19.1  There were no apologies for absence

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

20.1    There were no declarations of pecuniary interest

To consider the minutes of the Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Committee held on 7 July 2016

21.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 7 July 2016 had been circulated

21.2    RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Committee held on 7 July 2016 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman

To receive any public questions or petitions form the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  Deadline for notification is 5.00 pm on 26 July 2016.

Contact:  Tim Ward, Committee Officer, 01743 257713

22.2    There were no questions from members of the public

To receive any questions of which Members of the Council have given notice.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 5.00pm on 26 October 2016

23.1    There were no questions from Members.

Report to Follow

24.1    Members received the report of the Director of Place and Enterprise which provided details of the Apprenticeship Levy which was due to come into force from April 2017.

24.2    The HR Services Manager informed Members that the levy had been announced in November 2015 and would come into force on 1 April 2017.  She advised the meeting that the levy was based on the total amount of earnings subject to Class 1 secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and only applied when this figure exceeded £3 million, and that the rate of the Levy was 0.5%, and that the levy would be collected by HMRC and paid into the Digital Apprenticeship Service Account and could be drawn down to directly fund apprenticeship training programmes.  She commented that currently they were awaiting details of a number of aspects of the scheme.

24.3    The 14-19 Improvement Adviser informed the meeting that there was a limit of 24 months in which to spend the levy accrued but that at the moment it was not clear how the money would be accessed.  She advised Members that under current rules a procurement process would need to be carried out to draw up a list of preferred training suppliers and that this would be undertaken shortly.

24.4    In response to a query the 14-19 Improvement Adviser confirmed that the scheme was not only available to new employees but that existing employees could also access funding.

24.5    A Member asked whether the Council could register to become a training provider under the scheme.  The 14-19 Improvement Adviser commented that this was possible but that registration bought with it a raft of statutory requirements and that it was felt that it was not a worthwhile thing to pursue in the current climate and the uncertainty and high risk in this particular sector.

24.6    In response to a query the HR Services Manager confirmed that the Apprenticeship Board was made up of representatives of all service areas. And that there were a range of activities in progress, which would ensure that the Council would be ready to implement the scheme in April 2017.

24.7    A member expressed disappointment that the Graduate Scheme was ending as it had been a very worthwhile scheme.

24.8    Several Members welcomed the development of the scheme and commented that it was an opportunity to attract new apprentices as well as giving existing employees the opportunity to develop their skills.

24.9    Resolved:

1.    That Members note the content of the report.

2.    That a further report is brought to the Committee in Spring 2017

To receive a verbal update from the Physical Regeneration Manager

25.1    The Physical Regeneration Manager updated the meeting on work that had been carried out since the last meeting. 

25.2    The Physical Regeneration Manager advised the meeting that since the last meeting Shropshire Council along with Herefordshire Council and the Marches LEP had become non-constituent members of the West Midlands Combined Authority.  He informed Members that the Combined Authority Land Commission was collecting evidence around availability of land for development and that the Council had made a submission to this.

25.3    The Physical Regeneration Manager advised that the LEP had submitted a bid to the Governments Local Growth Fund.

25.4    The Physical Regeneration Manager confirmed that the Economic Growth Website had been completed and would be launched later in the year.  He confirmed that a report would be brought to the December meeting.

25.5    The Physical Regeneration Manager confirmed that IPPR had completed their work in connection with the Economic Growth Strategy and that the final draft report should be received shortly.

25.6    The Physical Regeneration Manager informed the meeting that the recently formed Tern Hill Task Group had made a visit to look at the regeneration work on a barracks site in Hampshire and that it has shown a potential for mixed use which may be an approach to be considered for the Clive Barracks Site at Tern Hill.

The next scheduled meeting of the Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Committee will be held on 8 December 2016

26.1    Members were reminded that the next scheduled meeting of the Enterprise and Growth Scrutiny Committee would be held on 8 December 2016