business representation
proposed for LSC Boards.
Members noted that the total budget of the South East LSCs would
be £75 million and that LSCs would have a significant discretionary
spend of between 10% - 15%.
Skills
Development Fund
The Board agreed a number of recommendations about the priorities
that the Skills Development Fund should address next year. It
was agreed that regional priorities for projects are:-
- Projects
that meet the Skills needs of priority sectors identified in
the RES as being critical to driving the economy forward:-
(i)
ICT
(ii) High tech engineering/electronics
(iii) Creative Industries
(iv) Construction and Housebuilding The Board were keen
that industries that required a lower level of skills were
not overlooked.
- Projects
that address general skills needs across all sectors but focusing
on:-
(i)
Business/Management skills needed to operate effectively in the
supply chain, and skills needed to develop entrepreneurship;
(ii) ICT skills, particularly for SMEs, in the application of
new technologies, and the skills needed for the development of
e-business to business.
In addition to
meeting one of the two regional priorities set out above, projects
will be required to demonstrate linkages with the RES (e.g. business
development/enterprise, regeneration, rural development, sector
development, social inclusion, cluster development)
Regional
Venture Capital Funds
The Board remain committed to establishing a regional venture
capital fund but recognised that SEEDA would have to wait until
the Department of Trade and Industry had set up its proposed Enterprise
Fund.
Date
of Next Meeting
Tuesday 15 February 2000 at SEEDA Headquarters.
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