Agenda item

Report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Business, Investment and Culture which sought approval of the reorganisation of Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub (CWGH) and Coventry City Council’s role as Joint Shareholder and participant on the new CWGH Board. Warwickshire County Council would be taking a similar report and recommendations to their Cabinet meeting on 13^th July 2023.

The CWGH was established in 2014 using City Deal funding provided by Government. It was one of the first Growth Hubs to be formed in England, before every Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area was subsequently given funding to establish a Growth Hub as a central co-ordination point for publicly funded business support to try and simplify businesses’ understanding of which business support products were appropriate to their individual needs. It has been nationally recognised as a leading Growth Hub in the UK.

Given the strategic importance of the CWGH in delivering business support in Coventry & Warwickshire, its success to date and its collaboration with all the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Authorities, it had been agreed by the CWLEP board to transition residual funds from the closure of CWLEP to the CWGH, enabling the Growth Hub to continue as a stand-alone entity as a going concern.

Under this arrangement, and building on legal advice, it was proposed that Coventry City Council (CCC) and Warwickshire County Council (WCC) become the joint shareholders of the new company to also ensure the democratic accountability required.  It was proposed that CWGH was governed by a Board consisting of both public and private sector representatives, with CCC having a representative on the Board.

CCC has also made provision in its budgets to continue to support the CWGH at the current level of £130,560 under the current Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). Subject to formal approvals, WCC was planning to fund CWGH to the same level this financial year and committed to continuing to provide funding for this purpose, with CWGH’s remaining funding being derived from other Local Authority sources, external funding, and commercial income.

The report requested Cabinet to approve the reorganisation of CWGH and Coventry City Council’s role as Joint Shareholder and participant on the new CWGH Board.

RESOLVED that Cabinet

1)  Approves the use of its powers under Section 12 of Local Government Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 to become a shareholder in the Growth Hub. This is subject to the transfer of CWLEP residual funds of circa £0.9m to the Growth Hub.

2)  Delegates authority to the Head of Economic Development, following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) and Chief Legal Officer and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to enter into the relevant legal agreements as well as any associated documents deemed necessary to complete the transaction.

3)  Approves the implementation of the governance structure and utilise the existing Shareholder Committee terms of reference as per the constitution.

4)  Delegates authority to the Head of Economic Development, following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) and Chief Legal Officer and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change to approve the issue by CWGH of one share to WCC on the same terms as CCC to become joint shareholders.

5)  Delegates Authority to appoint CCC’s representative for the new CWGH Board on behalf of the Coventry City Council to the Chief Operating (Section 151 Officer) and Chief Legal Officer following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change.