hilton london gatwick airport, gatwick airport - south ... · 12/11/2019 · rob dickin 7 mrn and...

Transport for the South East (TfSE)

Shadow Partnership Board

Agenda

Wednesday, 11 December 2019, 10:00 – 13:00

Hilton London Gatwick Airport, Gatwick Airport - South Terminal, Gatwick RH6 0LL

Shadow Partnership Board Members

Cllr Keith Glazier, Leader, East Sussex County Council

Cllr Michael Payne, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Kent County Council

Cllr Tony Page, Deputy Leader, Reading Borough Council (representing Berkshire Local Transport Body)

Cllr Rob Humby, Executive Member for Environment and Transport, Hampshire County Council

Cllr Anne Pissaridou, Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, Brighton & Hove City Council

Cllr Ian Ward, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport, Isle of Wight Council

Cllr Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport and Deputy Leader, Southampton City Council

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation, Portsmouth City Council

Cllr Colin Kemp, Deputy Leader, Surrey County Council

Cllr Roger Elkins, Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure, West Sussex County Council

Cllr Rupert Turpin, Portfolio Holder for Business Management, Medway Council

Geoff French, Interim Chair, TfSE Transport Forum

Martin Harris, Coast to Capital LEP

Margaret Paren, Chair, South Downs National Park (representing protected landscapes)

Ross McNally, Enterprise M3 LEP

Cllr David Monk, Leader, Folkestone & Hythe District Council

Cllr Daniel Humphreys, Leader of Worthing Council, Adur & Worthing Councils

Liz Garlinge, Network Planning Director, Highways England

Transport for London (Representative TBC)

Apologies

Cllr Alan Jarrett, Leader, Medway Council; John Halsall, Route Managing Director for South East, Network Rail;

Observers

The venue location is: The Hilton Hotel,

Gatwick Airport - South Terminal

Item Who

1 Welcome and Apologies

Cllr Keith Glazier

2 Minutes of previous meeting and Actions Log [pages 5-14]

Cllr Keith Glazier

3 Lead Officer's Report - see Paper 1 [pages 15-18]

Rupert Clubb

4 Developing the Proposal to Government - see Paper 2 [pages 19-46]

Rachel Ford

5 Governance - see Paper 3 [pages 47-136]

Cllr Tony Page

6 Transport Strategy Development - see Paper 4 [pages 137-148]

Rob Dickin

7 MRN and LLM update - see Paper 5 [pages 149-156]

Sarah Valentine

8 Finance - see Paper 6 [pages 157-170]

Rachel Ford

9 Communications and Stakeholder engagement - see Paper 7 [pages 171-178]

Russell Spink / Lucy

Dixon- Thompson

10 Transport Forum update - see Paper 8 [pages 179-190]

Geoff French

11 Responses to Consultations - see Paper 9 [pages 191-196]

Coast to Capital – Local Industrial Strategy Draft Economic Profile

Highways England A27 Arundel Bypass

Rupert Clubb

12 AOB

All

13 Date of Next Meeting

Thursday 23 April 2020, 13:00-16:00 (Venue TBC)

Officers in Attendance

Secretariat

Rupert Clubb Mark Valleley Rachel Ford Rob Dickin Sarah Valentine Benn White Russell Spink Lucy Dixon-Thompson Jasmin Barnicoat

Lead Officer Technical Manager Programme Manager Transport Strategy Manager Transport Strategy Manager Project Officer Communications Manager Stakeholder & Engagement Manager Executive Officer

Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East Transport for the South East

Additional Attendees Joseph Ratcliffe Transport Strategy Manager Kent County Council Ruth Du-Lieu Assistant Director Frontline

Services Medway Council

Mark Prior Assistant Director, City Transport Brighton and Hove City Council Matt Davey Director of Highways and

Transport West Sussex County Council

Tristan Samuels Director of Regeneration Portsmouth City Council Wendy Perera Assistant Chief Executive and

Director of Strategy Isle of Wight Council

Keith Willcox Assistant Director – Transport Hampshire County Council Bill Hicks Head of Infrastructure Berkshire Local Transport Body

/ Berkshire Thames Valley LEP Jonathan Sharrock Pete Boustred Ruth Harper

Chief Executive Strategic Transport Manager Deputy Director - London, South, East and Housing, Regions, Cities and Devolution Directorate

Coast to Capital LEP Southampton City Council DfT

This page is intentionally left blank

TfSE Shadow Partnership Board 19 September 2019 Minutes

Shadow Partnership Board Members

Cllr Keith Glazier Leader East Sussex County Council

Cllr Michael Payne, Deputy Cabinet Member for Planning, Highways, Transport and Waste, Kent County Council (Representing Cllr Paul Carter CBE)

Cllr Roger Elkins, Cabinet Member for Highways and Infrastructure West Sussex County Council

Cllr Anne Pissaridou Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee Brighton & Hove City Council

Cllr Lynne Stagg Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport Portsmouth City Council

Cllr Tony Page, Deputy Leader Reading Borough Council (representing Berkshire Local Transport Body)

Martin Harris (representing LEPs) Coast 2 Capital LEP

Cllr Jacqui Rayment Cabinet Member for Place and Transport, Deputy Leader Southampton City Council

Geoff French CBE Interim Chair Transport Forum

Cllr Rob Humby, Deputy Leader, Hampshire County Council

Cllr Daniel Humphreys Leader of Worthing Council Adur & Worthing Councils

Cllr David Monk Leader Folkestone & Hythe District Council

Ian Phillips South Downs National Park (Representing protected landscapes)

Apologies: Ross McNally, Enterprise M3 LEP (jointly representing our five LEPs) Cllr Alan Jarrett, Leader, Medway Council Cllr Colin Kemp, Deputy Leader, Surrey County Council Cllr Ian Ward, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport, Isle of Wight Council Margaret Paren, Chair, South Downs National Park (representing protected landscapes) Observers: Paul Benham, Regional Sponsor, Highways England Peter Duggan, Area Lead for South East, Department for Transport

Agenda Item 2

Item Action

1. Welcome and Apologies

1.1 Cllr Keith Glazier welcomed Shadow Partnership Board members to the meeting and noted apologies. 1.2 Cllr Glazier also welcomed Cllr David Monk and Cllr Daniel Humphreys to the Shadow Partnership Board meeting. It was agreed by Board members that two representatives should represent the District and Borough authorities. Cllr Monk and Cllr Humphreys will represent the Districts and Boroughs from across the TfSE region.

1.3 As agreed at the June Shadow Partnership Board meeting, invitations to join the Shadow Partnership Board were extended to Highways England, Network Rail and Transport for London. It has been agreed that Liz Garlinge, Interim Network Planning Director, Highways England and John Halsall, Route Managing Director for South East, Network Rail will join as members on the TfSE Shadow Partnership Board.

1.4 TfSE are awaiting confirmation from TfL on their nominated Board member.

2. Notes from Previous Meeting

2.1 The notes of the previous meeting were agreed. 2.2 Cllr Rayment suggested that an action tracker document should be set up in order to effectively follow actions from previous Board meetings. Action to be picked up by the TfSE secretariat.

TfSE

3. Proposal to Government

3.1 Cllr Page introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. 3.2 Cllr Page explained to members that the 12 week consultation period on TfSE’s Proposal to Government has now concluded. A total of 96 consultation responses were received by TfSE from a wide range of stakeholders. Overall there was a positive response to the consultation.

3.3 Following on from the consultation, key changes have now been made to the Proposal document. Bus franchising powers have been removed from the list of powers and responsibilities that TfSE would request. It was acknowledged and agreed by TfSE and Board members that a new focus should be put on building stronger relationships with bus operators.

3.4 In terms of the rail powers that TfSE would consider requesting as part of the Proposal to Government, it was agreed that TfSE should review this once the conclusion from the Williams Rail Review has been published.

3.5 GF informed members that the general consensus from the last TfSE Transport Forum was that attendees agreed that bus franchising powers should not be requested at this time. Transport Forum members also suggested that they would like to see TfSE submit their Proposal to Government as soon as possible. 3.6 Board members discussed the most suitable plan of action for TfSE to submit the Proposal to Government. It was reiterated by Board members that TfSE need to continue the dialogue with ministers and officials at the Department for Transport about the timing of the submission. 3.7 Ian Phillips stated that he was pleased to see reference to environmental issues and climate change within the Proposal to Government documentation.

3.8 Members agreed that TfSE should await the outcome of meeting between Cllr Glazier and the new Minister of State at the Department for Transport (George Freeman MP). Once this meeting has taken place TfSE should reassess the position on submitting the proposal.

3.9 Cllr Glazier confirmed to members that an email will be sent to the Shadow Partnership Board following his meeting with the Minister.

3.10 The recommendations were agreed by all Shadow Partnership Board members.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the summary of the responses (Appendices 2 and 3) received during the consultation which was conducted from May to July 2019; (2) Agree the revised Proposal to Government, including the powers and responsibilities requested by TfSE and the proposed governance arrangements; and (3) Consider the options for next steps and make a decision based on the evidence from the consultation responses.

4. Transport Strategy Development

4.1 RD introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. 4.2 RD explained to members that, if they agreed the draft Strategy a 12 week consultation period on the TfSE draft Transport Strategy would begin on Monday 7 October. The official launch event for the transport strategy will take place on Thursday 10 October at Farnborough. RD confirmed that all of the relevant transport strategy documentation will be available on the TfSE website from Monday 7 October.

4.3 As well as the Transport Strategy consultation launch event, TfSE have also organised 5 regional consultation events. These would take place at Reading, Woking, Canterbury, Brighton and Southampton between 16 and 25 October 2019.

4.4 Steven Bishop (Steer) delivered a presentation to members which provided an overview of the content of the draft Transport Strategy. 4.5 RD provided an update to members on the upcoming area studies work that TfSE will be looking to put out to competitive tender before the end of December 2019.

4.6 RD explained that TfSE plan to procure and begin the work on 2 orbital area studies in this financial year. A further 3 radial area studies will be procured and initiated in the next financial year.

4.7 RD informed members that a plan for future work on the 3 thematic studies (Lots B, C and D) will be presented to the Shadow Partnership Board for approval in December 2019.

4.8 Members praised the high quality of the Transport Strategy documentation. 4.9 Cllr Payne highlighted the point that TfSE should be cautious around the promotion of autonomous vehicles as this wouldn’t necessarily decrease the number of trips being made on roads.

4.10 Martin Harris suggested that further information is needed around the work that will be considered within the upcoming area studies. MH also informed members that the evidence base for the Coast to Capital Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) is now out for consultation and it important to ensure alignment between the LIS and the Transport Strategy.

4.11 Cllr Humby highlighted the importance of evidencing how the South East supports other regions within the country as this would further strengthen the case for Transport for the South East.

4.12 Cllr Rayment asked if it would be possible to simplify some of the technical language that is currently in the document. It was noted that the Strategy needs to be a technical document, but there will be accompanying materials to help make it more accessible during the consultation period.

4.13 GF informed members that the TfSE Transport Forum are also very complimentary about the work that has been put into the transport strategy to date.


RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the progress on the tasks associated with the development of the Transport Strategy;

(2) Note the outcomes of the stakeholder consultation workshops held in July 2019; (3) Agree that the draft Transport Strategy and Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) is approved for a three month consultation period; and (4) Agree that the TfSE Secretariat begins the procurement process to secure a provider/s to undertake the in-depth area studies.

5. Large Local Majors (LLM) Update

5.1 SV explained to members that the key purpose of this report is for the Shadow Partnership Board to agree the priority order for the LLM schemes to be submitted to the DfT. 5.2 SV reminded Board members that STBs have been tasked with providing advice to the Department for Transport on the priority MRN and LLM schemes in their regions. These schemes will be considered for funding in the period 2020 – 2025. 5.3 The process for identifying and prioritising the MRN and LLM schemes in the TfSE area was agreed by the Shadow Partnership Board at the March 2019 meeting. The priority MRN schemes were agreed at the June Board meeting and submitted to DfT in July 2019, however due to the early stages of development of the LLM schemes, further time had been allowed for the LLM scheme promotors to carry out additional work to better inform the prioritisation process.

5.4 The agreed process has now been used by an officer review panel to produce a list of priority LLM schemes for the TfSE area. The list of priority schemes can be found in Appendix 2 – Table 1. It was agreed by the review panel that all schemes were very worthwhile and would be able to reach OBC by 2021.

5.5 SV reiterated the point that deliverability for the schemes is key to the DfT. The schemes would ideally need to spend the funding from DfT by March 2025 although the scheme would not necessarily need to have been completed by that deadline.

5.6 SV informed members that since the report had been written Oxfordshire County Council had passed a motion to formally oppose the New Thames Crossing East of Reading scheme. The review panel did not consider that this recent opposition affected the schemes position as a priority for TfSE. TVBLEP and Wokingham Borough Council had highlighted the potential concerns within their application and are managing this issue

(including engaging with Oxfordshire CC) as scheme development work is carried out.

5.7 Cllr Page thanked SV for the work that has been pulled together by TfSE in relation to the MRN and LLM scheme submissions. Cllr Page added that the process of assessing the priority schemes has been very rigorous.

5.8 Cllr Page raised the point that all submitted schemes are likely to face a level of opposition and that no schemes will progress with ease. It was agreed by members that TfSE need to ensure that focus is placed on the economic and environment benefits of the submitted schemes. 5.9 Cllr Page informed the Shadow Partnership Board that he fully supported the procedure that was used and also the final rankings of priority schemes. Cllr Page mentioned that KCC’s A229 Blue Bell Hill Junction Upgrades scheme needed to be promoted in parallel with the Lower Thames Crossing scheme that is being planned by Highways England.

5.10 Cllr Rayment also thanked TfSE for the great work in leading this exercise. Cllr Rayment also informed members that she was pleased to see the West Quay Road Realignment scheme in Southampton high on the priority list.

5.11 The recommendations were agreed by all Shadow Partnership Board members. RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the process that has been followed to identify and prioritise a list of potential Large Local Major (LLM) schemes in the TfSE area; and (2) Agree that the prioritised list of schemes shown in Appendix 3 be submitted to the Department for Transport as the priority.

6. Finance

6.1 RF introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. It was confirmed that the finance paper has been officially signed off by the East Sussex County Council Finance Team.

6.2 As stated in the Transport Strategy Development paper, the scope for the planned area studies has been revised. These changes have been made due to the lower than expected grant allocation from the DfT for the current financial year. It was recognised by TfSE that it would not be possible to undertake the original corridor studies schedule within the revised budget.

6.3 With additional work being carried out to change the methodology and scope for the area studies work, the allocated budget for the Transport

Strategy Development needed to be increased from £674,483 to £733,603. RF reiterated that it is likely that only a portion of the additional budget will be required in the current financial year, but it does allow for some contingency for the strategy work.

6.4 RF confirmed that current spend position and forecast is on track with the revised budget.

6.5 The recommendations were agreed by all Shadow Partnership Board members. RECOMMENDATIONS: The Shadow Partnership Board is recommended to: (1) Note the current budget positon for 2019/20 to the end of August 2019; and

(2) Agree the proposed changes to the Transport Strategy budget forecast.

7. Communications & Stakeholder Engagement

7.1 LDT introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. 7.2 LDT explained that representation from Districts and Boroughs at the TfSE Transport Forum events has now been confirmed as the following:

- Cllr David Bittleston, Surrey - Cllr David Monk, Kent - Cllr Peter Chowney, East Sussex - Cllr David Humphreys, West Sussex - Cllr Philip North, Hampshire

7.3 In addition to the draft Transport Strategy consultation launch event on Thursday 10 October, TfSE have arranged a number of regional events to support the consultation period. These events are taking place on the following:

- 16 October, Reading - 17 October, Woking - 22 October, Canterbury - 23 October, Brighton - 24 October, Southampton

7.4 LDT reminded Board members that TfSE will be attending Highways UK in November. 7.5 Cllr Humby thanked TfSE for their efforts around ongoing engagement with stakeholders. 7.6 The recommendations were agreed by all Shadow Partnership Board

members. RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the diary dates for forthcoming events in section 5;

(2) Share invites to the regional events with wider contacts and networks and encourage colleagues to attend one of the events; and (3) Note the planned communications and engagement activity and inform the TfSE team if attendance or support is required at forthcoming events.

8. Transport Forum Update

8.1 GF introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. 8.2 GF reiterated that the TfSE Transport Forum attendees are content with the TfSE Transport Strategy work and also the Proposal to Government with the amendments that have now been agreed by the members of the Board. .

8.3 As agreed at the SPB meeting in June 2019, the Transport Forum has established a small sub-group to review the operation of the Forum to ensure that it is able to support TfSE with the delivery of the Transport Strategy. Since the last SPB meeting, the sub-group of the Transport Forum has met twice and has reviewed the Forum’s function, role, membership, communications, mechanics and processes.

8.4 The sub-group identified gaps within the members list of Transport Forum attendees. It was agreed that the TfSE secretariat would extend invitations to the following sectors:

- Environment - Youth - Utilities - Health

8.5 LDT explained that TfSE are also trying to establish regular communication with the 12 universities in the TfSE region.

8.6 The next TfSE Transport Forum meeting will be held on Wednesday 20 November in Brighton.


RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the recent meeting of the Transport Forum;

(2) Review the recommendations from the Transport Forum; and (3) Note the future programme of the Transport Forum and the opportunities to engage further with the Forum representatives.

9. Consultation Responses

9.1 RC introduced this item and guided the Shadow Partnership Board members through the key parts of the paper. RC explained to members that TfSE will be responding to two upcoming consultations:

- England’s Economic Heartland Outline Transport Strategy Consultation

- Heathrow Expansion Consultation.

9.2 Members were informed that Cllr Glazier has been invited to sit on the Heathrow Area Transport Forum. The invitation has been accepted. 9.3 Members praised the response to the Heathrow Expansion Consultation stating that the submission is very strong and addresses the relevant points.


RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to:

(1) Endorse the draft letter of support to England’s Economic Heartland – Outline Transport Strategy; and

(2) Endorse the draft response to the Heathrow Airport Expansion consultation.

10. AOB

10.1 RC thanked members of the Shadow Partnership Board and Senior Officer Group for their invaluable support. 10.2 Cllr Glazier stated that TfSE have taken a major step forward today with agreeing to move forward with the consultation on the on the draft transport strategy consultation.

11. Date of Next Meeting

11.1 The next Shadow Partnership Board meeting will take place on Wednesday 11 December 2019 at the Hilton Hotel, Gatwick Airport.

Paper 1 Report to: Shadow Partnership Board –Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title of report: Lead Officer’s Report Purpose of report: To update the Board on the recent activities of Transport for

the South East

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to note the activities of Transport for the South East in September to December 2019.

1. Introduction 1.1 Since Transport for the South East’s inception in June 2017, we have come a long way in a short space of time. September to December has been an especially busy time for Transport for the South East as we reached a major milestone with the publication of the draft Transport Strategy for consultation. This milestone would not have been achieved without the support of all the constituent authorities, board members, LEPs and stakeholders. 1.2 The work of the Senior Officer Group has been instrumental in getting to this point. The development of the Transport Strategy has been a collaborative effort and the TfSE team are grateful to the Board for supporting their officers as part of the Senior Officer Group. 2. Engagement activity 2.1 In October we launched our draft Transport Strategy for consultation at an event in Farnborough supplemented by 5 regional events and a parliamentary reception to engage with our many stakeholders. Members should refer to the detail in the Comms and Engagement Report. We attended the Highways UK conference in Birmingham, supported by Cllr Keith Glazier and Cllr Colin Kemp. These events also triggered a number of articles in trade / technical press and again, outlined in more detail in the Comms and Engagement Report. 2.2 Over the past few months joint and individual meetings have been held with various private sector organisations (including innovators and disruptors) to understand what areas there are for public/private collaboration. More information on this can be found in the Comms and Engagement Report.

Agenda Item 3

2.3 We have included the region’s universities as part of our stakeholder development, meeting with them to discuss the opportunities for collaboration and future engagement. 3. Joint STB work 3.1 All of the 7 sub-national transport bodies work closely together to bring a unified national voice. The TfSE lead officer chairs the quarterly meeting of the seven STBs covering England. 3.2 The lead officer also regularly meets the lead officers from Transport for the North, Midlands Connect and England’s Economic Heartlands and the 3 emerging STBs to discuss areas of shared interest, develop our joint messages and identify issues for collaborative lobbying. This has involved following a consistent approach to MRN/LLM and discussing a future approach to RIS3. There has also been, and will continue to have a collaborative approach to the Williams Rail Review. 3.3 These lead officers also meet with the DfT, including the Director General for Roads, Places and Environment Group, to continue to press the case for sub-national transport bodies, funding and statutory status. 4. Other 4.1 TfSE along with the other STB’s supported the Women in Transport networking event that took place in the STB Hub at Highways UK in November. This not-for-profit organisation carries out mentoring and campaigning for more women in transport and TfSE is pleased to be able to support them. It is worth noting that we have a 50:50 gender balance in our paid TfSE team workforce.

4.2 We have attended various meetings/conferences over the past few months to promote TfSE and our Transport Strategy. This included the wider South East technical conference (Cllr Humby also attended this event), GATCOM, the London and South East LEPs infrastructure roundtable, a roads sector strategy roundtable, the ADEPT conference (where the lead officer chaired a plenary session on transport connectivity),the Transport Smart Class, London and the South East, a CILT meeting, a Transport Knowledge Hub meeting and Amber Rudd MP and Huw Merriman MP’s Rail Summit where Cllr Glazier spoke about TfSE. 4.3 The team have also presented the Transport Strategy to civil servants and senior representatives from the DfT. The Strategy has been received positively and they are supportive of its content. Alongside this, Cllr Glazier met with the Minister for Transport, George Freeman MP (who also attended and spoke at both our Farnborough launch event and parliamentary reception) to raise his awareness of TfSE and push the case again for statutory status and secure funding. 5. Conclusion and next steps 5.1 2020 will be another important year for TfSE as the draft Transport Strategy consultation closes and our final strategy is launched, along with the possibility of submitting TfSE’s Proposal to Government. Work will also begin on TfSE’s area studies and freight and future mobility strategies. There are already a variety of events we have

been invited to speak at and we will implement our post-election parliamentary engagement plan. 5.2 The Shadow Partnership Board is recommended to note the activities undertaken by TfSE and the work planned in 2020 will continue to raise the profile of the organisation and provide opportunities for all our constituent authorities and stakeholders. RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Jasmin Barnicoat Tel. No. 07749 436080 Email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Paper 2 Report to: Shadow Partnership Board - Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title: Developing a Proposal to Government

Purpose: To provide an update on the proposed next steps

RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note recent discussions and feedback from the Department for Transport;

(2) Agree that the draft proposal should be finalised for submission to

Government in April 2020; and

(3) Ask constituent authorities to provide their formal consent to the proposal in advance of the April 2020 meeting of the Shadow Partnership Board.

1. Introduction 1.1 At the Shadow Partnership Board meeting on 19 September 2019 the Board approved a revised version of the Proposal to Government, which reflected the feedback received through the 12 week public consultation. 1.2 It was agreed that further advice should be sought from the ministerial team at the Department for Transport prior to any decision about a formal submission to Government. This paper provides an update on the discussions with the Minister of State and suggests next steps and a potential timeframe for Board consideration.

2. Our proposal to Government 2.1 TfSE published the consultation on 7 May 2019 for a period of 12 weeks. Prior to the formal consultation exercise, there had been extensive discussions with constituent authorities, LEPs, district and borough authorities and other stakeholders to inform the types of powers that TfSE might seek to support the delivery of the Transport Strategy. 2.2 During the twelve week consultation, TfSE was required to engage with all constituent authorities, LEPs, neighbouring authorities and other appropriate stakeholders. In addition to the 16 constituent authorities and five LEPs, there are 16 neighbouring Transport Authorities that TfSE included in the formal consultation

2.3 The consultation resulted in 98 responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of local interest groups and member of the public. The overall findings of the consultation exercise are positive, with 94 respondents offering support

Agenda Item 4

2

for the principle of establishing a sub-national transport body for the south east. However, some of this support is conditional upon TfSE addressing concerns with the proposal and overall vision for the organisation.

2.4 The revised proposal incorporated a number of changes, which can be summarised:

Strengthening the opening narrative and strategic case to ensure that social inclusion and environmental protection, including reducing emissions, are clearly recognised as a priority for TfSE. This will reflect the recent work on the development of the Transport Strategy, including the revised vision, goals and objectives.

The proposal highlights that the current governance arrangements for co-opted members are considered to work well, and would strongly recommend that the Statutory Body would continue with them.

Clarification is provided around the principle of consent and the concurrent nature of the powers. Additionally, the principle of subsidiarity will be incorporated into the document to demonstrate that any decisions relating to the powers is made at the most relevant level and that, where possible, future aspirations will focus on drawing down powers from central government.

The bus franchising power was removed from the proposal, with the emphasis placed on building stronger relationships with the bus operators and work with local authorities to ensure that services are operating in a way that supports the delivery of the Transport Strategy, e.g. smart and integrated ticketing at a regional (or wider) level.

The powers relating to rail have remained unchanged. However, TfSE is closely monitoring the outcomes of the William’s Rail Review and will consider whether it should include provision to assume a role in contracting for rail services as it matures as an organisation.

2.5 The Board agreed the revised proposal, which is attached as Appendix 1. However, it was agreed that further advice was needed from the Department for Transport prior to submission. 3. Feedback from the Department for Transport 3.1 In June 2019, Chris Grayling, the former Secretary of State for Transport, wrote to all shadow STBs stating that at that current time he was not minded to create any further statutory bodies. The letter confirmed that all shadow STBs would be treated as though they had statutory status and that STBs would be considered in the forthcoming spending review. 3.2 TfSE’s consultation on the draft proposal was already underway when this letter was received. The Shadow Partnership Board considered the contents of the letter at their meeting on 14 June 2019 and agreed to conclude the consultation exercise and to receive an update on the response at the Board meeting on 19 September 2019.

3.3 Subsequently there has been a change of ministerial team at the Department for Transport. The Board agreed at the September 2019 meeting that it was imperative to seek the advice and views of Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, and George Freeman, Minister of State, prior to making any decision about the submission.

3

3.4 There have been a number of discussions with the Minister of State, including his attendance at the ‘Connecting the South East’ event in Farnborough to launch the draft Transport Strategy. 3.5 The Minister has clearly outlined his “3 D” priorities – addressing disconnectivity, decarbonisation and digitalisation. There is also a strong focus on joining up transport and housing. It is recognised that TfSE’s draft Transport Strategy aligns with these emerging priorities and can play an important role in tackling these critical issues.

3.6 The Minister was also interested in work that can be done to improve travel to work corridors and also surface access to the international gateways. He was supportive of the TfSE priorities to have a modern integrated public transport system and future proofing against climate change impacts. 3.7 The Minister was complementary of the way in which TfSE has operated, recognising the importance that has been placed on partnership working, the role we have played in providing a collective single voice on priorities and our lean and efficient structures. 3.8 The important role that STBs can play in helping DfT to deliver their priorities is clearly recognised. The Minister stated at the ‘Connecting the South East’ event that he will be willing to consider formal structures once TfSE has a clear business plan, in effect our Transport Strategy, setting out what it wants to achieve. The powers and responsibilities sought in any proposal should support the delivery of the plan. The Transport Strategy should therefore be submitted at the same time as the proposal, subject to Board approval.

3.9 Since the launch of the Transport Strategy parliament has been dissolved to allow for an election on the 12 December 2019. Clearly, we cannot predict the outcome of the election and we will re-engage with the department following ministerial appointments. This could mean our timetable for submission may change. However, the board will have a further opportunity to consider this issue at their April

meeting prior to any formal submission to government. The board’s agreement will be

sought at the April meeting and to support the board we will bring forward the latest view from the department on any submission. 4. Next steps, Formal Consent and outline Cabinet/Committee reports 4.1 Subject to the outcome of the December General Election, it is proposed that TfSE should seek to submit the proposal to Government upon completion of the Transport Strategy, which will firmly set out the ways in which TfSE and the Department for Transport can work in partnership to implement the bold and ambitious approach included in the Strategy. This will be subject to review upon any change in national government structures and the implications of any changes will be considered by the Shadow Partnership Board. 4.2 This timescale will also allow for TfSE to consider the implications for the forthcoming publication of the Williams Rail Review, which is expected in autumn 2019. A submission in spring 2020 will also ensure that the response to the consultation on the draft proposal remains relevant and timely.

4

4.3 The legislation requires that a new sub-national transport body will be promoted by, and have the consent of, its constituent authorities. Formal consent is required before the Shadow Partnership Board approves the final proposal. It is suggested that all constituent authorities should aim to take the draft proposal through their relevant committee and sign off structures by the end of March 2020 to enable the Shadow Partnership Board to make the final decision in April 2020. 4.4 Although other partners, such as LEPs, district and boroughs and national parks will not be required to offer formal consent for the creation of a statutory body, they may wish to submit letters of support for TfSE. 5. Conclusion 5.1 The draft proposal to Government was widely supported during the consultation exercise and there is recognition from stakeholders that the creation of a sub-national transport body would benefit the south east area. Further advice and views have been sought from the new ministerial team at the Department for Transport, which indicate support for STBs and an understanding that the TfSE Transport Strategy can help to deliver departmental priorities. 5.2 It is proposed that the Shadow Partnership Board should seek to submit the proposal to Government in spring 2020, following the conclusion of the consultation on the Transport Strategy. If this timescale is agreed, constituent authorities will be required to offer their formal consent in March 2020, in advance of the next meeting of the Shadow Partnership Board. These timescales would be reviewed if there are any changes in national government structures and the implications of any changes will be discussed with the Shadow Partnership Board in advance of any decision. 5.3 The Shadow Partnership Board is also recommended to agree the proposed timescales and next steps. RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Rachel Ford Tel. No. 07763 579818 Email: [email protected]


Appendix 1

Proposal to Government

September 2019

Appendix 1

2

1. Executive summary

1.1 Transport for the South East is a sub-national transport body (STB) established to speak with

one voice on the strategic transport priorities for the South East region. 1.2 Our aim is to grow the South East’s economy by delivering a safe, sustainable, and integrated

transport system that makes the South East area more productive and competitive, improves the quality of life for all residents, and protects and enhances its natural and built environment.

1.3 By operating strategically across the South East on transport infrastructure – a role that no

other organisation currently undertakes on this scale – we will directly influence how and where money is invested and drive improvements for the travelling public and for businesses in a region which is the UK’s major international gateway.

1.4 Already we are commanding the attention of government, facilitating greater collaboration

between South East local authorities, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and government to shape our region’s future.

1.5 Our proposal has been developed in partnership with TfSE’s members and stakeholders and

represents a broad consensus on the key issues facing the region and the powers required to implement our transport strategy.

1.6 Our members and stakeholders are clear that a statutory sub-national transport body for the

South East is vital if we are to successfully:

● Increase our influence with Government and key stakeholders;

● Invest in pan-regional strategic transport corridors;

● Deliver sustainable economic growth, while protecting and enhancing the

environment, reducing emissions and promoting social inclusion; and

● Enable genuinely long-term planning.

1.7 We have only proposed those powers for TfSE which are proportionate and will be effective in

helping us achieve our strategic aims and objectives, complementing and building on the existing powers of local authorities.

1.8 These powers would enable us to deliver significant additional value at regional level through

efficient and effective operational delivery, better coordination of pan-regional schemes and the ability to directly influence and inform national investment programmes.

3

2. The Ambition

“By 2050, the South East will be a leading global region for emission-free, sustainable economic

growth, where integrated transport, digital and energy networks have delivered a step-change in

connectivity and environmental quality.

A high-quality, reliable, safe and accessible transport network will offer seamless door-to-door

journeys enabling our businesses to compete and trade more effectively in the global marketplace,

giving our residents and visitors the highest quality of life in the country.” Transport for the South East 2050 vision statement

2.1 Transport for the South East (TfSE) was established in shadow form in June 2017. In the short

period since, we have emerged as a powerful and effective partnership, bringing together 16

local transport authorities, five local enterprise partnerships and other key stakeholders

including protected landscapes, transport operators, district and borough authorities and

national agencies to speak with one voice on the region’s strategic transport needs.

2.2 Our vision is underpinned by three strategic goals, which align to the three pillars of

sustainable development:

improve productivity and attract investment to grow our economy and better compete in

the global marketplace;

improve health, safety, wellbeing, quality of life, and access to opportunities for everyone;

and

protect and enhance the South East’s unique natural and historic environment.

2.3 Our transport strategy, which covers the period to 2050, will form the basis for achieving that

vision. It will deliver sustainable economic growth across the South East, whilst taking account

of the social and environmental impacts of the proposals outlined in the strategy.

2.4 TfSE has already, in shadow form, added considerable value in bringing together partners and

stakeholders to work with Government on key strategic issues, securing positive outcomes for

the region in the Roads Investment Strategy 2 and Major Road Network, influencing rail

franchising discussions and providing collective views on schemes such as southern and

western rail access to Heathrow.

2.5 The requirements within our proposal seek to provide TfSE with the initial functions and

powers to move to the next stage of our development – to begin delivering the transport

strategy and realising the benefits that a high quality, sustainable and integrated transport

system can unlock for people, businesses and the environment.

2.6 We are clear that we only seek those powers and functions which are necessary to deliver our

strategy and achieve our vision. Our requirements differ from those of other STBs and reflect

the different geographic, economic, political, social and environmental characteristics of our

region and the strategic objectives of TfSE and its partners.

4

2.7 We are only seeking powers that are applicable to a sub-national transport body as outlined

by the legislation. There are many other bodies that have environmental and economic remits

beyond those held by an STB and it will be essential that we work with these partners to

deliver sustainable economic growth across the south east.

5

3. The Strategic and Economic Case

The Transport for the South East area 3.1 The South East is already a powerful motor for the UK economy, adding more than £200

billion to the economy in 2015 – second only to the contribution made by London and more

than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.

3.2 It is home to 7.5m people and 329,000 businesses including some of the world’s biggest

multinationals as well as a large number of thriving, innovative SMEs. It is a world leader in

knowledge intensive, high value industries including advanced engineering, biosciences,

financial services and transport and logistics.

3.3 The South East area includes both of the nation’s busiest airports in Heathrow and Gatwick, a

string of major ports including Southampton, Dover and Portsmouth, many of the country’s

most vital motorways and trunk roads and crucial railway links to London, the rest of Britain

and mainland Europe.

3.4 The South East’s international gateways support the economic wellbeing of the whole of the

UK. As we withdraw from the European Union, they will be integral to supporting a thriving, internationally facing economy.

3.5 Half of all freight passing through Dover going on to other parts of the country. Southampton

sees £71 billion of international trade each year and Portsmouth handles two million passengers a year. More than 120 million air passenger a year use Gatwick, Southampton and Heathrow airports.

3.6 Our people and infrastructure are not our only assets. With two national parks, five areas of

outstanding natural beauty and much of the region allocated as green belt, the South East

draws heavily on its unique and varied natural environment for its success. It offers

6

outstanding beaches, historic towns, dynamic cities and unparalleled links to London, the UK,

Europe and the rest of the world. It is, in short, an amazing place to live, work and visit.

The scale of the challenge and why change is needed

3.7 But we face a real challenge. Despite these enviable foundations – and in some cases because

of them – our infrastructure is operating beyond capacity and unable to sustain ongoing

growth.

3.8 Despite the economic importance of the region to the UK economy, contributing almost 15%

of UK GVA (2015), the South East has seen continued underinvestment in transport

infrastructure with a per capita spend that is significantly below the England average and a

third of that in London.

Planned transport infrastructure spending per head

Source: IPPR North analysis of planned central and local public/private transport infrastructure spending per capita

2017/19 onwards (real terms 2016/17 prices)

3.9 So while transport links to and from the capital are broadly good, elsewhere connectivity can

be poor – even between some of our region’s major towns and cities. Train journey times

between Southampton and Brighton (a distance of around 70 miles) are only marginally less

than the fastest train journeys between London and Manchester. The corresponding journey

on the A27 includes some of the most congested parts of the South East’s road network.

3.10 Underinvestment in road and rail infrastructure is making life harder for our residents and

businesses. New housing provision is being hampered by the lack of adequate transport

infrastructure. In our coastal communities, lack of access to areas of employment and further

education and higher education are major contributors to high unemployment and poor

productivity.

3.11 The social geography of the South East is varied. The South East area is home to some of the

most prosperous and productive areas of the country, but also contains significant areas of

deprivation. Improving transport connectivity can help reduce the likelihood of deprivation,

7

but this cannot be considered in isolation and needs to work alongside other important

factors, such as improving skills levels.

3.12 The South East has a varied and highly valued natural environment. Significant parts of the

South East area are designated as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and

Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The environmental assets of the South East help make the

South East area an attractive place to live, work and visit, as well as providing an important

contribution to the economy. The future development of the South East area and its transport

network will need to be managed to minimise any potential adverse impact and enhance

these natural assets. The principle of biodiversity net gain will be vital in achieving this.

3.13 The South East area faces several significant environmental challenges in the future. There are

a significant number of Air Quality Management Areas in place across the South East area.

These areas have been established to improve air quality and reduce the harmful impact of

Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulphur Oxides (SOx), and particulates on human health and the

natural environment. Transport – particularly road transport – is one of the largest

contributors to poor air quality in the South East area. Transport therefore has a significant

role to play in improving air quality. Noise pollution is also a significant issue, particularly for

communities located close to the Strategic Road Network.

3.14 The South East also has a significant role to play in tackling climate change. The South East

accounts for 12% of the United Kingdom’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, transport

accounted for a third of the United Kingdom’s greenhouse gas emissions.

3.15 These are challenges that extend beyond administrative and political boundaries. They require

TfSE to have the powers to effectively join up transport policy, regulation and investment and provide clear, strategic investment priorities which will improve connectivity into and across the region, boost the economy and improve the lives of millions.

The powers to achieve our vision 3.16 To enable us to achieve our vision through the efficient and effective delivery of the transport

strategy, we propose that a range of functions exercisable by a local transport authority, passenger transport executive or mayoral combined authority are included in the regulations to establish TfSE on a statutory footing.

3.17 We have only sought those powers which we believe are proportionate and will be effective in

helping us achieve our strategic aims and objectives, complementing and building on the existing powers of local authorities. The powers will be sought in a way which means they will operate concurrently with – and only with the consent of – the constituent authorities.

3.18 These powers would enable us to deliver significant additional value at regional level in three

key areas:

● Strategic influence: Speaking with one voice and with the benefit of regional scale and

insight to influence the development of national investment programmes; a trusted

partner for government, Network Rail and Highways England.

8

● Coordination: Developing solutions which offer most benefit delivered on a regional

scale; working with partners and the market to shape the development of future

transport technology in line with regional aspirations.

● Operational: Accelerating the delivery of schemes and initiatives which cross local

authority boundaries, ensuring strategic investment happens efficiently and that the

benefits for residents and businesses are realised as soon as possible.

The benefits of establishing TfSE as a statutory body

3.19 One voice for strategic transport in the South East

TfSE will provide a clear, prioritised view of the region’s strategic transport investment needs.

We already offer an effective mechanism for Government to engage with local authorities and

LEPs in the region; statutory status would take that a step further, enabling us to directly

inform and influence critical spending decisions by Government and key stakeholders

including Highways England and Network Rail.

3.20 Facilitating sustainable economic growth

The transport strategy will facilitate the delivery of jobs, housing and growth across the South

East and further build on our contribution to UK GVA. Implementation of strategic, cross-

boundary schemes, particularly investment in the orbital routes, will connect economic

centres and international gateways for the benefit of people and businesses, regionally and

nationally. TfSE also offers a route to engage with other sub-national transport bodies and

Transport for London on wider cross-regional issues.

However, this cannot be growth at any cost. The implementation of the transport strategy

must ensure that the region’s high quality environmental assets are protected and, where

possible, enhanced, as well as improving health, safety, wellbeing, quality of life, and access to

opportunities for everyone.

3.21 Delivering benefits for the travelling public

TfSE can support the efficient delivery of pan-regional programmes that will offer considerable

benefits to the end user – for example, integrated travel solutions combined with smart

ticketing will operate more effectively at a regional scale and can best be facilitated by a

regional body than by individual organisations.

3.22 Local democratic accountability

Our transport strategy will be subject to public consultation and will, in its final form, provide a

clear, prioritised view of investments agreed by all the South East’s local transport authorities

and with input from passengers, businesses and the general public. Delivery of the strategy

will be led by the Partnership Board, comprising elected members and business leaders with a

direct line of accountability to the people and organisations they represent.

3.23 Achieving the longer term vision

Securing statutory status offers TfSE the permanence and security to deliver the transport

strategy to 2050, providing a governance structure that matches the lifecycle of major

infrastructure projects. It will provide confidence to funders, enable us to work with the

9

market to ensure the deliverability of priority schemes and support development of the skills

needed to design, build, operate and maintain an improved transport network.

10

4. Constitutional arrangements

Requirements from legislation

Name 4.1 The name of the sub-national transport body would be ‘Transport for the South East (“TfSE”)’

and the area would be the effective boundaries of our ‘constituent members’.

Members 4.2 The membership of the STB is listed below:

Bracknell Forest Borough Council Brighton and Hove City Council East Sussex County Council Hampshire County Council Isle of Wight Council Kent County Council Medway Council Portsmouth City Council Reading Borough Council Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council Slough Borough Council Southampton City Council Surrey County Council West Berkshire Council West Sussex County Council Wokingham Borough Council

Partnership Board

4.3 The current Shadow Partnership Board is the only place where all ‘constituent members’ are

represented at an elected member level1. Therefore this Board will need to have a more formal role, including in ratifying key decisions. This would effectively become the new ‘Partnership Board’ and meet at least twice per annum. The Partnership Board could agree through Standing Orders if it prefers to meet more regularly.

4.4 Each constituent authority will appoint one of their councillors / members or their elected

mayor as a member of TfSE on the Partnership Board. Each constituent authority will also appoint another one of their councillors / members or their elected mayor as a substitute member (this includes directly elected mayors as under the Local Government Act 2000). The person appointed would be that authority’s elected mayor or leader, provided that, if responsibility for transport has been formally delegated to another member of the authority, that member may be appointed as the member of the Partnership Board, if so desired.

4.5 The Partnership Board may delegate the discharge of agreed functions to its officers or a

committee of its members in accordance with a scheme of delegation or on an ad hoc basis.

1 The six constituent members of the Berkshire Local Transport Body (BLTB) will have one representative

between them on the Partnership Board.

11

Further detail of officer groups and a list of delegations will be developed through a full constitution.

Co-opted members

4.6 TfSE proposes that governance arrangements for a statutory STB should maintain the strong

input from our business leadership, including LEPs, district and borough authorities and protected landscapes. The regulations should provide for the appointment of persons who are not elected members of the constituent authorities but provide highly relevant expertise to be co-opted members of the Partnership Board.

4.7 A number of potential co-opted members are also set out in the draft legal proposal. Co-opted

members would not automatically have voting rights but the Partnership Board can resolve to grant voting rights to them on such issues as the Board considers appropriate, for example on matters that directly relate to co-opted members’ areas of interest.

Chair and vice-chair

4.8 The Partnership Board will agree to a chair and vice-chair of the Partnership Board. The

Partnership Board may also appoint a single or multiple vice-chairs from the constituent members. Where the chair or vice-chair is the representative member from a constituent authority they will have a vote.

Proceedings

4.9 It is expected that the Partnership Board will continue to work by consensus but to have an

agreed approach to voting where consensus cannot be reached and for certain specific decisions.

4.10 A number of voting options were considered to find a preferred option that represents a

straightforward mechanism, reflects the characteristics of the partnership and does not provide any single authority with an effective veto. We also considered how the voting metrics provide a balance between county and other authorities, urban and rural areas and is resilient to any future changes in local government structures.

4.11 The steering group considered these options and preferred the population weighted

option based on the population of the constituent authority with the smallest population (the Isle of Wight with 140,000 residents).

4.12 This option requires that the starting point for decisions will be consensus; if that cannot

be achieved then decisions will require a simple majority of those constituent authorities who are present and voting. The decisions below will however require both a super-majority, consisting of three quarters of the weighted vote in favour of the decision, and a simple majority of the constituent authorities appointed present and attending at the meeting:

(i) The approval and revision of TfSE’s transport strategy;

(ii) The approval of the TfSE annual budget;

(iii) Changes to the TfSE constitution.

12

The population weighted vote would provide a total of 54 weighted votes, with no single veto. A table showing the distribution of votes across the constituent authorities is set out in Appendix 1. This option reflects the particular circumstances of TfSE, being based on the population of the smallest individually represented constituent member who will have one vote, and only a marginally smaller proportionate vote. It is considered that this option is equitable to all constituent authority members, ensures that the aim of decision making consensus remains and that smaller authorities have a meaningful voice, whilst recognising the size of the larger authorities in relation to certain critical issues.

4.13 The population basis for the weighted vote will be based on ONS statistics from 2016

and reviewed every ten years. 4.14 As outlined in paragraph 4.7, co-opted members would not automatically have voting

rights but the Partnership Board can resolve to grant voting rights to them on such issues as the Board considers appropriate, for example on matters that directly relate to co-opted members’ areas of interest. The current shadow arrangements to allocate votes to co-opted Board members are working well, recognising the important contribution that these members bring on environmental, economic and social issues. It would be strongly recommended that the Statutory Body would continue with these arrangements.

4.15 The Partnership Board is expected to meet twice per year. Where full attendance cannot

be achieved, the Partnership Board will be quorate where 50% of constituent members are present.

Scrutiny committee

4.16 TfSE will appoint a scrutiny committee to review decisions made or actions taken in

connection with the implementation of the proposed powers and responsibilities. The committee could also make reports or recommendations to TfSE with respect to the discharge of its functions or on matters relating to transport to, from or within TfSE’s area.

4.17 Each constituent authority will be entitled to appoint a member to the committee and a

substitute nominee. Such appointees cannot be otherwise members of TfSE including the Partnership Board.

Standing orders

4.18 TfSE will need to be able to make, vary and revoke standing orders for the regulation of

proceedings and business, including that of the scrutiny committee. This will ensure that the governance structures can remain appropriate to the effective running of the organisation.

4.19 In regards to changing boundaries and therefore adding or removing members, TfSE

would have to make a new proposal to Government under Section 102Q of the Local Transport Act 2008 and require formal consents from each constituent authority.

Miscellaneous

13

4.20 It may be necessary that certain additional local authority enactments are applied to

TfSE as if TfSE were a local authority, including matters relating to staffing arrangements, pensions, ethical standards and provision of services etc. These are set out in the draft legal proposal.

4.21 TfSE also proposes to seek the functional power of competence as set out in section

102M of the Local Transport Act 2008. 4.22 TfSE will consider options for appointing to the roles of a Head of Paid Service, a

Monitoring Officer and a Chief Finance Officer whilst considering possible interim arrangements.

Funding

4.23 TfSE has raised local contributions from the constituent authorities and has secured

grant funding from the Department for Transport to support the development of the Transport Strategy.

4.24 TfSE will work with partners and the Department for Transport to consider a sustainable

approach to establishing the formal STB and effectively and expeditiously as possible, bearing in mind the considerable support among regional stakeholders for TfSE’s attainment of statutory status.

Governance: Transport Forum and Senior Officer Group

4.23 The Partnership Board will appoint a Transport Forum. This will be an advisory body to

the Senior Officer Group and Partnership Board, comprising a wider group of representatives from user groups, operators, District and Borough Councils as well as Government and National Agency representatives.

4.24 The Transport Forum will meet quarterly and be chaired by an independent person

appointed by the Partnership Board. The Transport Forum may also appoint a vice-chair for the Transport Forum, who will chair the Transport Forum when the chair is not present.

4.25 The Transport Forum’s terms of reference will be agreed by the Partnership Board. It is

envisaged that the Transport Forum will provide technical expertise, intelligence and information to the Senior Officer Group and the Partnership Board.

4.26 The Partnership Board and Transport Forum will be complemented by a Senior Officer

Group representing members at officer level providing expertise and co-ordination to the TfSE programme. The Senior Officer Group will meet monthly.

14

5. Functions

TfSE’s proposal is to become a statutory sub-national transport body as set out in section part 5A of the Local Transport Act 2008.

General functions

5.1 Transport for the South East proposes to have the ‘general functions’ as set out in Section

102H (1) including: a. to prepare a transport strategy for the area;

b. to provide advice to the Secretary of State about the exercise of transport functions in

relation to the area (whether exercisable by the Secretary of State or others);

c. to co-ordinate the carrying out of transport functions in relation to the area that are

exercisable by different constituent authorities, with a view to improving the

effectiveness and efficiency in the carrying out of those functions;

d. if the STB considers that a transport function in relation to the area would more

effectively and efficiently be carried out by the STB, to make proposals to the

Secretary of State for the transfer of that function to the STB; and

e. to make other proposals to the Secretary of State about the role and functions of the

STB. (2016, 102H (1))5.

5.2 The general functions are regarded as the core functions of a sub-national transport body and

will build on the initial work of TfSE in its shadow form. To make further proposals to the Secretary of State regarding constitution or functions, Transport for the South East will need formal consents from each ‘constituent member’.

5.3 Transport for the South East recognises that under current proposals the Secretary of State

will remain the final decision-maker on national transport strategies, but critically that the Secretary of State must have regard to a sub-national transport body’s statutory transport strategy. This sets an important expectation of the strong relationship Transport for the South East aims to demonstrate with Government on major programmes like the Major Road Network and Railway Upgrade Plan.

Local transport functions

5.4 Initial work has identified a number of additional powers that Transport for the South East

may require that will support the delivery of the transport strategy. The table below provides an assessment of these functions.

5.5 The powers which are additional to the general functions relating to STBs will be requested

in a way that means they will operate concurrently and with the consent of the constituent authorities.

5.6 To support the principle of consent, TfSE will adopt three further principles:

That future operations of TfSE should, where possible, seek to draw down powers from

central government, rather than seek concurrent powers with the local transport

authorities;

15

That decisions on the implementation of the powers are made at the most immediate (or

local) level, i.e. by constituent authorities in the particular area affected; and

Consent from the relevant constituent authorities will be obtained in advance of any

Partnership Board decision on a particular scheme or project.

5.7 This approach will help to ensure that TfSE complements and supports the work of the

constituent authorities and enables TfSE to promote and expedite the delivery of regionally significant cross-boundary schemes

16

Table 1: Proposed powers and responsibilities

POWER RATIONALE

General functions

Section 102 H of the Local Transport

Act 2008

Prepare a transport strategy, advise the

Secretary of State, co-ordinate the

carrying out of transport functions,

make proposals for the transfer of

functions, make other proposals about

the role and functions of the STB.

This legislation provides the general powers required for TfSE to

operate as a statutory sub-national transport body, meeting the

requirements of the enabling legislation to facilitate the

development and implementation of a transport strategy to deliver

regional economic growth.

Government at both national and local level recognises that the

solutions required to deliver regional economic growth are best

identified and planned for on a regional scale by those who best

understand the people and businesses who live and work there.

Rail

Right to be consulted about new rail

franchises

Section 13 of the Railways Act 2005 –

Railway Functions of Passenger

Transport Executives

We are seeking the extension of the right of a Passenger Transport

Executive to be consulted before the Secretary of State issues an

invitation to tender for a franchise agreement.

The right of consultation is significant to TfSE as it confirms our role

as a strategic partner, enabling us to influence future rail franchises

to ensure the potential need for changes to the scope of current

services and potential new markets identified by TfSE are

considered.

TfSE is uniquely placed to provide a regional perspective and

consensus on the priorities for rail in its area. This would benefit

central government as a result of the vastly reduced need for

consultation with individual authorities.

We recognise that changes to the current franchising model are

likely following the Williams Review; regardless of these changes,

TfSE is clear that it should have a role in shaping future rail service

provision.

Set High Level Output Specification

TfSE requires a strong, formal role in rail investment decision making

over and above that which is available to individual constituent

17

(HLOS) for Rail

Schedule 4A, paragraph 1D, of the

Railways Act 1993

authorities. We act as the collective voice of our constituent

authorities, providing an evidence-based regional perspective and

consensus on the priorities for investment in our rail network.

This power would enable TfSE to act jointly with the Secretary of

State to set and vary the HLOS in our area, ensuring TfSE’s

aspirations for transformational investment in rail infrastructure are

reflected in the HLOS and enabling an integrated approach across

road and rail investment for the first time.

Highways

Set Road Investment Strategy (RIS) for

the Strategic Road Network (SRN)

Section 3 and Schedule 2 of the

Infrastructure Act 2015

TfSE requires a strong, formal role in roads investment decision

making over and above that which is available to individual

constituent authorities. We act as the collective voice of our

constituent authorities, providing an evidence-based regional

perspective and consensus on the priorities for roads investment.

This power would enable TfSE to act jointly with the Secretary of

State to set and vary the RIS in our area, ensuring TfSE’s aspirations

for transformational investment in road infrastructure are reflected

in the RIS and enabling an integrated approach across road and rail

investment for the first time.

Enter into agreements to undertake

certain works on Strategic Road

Network, Major Road Network or local

roads

Section 6(5) of the Highways Act 1980,

(trunk roads) & Section 8 of the

Highways Act 1980 (local roads)

We are seeking the power that local highway authorities currently

have to enter into an agreement with other highway authorities to

construct, reconstruct, alter, improve or maintain roads.

These powers, operated concurrently with the local authorities, will

enable TfSE to promote and expedite the delivery of regionally

significant cross-boundary schemes that otherwise might not be

progressed. They would overcome the need for complex ‘back-to-

back’ legal and funding agreements between neighbouring

authorities and enable us to reduce scheme development time and

overall costs.

Acquire land to enable construction,

improvement, or mitigate adverse

effects of highway construction

Sections 239,240,246 and 250 of the

This power, exercisable concurrently and only with the consent of

the relevant highway authority, would allow preparations for the

construction of a highways scheme to be expedited where highway

authorities are not in a position to acquire land.

18

Highways Act 1980 Land acquisition by TfSE could facilitate quicker, more efficient

scheme delivery, bringing forward the economic and broader social

and environmental benefits. In the event that it is not possible to

prevent environmental impact on the site of the scheme or project,

consideration will be given to appropriate compensation/mitigation

measures.

Construct highways, footpaths,

bridleways

Sections 24,25 & 26 of the Highways Act

1980

The concurrent powers required to effectively promote, coordinate

and fund road schemes are vital to TfSE. Without them, we would

not be able to enter into any contractual arrangement in relation to

procuring the construction, improvement or maintenance of a

highway or the construction or improvement of a trunk road.

Granting of these powers would enable TfSE directly to expedite the

delivery of regionally significant road schemes that cross constituent

authority boundaries that otherwise might not be progressed.

Make capital grants for public transport facilities

Make capital grants for the provision of

public transport facilities

Section 56(2) of the Transport Act 1968

This concurrent power would enable TfSE to support the funding

and delivery of joint projects with constituent local authorities,

improving deliverability and efficiency.

Constituent authorities would benefit from the granting of this

concurrent power as they may, in future, be recipients of funding

from TfSE to partly or wholly fund a transport enhancement within

their local authority area.

Bus service provision

The power to secure the provision of

such public passenger transport

services as they consider it appropriate

to secure to meet any public transport

requirements within their area which

would not in their view be met apart

from any action taken by them for that

purpose.

Paragraph 4 of Section 63 Transport Act

1985

Local transport authorities and integrated transport authorities have

the power to secure the provision of such public passenger

transport services as it considers appropriate and which would not

otherwise be provided.

Travel-to-work areas do not respect local authority boundaries. TfSE

is seeking to have this power concurrently with the local transport

authorities in our area, enabling us to fill in identified gaps in bus

service provision within our geography or secure the provision of

regionally important bus services covering one or more constituent

authority areas which would not otherwise be provided.

19

Quality Bus Partnerships

The Bus services Act 2017 Sections 113C

– 113O & Sections 138A – 138S

TfSE is seeking powers, currently available to local transport

authorities and integrated transport authorities, to enter into

Advanced Quality Partnerships and Enhanced Partnership Plans and

Schemes to improve the quality of bus services and facilities within

an identified area. These powers would be concurrent with the local

transport authority in the area.

This would allow us to expedite the introduction of partnership

schemes covering more than one local transport authority area

which otherwise might not be introduced.

Smart ticketing

Introduce integrated ticketing schemes

Sections 134C- 134G & Sections 135-138

Transport Act 2000

We are seeking powers concurrently with local transport authorities

to enable TfSE to procure relevant services, goods, equipment

and/or infrastructure; enter into contracts to deliver smart ticketing

and receive or give payments.

This would enable us to expedite the introduction of a cost effective

smart and integrated ticketing system on a regional scale which

would dramatically enhance the journey experience and increase

access to transport to support jobs and education.

Air quality

Establish Clean Air Zones

Sections 163-177A of the Transport Act

2000 – Road User Charging

Local transport authorities and integrated transport authorities have

the power under the Transport Act 2000 to implement road

charging schemes.

TfSE is seeking this general charging power as a mechanism for the

introduction of Clean Air Zones, enabling reduced implementation

and operating costs across constituent authority boundaries. This

will be subject to the consent of the local transport authority.

Transport is a major contributor to CO2 emissions and poor air

quality; these are increasingly critical issues which our transport

strategy will seek to address.

20

Other powers

Promote or oppose Bills in Parliament

Section 239 Local Government Act 1972

Local authorities have the power to promote or oppose Bills in

Parliament; granting the power concurrently to TfSE reflects the

devolution agenda of which STBs are a key part.

Under the Transport and Works Act 1992, a body that has power to

promote or oppose bills also has the power to apply for an order to

construct or operate certain types of infrastructure including

railways and tramways.

Granting of this power would enable TfSE to promote, coordinate

and fund regionally significant infrastructure schemes, accelerating

delivery of cross-boundary schemes which might otherwise not be

progressed.

Incidental amendments

Local Government Act 1972, Localism

Act 2011, Local Government Pension

Scheme Regulations 2013

A statutory STB requires certain incidental amendments to enable it

to operate as a type of local authority, with duties in respect of

staffing, pensions, monitoring and the provision of information

about TfSE.

The incidental amendments sought are listed below in Appendix 2.

21

Powers and responsibilities not being sought 5.8 Transport for the South East does not propose seeking the following functions/powers:

POWER RATIONALE

Set priorities for local authorities for

roads that are not part of the Major

Road Network (MRN)

TfSE will only be responsible for identifying priorities on

the MRN

Being responsible for any highway

maintenance responsibilities

There is no intention of TfSE becoming involved in

routine maintenance of MRN or local roads

Carry passengers by rail There are no aspirations for TfSE to become a train

operating company

Take on any consultation function

instead of an existing local authority

Local authorities are best placed to seek the views of

their residents and businesses

Give directions to a constituent authority

about the exercise of transport functions

by the authority in their area (General

Power s102P of Part 5A of the Transport

Act 2008)

Constituent authorities understand how best to deliver

their transport functions to meet the needs of their

residents and businesses

5.9 The Williams Rail Review, to which TfSE have submitted a response, could recommend

significant changes to the structure of the rail industry, including the role of STBs in both operations and infrastructure enhancement. As a result, we will keep the following functions under review pending Williams’ recommendations and subsequent White Paper.

POWER RATIONALE

Act as co-signatories to rail franchises

There are no current aspirations for TfSE to become

involved in this area. Be responsible for rail franchising

22

6. Summary of support and engagement 6.1 Transport for the South East consulted on the draft proposal between 7 May 2019 and 31 July

2019. The consultation resulted in 96 responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of local interest groups and members of the public.

6.2 An overwhelming number of respondents offered support for the creation of a statutory sub-national transport body in the south east. There were many, varied reasons for this support including:

Opportunity for TfSE to speak with ‘one-voice’ to identify regional priorities and influence

the investment decisions of central government and national agencies;

Greater focus on integrated transport solutions, developing multi-modal solutions that

improve the end user experience;

Offering a greater level of democratic accountability; and

The ability to accelerate delivery of long-term, strategic infrastructure schemes.

6.3 A number of amendments have been made to the final draft proposal to reflect the comments

raised by respondents to the consultation:

Greater emphasis on environmental protection, climate change and social inclusion

(sections 2 and 3);

Principle of subsidiarity and consent (para 5.6);

Governance (para 4.14); and

Bus and rail powers (section 5).

6.4 TfSE will seek consent from its constituent authorities and the final draft Proposal will be

endorsed by the Shadow Partnership Board prior to submission to Government.

6.5 The final submission to Government will include a summary of engagement activities, including a list of the organisations engaged in the process and an appendix with a number of letters of support from key organisations and businesses.

23

Appendix 1: Distribution of votes

TfSE constituent authorities Population2 Number of votes3

Brighton and Hove City Council 287,173 2

East Sussex County Council 549,557 4

Hampshire County Council 1,365,103 10

Isle of Wight Council 140,264 1

Kent County Council 1,540,438 11

Medway Council 276,957 2

Portsmouth City Council 213,335 2

Southampton City Council 250,377 2

Surrey County Council 1,180,956 8

West Sussex County Council 846,888 6

Bracknell Forest Council 119,730

Reading Borough Council 162,701

Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead 149,689

Slough Borough Council 147,736

West Berkshire Council 158,576

Wokingham Borough Council 163,087

Berkshire Local Transport Body (total) 901,519 6

Total 7,552,567 54

2 Population as per ONS 2016 estimates

3 Number of votes = population/140,000 (the population of constituent authority with the smallest population,

this being the Isle of Wight)

24

Appendix 2: List of incidental powers sought This appendix sets out the incidental amendments that will be needed to existing legislation. They include areas relating to the operation of TfSE as a type of local authority with duties in respect of staffing, pensions, transparency, monitoring and the provision of information about TfSE. (1) Section 1 of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970 has effect as if TfSE were a local authority for the purposes of that section. (2) The following provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 have effect as if TfSE were a local authority for the purposes of those provisions—

(a) section 101 Arrangements for discharge of functions by local authorities (b) section 111 (subsidary power of local authorities); (c) section 113 (secondment of staff) (d) section 116 (member of TfSE not to be appointed as officer); (e) section 117 (disclosure by officers of interests in contracts); (f) section 135 (standing orders for contracts); (g) section 142(2) (provision of information); (h) section 222 (power to investigate and defend legal proceedings); (i) section 239 (power to promote or oppose a local or personal Bill).

(4) Sections 120, 121 and 123 of that Act (acquisition and disposal of land) have effect as if—

(a) TfSE were a principal council; (b) section 120(1)(b) were omitted; (c) section 121(2)(a) were omitted.

(5) Section 29 of the Localism Act 2011 (registers of interests) has effect as if—

(a) TfSE were a relevant authority, and (b) references to “the monitoring officer” were references to an officer appointed by TfSE for

the purposes of that section. (6) In the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013—

(a) in Schedule 2 (scheme employers), in Part 2 (employers able to designate employees to be in scheme), after paragraph 14 insert— “15. Transport for the South East.”; (b) in Schedule 3 (administering authorities), in the table in Part 2 (appropriate administering authorities for categories of scheme members), at the end insert—

“An employee of Transport for the South East East Sussex County Council”

(7) The Local Authorities (Arrangements for the Discharge of Functions) (England) Regulations 2012 have effect as if TfSE is a local authority within the meaning of s 101 Local Government Act 1972.

Paper 3 Report to: Shadow Partnership Board – Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Governance Member Sub-Group Chair Title of report: Governance Proposals Purpose of report: To provide a progress update on the governance review and

make recommendations to the Board on the proposed approach regarding policies and procedures that should be adopted whilst in shadow form.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the progress of the governance review, which has been led by the

member sub-group;

(2) Note the progress on the draft constitution for the statutory body;

(3) Discuss the possibility of holding an Extraordinary Shadow Partnership Board meeting in February 2020 to discuss the Proposal to Government submission;

(4) Agree the proposed approach for the scrutiny and audit and governance

committees, to be implemented once TfSE has obtained statutory status;

(5) Agree the proposed approach for the policies and procedures that TfSE will adopt and that these should be implemented whilst in shadow operation; and

(6) Agree that the remit of the member sub-group should be expanded to consider the organisational model that TfSE should adopt upon securing statutory status.

1. Introduction 1.1 The report provides an update on the governance review which has been led by a member sub-group.

1.2 The report presents the draft constitution, which would be adopted by TfSE upon becoming a statutory body. This includes proposals for a scrutiny function and a governance and audit committee. The draft constitution will evolve to reflect the operational model that TfSE chooses to adopt when it secures statutory status.

1.3 The constitution and other policies and procedures will be kept under review pending the statutory status request.

Agenda Item 5

2. Purpose of the Governance Review 2.1 Transport for the South East was established in June 2017 and it was agreed that East Sussex County Council would act as the accountable body for TfSE during its shadow operation. During the last two years the processes and procedures for TfSE have followed those of the lead authority. 2.2 Since its inception, TfSE has operated in the spirit of openness and transparency. As it moves towards statutory status, the STB will be expected to uphold high standards of accountability and transparency. It is likely that TfSE will need to establish more formal governance arrangements and put in place measures that will also offer assurance to the Department for Transport.

2.3 The draft proposal to Government sets out a requirement for a scrutiny function to support TfSE operations. This is an expectation from Government and will be required once TfSE starts operating as a statutory body. In addition to this, we are keen to ensure that we have in place robust mechanisms for governance and audit, considering issues such as financial reporting and risk management.

2.4 In June 2019 the Shadow Partnership Board agreed that a sub-group of the Board should lead a review of the governance arrangements, test the assumptions that TfSE operates in a transparent and open manner and make suggestions for the formation of the scrutiny committee.

2.5 The sub group comprised the following members:

Cllr Tony Page, representing the Berkshire Local Transport Body

Cllr Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council

Cllr Ian Ward, Isle of Wight Council

Cllr Michael Payne, Kent County Council

Geoff French, Interim Chair of the Transport Forum

Ross McNally, Enterprise M3 LEP representing the LEPs

2.6 The group has met on two occasions and has agreed the Terms of Reference attached as Appendix 1. 3. Revised Constitution for Statutory Status 3.1 Transport for the South East adopted a constitution for operation as a shadow body in June 2017. Once TfSE becomes a statutory body it will require a revised constitution to cover its statutory functions, governance structures and operational model. 3.2 Early work has commenced on the revised constitution, which is attached as Appendix 2. This includes:

the policies and procedures that TfSE will adopt, including code of conduct, register of interests, etc;

the powers and responsibilities requested in the proposal. These will require updating once the proposal has been submitted and Government have confirmed which powers will be granted;

proposals for a scrutiny function and a governance and audit committee; and

proposals for the statutory officer functions.

3.3 The draft constitution is not fixed and will evolve with the consent of the Board as TfSE’s powers and role become clear and also to reflect the operational model that TfSE chooses to adopt once it has statutory status. The member sub-group will continue to lead the development of the constitution and will report back to the Shadow Partnership Board. The constitution will not be adopted until the first meeting of the Partnership Board in statutory form. 3.4 The draft constitution has been circulated to the Governance Working Group, which comprises officers from legal departments in the constituent authorities, for comment prior to circulation to the Shadow Partnership Board. 3.5 The Board asked Cllr Glazier to seek assurances from the Secretary of State and Minister for Transport regarding the submission of TfSE’s Proposal to Government and if it would be received well by them and the DfT. Cllr Glazier did meet with George Freeman MP, the Minister for Transport and received an encouraging letter attached as Appendix 3. 3.6 Once the General Election has taken place on 12 December and the subsequent Cabinet appointments have been made, Cllr Glazier will seek to meet with the Secretary of State and the Minister for Transport again to outline TfSE’s request and if this would be satisfactory. 3.7 The member sub-group have arranged to meet again on 10 January 2020 to discuss the outcome of the General Election, next steps for TfSE in submitting the Proposal to Government and any early indications received from the Ministers and Department in order to shape their advice to the Shadow Partnership Board. 3.8 The next Shadow Partnership Board is not scheduled to take place until 23 April 2020 however, the member sub-group are recommending that the Shadow Partnership Board discuss the possibility of holding an extraordinary shadow partnership board meeting in February (or once any ministerial meetings have taken place) to discuss the Proposal to Government submission. 4. Scrutiny Function 4.1 DfT have stated that TfSE will be required to have a scrutiny function as part of its proposal for statutory status. The draft proposal outlines that a scrutiny committee will review decisions made or actions taken in connection with the implementation of the proposed powers and responsibilities. 4.2 The committee could also make reports or recommendations to TfSE with respect to the discharge of its functions or on matters relating to transport to, from or within TfSE’s area. 4.3 The member sub-group has recommended that membership of the Scrutiny Committee will be 5 Members drawn from the Constituent Authorities on a rotational basis, with 3 of the places rotating in May each year to ensure a level of continuity of membership. When a Constituent Authority has an allocated place for the year ahead that authority shall be entitled to appoint one Member and one Substitute Member to the Scrutiny Committee. 4.4 The term of office for members of the Scrutiny Committee will be one year from the date of the annual council meeting of the Constituent Authority that appoints them to the Scrutiny Committee.

4.5 It is proposed that the Partnership Board can co-opt individuals to participate in the scrutiny arrangements from all or any of the associated authorities or from such other organisations as TfSE may decide. Unless TfSE decides otherwise, such Co-opted Scrutiny Members shall be non-voting members. Where a person is co-opted onto the Scrutiny Committee these will be in addition to the 5 places allocated to Members appointed from the Constituent Authorities. 5. Governance and Audit Committee 5.1 It is proposed that TfSE should also establish a Governance and Audit Committee, which will provide assurance to members on governance, risk management and control frameworks. The proposed committee will be responsible for overseeing financial reporting, the Annual Report and risk management to ensure effective and efficient assurance arrangements are in place. 5.2 It is recommended that the membership of the committee comprises:

a) four members of TfSE (not the Chair, or Vice Chair) appointed by TfSE; and,

b) an Independent member (to be recruited on the basis of relevant skills); 5.3 A representative of the DfT will be invited to attend meetings. 6. Policies and Procedures 6.1 The member sub-group has also considered a number of policies and processes that will apply to TfSE once it becomes a statutory body. It is proposed that these are adopted whilst in shadow form.

a) Code of Conduct 6.2 TfSE is not required to adopt its own Code of Conduct for Members. In representing their Constituent Authority each Member will be acting as a Member of the Authority and will be expected to comply with the provisions of their own Code of Conduct. 6.3 Those members not appointed from a constituent authority, such as Local Enterprise Partnerships, National Parks and protected landscapes and district and borough authorities, will also be expected to comply with the provisions of their own Code of Conduct. 6.4 The Interim Chair of the Transport Forum will be expected to comply with the Code of Conduct for the lead authority, East Sussex County Council. 6.5 TfSE officers will be bound by the East Sussex County Council Code of Conduct for officers.

b) Register of Interests 6.6 It is proposed that TfSE should maintain a Register of Member’s interests and to ensure that it is available for inspection and published on TfSE’s website. 6.7 If agreed, Members of TfSE must notify TfSE’s secretariat in writing of the details of their disclosable pecuniary interests arising in respect of the TfSE area (including, where required, interests of their partner) and their personal interests. Where a Member of TfSE is present at a meeting and has a disclosable pecuniary interest or, an interest that would be a personal interest under the provisions of the Code in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they must disclose the interest to the meeting.

6.8 Where a member of TfSE has a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest that under the provisions of the Code would be a prejudicial interest in any matter being considered at a meeting, they must not participate or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the room of the meeting while the matter is being considered.

c) Other policies 6.9 The draft constitution sets out the proposed approach for a range of other policies, including whistleblowing policy, anti-fraud and corruption policy and statutory officer functions and scheme of delegations. 7. Operational Model 7.1 TfSE will need to give consideration to the operational model that it will adopt once it has statutory status. This should consider the opportunities and challenges associated with different models, such as an accountable body, company limited by guarantee, etc. This is likely to require specialist advice to ensure all issues are considered. 7.2 It is proposed that the remit of the member sub-group should expand to lead this work and produce a brief that will be used to bring in consultants to produce a report for consideration by members on the various options. 8. Conclusion 8.1 Members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to note the progress of the governance review and the revised constitution. 8.2 Members are recommended to discuss the possibility of holding an extraordinary Shadow Partnership Board meeting in February 2020 once any Ministerial meetings have occurred. 8.3 Members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to agree that the remit of the member sub-group should be expanded to include a review of the possible operational models that TfSE could adopt as a statutory body. 8.4 Members of the Shadow Partnership Board are also recommended to agree to the proposed approach to the scrutiny and the audit and governance committees. In addition to this, Board members are asked to agree that the policies and procedures highlighted in the draft constitution be adopted during shadow operation to ensure that TfSE is upholding the highest standards of accountability and transparency. COUNCILLOR TONY PAGE Chair Governance Member Sub-Group



Appendix 1:

Governance sub-group Terms of Reference

The governance sub-group is part of Transport for the South East (TfSE), reporting into the Shadow Partnership Board. The governance sub-group has a clearly defined remit and purpose. Purpose The purpose of the governance sub-group is to consider a number of issues relating to the governance structures and policies for the operation of Transport for the South East as it moves towards statutory status. This will include making recommendations to the Board on a revised constitution, the relevant sub-committees and the policies that members will be required to adopt. The sub-group will be expected to report back to the Shadow Partnership Board in December 2019. The Shadow Partnership Board will be expected to consider the proposals, with a view to implementing any changes in the governance structures in 2020. Objectives of the Governance sub-group The objectives of the sub-group are to:

Recommend the policies and procedural arrangements for Transport for the South East

that will apply to Board members, such a register of interests and the use of the

accountable body policies;

Make recommendations on the statutory officer roles required for operation as a

statutory body;

Propose a draft constitution for the operation of Transport for the South East as a

statutory body;

Consider and make recommendations in relation to the requirement for a Governance and

Audit Committee; and develop proposed terms of reference and membership for such a

group as necessary;

Consider the possible structures and role for a Scrutiny Committee and develop proposed

Terms of Reference and methodology to select membership.

Accountability The governance sub-committee will report to the Shadow Partnership Board.

Appointment of Chair

The governance sub-group will be chaired by an elected member from a constituent authority

represented on the Shadow Partnership Board.

Membership

Cllr Tony Page, Berkshire Local Transport Body

Geoff French, Chair of the Transport Forum

Cllr Ian Ward, Isle of Wight Council

Cllr Michael Payne, Kent County Council

Cllr Rob Humby, Hampshire County Council

Ross McNally, Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership

Appendix 1

Frequency of Meetings

The governance sub-group will meet on a monthly basis from September – December 2019. Further meetings will be determined following the Board meeting in December 2019

of 80

Appendix 2

Constitution

As agreed by Transport for the South East on

Appendix 2

of 80

CONTENTS

PART 1 Introduction and Articles PAGE

1 Definitions 5

2 Members of TfSE 6

3 Chairing TfSE 6

4 Meetings and Procedure 6

5 Voting Arrangements 7

6 Financial Contributions 7

7 Committees of TfSE 8

8 Co-opted Members 8

9 Joint and Partnership Arrangements 8

10 Officers 9

11 General 9

12 Decision Making 9

13 Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters 10

14 Review and Revision of the Constitution 10

PART 2 Functions conferred on TFSE pursuant to the Order 11

15 Role and Powers of TFSE 11

16 Duties and Functions under other Legislation 13

17 Protocol on the Exercise of TfSE’s Functions 14

18 Exercise of Concurrent Powers and Functions 15

PART 3 Responsibility for Functions 16

19 Functions Reserved to TfSE 16

20 Scheme of Delegations to Officers 16

PART 4 Committees 22

21 Audit and Governance Committee 22

22 Scrutiny Arrangements 24

PART 5 Procedure Rules 29

23 Procedure Rules 29

PART 6 Financial Procedures 39

24 Financial Regulations 39

25 Contract Procurement Rules 45

of 80

SECTION A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS 46

PART 1 General Provisions 46

26 General Provisions 46

PART 2 Disclosable Pecuniary Interests 46

27 Notification of disclosable pecuniary interests 46

SECTION B CODE OF CONDUCT FOR OFFICERS 49

28 Standards 49

29 Open Government 49

30 Equal Opportunity Issues 49

31 Appointments 49

32 Political Neutrality and Working with Elected Members 49

33 Service Provision 49

34 TfSE Property and Use of Facilities 50

35 Information Technology and Data Security 50

36 Indemnification of Employees 50

37 The Media 50

38 Contracts and Contractors 50

39 Sponsorship 50

40 Hospitality and Gifts 50

41 Personal Interests: Financial and Non-Financial 51

SECTION C MEMBER / OFFICER RELATIONS PROTOCOL 52

42 Introduction and Principles 52

43 General Points 52

44 Officer Support to Members: General Points 53

45 Officer Advice to Party Groups 54

46 Attendance at Party Political Group Meetings 54

47 Members’ Access to Information and to Authority Documents 55

48 Correspondence 55

49 Publicity and Press Releases 55

50 Officer / Member Protocol 56

SECTION D CODE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 57

51 Introduction 57

SECTION E ANTI FRAUD & CORRUPTION POLICY 61

SECTION F WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY 61

of 80

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Distribution of Votes 64

Appendix 2: Financial Contributions 65

Appendix 3: Governance Framework 66

Appendix4: Protocol on the Exercise of Concurrent Functions 73

Appendix 5: The Schedule of Approvals 75

of 80

PART 1 INTRODUCTION AND ARTICLES

1. Definitions

1.1 In this Constitution:

1.2 “TfSE” means Transport for the South East;

1.3 “The TfSE Area” means the area consisting of all the areas of the Constituent

Authorities;

1.4 “The Constituent Authorities” are the local transport authorities situated wholly or partly in the

South East region of England, namely:

Brighton and Hove City Council

East Sussex County Council

Hampshire County Council

Isle of Wight Council

Kent County Council

Medway Council

Portsmouth City Council

Southampton City Council

Surrey County Council

West Sussex County Council

&

Bracknell Forest Council )

Reading Borough Council )

Slough Borough Council ) Represented by the Berkshire Local

West Berkshire Council ) Transport Body Partnership

Royal Borough of ) (BLTB)

Windsor and Maidenhead )

Wokingham Borough Council )

1.5 Statutory Partner means TfSE’s role as a Statutory Partner to the Secretary of State This

role includes representing the views of the region, determining the South East’s objectives

for investment and working with the Secretary of State to enable the South East’s priorities

to be included within national priorities.

1.6 Transport Strategy means a transport strategy within the meaning of Section 102I of the

Local Transport Act 2008 and includes all investment and delivery plans.

1.7 This Constitution sets out how Transport for the South East (hereafter referred to as

‘TfSE’) operates, how decisions are made and the procedures that are followed to

ensure that TfSE operates efficiently, effectively and is both transparent and accountable.

of 80

2. Members of TfSE

2.1 Each Constituent Authority with the exception of those set out in paragraph 2.2, will appoint one

person as a member of TfSE and shall be entitled to one vote. The person appointed shall be

that organisations’ elected mayor, chair, leader, committee or cabinet member for transport.

2.2 Bracknell Forest Council, Reading Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire

Council, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham Borough Council,

who are Constituent Authorities and through their Joint Committee Berkshire Local Transport

Body (BLTB), will appoint one person as a member of TfSE, and Councils shall therefore be

entitled to one vote between them. The person appointed shall be an elected mayor, chair,

leader, committee or cabinet member from one of the 6 authorities.

2.3 The Constituent Authorities will appoint, another of their Councillors as a substitute to act as a

member of the TfSE in the absence of the person appointed. Such appointments will reflect the

levels of representation set out in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 above.

2.4 All Members will:

a) Collectively be the ultimate policy makers of TfSE;

b) Bring the views of their communities into TfSE’s decision making process;

c) Maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics;

d) In carrying out the business of TfSE, will observe the Code of Conduct for

Members adopted by their appointing Authority.

2.5 As a point of clarification a member of TfSE shall not be considered to have an

interest in any matter of business of TfSE by virtue of being a Member of a

Constituent Authority.

2.6 Unless otherwise stated, references to Members will include Co-opted Members

appointed in accordance with paragraph 8

3. Chairing TfSE

3.1 TfSE must appoint a Chair of TfSE and any Vice Chair from among the Members and Co-opted

members of TfSE.

3.2 The process for the appointment of the Chair and any Vice-Chair is set out in the TfSE Procedure

Rules in Part 5 of this Constitution.

3.3 In the absence of the Chair the Vice-Chair will Chair the meeting.

3.4 In the event of a tied vote, the Chair will have a casting vote.

4. Meetings and Procedure

4.1 TfSE will meet at least four times per year but additional meetings may take place should the need

arise.

4.2 There are three types of meeting of TfSE:

of 80

a) The Annual Meeting;

b) Ordinary meetings; and

c) Extraordinary meetings.

4.3 These will be conducted in accordance with the Procedure Rules set out in Part 5 of

this Constitution.

4.4 All Members will be entitled to attend meetings of TfSE, and if they are unable to

attend, their nominated Substitute Member may attend in their place but

attendance shall be in person.

4.5 A representative of the Secretary of State shall be entitled to attend meetings of TfSE in the role

of an observer. They will be entitled to speak when invited to do so but shall have no vote.

4.6 Only TfSE at the Annual Meeting, an Ordinary Meeting or an Extraordinary Meeting, will exercise

the functions set out in Part 5 of this Constitution.

4.7 TfSE will act as if a Local Authority for the purposes of Section 101 of Local Government Act

1972 and has power to delegate the discharge of TfSE’s functions which are not reserved to

TfSE to committees, sub-committees, officers, joint committees or other local authorities,

pursuant to section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972.

4.8 TfSE has delegated authority for the discharge of TfSE’s functions which are not reserved to

TfSE to committees and officers in accordance with the scheme of delegation contained in

Part 3, of this Constitution.

5. Voting Arrangements

5.1 TfSE will endeavor to reach decisions by consensus. However, where a formal

decision is required, voting will be on the basis of a weighted vote in which the number of votes to

be cast by a member appointed by a Constituent Authority is determined by dividing the total

resident population of the area of that Constituent Authority set out in the 2016 ONS estimates

(Appendix 1) by 140,000 and if the resulting number is not a whole number rounding it up to the

nearest whole number.

5.2 Decisions on the following matters:

a) the approval or revision of the Transport Strategy

b) the approval of the Annual Budget, and

c) the adoption of and any changes to the Constitution.

may be decided only if agreed by both:

a) the members who together hold at least 75% of the vote in a weighted vote, and

b) a simple majority of the members present and voting

5.3 In the Scrutiny Committee and the Audit and Governance Committee voting shall be

on the basis of one member one vote.

6. Financial Contributions

of 80

6.1 TfSE is currently funded by grant from the Department for Transport and although future funding

decisions will remain the responsibility of the Government at the time, establishing TfSE as a

Statutory Body ensures it has the stability and permanence to be confident of long term central

Government support.

6.2 TfSE shall be entitled to accept voluntary contributions towards its costs from any of the

Constituent Authorities.

6.3 The Constituent Authorities may all be required to contribute to the reasonably

incurred costs of TfSE but a decision to require such contributions and a decision as to the

amount of such contributions shall require a unanimous decision of the Constituent Authorities.

6.4 Unless unanimously agreed otherwise, the apportionment of any financial contributions should

be determined on the type of authority in accordance with Appendix 2.

7. Committees of TfSE

7.1 TfSE will establish an Audit and Governance Committee to discharge the roles and functions set

out in Part 4 of this Constitution.

7.2 TfSE will establish a Scrutiny Committee to discharge the function of scrutiny as set out in Part 4 of

this Constitution.

7.3 TfSE may establish such other committees as it thinks fit to discharge its functions.

7.4 The governance framework is attached as Appendix 3 which provides more details.

8. Co-opted Members

8.1 TfSE may appoint any person not being an elected Member of one of the Constituent Authorities

as a non-voting Co-opted Member of TfSE. No person may be appointed as a Co-opted Member

unless all the voting Members of TfSE agree to do so.

8.2 A person co-opted to be a Member of TfSE as the representative of an organisation invited to

appoint a representative to TfSE shall cease to be a Co-opted Member of TfSE if they cease to

be a member of the organisation they represent.

8.3 Independent members appointed by TfSE to sit on the Audit and Governance Committee shall

be co-opted as members of the Audit and Governance Committee only and not of TfSE.

8.4 The provisions relating to Co-opted Members are set out fully in Part 5 Procedure Rules

8.5 Pursuant to section 102G (5) of the Local Transport Act 2008 TfSE may resolve that Co-opted

Members shall be entitled to vote.

8.6 TfSE may also exercise this power to give ordinary voting rights of one member one vote to the

Members co-opted to sit on the Scrutiny Committee and the Independent Members co-opted to sit

on the Audit and Governance Committee.

9. Joint and Partnership Arrangements

of 80

9.1 TfSE has power pursuant to Section 101(5) of the Local Government Act 1972 to make

arrangements with other local authorities to discharge their functions jointly. Such

arrangements may involve the discharge of those functions by a joint committee of such

authorities or by an officer of one of them.

10. Officers 10.1 Statutory Officers

10.1.1 TfSE shall appoint a Chief Officer, a Finance Director and a Monitoring Officer, whose

responsibilities and delegations are as set out in Part 3, of this Constitution.

11. General

11.1 TfSE may engage such staff (referred to as officers), as it considers necessary to carry out its

functions.

11.2 Officers will comply with the Code of Conduct for Officers set out in this Constitution.

12. Decision Making

12.1 Responsibility for decision making

12.1.1 TfSE will issue and keep up to date a record of what part of TfSE or which individual has

responsibility for particular types of decisions or decisions relating to particular functions.

This record is set out in Part 3 of this Constitution.

12.2 Principles of decision making

12.2.1 All decisions of TfSE should be made in accordance with the following principles:

a) Proportionality (meaning the action must be proportionate to the results to

be achieved);

b) Due consultation (including the taking of relevant professional advice);

c) Respect for human rights, equality and diversity;

d) Presumption in favour of openness;

e) Clarity of aims and desired outcomes;

f) Due consideration to be given to alternative options

g) Due consideration to be given to constitutional requirements/adherence on

the statutory/legal frameworks.

12.3 Types of decision

12.3.1 Decisions reserved to TfSE

12.3.1.1 Decisions relating to the functions listed in Part 3, of this Constitution will be made

by TfSE and not delegated. Meetings of TfSE will follow the Rules of Procedure set out in

Part 5, of this Constitution when considering any matter.

12.3.2 Decision making by Committees and Joint Committees established by TfSE

12.3.2.1 Committees and Joint Committees established by TfSE will follow those parts of the Rules of

Procedure set out in Part 5, of this Constitution as apply to them.

of 80

12.3.3 Decision making by Officers

12.3.3.1 Officers will exercise their delegated authority in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation to

Officers set out in Part 3, of this Constitution and other provisions of this Constitution and shall

keep appropriate records of the decisions that they have made

13. Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters

13.1 Financial Management

13.1.1 The management of TfSE’s financial affairs will be conducted in accordance with the Financial

Procedures set out in Part 6 of this Constitution.

13.2 Legal proceedings

13.2.1 The Monitoring Officer is authorised to institute, defend or participate in any legal

proceedings in any case where the Monitoring Officer considers that such action is

necessary to protect the interests of TfSE.

13.2.2 Any notices to be served on TfSE are to be sent to the Monitoring Officer at ESCC, County Hall,

St Annes Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE, which for the purposes of any enactment

shall be regarded as the principal office of TfSE

13.3 Authentication of documents

13.3.1 Where any document is necessary to any legal procedure or proceedings on behalf

of TfSE, it will be signed by the Monitoring Officer or some other person duly

authorised by TfSE or the Monitoring Officer, unless any enactment otherwise

authorises or requires.

13.3.2 Any contract with a value exceeding £30,000 entered into by TfSE shall be made in

writing. Such contracts must be signed by two duly authorised officers of TfSE or made

under the Common Seal of TfSE attested by two authorised officers. Any contract with a

value exceeding £75,000 must be made under the Common Seal of TfSE attested by two

authorised officers.

13.4 Common Seal of TfSE

13.4.1 The Common Seal of TfSE will be kept in a safe place in the custody of the Monitoring Officer. A

decision of TfSE, or any part of it, will be sufficient authority for sealing any document necessary

to give effect to the decision. The Common Seal will be affixed to those documents which in the

opinion of the Monitoring Officer should be sealed. The affixing of the Common Seal will be

attested by the Monitoring Officer or some other person authorised by the Monitoring Officer and

another authorised officer.

14. Review and Revision of the Constitution

14.1 The Monitoring Officer will monitor and review the operation of the Constitution as

required

of 80

14.2 Changes to the Constitution will only be approved by TfSE after consideration of the proposal

by the Monitoring Officer and in accordance with the Rules of Procedure in Part 5, of this

Constitution

of 80

PART 2 FUNCTIONS CONFERRED ON TfSE PURSUANT TO THE ORDER

15. Role and Powers of TfSE

15.1 TfSE has been established to provide a single voice for the South East, to facilitate the

development and implementation of transport strategies in the South East and with the

objective that economic growth in the area would be enhanced by the development and

implementation of these strategies. The strategy will also ensure that due regard is given

to social and environmental considerations.

15.2 TfSE is established under section 102 E of the Local Transport Act 2008 and pursuant to

an Order as the Sub-National Transport Body for the TfSE Area with the power to

exercise the following functions:

15.3 General Functions

a) To prepare a Transport Strategy for the TfSE Area in accordance with section

102I of the Local Transport Act 2008;

b) To provide advice to the Secretary of State about the exercise of the transport

functions in the TfSE Area;

c) To co-ordinate the carrying out of transport functions that are exercisable

by its different Constituent Authorities with a view to improving the

effectiveness and efficiency of the carrying out of those functions with the

consent of those authorities;

d) If TfSE considers that a transport function in relation to its area would more

effectively and efficiently be carried out by TfSE, to make proposals to the

Secretary of State for the transfer of that function to TfSE;

e) To make other proposals to the Secretary of State about the role and functions

of TfSE.

15.4 Capital Grants exercisable concurrently with the Constituent Authorities

a) To pay Capital Grants under section 56(2) of the Transport Act 1968

15.5 Ticketing Schemes exercisable concurrently with the Constituent Authorities

a) To make an advanced ticketing scheme under section 134C (1) of the

Transport Act 2000;

b) To make other ticketing schemes under section 135(1) of the Transport Act

2000;

c) (Sections 134C (9) to (11),134D to 134G, 135(7) and (8) and sections 136 and

137 are applicable in connection with such ticketing schemes).

15.6 Rail Franchise Agreements exercisable concurrently with the Constituent

Authorities

of 80

a) The right under section 13 of the Railways Act 2005 to be consulted over the

grant of a rail franchise agreement for passenger services within, to and from

the TfSE Area and the right to enter into arrangements with the Secretary of

State relating to the management of rail franchise agreements.

b) The right to set HLOS, which would enable TfSE to act jointly with the

Secretary of State to set and vary the HLOS in our area, ensuring TfSE’s

aspirations for transformational investment in rail infrastructure are reflected

in the HLOS and enabling an integrated approach across road and rail

investment for the first time.

15.7 Highway Functions exercisable jointly with the Secretary of State

15.7.1 To enter into agreements with local authorities under section 6(5) of the Highways

Act 1980 for the construction or improvement of a trunk road.

15.7.2 Functions relating to environmental impact assessments under sections 105A to 105C

of the Highways Act 1980.

15.7.3 Functions under 239, 240, 246 and 250 Highways Act 1980 in relation to the acquisition of

land and rights over land.

15.8 Highway Functions exercisable concurrently with local authorities by which the

functions are exercised within TfSE

15.8.1 To enter into agreements under section 8(1) of the Highways Act 1980 with highway

authorities and third parties for the construction, improvement or maintenance of a

highway other than a trunk road.

15.8.2 To construct new highways under section 24(2) of the Highways Act 1980.

15.8.3 To acquire land by agreement or compulsorily under sections 239 (1), (3), (4) + (5), 240

(1), (2) + (6), 246 (1), (2), (2A) + (5) and 250 (1) + (2) of the Highways Act 1980 in relation

to the creation and improvement of highways.

15.8.4 To enter into agreements for the creation of new footpaths under section 25 of the

Highways Act 1980 and to create new footpaths compulsorily under section 26 of that Act.

15.8.5 Under the provisions of Regulation 14 of the Order, TfSE may not exercise the function

in section 24(2) of the Highways Act 1980 unless the manner in which it proposes to

exercise the function has been approved by:

a) Each Council through whose area the road is to pass;

b) The authority which is to be the highway authority for the road;

c) The highway authority for any highway with which the new road will

communicate, and;

d) The Secretary of State.

of 80

15.8.6 Under the provisions of Regulation 15 of the Order, TfSE may not exercise any of the other

concurrent highway functions unless the manner in which it proposes to exercise the

function has been approved by the local highway authority for the area affected.

15.9 Bus Service Provision

15.9.1 The power to secure the provision of such public passenger transport services as they

consider it appropriate to secure to meet any public transport requirements within their

area which would not in their view be met apart from any action taken by them for that

purpose (Section 63 (4), Transport Act 1985).

15.9.2 TfSE is seeking powers, currently available to local transport authorities and integrated

transport authorities, to enter into Advanced Quality Partnerships and Enhanced

Partnership Plans and Schemes to improve the quality of bus services and facilities within

an identified area. These powers would be concurrent with the local transport authority in

the area (Sections 113C – 113O & Sections 138A – 138S Bus Services Act 2017).

15.10 Establish Clean Air Zones

15.10.1 TfSE will utilise this general charging power as a mechanism for the introduction of Clean

Air Zones, enabling reduced implementation and operating costs across constituent

authority boundaries. This will be subject to the consent of the local transport authority

(Sections 163-177A The Transport Act 2000 – Road User Charging).

15.11 Other Powers

15.11.1 TfSE will act as a Statutory Partner to the Secretary of State in both road and rail

investment processes and will be responsible for setting the objectives and priorities for

strategic road and rail investment in the TfSE Area.

15.11.2 TfSE will exercise its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution.

15.11.3 This Constitution, and all its Appendices, is the Constitution of TfSE.

16. Duties and Functions under other Legislation

16.1 TfSE shall have such other powers and duties as are conferred on a Sub-National

Transport Body by any enactment without prejudice to the generality of the above.

16.2 Pursuant to the Regulations and to Schedule 5 of the Cities and Local Government

Devolution Act 2016 the following provisions have effect as if TfSE were a local authority

for the purposes of these provisions:

a) Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1972 (access to meetings and

documents);

b) Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 (arrangements for the

discharge of functions);

c) Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 (secondment of staff);

d) Section 116 Local Government Act 1972 (Members of TfSE not to be

appointed as officers);

e) Section 117 of the Local Government Act 1972 (disclosure by officers of

interests in contracts);

of 80

f) Sections 120-123) of the Local Government Act 1972 (acquisition and disposal

of land);

g) Section 135 of the Local Government Act 1972 (standing orders for contracts);

h) Section 142 (2) of the Local Government Act 1972(provision of information);

i) Section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972(power to instigate and defend

legal proceedings);

j) Sections 72 and 73 of the Local Government Act 1985 (the establishment of a

general fund and the appointment of a designated officer responsible for the

proper management of financial affairs);

k) Sections 4 and 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989

(appointment of the Head of Paid Service and Monitoring Officer);

l) Section 7 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (staff to be

appointed on merit);

m) Section 13 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (voting rights of

Members on certain committees);

n) Section 1 of the Local Government Act 1999 (a Best Value Authority);

o) The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the duty to publish a Publication

Scheme and to respond to FOI requests for information);

p) The Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty);

q) Section 29 of the Localism Act 2011 (register of Members Interests);

r) Section 40 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (Duty to allow the

recording/filming of public meetings).

16.3 Pursuant to Section 102 M of the Local Transport Act 2008 the power to do anything:

a) It considers appropriate for the purpose of carrying out its functions;

b) It considers appropriate for purposes incidental to its functional purposes

c) It considers connected with its functions or anything it may do under(a) or (b);

and

d) Commercially, anything which it can do under (a) to (c) above

16.4 TfSE may not borrow money and may not charge for anything that it does otherwise than

for a commercial purpose.

16.5 Where TfSE does anything for a commercial purpose it must do it through a company within the

meaning of section1 (1) the Companies Act 2006 or a registered society within the meaning of the

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

16.6 TfSE is a public body for the purposes of Section 1 of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services)

Act 1970.

16.7 TfSE is treated as a Local Authority for the purposes of section 9(5) of the Transport Act 1968.

17. Protocol on the Exercise of TfSE’s Functions

17.1 TfSE will consult with the Senior Officer Group (which will be a group of officers with each

Constituent Authority or co-opted member entitled to appoint one officer as a member) over the

Governance Arrangements to be put in place for each major programme of work. A major

programme of work shall be one for which TfSE employs an identified Director or Lead Officer. The

governance arrangements will ensure that the Constituent Authorities, other Authorities and

stakeholders are involved in the formulation of plans and future proposals and given appropriate

opportunities to express their views and for these to be taken into account.

of 80

17.2 The Governance Arrangements for each approved programme will include an

Officers Working Group to be made up of appropriately qualified officers of each of the

Constituent Authorities or where appropriate Highway and other Authorities. The Terms of

Reference and Membership of each Officers Working Group will be set out in the Governance

Arrangements for each programme and will provide the officers of the Constituent and other

Authorities with an opportunity to work closely with TfSE officers and the delivery agencies in

the development of plans and proposals.

18. Exercise of Concurrent Powers and Functions

18.1 Before exercising any transport functions which it holds concurrently with the

Constituent Authorities TfSE must consult and obtain consent from any Transport Authority

whose area is affected by the proposal over the exercise of the functions. Where the nature

and extent of the proposal make it appropriate, will enter into a Protocol (set out in Appendix 4)

to govern the exercise of its powers and functions in relation to that proposal and its future

development.

18.2 TfSE will only exercise the functions it holds concurrently with the Local Highway Authorities after it

has first obtained consent to the exercise of those from the affected Local Highway Authorities.

of 80

PART 3 RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUNCTIONS

19. Functions Reserved to TfSE

19.1 TfSE will not delegate the following functions:

a) Adopting and changing the Constitution;

b) The adoption, approval, amendment, modification, revision, variation,

withdrawal or revocation of a Transport Strategy under section 102H of the

Local Transport Act 2008;

c) The approval of the business plan and budget;

d) The approval of the report of the Chief Officer setting out proposals for

the co-ordination of TfSE’s functions, the numbers and grades of staff required

and the organization appointment and management of staff;

e) The determination of collective terms and conditions of staff.

f) The designation of officers as the Head of Paid Service Monitoring Officer

and Finance Director

g) The approval of payments to officers in excess of £150,000.

20. Scheme of Delegations to Officers

20.1 Introduction

20.1.1 This Scheme of Delegations to Officers and the appointment of Proper Officers for

various functions has been prepared in accordance with section 101 of the Local Government

Act 1972, which enables TfSE to delegate any of its functions to its officers. TfSE is also required

by section 100G of this Act to maintain a list for public inspection specifying those powers of

TfSE which, for the time being, are exercisable from time to time by officers of TfSE, and stating

the title of the officer in question by whom the powers are exercisable.

20.1.2 Senior Officers in the context of this document mean the Chief Officer, the Finance

Director, and the Monitoring Officer.

20.1.3 The delegated powers of Senior Officers set out in this Scheme may be exercised by

other officers authorised by the Senior Officer with the delegated power to act on their

behalf and in their name, provided that administrative procedures are in place to record

the authorisation and monitor decisions taken.

20.1.4 The exercise of delegated powers by officers is required to be in accordance with:

20.1.4.1 Statute or other legal requirements, including the principles of public law, the Human Rights Act

1998, statutory guidance and statutory codes of practice;

20.1.4.2 The Constitution and TfSE’s Rules of Procedure and Financial Regulations currently in force;

20.1.4.3 The revenue and capital budgets of TfSE, subject to any variation thereof which is permitted by

TfSE’s Financial Regulations; and

20.1.5 Any policy or direction of TfSE, any Committee acting in exercise of powers delegated to that

Committee by TfSE.

20.1.6 Officers may not exercise delegated powers where:

of 80

a) The matter is reserved to TfSE by law or by TfSE’s Constitution;

b) The matter is a function which cannot by law be discharged by an officer;

c) TfSE, or a Committee, Sub-Committee or Joint Committee to which TfSE is a

party, has determined that the matter should be discharged otherwise than by

an officer;

d) The Chief Officer has directed that the officer concerned should not exercise a

delegated function in special circumstances.

20.1.7 Any reference in this Scheme of Delegation to any enactment shall include a reference to any

amendment or re-enactment of the same.

20.1.8 Where, in relation to an item before TfSE or a Committee, a Chief Officer is given specific

authority to determine a particular matter, the officer should ensure that there is an appropriate

audit trail to evidence such determination.

20.2 Delegations to the Chief Officer

20.2.1 To discharge the functions of the Head of Paid Service in relation to TfSE as set out in Section 4 of

the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The duties of the Chief Officer are to report to TfSE

where appropriate setting out proposals with respect to the co-ordination of TfSE’s functions, the

number and grades of staff required and the organisation, appointment and proper management of

TfSE’s staff.

20.2.2 To establish and determine the grading of posts (within approved budgets).

20.2.3 To discharge any function which is neither the statutory responsibility of nor been specifically

delegated to another officer, Committee or reserved to TfSE under Part 3 of this

Constitution.

20.2.4 To direct any officer not to exercise a delegated function in special circumstances unless they are

required to do so by law

20.2.5 Take any action which is required as a matter of urgency in the interests of TfSE, in consultation

(where practicable) with the Chair of TfSE. Where action is taken as a matter of urgency a report

shall be submitted to the next meeting of TfSE.

20.2.6 Take preliminary steps to protect the rights and interests of TfSE subject to consultation with the

Chair of TfSE in relation to any Bill or Statutory Instrument or Order in Parliament.

20.2.7 To conduct before either House of Parliament any proceedings (including the retention of

Parliamentary Agents and Counsel) connected with the passage of any Private Bill which TfSE

has resolved to promote or oppose, including the negotiation and agreement of amendments to

any such Bill, and the negotiation and approval of any terms, agreement or undertaking offered in

consideration of TfSE not opposing any Private Bill.

20.2.8 Nominate, appoint and remove, in consultation with the Chair or Vice- Chair of TfSE, TfSE

representatives on the board of companies, trusts and other bodies, of which TfSE is a member,

and to agree constitutional arrangements for such companies, trusts and other bodies and give any

necessary consent required within relevant constitutions.

20.2.9 To nominate an officer to act as the Responsible Officer for TfSE projects who will act as the

main point of contact for the Department for Transport in accordance with the Partnership

Agreement.

of 80

20.2.10 To provide a comprehensive policy advice service to TfSE and in particular to advise on TfSE’s

plans and strategies.

20.2.11 Control and co-ordinate press and media relations, the organisation of press conferences,

publicity and public relations within prescribed policy including approval of the issue of all official

TfSE publicity and official publications.

20.3 Delegations to the Finance Director

20.3.1 As proper Officer under section 73, of the Local Government Act 1985, to effect the proper

administration of TfSE’s financial affairs particularly in relation to financial advice, procedures,

records and accounting systems, internal audit and financial control generally.

20.3.2 The taking of all actions requiring investment and financing, subject to the submission to TfSE of

an annual report of the Finance Director on treasury management activities and at six monthly

intervals in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice for Treasury Management and Prudential

Codes.

20.3.3 To affect all insurance cover required in connection with the business of TfSE and to settle all

claims under such insurances arranged for TfSE’s benefit.

20.3.4 The preparation of manuals of financial and accounting procedures to be followed by Officers of

TFSE.

20.3.5 To bid for and accept grant offers on behalf of TfSE, subject to all the terms and conditions set out

by the grant awarding body.

20.3.6 The submission of all claims for grant.

20.3.7 To make all necessary banking arrangements on behalf of TfSE, to include authorization of all

forms of payment.

20.3.8 To monitor revenue and capital spending and submit a report to TfSE at not more than quarterly

intervals. This report will separately identify the capital expenditure relating to schemes

promoted by TfSE.

20.3.9 In relation to revenue expenditure under the control of officers, to consider reports of officers on

any likely overspending, and to approve transfers between expenditure heads up to a

maximum of £500,000, provided that, where it is not possible to finance an overspending

by such a transfer, the matter shall be referred to TfSE for consideration of a

supplementary estimate.

20.3.10 The approval of contracts and agreements proposed to be entered into by TfSE provided that,

subject to any other requirement of this Constitution, the Finance Director may give a general

consent to TfSE to enter into contracts or agreements, provided that the expenditure is included in

the latest budget estimate and confirmed funding is in place to meet the projected costs.

20.3.11 The collection of all money due to TfSE, and the writing-off of bad debts.

20.3.12 The acquisition and disposal of an interest in land whether freehold or leasehold and the entering

into of a lease of equipment of any form.

20.3.13 To supervise procedures for the invitation, receipt and acceptance of tenders.

of 80

20.3.14 To make all necessary arrangements to ensure the payment of staff employed by

TfSE.

20.3.15 To exercise the functions of the authority in relation to pensions and (without prejudice to the

generality of this) to be the person specified to determine disputes in the first instance arising from

the decisions of the Authority as scheme employer under the Local Government Pension

Regulations.

20.3.16 To discharge the functions of the ‘responsible financial officer’ under the Accounts and Audit

(England) Regulations 2015 including the requirement under Regulation 9 to sign and date the

statement of accounts, and certify that it presents a true and fair view of the financial position of

TfSE at the end of the year to which it relates and of TfSE’s income and expenditure for that year.

20.3.17 To discharge the functions of TfSE under the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015

(with the exception of regulation, 6(2) ).

20.3.18 To sign certificates under the Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997.

20.3.19 To be the officer nominated, or to nominate in writing another officer, as the person to receive

disclosures of suspicious transactions for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

and any regulations made there under.

20.3.20 To exercise the responsibilities assigned to the Finance Director in the Financial Regulations and

the Contract Procurement Rules.

20.4 Delegations to the Monitoring Officer

20.4.1 Under the provisions of “section 5” of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, TfSE shall

appoint a Monitoring Officer. The functions of the Monitoring Officer shall be as follows:

20.4.2 Should at any time it appear to the Monitoring Officer that any proposal, decision or omission by

TfSE has given rise to, or is likely to give rise to, unlawfulness or maladministration, they will

prepare a report to TfSE with respect to that proposal, decision or omission.

20.4.3 Contribute to the promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct. TfSE has delegated

to the Monitoring Officer the following powers to deal with matters of conduct and ethical standards

in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011:

a) To act as TfSE’s Proper Officer to receive complaints that Members of TfSE

have failed to comply with their appointing Authority’s Code of Conduct for

Members;

b) To refer such complaints to the Monitoring Officer of the elected Member’s

appointing Authority;

c) To maintain the Register of Member’s interests in accordance with section 29

of the Localism Act 2011 and to ensure that it is available for inspection and

published on TfSE’s website as required by the Act.

d) To receive complaints from the Monitoring Officer of a Constituent Authority

concerning the administration of TfSE’s affairs.

20.4.4 Provide advice on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration,

financial impropriety, probity, budget and policy framework issues to all members of TfSE.

of 80

20.4.5 To institute, conduct, prosecute and defend any legal proceedings on behalf of TfSE, as

may be necessary to protect and promote TfSE’s interests in accordance with any general

policy laid down by TfSE, subject to consultation with the Chair in any case where the

matter is of significance to TfSE’s reputation or where TfSE is to appeal to the Court of

Appeal or the Supreme Court.

20.4.6 To settle, if appropriate, and in the interests of TfSE, any actual or threatened legal proceedings.

20.4.7 To instruct Counsel and professional advisers, where appropriate.

20.4.8 To give undertakings on behalf of TfSE.

20.4.9 To supervise the preparation and sealing or signature of legal documents.

20.4.10 To authorise other officers to seal documents or to sign documents which are not required to be

under seal. To complete all property transactions and contractual arrangements where terms have

been agreed by TfSE or Committees or Chief Officers acting under the Scheme of Delegation.

20.4.11 To determine exemptions under Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

20.4.12 To accept on behalf of TfSE the service of notices, orders and legal procedures.

20.4.13 To provide a comprehensive administrative service to TfSE.

20.4.14 Be the Proper Officer for ensuring the maintenance of public access to information in relation to

TfSE documents, reports and background papers.

20.4.15 To authorise the attendance of officers at professional conferences or seminars which are

appropriate to the work of TfSE and within any policy framework from time to time laid

down by TfSE.

20.5 Schedules of Proper Officers

20.5.1 There are a number of specific references in enactments affecting TfSE, which call for functions

to be undertaken by what is termed the “Proper Officer”. The following paragraphs list such

references and identify the Chief Officers responsible for their discharge:

20.5.1.1 Chief Officer

20.5.1.1.2 The Chief Officer is appointed as the Head of Paid Service for the purposes of Section 4 of the

Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the Proper Officer for the purpose of any

enactment other than an enactment in respect of which this Constitution or TfSE has

designated another officer as Proper Officer.

20.5.1.2 Finance Director

20.5.1.2.1 The Finance Director is appointed the Proper Officer under section 73 of the Local

Government Act 1985 and is responsible for the proper administration of TfSE’s financial

affairs and compliance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015.

20.5.1.3 Monitoring Officer

20.5.1.3.1 The Monitoring Officer is appointed the Proper Officer in relation to the following:

of 80

a) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100B (2) - Determination of those reports

which should be available for public inspection prior to a meeting of TfSE and

any Committee and those which are likely to be heard in private and

consequently which should not be released to the public;

b) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100B (7) - Provision of documents to the

press, additional to Committee reports;

c) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100C (2) - Preparing written summaries

of proceedings;

d) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100D (1) - Making arrangements for list

of, and background papers to reports, to be made available for public

inspection;

e) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100F (2) - Determination of documents

disclosing exempt information which may not be inspected by Members;

f) Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12, para 4 (2) (b) - Signature of

Summonses to meetings of TfSE;

g) Local Government Act 1972 Schedule 12, para 4 (3) – Receipt of notices

regarding address to which Summons to meetings of TfSE is to be sent;

h) Section 29 of the Localism Act 2011 Register of Members Interests.

20.5.2 General

20.5.2.1 All Officers in whose name reports are submitted to TfSE via the Monitoring Officer and the

Finance Director are appointed the proper officers in relation to the following:

a) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100D (1) (a), Compilation and retention of

lists of background papers and copies of the relevant documents and reports;

and

b) Local Government Act 1972 Section 100D (5), Identifying and determining

what are background papers.

of 80

PART 4 COMMITTEES

21. Audit and Governance Committee

21.1 Statement of purpose

21.1.1 The Audit and Governance Committee is a key component of corporate governance

providing an independent, high-level focus on the audit, assurance and reporting

framework underpinning financial management and governance arrangements. Its

purpose is to provide independent review and assurance to Members on governance, risk

management and control frameworks. It oversees financial reporting, the Annual

Governance Statement process and internal and external audit, to ensure efficient and

effective assurance arrangements are in place.

21.1.2 Membership comprises:

a) four members of TfSE (not the Chair, or Vice Chair) appointed by TfSE; and,

b) an Independent member (to be recruited on the basis of relevant skills);

A representative of DfT (Department for Transport) will be invited to attend

meetings.

21.1.3 The Constitution places responsibility on the Audit and Governance Committee ‘to

oversee the effectiveness of TfSE’s risk management arrangements’. The Constitution

also makes the Finance Director responsible for discharging the functions of the

‘responsible financial officer’ under the Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015,

including ensuring risk is appropriately managed.

21.2 Terms of Reference

21.2.1 The core functions of the Authority’s Audit and Governance Committee are to:

a) approve Accounts;

b) recommend Approval of the annual statement of accounts for TfSE;

c) governance, risk and control;

d) review corporate governance arrangements against the Code of Corporate

Governance and the good governance framework;

e) review the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) prior to approval to ensure it

properly reflects the risk environment and supporting assurances;

f) monitor the effectiveness of arrangements to secure value for money;

g) be satisfied that the assurance framework adequately addresses risks and

priorities including governance arrangements in significant partnerships;

h) Monitor TfSE’s risk and performance management arrangements including

review of the risk register, progress with mitigating action and the assurance

map;

i) Consider reports on the effectiveness of internal controls;

j) Monitor the anti-fraud strategy, risk-assessment and any actions.

21.3 Internal audit

21.3.1 Recommend Approval of the Internal Audit Charter.

21.3.2 Oversee and support Internal Audit’s effectiveness including strategy, planning and

process and ensure conformance with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).

of 80

21.3.3 Approve the risk-based internal audit plan including resources, the reliability of other

sources of assurance and any significant in-year changes.

21.3.4 Make enquiries of the Finance Director and other managers to determine any

inappropriate scope or resource limitations.

21.3.5 Consider reports and assurances from the Finance Director in relation to:

a) internal Audit performance including key findings and actions from audit

assignments, significant non-conformance with PSIAS and the Quality

Assurance and Improvement Programme;

b) annual Assurance Opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the

framework of governance, risk management and control;

c) risk management and assurance mapping arrangements;

d) progress to implement recommendations including concerns or where Officers

have accepted risks that the Authority may find unacceptable;

e) provide assurances over the effectiveness of internal audit functions assuring

the internal control environments of TfSE.

21.3.6 Contribute to the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme, including the

external quality assessment of internal audit.

21.3.7 Consider and comment on the Finance Director’s Annual Review of the

Effectiveness of the System of Internal Audit.

21.3.8 Develop effective communication with the Finance Director and senior audit staff.

21.4 External audit

21.4.1 Consider reports including the Annual Audit Letter, assess the implications and

monitor managers’ response to concerns.

21.4.2 Comment on the nature and scope of work to ensure it gives value for money.

21.4.3 Advise on the effectiveness of relationships between external and internal audit and

other inspection agencies or relevant bodies.

21.5 Financial reporting

21.5.1 Consider whether accounting policies were appropriately followed and any need to

report concerns to the Authority.

21.5.2 Consider any issues arising from external audit’s audit of the accounts.

21.5.3 Ensure there is effective scrutiny of the treasury management strategy and policies in

accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice.

21.5.4 Make recommendations to the Finance Director and Monitoring Officer in respect of

Part 6 of the Constitution (Financial Regulations).

21.6 Membership and Quorum

of 80

21.6.1 The Committee shall be composed of 5 members and the quorum shall be 3 of whom at least two

shall be representatives of the Constituent Authorities.

21.7 Accountability arrangements

21.7.1 Report the Committee’s findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Authority on the

effectiveness of governance, risk management and internal controls, financial reporting and internal

and external audit functions.

22. Scrutiny Arrangements

22.1 Introduction

22.1.2 The Scrutiny Provisions will be reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain effective.

22.1.3 References in these Arrangements to major and strategic decisions of TfSE taken in accordance

with the delegations set out in Part 3 Paragraph 19 of this Constitution include major and strategic

decisions taken by sub-committees of TfSE in accordance with such delegations.

22.2 Objectives of Scrutiny

22.2.1 These arrangements have been established to act as a focus for the scrutiny and challenge of

TfSE, and for investigating matters of strategic importance to residents, those travelling within

the combined administrative area covered by the Constituent Authorities and other

stakeholders.

22.2.2 The role of these arrangements will include reviewing:

a) The decisions of TfSE;

b) The decisions of TfSE which are taken in accordance with the delegations set

out in this Constitution;

c) Making reports or recommendations to TfSE with respect to the discharge of

its functions;

d) Making reports and recommendations to TfSE on matters relating to transport

to, from or within TfSE’s area.

e) Making recommendations to TfSE in advance of any decisions that TfSE

proposes to take

22.3 Membership of Scrutiny Committee

22.3.1 Membership of the Scrutiny Committee will be 5 Members drawn from the Constituent Authorities

on a rotational basis, with 3 of the places rotating in May each year to ensure a level of continuity

of membership. When a Constituent Authority has an allocated place for the year ahead that

authority shall be entitled to appoint one Member and one Substitute Member to the Scrutiny

Committee. Appointees to the Scrutiny Committee must be a member of the appointing

Constituent Authority or in the case of a Combined Authority, one of the Constituent Authorities of

the Combined Authority but not be Members of TfSE (including substitute and co-opted members).

An appointing authority may choose to forego its turn to appoint a Member to the Scrutiny

Committee and nominate a Member from another authority to fill its place for the year by mutual

agreement.

22.3.2 The term of office for members of the Scrutiny Committee will be one year from the

date of the annual council meeting of the Constituent Authority that appoints them to the

Scrutiny Committee unless:

of 80

a) They cease to be an elected member of the Constituent Authority that

appointed them;

b) They wish to no longer participate in these arrangements; or

c) The Monitoring Officer to TfSE is advised by any of the Constituent Authorities

that it wishes to change one or more of its appointees to the Scrutiny

Committee.

22.3.3 Any person may be co-opted as a Co-opted Scrutiny Member to participate in these

arrangements from all or any of the associated authorities or from such other organisations

as TfSE may decide. Unless TfSE decides otherwise, such Co-opted Scrutiny Members

shall be non-voting members. Where a person is co-opted onto the Scrutiny Committee

these will be in addition to the 5 places allocated to Members appointed from the

Constituent Authorities

Any Member of a Constituent Authority has the right to attend any meeting of the Scrutiny

Committee as an observer.

22.4 Meetings of Scrutiny Committee

22.4.1 The members appointed to the Scrutiny Committee under Clause 22.3 above will

hold at least one annual meeting and may convene additional joint meetings in accordance

with these arrangements.

22.4.2 At the annual meeting, the Scrutiny Committee members will:

a) Appoint a Chair and Vice Chair;

b) Determine the areas of review and scrutiny that they wish to pursue during the

ensuing 12 months;

c) Determine whether to establish Scrutiny Panels from amongst their number in

order to carry out reviews or other scrutiny work;

d) Agree to carry out agreed areas of review and scrutiny.

22.4.3 The quorum for the annual meeting and any other meetings held under this Clause

22.4 will be 3 voting Members, and must include representatives of at least 3 of the

Constituent Authorities.

22.4.4 The principle of decision making at any such joint meeting shall be that, wherever

possible decisions will be made by agreement, without the need for a vote. If a vote is necessary

it will be decided by a simple majority of those voting Members present. The provisions relating to

weighted votes set out in paragraph 5 shall not apply to the Scrutiny Committee or to Scrutiny

Panels.

22.4.5 The venue for each annual meeting and any other Scrutiny Committee meetings

held under this Clause 22.4 will be decided by TfSE as part of the approved Calendar of

Meetings and shall be notified to Constituent Authorities for inclusion on their Council web sites.

22.4.6 Notice of the annual meeting and any other Scrutiny Committee meetings held under this Clause

22.4 will be sent to each Scrutiny Committee member in accordance with the requirements of the

Local Government Act 1972. For Members who are Members of one of the Constituent

Authorities Notice will be sent to the principal place of business of that Authority.

22.4.7 The Chair will approve the agenda for each annual meeting and any other Scrutiny

Committee meetings held under this Clause 22.4; however, any member of the Scrutiny

Committee will be entitled to request an item to be placed on the agenda for the meeting.

of 80

22.4.8 Each Scrutiny Panel established under paragraph 23.4.2 shall determine its own

calendar of meetings and the venue for each meeting.

22.4.9 Subject to paragraphs 22.4.1-22.4.7 of this Clause 22 4, meetings will proceed in

accordance with the Rules of Procedure set out at Part 5 of the Constitution.

22.5 Powers of the Scrutiny Committee

22.5.1 The Scrutiny Committee has the power to:

a) To review and scrutinise decisions made or other action taken by TfSE;

b) To make reports or recommendations with respect to the discharge of the

functions of TfSE;

c) To make reports or recommendations on transport matters that affect the area

of TfSE or inhabitants of the area or other stakeholders;

d) To require members or officers of TfSE to attend meetings of the Committee to

answer questions;

e) To invite other persons to attend meetings of the Committee.

22.6 Key principles for the operation of the scrutiny arrangements

22.6.1 TfSE and the Constituent Authorities will work together to maximise the exchange of

information and views, to minimize bureaucracy and make best use of the time of

members and officers of other bodies or agencies.

22.6.2 Members of the Scrutiny Committee will, when considering reviews, determine

whether the issue is more appropriately dealt with by one of the Constituent Authorities or

elsewhere and will not duplicate the work of existing bodies or agencies.

22.6.3 Subject to prior consultation, TfSE will respond positively to requests for information,

or for the attendance of a member or officer at any meetings set up under these

arrangements.

22.6.4 While it is ultimately for TfSE to decide who it considers the most appropriate

person(s) to speak on its behalf at any meetings set up under these arrangements

consideration will be given to meeting specific requests.

22.6.5 Dates and times for officer and member attendance at any meetings set up under

these arrangements should be by agreement.

22.6.6 Members appointed under these arrangements may require the attendance of

officers employed by TfSE to answer questions and give evidence at any meetings set

up under these arrangements. All such requests must be made via the Monitoring Officer of TfSE. If

any request is declined by the Monitoring Officer, he/she must state the reasons for so doing.

22.6.7 When considering any matter in respect of which a Scrutiny Committee member

appointed under these arrangements is subject to a party whip the member must declare the

existence of the whip and the nature of it before the commencement of any deliberations on the

matter. The declaration, and the detail of the whipping arrangements, shall be recorded in the

minutes of the meeting.

22.7 Scrutiny Panels

of 80

22.7.1 The Scrutiny Committee may establish Scrutiny Panels to undertake agreed scrutiny reviews or

other scrutiny work.

22.7.2 Membership of the Scrutiny Panels will be determined by the Scrutiny Committee.

22.7.3 Each Scrutiny Panel shall appoint a Chair from amongst its members.

22.7.4 Scrutiny Panels must be appointed to carry out specific scrutiny tasks and be time limited. Their

continuation will be subject to confirmation at each meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

22.7.5 TfSE may also, if it chooses, request that a Scrutiny Panel drawn from amongst

members appointed to the Scrutiny Committee be appointed to examine a specific issue

in more detail and report back its findings to TfSE.

22.8 Reviews and Recommendations

22.8.1 The process of scrutiny will be an open and transparent process designed to engage

the Constituent Authorities, their residents and other stakeholders.

22.8.2 Committee Meetings will be held in public unless the meeting decides to convene in private to

discuss confidential or exempt information, in accordance with the relevant provisions of

the Local Government Act 1972.

22.8.3 The terms of reference, timescale and outline of any review will be agreed by the

Scrutiny Committee.

22.8.4 Different approaches to scrutiny reviews may be taken in each case but members

will seek to act in an inclusive manner and will take evidence from a wide range of

opinion.

22.8.5 The primary objective of any Scrutiny Panel established under these arrangements

will be to reach consensus on its recommendations

22.8.6 Voting if needed will be by a show of hands and a simple majority will be required

to approve any recommendation.

22.8.7 A completed Scrutiny Review shall be forwarded to TfSE for consideration. TfSE shall consider

the findings of a Scrutiny Review at the next available meeting and the decision of TfSE on the

findings of a Scrutiny Review will be reported back to the next available meeting of the Scrutiny

Committee.

22.9 Budget and Administration

22.9.1 The Scrutiny Budget will be agreed as part of TfSE’s annual budgetary processes.

22.9.2 The budget will be required to meet all officer support to the scrutiny arrangements, including

research support.

22.9.3 The decisions and recommendations of any Scrutiny Panels set up under these arrangements will

be communicated to TfSE, and other Scrutiny Committee members as soon as possible after

resolution by those appointed to any such Scrutiny Panel.

22.9.4 Any external expenditure shall be procured and managed through and in accordance with TfSE’s

adopted financial processes.

of 80

22.10 Support and advice to scrutiny arrangements

22.10.1 Members appointed to any Scrutiny Panel under these arrangements may ask individuals or

groups to assist it on a review by review basis and may ask independent professionals for advice

during the course of reviews. Such individuals or groups will not be members of the Scrutiny Panel

and will not be able to vote.

22.10.2 Members appointed to any Scrutiny Panel under these arrangements may invite any other

person to attend their meetings to answer questions or give evidence; however,

attendance by such persons cannot be mandatory.

of 80

PART 5 PROCEDURE RULES

23. Procedure Rules

23.1 Interpretation, Suspension and Chair’s Ruling

23.1.1 These Rules apply to meetings of TfSE and, where appropriate, to meetings of Committees and

Sub Committees of TfSE.

23.1.2 References in these Rules to the “Chair” mean the Member of TfSE for the time being presiding

at the meeting of TfSE and a meeting of a Committee or Sub Committee of TfSE.

23.1.3 These Rules should be read in conjunction with other parts of TfSE’s Constitution.

23.1.4 **These Rules are subject to any statute or other enactment whether passed before or after

these Rules came into effect.

23.1.5 The ruling of the Chair on the interpretation of these Rules in relation to all questions of order

and matters arising in debate shall be final.

23.2 Suspension and Revocation of TfSE Procedure Rules

23.2.1 **With the exception of the Rules marked by a double asterisk (**) any Rule may be suspended

at a meeting of TfSE either by a motion included on the agenda or by a motion put to the

meeting without notice and passed by a majority of those present and voting. A motion to

suspend any Rules will not be moved without notice unless at least 10 Members of TfSE are

present.

23.2.2 Rules may be changed by TfSE either at the Annual Meeting or by a motion on notice made at a

meeting of TfSE.

23.2.3 Changes may only be made to the Rules and the Constitution if the motion is passed by

a Super Majority in a weighted vote (see paragraph 23.14 (Voting)).

23.3 Membership of TfSE

23.3.1 **Each Constituent Authority shall appoint one of its elected members to be a Member of TfSE.

The person appointed shall be in the case of a Constituent Authority with an elected Mayor, the

Mayor or the elected Member with responsibility for transport or in any other case, the Leader,

the Chair or the elected Member with responsibility for transport.

23.3.2 **Each Constituent Authority shall appoint another of its elected members to act as a Member of

TfSE in the absence of the Member appointed under sub-paragraph 23.3.1 above (“the

Substitute Member”).

23.3.3 **A person shall cease to be a Member or a Substitute Member of TfSE if they cease to

be a member of the Constituent Authority that appointed them.

23.3.4 **A person may resign as a Member or Substitute Member of TfSE by written notice

served on the proper officer of the Constituent Authority that appointed them (who for the

purposes of this sub-paragraph 23.3.4 shall be the Monitoring Officer of the Constituent

Authority that appointed them) and the resignation shall take effect on receipt of the notice

by the proper officer.

of 80

23.3.5 **Where a Member or Substitute Member of TfSE’s appointment ceases by virtue of sub

paragraph 23.3.3 or 23.3.4, the Constituent Authority that made the appointment must, as soon

as practicable, give written notice of that fact to TfSE’s Monitoring Officer and appoint

another of its elected members in that person’s place.

23.3.6 **A Constituent Authority may at any time terminate the appointment of a

Member or Substitute Member appointed by it to TfSE and appoint another of its

elected members in that person’s place.

23.3.7 **Where a Constituent Authority exercises its power under sub- paragraph 23.3.6,

it must give written notice of the new appointment and the termination of the previous

appointment to the Monitoring Officer and the new appointment shall take effect and the previous

appointment terminate at the end of one week from the date on which the notice is given (or such

longer period not exceeding 1 month as is specified in the notice).

23.3.8 **For the purposes of this paragraph 23, an elected mayor of a Constituent Authority shall be

treated as a member of the Constituent Authority.

23.3.9 A person shall cease to be a Co-opted Member or a Substitute Co-opted Member of TfSE if they

cease to be a member of the Authority that appointed them.

23.3.10 A person may resign as a Co-opted Member or Substitute Co-opted Member of TfSE by written

notice served on the proper officer of the Authority that appointed them (who for the purposes of

this sub- paragraph 23.3.10 shall be the Monitoring Officer of the Constituent Authority that

appointed them) and the resignation shall take effect on receipt of the notice by the proper officer.

23.3.11 **Where a Co-opted Member or Substitute Co-opted Member of TfSE’s appointment ceases

by virtue of sub-paragraph 23.3.9 or 23.3.10, the Authority that made the appointment must,

as soon as practicable, give written notice of that fact to the Monitoring Officer and appoint

another of its elected members in that person’s place.

23.3.12 **An Authority may at any time terminate the appointment of a Co-opted Member

or Substitute Co-opted Member appointed by it to TfSE and appoint another of its

elected members in that person’s place.

23.3.13 **Where an Authority exercises its power under sub- paragraph 23.3.12, it must give written notice

of the new appointment and the termination of the previous appointment to the Monitoring Officer

and the new appointment shall take effect and the previous appointment terminate at the end of

one week from the date on which the notice is given (or such longer period as is specified in the

notice).

23.3.14 **The Members of TfSE appointed by the Constituent Authorities may appoint further Co-opted

Members if they all agree to do so.

23.3.15 TfSE may at any time terminate the appointment of a Co-opted Member who was not

appointed by a Constituent Authority but such termination must be agreed by every

Member appointed by a Constituent Authority.

23.4 Chair

23.4.1 ** At its Annual General Meeting TfSE shall appoint one of its Members or Co- opted Members

as its Chair for the forthcoming year.

of 80

23.4.2 **The appointment of the Chair shall be for a fixed term of one year until the next Annual General

Meeting unless the Chair resigns or the appointment is terminated by TfSE.

23.4.3 **The Chair may resign by written notice served on the proper officer of TfSE and the resignation

shall take effect on receipt of the notice by the proper officer.

23.4.4 **TfSE may terminate the appointment of the Chair where one has been appointed (under

paragraph 23.4.1).

23.4.5 **Where a person ceases to be Chair by virtue of sub- paragraph 23.4.3 or 23.4.4; TfSE shall

appoint a further Chair in accordance with this paragraph.

23.5 Vice-Chairs

23.5.1 ** One or more Vice-Chairs may be appointed annually by TfSE from among its Members or Co-

opted Members and will, unless they resign, cease to be members of TfSE or become disqualified,

act until their successor become entitled to act.

23.5.2 The appointment of the Chair and Vice-Chairs shall be the first business transacted at the Annual

Meeting of TfSE.

23.5.3 **On a vacancy arising in the office of Chair or Vice-Chair for whatever reason, TfSE shall make an

appointment to fill the vacancy at the next ordinary meeting of TfSE held after the date on which

the vacancy occurs, or, if that meeting is held within 14 days after that date, then not later than the

next following meeting. The Member appointed shall hold such office for the remainder of the

year in which such vacancy occurred.

23.5.4 **Subject to these Rules, anything authorised or required to be done by, or in relation to, the Chair,

may be done by, or in relation to, any of the Vice-Chairs.

23.5.5 Meetings

23.5.5.1 **The Annual Meeting of TfSE shall be held in April on a date and at a time

determined by TfSE.

23.5.5.2 **Ordinary meetings of TfSE for the transaction of general business shall be held on

such dates and at such times as TfSE shall determine.

23.5.5.3 **An Extraordinary Meeting of TfSE may be called at any time by the Chair.

23.6 Admission of Public

23.6.1 **All meetings of TfSE, its Committees and Sub-Committees shall be open to the

public (including the press) except to the extent that they are excluded whether

during the whole or part of the proceedings either:

a) In accordance with Section 100A(2) of the Local Government Act 1972; or

b) By resolution passed to exclude the public on the grounds that it is likely, in

view of the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were

present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in

Section 100I of the Local Government Act 1972. Any such Resolution shall

identify the proceedings or the part of the proceedings to which it applies and

state the description, in terms of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act

1972 of the exempt information giving rise to the exclusion of the publ ic.

of 80

23.7 Notice of Meetings

23.7.1 **At least five clear days before a meeting of TfSE:

a) Notice of the time and place of the intended meeting shall be published by the

Monitoring Officer and posted on the TfSE website;

b) A summons to attend the meeting, specifying an agenda for the meeting, shall

be left at or sent by post or electronic mail to all Members of TfSE at the

principal office of the Constituent Authority which appointed the Member.

23.7.2 **Lack of service on a Member of TfSE of the summons shall not affect the validity of a meeting of

TfSE.

23.8 Meeting Agendas

23.8.1 **Any Member of TfSE may require the Monitoring Officer to make sure that an

item is placed on the agenda of the next available meeting of TfSE for consideration.

23.8.2 **Any item proposed to be included on the agenda for any meeting of TfSE in

accordance with sub-paragraph 23.8.1 above, which is not submitted before 5 days of

the meeting shall not be included on the agenda for that meeting unless it is agreed

by the Chair. In this case, the amended agenda for the meeting will state the reason

for the late acceptance of any such item.

23.8.3 The Monitoring Officer shall set out in the agenda for each meeting of TfSE the items

of business requested by Members (if any) in the order in which they have been

received, unless the Member concerned has given prior written notice to the

Monitoring Officer prior to the issue of the agenda for the meeting, for it to be

withdrawn. If the Member concerned is not present at the meeting when an item of

which they have given notice comes up for discussion, this item shall, unless TfSE

decides otherwise, be treated as withdrawn.

23.8.4 **Except in the case of business required by these Rules to be transacted at a

meeting of TfSE, and other business brought before the meeting as a matter of

urgency, (and of which the Monitoring Officer shall have prior notice and which the

Chair considers should be discussed at the meeting), no business shall be transacted

at a meeting of TfSE other than that specified in the agenda for the meeting.

23.9 Chair of Meeting

23.9.1 **At each meeting of TfSE, the Chair, if present, shall preside.

23.9.2 **If the Chair is absent and more than one Vice-Chair is present at the meeting,

they shall agree between themselves who is to chair the meeting and in default of

agreement the Monitoring Officer shall invite the members present to elect a Vice-

Chair to preside for the duration of the meeting.

23.9.3 **If the Chair and all the Vice-Chairs of TfSE are absent from a meeting of TfSE, the

Monitoring Officer shall invite the Members present to elect a Member to preside for

the duration of the meeting or until such time as the Chair (or Vice-Chair) joins the

meeting.

of 80

23.9.4 Any power or function of the Chair in relation to the conduct of a meeting shall be

exercised by the person presiding at the meeting.

23.10 Quorum

23.10.1 No business shall be transacted at any meeting of TfSE unless at least 8 of the Members are

present and those Members together hold more than 50% of the weighted voting rights.

23.10.2 If at the time for which a meeting is called, and for 30 minutes thereafter, a quorum

is not present, then no meeting shall take place.

23.10.3 If during any meeting of TfSE the Chair, after counting the number of Members

present and their weighted voting rights, declares that there is not a quorum present, the

meeting shall stand adjourned to a time fixed by the Chair. If there is no quorum and the Chair

does not fix a time for the reconvened meeting, the meeting shall stand adjourned to the next

ordinary meeting of TfSE.

23.11 Order of Business

23.11.1 At every meeting of TfSE, the order of business shall be to select a person to preside if the Chair

or Vice-Chair are absent and thereafter shall be in accordance with the order specified in

the agenda for the meeting, except that such order may be varied:

a) By the Chair at their discretion; or

b) On a request agreed to by TfSE. the Chair may bring before TfSE at their

discretion any matter that they consider appropriate to bring before TfSE as a

matter of urgency.

23.12 Committees

23.12.1 TfSE shall appoint the following Committees:

a) the Audit and Governance Committee;

b) the Scrutiny Committee;

23.12.2 TfSE may appoint such other Committees as it thinks fit.

23.13 Rules of Debate

23.13.1 The Chair shall propose each motion.

25.13.2 A Member shall address the Chair and direct any speech to the question under discussion. If

two or more Members indicate they wish to speak, the Chair shall call on one to speak first.

23.13.3 The conduct of the meeting shall be the responsibility of the Chair who shall ensure that every

Member wishing to speak has an opportunity to do so.

23.13.4 A Member shall not speak for longer than five minutes on any matter without the consent of the

Chair.

23.13.5 If the Chair is of the opinion that the matter before TfSE has been sufficiently discussed the Chair

may put the Motion that the question now be put.

of 80

23.13.6 The Chair shall decide all questions of order and any ruling by the Chair upon such questions and

the interpretation of these Rules of Procedure and upon matters rising in debate shall be final and

shall not be open to discussion.

23.13.7 A Motion to exclude the press and public in accordance with Section 100A of the Local

Government Act, 1972 may be moved, without notice, at any meeting of TfSE during an item of

business whenever it is likely that if members of the public were present during that item there

would be disclosure to them of confidential or exempt information as defined in Section 100A of the

1972 Act.

23.14 Voting

23.14.1 **There shall be a presumption that decisions are normally taken by consensus. In the absence of

consensus decisions will be taken on the basis of a weighted vote. The number of votes to be cast

by a Member appointed by a Constituent Authority shall be determined by dividing the resident

population of that Constituent Authority set out in the 2016 ONS estimates (Appendix 1) by

140,000 and if the result is not a whole number, rounding up to the next whole number.

23.14.2 **The following decisions shall require a Super Majority:

a) the approval and revision of TfSE’s Transport Strategy;

b) the approval of the annual budget;

c) the adoption of and any changes to TfSE’s Constitution.

23.14.3 **The Super Majority shall consist of the Members who together hold 75% of the weighted vote

and a simple majority of the Members appointed by the Constituent Authorities.

23.14.4 A Member shall cast a number of votes equal to the combined weighted votes of the

Authorities they represent and a Substitute Member shall have the same voting rights as

the Member they are replacing.

23.14.5 If a vote is tied on any matter it is deemed not to have been carried.

23.14.6 At any meeting of TfSE or any of its Committees or sub-Committees, if immediately after a vote is

taken any Member so requires there shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of that

meeting whether that person cast his vote for the question or against the question or whether they

abstained from voting.

23.15 Conduct of Members

23.15.1 If the Chair is of the opinion that at a meeting any Member of TfSE, or Substitute Member acting in

that Member’s place, has misconducted, or is misconducting him or herself by persistently

disregarding the ruling of the Chair, or by behaving irregularly, improperly or offensively, or by

willfully obstructing the business of TfSE, the Chair may notify the meeting of that opinion and may

take any of the following actions either separately or in sequence:

a) the Chair may direct the Member to refrain from speaking during all or part of the

remainder of the meeting of TfSE;

b) the Chair may direct the Member to withdraw from all or part of the remainder of

the meeting of TfSE;

c) the Chair may order the Member to be removed from the meeting of TfSE; and

d) the Chair may adjourn the meeting of TfSE for such period as they consider

expedient.

of 80

23.15.2 In the event of general disturbance, which in the opinion of the Chair, renders the

due and orderly dispatch of business impossible the Chair, in addition to any other power vested

in the Chair may, without question put, adjourn the meeting of TfSE for such period as the Chair

considers expedient.

23.15.3 Disturbance by Members of the Public; If a member of the public interrupts the

proceedings at any meeting of TfSE, the Chair shall warn him or her. If they continue the

interruption the Chair shall order the member of the public to leave the room. In the case of

general disturbance in any part of the room open to the public the Chair shall order that part to be

cleared.

23.16 Notification and Declaration of Interests

23.16.1 In this Rule:

a) “The Code” means the Code of Conduct for Members adopted by the elected

Member’s appointing Authority under Section 28 of the Localism Act 2011;

b) “Member of TfSE” includes a Substitute Member when acting as a Member of

TfSE and Co-opted Members.

23.16.2 Members of TfSE must within 28 days of their appointment to office notify TfSE’s Monitoring

Officer in writing of the details of their disclosable pecuniary interests arising in respect of the TfSE

area (including, where required, interests of their partner) and their personal interests.

23.16.3 Where a Member of TfSE is present at a meeting and has a disclosable pecuniary

interest or, an interest that would be a personal interest under the provisions of the Code in

any matter to be considered at the meeting, they must disclose the interest to the meeting.

23.17 Non-participation and withdrawal in the case of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and

Prejudicial Interests

23.17.1 Where a member of TfSE has a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest that under the

provisions of the Code would be a prejudicial interest in any matter being considered at a

meeting, they must not participate or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the room of

the meeting while the matter is being considered.

23.18 Records

23.18.1 The Monitoring Officer shall ensure that the names of the Members of TfSE present at any

meeting of TfSE, any Substitute Member acting in a Member’s place, and any Co-opted

Member shall be recorded in the Minutes of the meeting concerned.

23.18.2 The Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of TfSE are to be kept in such form as TfSE

may from time to time determine.

23.18.3 The Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of TfSE shall be signed at the next meeting

of TfSE by the person presiding at the meeting of TfSE to which the Minutes relate.

23.18.4 Any minute purporting to be signed as mentioned in sub-paragraph 23.18.3 shall be

received in evidence for the purposes of any legal proceedings without further proof.

23.18.5 Until the contrary is proved, a meeting of TfSE, a Minute of whose proceedings has

been signed in accordance with this paragraph 23.18 is deemed to have been duly

of 80

convened and held, and all the Members of TfSE present at the meeting, and any

Substitute Member acting in a Member’s place, are deemed to have been duly qualified.

23.19 Publication of Report

23.19.1 **Reports or other documents for the consideration of TfSE or a Committee of TfSE shall

be marked “Private & Confidential Not for Publication” only if the Monitoring Officer, as

Proper Officer under Section 100B (2) of the Local Government Act 1972 determines that

this should be done on one or more of the grounds specified in the Act.

23.19.2 **Copies of the Agenda of meetings of TfSE its Committees and Sub Committees,

including prints of reports or other documents to be submitted to TfSE its Committees

and Sub Committees (other than reports or other documents marked “Not for

Publication”) shall be furnished prior to the meeting to representatives of the press, radio

and television and shall also be furnished at the meeting to members of the public

attending such meetings. Such documents shall also be made available for public

inspection, at least five clear days before any meeting of TfSE its Committees and Sub

Committees at the Principal place of business of each of the Constituent Authorities.

Copies of all documents other than those marked. “Not for Publication” shall be made

available on TfSE’s website.

23.19.3 **Where an item or report has been added to an Agenda, any revised Agenda or

additional report shall be available for public inspection as soon as the item or report has

been added to the Agenda, provided copies are also, at that time, available to Members

of TfSE its Committees and Sub Committees and published on TfSE’s website

23.20 Access to Information Procedure Rules

23.20.1 Except as otherwise indicated, these rules apply to all meetings of TfSE its Committees

and Sub Committees.

23.20.2 The Rules in paragraph 23.20 do not affect any more specific rights to information

contained elsewhere in these Rules of Procedure or the law.

23.20.3 TfSE its Committees and Sub-Committees will supply copies of:

a) any Agenda and reports that are open to public inspection;

b) any further statements or particulars, if any, as are necessary to indicate the

nature of the items in the Agenda; and

c) if the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, copies of any other documents supplied to

members in connection with an item to any person on payment of a charge for

postage and any other costs, or electronically free of charge

23.20.4 TfSE its Committees and Sub Committees will make available copies of the following for six

years after a meeting:

a) the Minutes of the meeting, excluding any part of the Minutes of proceedings when

the meeting was not open to the public or which disclose exempt or confidential

information;

b) a summary of any proceedings not open to the public where the Minutes open to

inspection would not provide a reasonably fair and coherent record;

c) the Agenda for the meeting.

d) reports relating to items when the meeting was open to the public.

of 80

23.20.5 The Officer responsible for the report will set out in every report a list of those documents

(called background papers) relating to the subject matter of the report that in his/her

opinion:

a) disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report

is based; and

b) which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report but does not

include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential

information.

23.21 Exclusion of access by the public to meetings

2321.1 Confidential information – requirement to exclude public

23.21.1.1 The public must be excluded from meetings whenever it is likely in view of the

nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that

confidential information would be disclosed.

23.21.1.2 Where the meeting will determine any person’s civil rights or obligations, or

adversely affect their possessions, Article 6 of the Human Rights Act establishes a

presumption that the meeting will be held in public unless a private hearing is

necessary for one of the reasons stated in Article 6.

23.21.2 Meaning of confidential information

23.21.2.1 Confidential information means information given to TfSE its Committees and Sub-

Committees by a Government department on terms that forbid its public disclosure or

information that cannot be publicly disclosed by reason of a Court Order or any

enactment.

23.21.3 Meaning of exempt information

23.21.3.1 Exempt information means information falling within the following categories

(subject to any qualifications):

1. Information relating to any individual;

2. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of any individual;

3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person (including the authority holding that information);

4. Information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated

consultations or negotiations in connection with any labour relations

matter arising between TfSE its Committees and Sub Committees or a

Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, TfSE its

Committees and Sub Committees;

5. Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege

could be maintained in legal proceedings;

6. Information which reveals that TfSE its Committees and Sub Committees

proposes a) to give under any enactment a notice under or by virtue of which

requirements are imposed on a person; or b) to make an order or direction under

any enactment;

7. Information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with

the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime.

23.21.4 Exclusion of access by the public to reports

of 80

23.21.4.1 If the Monitoring Officer thinks fit, TfSE, its Committees and Sub-Committees may exclude

access by the public to reports which in his/her opinion relate to items during which the meeting

is likely not to be open to the public. Such reports will be marked “Not for Publication” together

with the category of information likely to be disclosed.

of 80

PART 6 FINANCIAL PROCEDURES

24 Financial Regulations

24.1 General

24.1.1 These Regulations shall be read in conjunction with the Rules of Procedure (see Part

5), the Schedule of Approvals contained in Appendix 5 and the Responsibility for Functions

delegated to Chief Officers (see Part 3).

24.1.2 These Regulations lay down for the guidance of Members and officers, principles to

be followed in securing the proper administration of TfSE’s financial affairs and shall be

reviewed at intervals of not more than three years.

24.1.3 The Finance Director, as the officer responsible for the proper administration of

TfSE’s financial affairs, shall report to TfSE any significant failure to comply with these

Regulations which comes to his/her attention.

24.1.4 The Chief Officer and the Finance Director shall be responsible for the

accountability and control of all resources managed by them on behalf of TfSE.

24.1.5 For the purposes of complying with these Regulations, the Finance Director shall be

provided with any information he/she may require and shall have access to any

documents and records as necessary.

24.1.6 Whenever any matter arises which may involve financial irregularity the Finance

Director shall be notified immediately, and if an irregularity is disclosed the matter shall,

at the discretion of the Finance Director and after consultation with the Chief Officer, be

referred by them to TfSE. Further, in a case where the Chief Officer advises that there is

prima facie evidence of a criminal offence having been committed, the matter shall be

reported to the Police forthwith.

24.2 Staffing

24.2.1 The Chief Officer will be responsible for providing overall management to staff

employed by TfSE.

24.2.2 The Chief Officer and the Finance Director will be responsible for ensuring that

there is proper use of evaluation or other agreed systems for determining

remuneration.

24.2.3 The Finance Director will:

a) Ensure that budget provision exists for all existing and new employees;

b) Ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to support the payment of

salaries and any other related expenses to staff;

c) Set out and issue a staff expenses scheme to be followed where staff incur

personal expenses when carrying out their duties on behalf of TfSE.

24.2.4 Chief Officers must ensure that appointments are made in accordance with the

approved establishment and scales of pay and the adequate budget provision is available.

Officers must produce an annual staffing budget (including on costs and

overheads) which should be an accurate forecast of staffing levels and associated

costs.

of 80

24.2.5 Chief Officers must ensure that all appointments, terminations or variations are notified to the

officer responsible for actioning such changes.

24.2.6 Payroll documents must be retained and stored for the defined period in accordance with

guidance issued by the Finance Director.

24.3 Accounting Arrangements

24.3.1 The Finance Director shall prepare a manual of financial and accounting procedures to be

operated by officers working on TfSE matters.

24.3.2 All accounting and financial arrangements shall be determined by the Finance Director who shall

be consulted before any form or document of a financial or costing nature is introduced.

24.3.3 The Finance Director shall be responsible for the submission of all claims for grant.

24.3.4 At the end of the financial year the Finance Director shall be supplied with information in such

form and by such date as he/she may determine to enable him/her to close TfSE’s

Accounts promptly.

24.3.5 The Accounts must be approved by TfSE prior to Audit and within 6 months of the year end.

24.3.6 If the Auditor’s Report requires any material amendment to be made to the Accounts, this must

be then reported to TfSE as soon as practicable after the receipt of the audit report.

24.4 Banking Arrangements and Cheques

24.4.1 All arrangements with TfSE’s bankers, shall be made by the Finance Director who shall be

authorised to operate such banking accounts, as he/she considers necessary.

24.5 Budgetary Control

24.5.1 The detailed form of the programme of capital expenditure and revenue estimates shall be

determined by the Finance Director after consultation with appropriate Officers, in accordance with

any general directions of TfSE.

24.6 Capital and Revenue Budgets

24.6.1 The Finance Director, in consultation with appropriate Officers, shall prepare an annual

programme of capital expenditure for submission to TfSE, together with proposals for financing that

programme.

24.6.2 The Finance Director, in consultation with appropriate Officers shall prepare annual

estimates of revenue expenditure and income.

of 80

24.7 Control of Expenditure

24.7.1 Before a capital scheme for which provision is made in the Capital Programme may

proceed, a fully costed scheme report shall be presented to TfSE.

24.7.2 In approving the Revenue Budget, TfSE will determine the amounts to be allocated to

various expenditure heads. The Finance Director will monitor expenditure against this

approval, and report on a regular basis to TfSE showing actual and projected expenditure.

It will be a matter for TfSE to determine from this information whether expenditure priorities

should be changed.

24.7.3 For revenue expenditure, any likely overspending shall be reported as soon as

practicable to the Finance Director. Where it is not possible to finance an overspending

by a transfer between expenditure, the matter shall be referred to TfSE.

24.7.4 TfSE will determine guidelines for carrying forward of under and overspendings on budget

headings. The Finance Director will administer the scheme of carry forward within the

guidelines approved by TfSE for consideration.

24.7.5 Any use of revenue and capital reserves, in addition to that already planned, must be

approved by TfSE. The Finance Director will ensure that there are clear protocols for the

establishment and use of reserves, advise TfSE on prudent levels of reserves and report

on the use of reserves to TfSE.

24.7.6 Grants for capital or revenue purposes to outside organisations and persons for

which provision is made in the appropriate budget shall not be paid except by agreement

with the Finance Director who shall make such arrangements as he/she considers

necessary for this purpose.

24.8 Virements

24.8.1 The Finance Director shall be authorised to approve virements between

expenditure heads within the limits as set out in these Regulations and the Schedule of

Approvals. Anything in excess of these limits shall be reported for approval to TfSE.

Virements are deemed to be:

a) Revenue - a transfer of budget for a different purpose to that set out in the

approved Budget;

b) Capital - a movement of budget between approved capital schemes.

24.8.2 In accordance with the scheme of virement and associated thresholds, the Finance

Director is responsible for considering reports submitted by Chief Officers in respect of

virement proposals for revenue spending.

24.8.3 The Finance Director is to report and seek the approval of the Chief Officer to the exercise

of the virement powers of TfSE where a matter is urgent.

24.8.4 Appropriate Officers are to ensure compliance with the scheme of virement set out in the

Schedule of Approvals.

of 80

24.9 Capital

24.9.1 There shall be no virement of capital spending where a capital project is the subject

of an individual Funding Letter giving funding approval from the Secretary of State

expenditure shall be in accordance with the terms of the Funding Letter.

24.10 Maintenance of Reserves/Provisions

24.10.1 The Finance Director will ensure that there are clear protocols for the establishment

and use of reserves/provisions and, will establish reserves and/or provisions and

provide guidance on how to incur expenditure from reserves/provisions.

24.10.2 Chief Officers must ensure that the use of reserves or provisions when approved is

planned in to the budget and used only for the purposes for which they were

intended.

24.11 Borrowing and Investments

24.11.1 The Finance Director shall be TfSE’s registrar of stocks, bonds, bills and mortgages and all

borrowings shall be made by, or under the supervision, of the Finance Director in the

name of TfSE.

24.11.2 The Finance Director shall ensure that the Treasury Management Code of Practice

and the Prudential Code are complied with and shall, as recommended by the Codes of

Practice, periodically submit relevant reports to TfSE in relation to TfSE’s borrowings.

24.12 Contracts

24.12.1 All contracts on behalf of TfSE shall be subject to TfSE’s Rules of Procedure in Part 5, of this

Constitution, the Schedule of Approvals set out in Appendix 5 and the Responsibility for

Functions in Part 3 of this Constitution.

24.12.2 The Finance Director shall be informed as soon as possible of all contracts,

agreements, awards or other instruments involving the payment or receipt of money on behalf

of TfSE and shall carry out such checks as he/she considers necessary during the currency of

a contract. Payment to contractors on account shall be authorised only on certified documents

signed by a duly authorised Officer, showing the total amount of the contract, value of the work

executed to date, retention money, amount paid to date and the amount now certified.

24.12.3 Every variation of a contract or addition to the original specification shall be

authorised, in writing, by a duly authorised Officer. Any such variation or addition which

necessitates an increase in the amount of an accepted tender or estimate shall be reported to

the Finance Director as soon as possible.

24.12.4 The final certificate on a contract or accepted estimate shall be issued by the duly

authorised Officer after he/she has submitted to the Finance Director a detailed statement of

account, together with such vouchers or documents as he/she may require.

24.12.5 In the case of contracts for works entered into by TfSE and supervised and managed by

persons other than TfSE’s own officers, the agreement with the person having control of the

work shall provide that he/she furnish to TfSE for inspection by their officers, all documents

and vouchers relating to prime costs, provisional sums, etc. Subject to the rights of other

of 80

parties to the contract, the final certificate shall not be issued, nor the balance under such

contract paid until:

a) The Finance Director with the assistance of any appropriate officer has had the

opportunity to examine the accounts, vouchers and documents; and

b) If any question of propriety of payment arises, TfSE shall have authorised

payment.

24.12.6 Claims received from contractors in respect of matters clearly not within the terms

of the appropriate contract shall be referred to the Monitoring Officer for

consideration of TfSE’s legal liability and to the Finance Director for financial

consideration, before settlement is negotiated.

24.13 Estates and Property

24.13.1 The Chief Officer shall maintain a terrier of all estates and properties owned by TfSE in a form

approved by the Finance Director.

24.13.2 The Monitoring Officer shall be responsible for the safe custody of all legal documents under

secure arrangements agreed with the Finance Director.

24.14 Income

24.14.1 The collection of all money due to TfSE shall be under the supervision of the Finance Director.

24.15 Insurance

24.15.1 The Finance Director shall, subject to any general direction of TfSE, arrange such insurances

in the name of TfSE as he/she considers necessary, and shall inform Chief Officers annually of

the insurances in force in respect of his/her department.

24.15.2 Chief Officers shall give prompt notification to the Finance Director of all new risk,

properties or vehicles which require to be insured and of any alterations affecting

existing insurances.

24.15.3 Chief Officers shall inform the Finance Director promptly in writing of any event

which may involve TfSE in a claim on TfSE’s insurers.

24.15.4 Indemnities on behalf of TfSE can only be given by the Chief Officer.

24.16 CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice 2011

24.16.1 The CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management in the public services was revised

in 2011.

24.16.2 In line with CIPFA recommendations, TfSE has adopted the following four clauses:

a) To create and maintain, as the cornerstones for effective treasury management:

i) A Treasury Management Policy statement, stating the policies,

objectives and approach to risk management of its treasury

management activities;

of 80

ii) Suitable Treasury Management Practices (TMPs), setting out the

manner in which TfSE will seek to achieve those policies and objectives,

and prescribing how it will manage and control those activities.

b) TfSE will receive reports on its Treasury Management Policies, practices and

activities, including, as a minimum, an annual strategy and plan in advance of the

year, a mid-year review and an annual report after its close, in the form

prescribed in its TMPs;

c) TfSE delegates responsibility for the implementation and regular monitoring of its

Treasury Management Policies and Practices to the Audit Committee, and for the

execution and administration of treasury management decisions to the Finance

Director of the Combined Authority, who will act in accordance with TfSE’s policy

statement and TMPs and CIPFA’s Standard of Professional Practice on Treasury

Management;

d) TfSE has nominated its Audit and Governance Committee to ensure effective scrutiny of

the Treasury Management Strategy and Policies.

24.17 Internal Audit

24.17.1 The Finance Director shall, so far as he/she considers necessary:

a) Arrange for the internal audit of all accounts and financial transactions of TfSE

and its officers;

b) Supervise security arrangements and the custody and safeguarding of TfSE

moneys and property, including any funds entrusted to TfSE or its officers;

c) Undertake investigations in order to ensure that value for money is obtained and

loss through wastage minimised.

24.17.2 The Finance Director will make arrangements so that internal auditors have the

authority:

a) To have access to Authority premises at reasonable times;

b) To have access to documents, records and equipment in the possession of the

Authority;

c) To require any officer of the Authority to account for cash, stores or any other

Authority asset under their control;

d) Where possible, to have access to records belonging to third parties, such as

contractors, when required;

e) To receive information concerning any matter under investigation;

f) To have access to the Chief Officer and the Audit and Governance Committee

24.18 Payment of Accounts

24.18.1 Chief Officers shall be responsible for the certification and submission of invoices and

other claims to the Finance Director who shall make safe and efficient arrangements for

the payment of such accounts.

24.19 Taxation

24.19.1 The Finance Director is:

of 80

a) Responsible for ensuring that taxation advice is available to Chief Officers to

ensure compliance with relevant legislation;

b) Responsible for maintaining TfSE’s tax records, making all tax payments,

receiving tax credits and submitting tax returns by their due date as appropriate;

c) To complete all HM Revenue and Customs returns regarding Pay As You Earn

(PAYE);

d) To complete a monthly return of VAT inputs and outputs to HM Revenue and

Customs.

24.19.2 Chief Officers are to:

a) Ensure that the correct VAT liability is attached to all income due and that all

claims for VAT recoverable on purchases complies with HM Revenue and

Customs regulations and all output tax is properly identified and recorded;

b) Ensure that the Authority is not put at risk in any funding arrangements by

identifying the correct VAT treatment in accordance with the VAT Act 1994;

c) Ensure that all persons employed by TfSE are added to the Council’s payroll and

that tax is deducted from any payments, except where the individuals are bona

fide self- employed or are employed by a recognised staff agency;

d) Follow any guidance on taxation that may be issued by the Finance Director.

25. Contract Procurement Rules

25.1 Standing orders with respect to the making by them or on their behalf of contracts for the

supply of goods or materials or for the execution of works are set out in Schedule TBC

[Note – these will be those of the Lead Authority until incorporation]

of 80

SECTION A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS

PART 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

26. General Provisions

26.1 TfSE is not required to adopt its own Code of Conduct for Members but each Member of TfSE

has been appointed by a Constituent Authority to represent it on TfSE.

26.2 In representing their Constituent Authority each Member will be acting as a Member of the

Authority and will be expected to comply with the provisions of their own Code of Conduct.

PART 2 DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS

27. Notification of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

27.1 Within 28 days of becoming a Member, you must notify TfSE’s Monitoring Officer of any

‘disclosable pecuniary interests’ by completing the prescribed form

27.2 A ‘disclosable pecuniary interest’ is an interest of yourself, or of your partner if you

are aware of your partner's interest, within the descriptions set out in the table

below.

27.3 "Partner" means a spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom you are living as

husband or wife, or a person with whom you are living as if you are civil partners.

Subject Description

Employment, office, trade,

profession or vocation

Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation

carried on for profit or gain

Sponsorship Any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other

than from TfSE) made or provided within the 12-month

period prior to notification of the interest in respect of any

expenses incurred by you in carrying out duties as a

Member, or towards your election expenses. This includes

any payment or financial benefit from a trade union within the

meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations

(Consolidation Act) 1992 (a).

Contracts Any contract which is made between you or your partner (or a

body in which you or your partner has a beneficial interest)

and TfSE –

a) Under which goods or services are to be provided or

works are to be executed; and

b) Which has not been fully discharged.

of 80

Land Any beneficial interest in land which is within the area

of TfSE.

Licences Any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy

land in the area of TfSE for a month or longer.

Corporate Tenancies Any tenancy where (to your knowledge) –

a) The landlord is TfSE: and

b) The tenant is a body in which you or your

partner has a beneficial interest.

Securities Any beneficial interest in securities of a body where –

a) That body (to your knowledge) has a place of

business or land in the area of TfSE; and

b) Either:

i. the total nominal value of the securities

exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the

total issued share capital of that body; or

ii. if the share capital of that body is of

more than one class, the total nominal value of

the shares of any one class in which you or your

partner has a beneficial interest exceeds one

hundredth of the total issued share capital of that

class.

of 80

27.4 For the purposes of the above:

a) "A body in which you or your partner has a beneficial interest" means a firm in

which you or your partner is a partner or a body corporate of which you or your

partner is a director, or in the securities of which you or your partner has a

beneficial interest;

b) "Director" includes a member of the committee of management of a registered

society within the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Co-operative and

Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, other than a society registered as a credit

union;

c) "Land" excludes an easement, interest or right in or over land which does not

carry with it a right for you or your partner (alone or jointly) to occupy the land or

receive income but includes your home, and

d) "Securities" means shares, debentures, debenture stock, loan stock, bonds, units

of a collective investment scheme within the meaning of the Financial Services

and Markets Act 2000 and other securities of any description, other than money

deposited with a building society.

27.5 Non-participation in case of disclosable pecuniary interest

27.5.1 If you are present at a meeting of TfSE, or any Committee, Sub- Committee, Joint

Committee or Joint Sub-Committee of TfSE, and you have a disclosable pecuniary

interest in any matter to be considered or being considered at the meeting,

a) You must not participate in any discussion of the matter at the meeting;

b) You must not participate in any vote taken on the matter at the meeting;

c) If the interest is not registered, you must disclose the interest to the meeting;

d) If the interest is registered you are also required to disclose the interest to the

meeting

e) If the interest is not registered and is not the subject of a pending notification, you

must notify TfSE’s Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days;

f) You are also required to withdraw from the room of the meeting while the matter

is being considered.

27.6 Offences

27.6.1 It is a criminal offence to:

a) Fail to notify TfSE’s Monitoring Officer of any disclosable pecuniary interest

within 28 days of appointment as a Member of TfSE;

b) Fail to disclose a disclosable pecuniary interest at a meeting if it is not on TfSE’s

Register;

c) Fail to notify TfSE’s Monitoring Officer within 28 days of a disclosable pecuniary

interest that is not on TfSE Register that you have disclosed to a meeting;

d) Participate in any discussion or vote on a matter in which you have a disclosable

pecuniary interest;

e) Knowingly or recklessly provide information that is false or misleading in notifying

TfSE’s Monitoring Officer of a disclosable pecuniary interest or in disclosing such

interest to a meeting.

27.6.2 The criminal penalties available to a court are to impose a fine not exceeding level 5

on the standard scale and disqualification from being a Councillor for up to 5 years.

of 80

SECTION B CODE OF CONDUCT FOR OFFICERS

28. Standards

28.1 All those who live, work or travel within the area of TfSE and all those who engage with TfSE

are entitled to expect the highest standard of conduct. Officers have responsibilities to the

community they serve. Officers will strive to ensure courteous, respectful, efficient and

impartial engagement with all groups and individuals within that community.

28.2 The term Officers includes those officers employed by TfSE, and those officers who

employed by other authorities but are:

a) assigned or seconded to TfSE; or

b) exercising duties for or on behalf of TfSE

29. Open Government

29.1 Officers can help contribute towards the achievement of open government, must

not restrict anyone exercising a right to access information and should be aware of what

TfSE information is open to the public.

30. Equal Opportunity Issues

30.1 Officers must ensure that TfSE policy and legislation relating to equality and equal opportunity is

followed. All members of the community, customers and colleagues have a right to be

treated with fairness and equity.

30.2 Additionally, all officers must make sure they are aware of the factors which result in black and

ethnic minority people, disabled people, women, gay men and lesbians and others with a

protected characteristic suffering inequality and oppression and undertake their duties so as to

seek to redress this. If they become a victim of harassment at work they should report it to their

manager at the earliest opportunity.

31. Appointments

31.1 Where officers are involved in appointments they must do so on the basis of merit and comply

with TfSE’s Recruitment and Selection Code of Practice.

32. Political Neutrality and Working with Elected Members

32.1 Mutual respect between officers and elected members of TfSE is essential to good local

government. Close personal familiarity can damage that relationship and prove embarrassing to

both colleagues and Elected Members.

32.2 Whether or not an officer’s post is politically restricted, they must follow every lawfully

expressed policy of TfSE and not allow their personal or political opinions to interfere with

their work. Where they are required to give advice to Elected Members and colleagues, it

should be done with impartiality.

33. Service Provision

33.1 Each officer should understand the law governing their service and inform their

of 80

manager or TfSE’s Monitoring Officer of any impropriety, breach of procedure,

unlawfulness or maladministration.

34. TfSE Property and Use of Facilities

34.1 The use of public funds is entrusted to officers in a responsible and lawful manner, ensuring

value for money for the local community.

34.2 Officers must use TfSE facilities only for TfSE business and respect the intellectual property of

TfSE which must not be used for personal gain or benefit.

35. Information Technology and Data Security

35.1 Officers should ensure that they follow any requirements relating to security procedures when

using computers and when storing and managing data.

36. Indemnification of Employees

36.1 Officers will be indemnified from personal legal action against them when acting in good faith in

the discharge of their duties.

37. The Media

37.1 Unless required to do so in the course of their work an officer must not deal directly with the

press or the media.

38. Contracts and Contractors

38.1 An officer must not seek or accept any gift or personal inducement in connection with the

procurement of works, goods or services.

38.2 Employees should inform their manager about relationships of a business or private

nature with external contractors or potential contractors. If involved in the tendering

process, they should ensure that it is open and above board, observing the rules

relating to separation of roles during tendering.

39. Sponsorship

39.1 Where TfSE wishes to sponsor an event, employees must ensure that they, their partner, or

relative, do not benefit in any way from such sponsorship without full disclosure to their

manager or the Monitoring Officer.

40. Hospitality and Gifts

40.1 Invitations to social or sporting events should be accepted only where the Monitoring Officer

has agreed that TfSE should be seen to be represented at the event.

40.2 If an employee accepts hospitality they should be mindful of all the circumstances. They should

get advanced authority from the Monitoring Officer and keep a record of such occasions.

They should not accept any significant personal gifts from contractors and outside

suppliers.

40.3 The Monitoring Officer may give further guidance on the acceptance of gifts and

of 80

hospitality and may dispense with the requirement to obtain prior agreement in

relation to items of gifts and hospitality below a financial limit to be determined by him or her from

time to time.

41. Personal Interests: Financial and Non-Financial

41.1 An employee must declare any financial interests which could conflict with TfSE’s interests to

their manager or to the Monitoring Officer.

41.2 Non-financial interests that it could be considered could bring about conflict with

TfSE’s interests should also be declared e.g. membership of outside bodies in a

personal capacity.

41.3 Employees should be mindful not to place themselves in a situation where

involvement in outside bodies could compromise their continuing professional duty to the

interests of TfSE.

41.4 When serving on outside bodes as a TfSE appointee, an employee will of course be expected

to represent and promote TfSE’s interests and policies as the circumstance dictate.

41.5 Officers should also declare membership of any organisation which is not open

to the public, has no formal membership, requires a commitment of allegiance and which has

secrecy about its rules, membership or conduct.

of 80

SECTION C MEMBER / OFFICER RELATIONS PROTOCOL

42. Introduction and Principles

42.1 The purpose of this Protocol is to guide Members of TfSE, its committees and joint committees

and Officers of TfSE, and of Constituent Authorities providing services to TfSE, its committees

and joint committees (“Officers”) in their relations with one another in such a way as to ensure the

smooth running of both organisations.

42.2 In this Protocol, references to members of TfSE include references, where

appropriate, to members of its committees and joint committees and references to officers of

TfSE include references where appropriate to officers of the Constituent Authorities who provide

services to TfSE, its committees and joint committees.

42.3 Given the variety and complexity of such relations, this Protocol does not seek to be

prescriptive or comprehensive. It simply offers guidance on some of the issues which most

commonly arise. It is hoped, however, that the approach which it adopts to these issues will

serve as a guide to dealing with other circumstances.

42.4 This Protocol is to a large extent a written statement of current practice and

convention. It seeks to promote greater clarity and certainty. If the Protocol is followed it should

ensure that Members receive objective and impartial advice and that Officers are protected from

accusations of bias and any undue influence from Members.

42.5 It also seeks to reflect the principles underlying the respective Codes of Conduct

that apply to Members and Officers. The shared object of these codes is to enhance and maintain

the integrity (real and perceived) of local government and the Codes, therefore, demand very high

standards of personal conduct.

42.6 This Protocol should be read in conjunction with the Members’ and Officers’

Codes of Conduct that apply from time to time and any guidance issued by the

Standards Committee and/or the Monitoring Officer.

43. General Points

43.1 Both Members and Officers are servants of the public and they are indispensable to

one another. But their responsibilities are distinct. Members are responsible to the electorate

and serve only so long as their term of office lasts. Officers are responsible to TfSE, its

committees and joint committees. Their job is to give advice to Members and to carry out work

under the direction and control of TfSE, its committees and joint committees.

43.2 At the heart of this Protocol is the importance of mutual respect. Member/Officer

relationships should be conducted in a positive and constructive way. Therefore, it is important

that any dealings between Members and Officers should observe reasonable standards of

courtesy and that neither party should seek to take unfair advantage of their position or seek to

exert undue influence on the other party.

43.3 A Member should not raise matters relating to the conduct or capability of an

Officer at meetings held in public or before the press. This is a long-standing tradition in

public service as an Officer has no means of responding to such

of 80

criticisms in public. If a Member feels they have not been treated with proper respect, courtesy or has any concern about the conduct or capability of an Officer, and fails to resolve it through direct discussion with the Officer, they should raise the matter with the Chief Officer of TfSE who will then look into the facts and report back to the Member.

43.4 An Officer should not raise with a Member matters relating to the conduct or capability of

another Officer in a manner that is incompatible with the overall objectives of this Protocol.

Such matters should be raised with the Officer’s immediate line manager or the Chief Officer.

43.5 Nothing in this Protocol shall prevent an officer expressing a relevant concern under TfSE’s

Whistle Blowing Policy.

43.6 Where an Officer feels that they have not been properly treated with respect and courtesy by a

Member, they should raise the matter with the Chief Officer of TfSE who will take appropriate

action including approaching the individual Member concerned or discussing the matter with the

Monitoring Officer where they consider there may be a breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

44. Officer Support to Members: General Points

44.1 Officers must act in the best interests of TfSE, its committees and joint committees as a whole

and must not give politically partisan advice.

44.2 Close personal familiarity between individual Members and Officers can damage professional

relationships and can prove embarrassing to other Members and Officers. Situations should

be avoided therefore that could give rise to the appearance of improper conduct or

behaviour.

44.3 Certain statutory officers – the Chief Officer of TfSE, the Finance Director and the Monitoring

Officer have specific roles. These are addressed in the Constitution. Their roles need to be

understood and respected by all Members. In particular Members are reminded of the duty under

the Code of Conduct to have regard to any advice given by the Finance Director or the Monitoring

Officer.

44.4 The following key principles reflect the way in which Officers generally relate to

Members:

a) Officers undertaking work for TfSE are accountable to TfSE through the Chief

Officer;

b) Support from Officers is needed for all TfSE’s functions including full TfSE, its

committees and joint committees, individual Members representing their

communities etc;

c) Day-to day managerial and operational decisions should remain the responsibility

of the Chief Officer of TfSE and other Officers.

44.5 On occasion, a decision may be reached which authorises named Officers to take action

between meetings following consultation with a Member or Members. It should be recognised

that in these circumstances it is the Officer, rather than the Member or Members, who legally

takes the action and it is the Officer who is accountable for it.

44.6 Finally, it should be remembered that TFSE Officers undertaking work for TfSE are

accountable to the Chief Officer of TfSE and whilst Officers should always seek to assist

of 80

a Member, they must not, in so doing go beyond the bounds of whatever authority they

have been given by the Chief Officer.

45. Officer Advice to Party Groups

45.1 It must be recognised by all Officers and Members that in discharging their duties and

responsibilities, Officers serve TfSE as a whole and not any political group, combination of

groups or any individual Member of TfSE. The assistance provided by Senior Officers can take

many forms ranging from a briefing meeting with a Member, Chair or other Members prior to a

meeting, to a presentation, to a full political group meeting. It is an important principle that such

assistance is available to all political groups and individual members.

46. Attendance at Party Political Group Meetings

46.1 Senior Officers may properly be called upon to assist and contribute to deliberations by party

groups but must at all times maintain political neutrality. All Officers must, in their dealings with

political groups and individual Members, treat them in a fair and even-handed manner.

46.2 Attendance at meetings of party groups is voluntary for Officers and must be authorised by the

Chief Officer of TfSE.

46.3 Certain points must, however, be clearly understood by all those participating in this type of

process, Members and Officers alike. In particular:

a) Officer assistance must not extend beyond providing information and advice in

relation to matters of TFSE business. Officers must not be involved in advising on

matters of party business. Internal party debates and decision making should

take place in the absence of Officers;

b) Party group meetings, whilst they form part of the preliminaries to TFSE decision

making, are not formal decision-making bodies of TfSE and are not empowered

to make decisions on behalf of TfSE. Conclusions reached at such meetings do

not therefore rank as TFSE decisions and it is essential that they are not

interpreted or acted upon as such; and

c) Similarly, where Officers provide information and advice to a party group meeting

in relation to a matter of TFSE business, this cannot act as a substitute for

providing all necessary information and advice to the relevant TFSE decision

making body when the matter in question is considered.

46.4 Special care needs to be exercised whenever Officers are involved in providing information and

advice to a party group meeting which includes persons who are not elected Members of one of

TfSE’s Constituent Authorities. Such persons are not bound by a Local Authority Code of

Conduct for Members (in particular, the provisions concerning the declaration of interests and

confidentiality). Officers would not be able to provide the same level of information and advice as

they would to a Member only meeting.

46.5 Officers must respect the confidentiality of any party group discussions at which they are

present. When information is disclosed to an Officer during discussions with a party group that

information should not be passed on to other groups. However, Members should be aware that

this would not prevent officers from disclosing such information to other Officers of TfSE so far as

that is necessary to performing their duties.

of 80

46.6 Any particular cases of difficulty or uncertainty in this area of Officer advice to party groups

should be raised with the Chief Officer of TfSE who will discuss them with the relevant

group leader(s).

47. Members’ Access to Information and to Authority Documents

47.1 Members have various statutory and common law rights to inspect TfSE documents. A Member

must not disclose information given to him in confidence by anyone or information acquired which

they believe is of a confidential nature, without the consent of a person authorised to give it, or

unless they are required by law to do so and must not prevent another person from gaining

access to information to which that person is entitled by law. A breach of these requirements is a

breach of the Member’s Code of Conduct and actionable by way of complaint to the Member’s

Standards Committee. If the breach is serious a civil action may be brought against the Member

and / or TfSE for damages.

47.2 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoIA) brought additional rights and responsibilities

regarding the disclosure of information. A “publication scheme” will be produced by TfSE setting

out the information which it will make publically available.

48. Correspondence

48.1 Correspondence between an individual Member and an Officer should not normally be copied

(by the Officer) to any other Member. Where it is necessary to copy the correspondence to

another Member, this should be made clear to the original Member. In other words, a system of

‘silent copies’ should not be employed.

48.2 Official letters on behalf of TfSE should normally be sent in the name of the appropriate

Officer, rather than in the name of a Member. It will, however, be appropriate in certain

circumstances (e.g. representations to a Government Minister) for a letter to appear in the

name of a Member or the Chair. Letters which, for example, create legal obligations or

give instructions on behalf of TfSE should never be sent out in the name of a Member.

49. Publicity and Press Releases

49.1 In recent years, all authorities have increasingly used publicity to keep the public informed and to

encourage public participation. The Government has issued a Code of Recommended Practice

on Local Authority Publicity and all local authorities must have regard to the provisions of any such

Code in coming to any decision on publicity. In particular members and officers should note that

during the election period special rules apply with regard to local authority publicity.

49.2 Officers and Members of TfSE will, therefore, in making decisions on publicity, take account of

the provisions of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity and any

further guidance issued by the Chief Officer of TfSE. If in doubt Officers and / or Members should

seek advice from the Chief Officer or the Monitoring Officer.

49.3 All press releases are issued through the Chief Officer on behalf of TfSE. Press releases are

not issued by TfSE on behalf of political groups. They can contain the comments of

Members and Committee Chairs where they are speaking in connection with the roles

given to them by TfSE. Officer’s comments can be included on professional and technical

issues.

of 80

50. Officer / Member Protocol

50.1 Monitoring compliance with this protocol is the responsibility of the Monitoring Officer.

50.2 Questions of interpretation of this Protocol will be determined by the Monitoring Officer.

of 80

SECTION D CODE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

51. Introduction

51.1 The definition of corporate governance is that it is about ‘how bodies ensure they

do the right things, in the right way, for the right people, in a timely, inclusive, open,

honest and accountable manner. It comprises the systems and processes, and

culture and values, by which bodies are directed and controlled and through which

they account to, engage with and, where appropriate, lead their communities’.

51.2 Transport for the South East (TfSE) has approved and adopted a code of corporate

governance which is consistent with the principles of the best practice guidance

issued jointly by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE). The framework is

based upon the following six core principles:

a) Focusing on the purpose of TfSE and the outcomes for the community and

creating and implementing a vision for the local area;

b) Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with

clearly defined functions and roles;

c) Promoting values for TfSE and demonstrating the values of good governance

through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour;

d) Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny

and managing risk;

e) Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective;

f) Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public

accountability.

51.3 TfSE is committed to meeting these principles and this statement sets out how the supporting

principles beneath each statement will be achieved, monitored and reviewed.

51.4 TfSE’s Core Principles

51.4.1 Our mission is to grow the South East’s economy by delivering a quality, integrated transport

system that makes us more productive and competitive, and improves the quality of life for all

whilst protecting the environment..

51.4.2 Supporting principles:

a) Exercising leadership by clearly communicating TfSE’s purpose and vision and

its intended outcome for residents and service users; TfSE working closely with

the Transport for the South East Partnership Board has drawn up the Transport

Strategy. This sets out the vision for the south east to be a leading global region

for net-zero carbon, sustainable economic growth where integrated transport,

digital and energy networks have delivered a step change in connectivity and

environmental quality.. This Strategy will form the basis for further area studies

which will consider the potential of strategic corridors within the;

b) The Strategic Investment Plan will set out the transport priorities for the region

including specific projects, funding and timescales for delivery;

c) Ensuring that users receive a high quality of service;

d) TfSE will produce regular reports setting out its targets and the achievement

against them. This will include progress on key investment projects;

of 80

e) Ensuring that TfSE makes best use of resources and that tax payers and service

users receive excellent value for money;

f) TfSE will prepare a medium term financial strategy which is scrutinised by

Members to ensure it supports the ambitions of TfSE. Detailed annual budgets

are considered and approved by TfSE and shared with the constituent Councils.

Annual accounts are produced within three months of the year end and an audit

opinion on these and on the value for money position is provided by external

auditors.

51.4.3 Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly

defined functions and roles.


a) Ensuring effective leadership throughout TfSE;

b) Ensuring a constructive working relationship exists between elected Members

and Officers;

c) Ensuring relationships between TfSE and the wider Partnership are clear.

51.4.5 TfSE has in place clear constitutional documents and a Committee structure covering all

aspects of TfSE’s activities. The Partnership Board, supported by the LEPs, brings

together Members and business leaders from the private sector to advise TfSE on

strategic decisions.

51.4.6 Schemes of delegation have been put in place to enable Committees, the Chief Officer,

Monitoring Officer and Directors to work effectively and make decisions in a

transparent way. Statutory officers with the appropriate skills and resources have

been appointed and ensure advice is given on the necessary financial and

procedural matters.

51.4.7 The ways of working are published and reviewed annually, including Standing

Orders and Financial Regulations, schemes of delegation, and a protocol for

Member/Officer relations. A Scrutiny Committee of co-opted members from all

constituent authorities includes within its terms of reference the review of any

decision of TfSE and an Audit and Governance Committee oversees financial and

audit matters.

51.4.8 Promoting values for TfSE and demonstrating the values of good governance through

upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour.

51.4.9 Supporting principles

a) Ensuring members and officers exercise leadership by behaving in ways that

uphold high standards of conduct and exemplify effective governance;

b) Ensuring that organisational values are put into practice and are effective;

c) TfSE expects the highest standards of conduct and personal behaviour from its

Members and officers. Robust arrangements are in place to ensure that these high

standards are promoted and upheld. Organisational values have been adopted by

TfSE and are reflected in policies and protocols;

d) TfSE has issued, and keeps under regular review, a number of documents including

an Officer Code of Conduct, a complaints procedure and an anti-fraud and anti-

corruption policy which includes the whistleblowing policy. All officers are trained in

of 80

the values, standards, policies and procedures that TfSE expects them to adhere to

51.4.10 Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective

scrutiny and managing risk.


a) Exercising leadership by being rigorous and transparent about how decisions are

made;

b) Having good quality information, advice and support;

c) Making sure an effective risk management system is in place;

d) Recognising the limits of lawful action;

e) TfSE ensures that decision making is transparent and that appropriate advice is

taken in reaching decisions. All decisions of TfSE and its Committees are made

in public meetings with documents available to the public via the internet. Officer

decisions are taken in accordance with the schemes of delegation in place and

are recorded. The Partnership Board publishes its papers and minutes via the

internet. Investment decisions are made in the context of an assurance

framework that meets national guidance and that is reviewed annually. The

Scrutiny Committee, made up of co-opted Members from across the region,

meets regularly and provides the mechanism for ongoing constructive scrutiny

and challenge;

f) Appropriately skilled and qualified officers provide advice and input to the

decision-making process;

g) TfSE has in place a Publication Scheme that complies with the requirements of

the Transparency Code and enables the public to directly access a range of

information on its website;

h) A risk management framework is in place and is overseen by the Audit and

Governance Committee. Senior Officer Group will manage and develop the risk

management arrangements and oversee health and safety risks, ensuring

compliance with health and safety legislation and an appropriate management of

those risks. A risk manual provides practical guidance to officers in recording,

monitoring and managing risk through the performance management system;

i) TfSE has arrangements in place to ensure it collects, uses and stores information

and data appropriately;

j) The Audit and Governance Committee oversees all governance arrangements

and ensures these are operating effectively. It monitors and formally reviews the

work of the internal audit function and considers the annual review of internal

control produced by the Internal Audit Manager;

k) TfSE is committed to openness and transparency and arrangements are in place

to enable webcasting of meetings of TfSE and its committees and ensuring

similar standards of transparency are achieved for Partnership Board meetings.

Further consideration of the Publication Scheme will also take place to

understand whether there is further information that could be published.

51.4.11 Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective.

51.4.12 Supporting principles: Making sure Members and Officers have the skills, knowledge, experience

and resources they need to perform well;

a) Developing the capability of people with governance responsibilities;

b) Encouraging new talent for membership of ;

c) TfSE seeks to ensure all Members and Officers have the necessary skills and

training to fulfil their roles. Members receive an induction programme when they

are appointed to TfSE and this is supplemented by specialised training courses

of 80

where appropriate. Officers are appointed using competency based job

descriptions and their performance against these competencies is regularly

monitored and reviewed. A detailed learning and development plan ensures that

training needs are met at both an individual and an organisational level.

51.4.13 Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability.


a) Exercising leadership through a robust scrutiny function which effectively

engages local people and all local institutional stakeholders;

b) TfSE engages with stakeholders and local people in a variety of ways. Its actions

are readily available to the public via the publication of all meeting papers and

decisions on the internet and the public nature of all its meetings;

c) The Partnership Board provides the forum for bringing together the public and

private sector on strategic policy matters;

d) TfSE website is set up both to provide information and to engage with local

people;

e) For all significant projects and strategies public consultation will be undertaken

both electronically and in the form of public meetings;

f) Work to be undertaken during the year will include consideration of how current

arrangements for local engagement on transport matters could be extended to

include the wider economic agenda. The format and nature of these meetings will

also be considered.

51.5 Monitoring and Review

51.5.1 It is the responsibility of the Audit and Governance Committee to keep corporate

governance matters under review. As part of this process it undertakes regular

reviews throughout the year with a formal review at the year end of the processes

and systems in place during the year. This includes the results of the work carried out

by the internal audit section. The Committee reviews the Annual Governance

Statement which forms part of the statutory annual accounts which are subject to

external audit. The Committee review and recommend this statement to TfSE for

consideration and approval.

of 80

SECTION E ANTI FRAUD & CORRUPTION POLICY

To be that of the Lead Authority

SECTION F WHISTLEBLOWING POLICY

Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure Policy Statement

To be that of the Lead Authority

of 80

TO BE FINALISED ON CONFIRMATION OF STATUTORY STATUS

TRANSPORT FOR THE SOUTH EAST CONSTITUTION: APPENDICES

INDEX

Appendix 1: Distribution of Votes 64

Appendix 2: Financial Contributions 65

Appendix 3: Governance Framework 66

Appendix 4: Protocol on the Exercise of Concurrent Functions 73

Appendix 5: The Schedule of Approvals 75

of 80

Appendix 1 – DISTRIBUTION OF VOTES

TfSE constituent authorities Population1 Number of votes

2

Brighton and Hove City Council 287,173 2

East Sussex County Council 549,557 4

Hampshire County Council 1,365,103 10

Isle of Wight Council 140,264 1

Kent County Council 1,540,438 11

Medway Council 276,957 2

Portsmouth City Council 213,335 2

Southampton City Council 250,377 2

Surrey County Council 1,180,956 8

West Sussex County Council 846,888 6

Bracknell Forest Council 119,730

Reading Borough Council 162,701

Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead 149,689

Slough Borough Council 147,736

West Berkshire Council 158,576

Wokingham Borough Council 163,087

Berkshire Local Transport Body (total) 901,519 6

Total 7,552,567 54

1 Population as per ONS 2016 estimates

2 Number of votes = population/140,000 (the population of constituent authority with the smallest

population, this being the Isle of Wight)

of 80

Appendix 2 – FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS 1 The Lead Authority shall invoice the other Parties for their Financial Contribution on an annual basis (“the Payment Period”). The Financial Contribution due to the Lead Authority shall be paid by each relevant Party within 30 days of receipt of the invoice. 2 The Parties’ Financial Contributions shall be calculated in accordance with the table below: Name of Constituent Authority Type of Authority Share of costs of the Project

East Sussex County Council County 11.65% Hampshire County Council County 11.65% Kent County Council County 11.65% Surrey County Council County 11.65% West Sussex County Council County 11.65%

Brighton and Hove City Council Unitary 6.02% Isle of Wight Council Unitary 6.02% Medway Council Unitary 6.02% Portsmouth City Council Unitary 6.02% Southampton City Council Unitary 6.02%

Bracknell Forest Council Shared Vote 1.94% Reading Borough Council Shared Vote 1.94% Slough Borough Council Shared Vote 1.94% West Berkshire Council Shared Vote 1.94% The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Shared Vote 1.94%

Wokingham Borough Council Shared Vote 1.94%

of 80

Appendix 3 – GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

1. Introduction

1.1 This document sets out TfSE’s governance and high level working arrangements and should

be read in conjunction with the TfSE Constitution. The governance framework forms an

appendix to TfSE’s constitution but can be regarded as a free-standing document. In the

case of inconsistency between the two documents, the Constitution prevails.

1.2 Corporate Governance is defined as the system by which TfSE is directed and controlled.

1.3 The Governance Framework:

Establishes the control environment, by setting out the control activities to be

undertaken, how they will be undertaken and who will do them; and

Develops the foundations for governance, review and reporting framework around the

integrated organisation.

1.4 This document will be maintained as a working document. Feedback is encouraged and will be

considered on the whole, before being incorporated where practicable.

1.5 This document has been prepared in conjunction with the Constitution of TfSE and will be

maintained and updated accordingly.

2. Overview

2.1 These governance arrangements have been established in accordance with the Constitution

of TfSE.

2.2 The Constitution outlines how TfSE operates, how decisions are made and the procedures

which are followed in order to ensure that TfSE operates efficiently, effectively and in a

transparent and accountable manner.

2.3 The benefits of an established Governance Framework include:

Providing assurance to TfSE of the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall

project and programme delivery;

The establishment of high-level working arrangements and practices; and

The formalisation of required reporting structures which will allow the performance

of functions, projects and programmes to be monitored and measured.

2.4 Formal governance arrangements define:

Lines of authority, accountability and assurance;

Governance Bodies / Organisation;

Frequency of meetings; and

Terms of Reference of each.

3. Governance Framework

of 80

3.1 Terms of Reference for each body is provided below. This sets out the breakdown of governance roles,

and the authorities and responsibilities of each body, in accordance with legislation.

3.2 The Terms of Reference of TfSE Committees (described in the constitution in Part 4) are approved by

TfSE at a Full Meeting of its Members and will be kept under review.

4. TfSE Members’ Bodies

4.1 Section 4 describes those committees which are primarily member bodies.

4.2 Audit and Governance Committee Terms of Reference

Entity Audit and Governance Committee

Members Member (Chair)

4 Members of TfSE

An independent Member (roles to be recruited to supply

required specialist skills)

In Attendance Finance Director

A representative of DfT

Any other person at the invitation of the Committee or the Statutory

Officers

Establishment

The Audit and Governance Committee will be established as a committee of the TfSE Members’ Board in

accordance with the TfSE Constitution. It has the following purposes:

(i) assisting the TfSE Members’ Board in meeting its responsibilities in relation to the integrity of TfSE’s

financial reporting, including the effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems;

(ii) monitoring the effectiveness and objectivity of internal and external auditors; and

(iii) assisting the TfSE Members’ Board in providing leadership, direction and oversight of the overall

risk appetite and risk management strategy.

Membership

The Members of the Audit and Governance Committee are the Members of TfSE appointed to the Committee and the

Independent Members co-opted to the Committee by TfSE Members’ Board in accordance with the powers granted to

TfSE under the Statutory instrument.

Meetings

The Audit and Governance Committee shall meet quarterly or at such intervals as the Chair may decide.

A meeting shall be quorate where three Members of whom at least 2 are representatives of the Constituent

Authorities are present

of 80

The Committee may invite any individual, whether internal or external, to attend all or part of any meeting in

whatever capacity as the Chair of the Committee deems appropriate in order to assist the Committee in its

duties.

The Committee will meet privately with the external auditor at least once a year, without the presence of TfSE

Officers.

The Head of Legal Services, or a delegate, will attend each meeting as Secretary. The Committee shall meet

quarterly or at such intervals as the Chair may decide.

Authorities and Responsibilities

The Audit and Governance Committee will advise the TfSE Members’ Board on the matters set out below:

(i) financial reporting, internal control and audit processes; and

(ii) advising the TfSE Members’ Board on the risk exposures of TfSE, reviewing

TfSE’s risk management framework and monitoring its effectiveness and adherence to the risk

policies.

Risk Management

Independently monitoring and assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the risk management framework,

with particular focus on:

(i) the risk management strategy for managing key risks;

(ii) risk ownership, accountability and the development of mitigating actions;

(iii) the alignment of internal audit and other assurance planning through a risk-based approach to

auditing; and

(iv) receiving reports from management on the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control and risk

management framework.

Financial Control Framework

Advise the Finance Director in respect of the Annual Governance Statement to be incorporated within the

Annual Reports and Accounts.

Considering the robustness of financial controls, including the financial reporting process; the accounting

policies; and the Annual Statement of Accounts of the TfSE Members’ Board, to ensure that published financial

information has integrity; is balanced; and is transparent; and also seeking to ensure assets are safeguarded

against fraud and irregularity.

Considering, (in the absence of management if appropriate), sensitive audit findings and matters which the

internal and external auditors may wish to raise and to report, if appropriate, to the Board with any

recommendations for improvements.

Seek assurances regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of TfSE’s arrangements to satisfy the

requirements of the [CIPFA/SOLACE] framework of corporate governance.

Internal Audit

Will consider and advise the Board annually on the adequacy of the rolling work plans for internal audit and ensure that

the work plans link appropriately to those of the external auditors and other assurance providers. At each meeting will

of 80

receive a report from the [Internal Audit Representative] which will include:

(i) progress made on delivery of the audit plan;

(ii) any proposed changes to the annual audit plan;

(iii) key findings arising from Internal Audit and, where appropriate, compliance work;

(iv) the timeliness and suitability of management responses to audit recommendations;

progress made in implementing Internal Audit recommendations; and

(v) any significant resourcing issues affecting the delivery of Internal Audit objectives.

Will discuss with [Internal Audit Representative], as appropriate, any issue relating to their report, in the

absence of management where necessary. The Committee may also direct Internal Audit to carry out work in

any area where it believes further assurance is required.

Will ensure the Internal Audit function is adequately resourced and has the necessary experience, skills,

independence and appropriate standing within the organisation.

Will conduct an annual review of the effectiveness of internal audit; this should include consideration of the

effectiveness of any internal audit services provided by third parties.

The Committee may invite to meetings those Functional Leads responsible for internal audit recommendations

to explain the reasons for agreed timescales not being met or in instances where Internal Audit are not satisfied

that action taken has addressed the risk appropriately.

External Audit

To review progress reports, to be provided at each meeting, from the External Auditors on work that they

are performing including both interim and annual accounts audits, value for money exercises and other

reviews.

Overseeing TfSE’s relations with the external auditor.

Considering and making recommendations on the appointment, reappointment and removal of the external

auditor as far as the Audit Commission’s rules permit.

Approving the terms of engagement and remuneration to be paid to the external auditor.

Assessing the qualification, expertise and resources, effectiveness and independence of the

external auditors annually.

Discussing with the external auditor, before the audit commences, the nature and scope of the audit.

Reviewing with the external auditors, the findings of their work including, any major issues that arise during the

course of their audit that have subsequently been resolved and any issues that remain unresolved; key

accounting and audit judgements; and any errors identified during the audit, obtaining explanations from

management and where necessary, the external auditors, as to why certain errors might remain unadjusted.

Reviewing the audit representation letters before consideration by the TfSE Members’ Board, giving

particular consideration to matters that relate to “nonstandard” issues.

Assessing at the end of the audit cycle, the effectiveness of the audit process, by reviewing whether the

external auditor has delivered against the agreed audit plan and understanding the reasons for any changes,

including changes in perceived audit risks and the work undertaken by the external auditors to assess those

risks.

Considering the robustness and perceptiveness of the auditors in their handling of the key accounting and audit

of 80

judgements identified and in responding to questions from the Audit and Governance Committee, and in their

commentary, where appropriate on the systems of internal control.

Obtaining feedback about the conduct of the audit from key individuals involved in the process; and

Reviewing the annual Audit Letter to assess whether it is based on a good understanding of the

company’s business and establish whether recommendations have been acted upon.

Compliance with laws and regulations

The Audit and Governance Committee is responsible for:

(i) Reviewing the effectiveness of the system for monitoring compliance with laws and regulations and advising on

the adequacy of TfSE’s counter-fraud policies and procedures and ensuring that arrangements are in place by

which staff may, in confidence, raise concerns about any potential improprieties.

(ii) Receiving reports of management’s investigations and any action taken in respect of any fraudulent act

or non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Governance and Support

Minutes of the meetings shall be taken and reported to the TfSE Members’ Board.

The Committee will undertake an annual review of its own performance and review its Terms of

Reference, recommending any changes it considers necessary to the TfSE Members’ Board for approval.

Appropriate and timely training will be available, both in the form of an induction programme for new Members

and on an ongoing basis for all Members.

4.3 Scrutiny Committee Terms of Reference

Entity TfSE Scrutiny Committee

Members Constituent Authority Representatives and any co-opted Members

In attendance Any other person at the invitation of the TfSE Scrutiny Committee

Authorities and Responsibilities

These arrangements have been established to act as a focus for the scrutiny and challenge of the TfSE

Members’ Board and to investigate matters of strategic importance to the combined administrative area

covered by the constituent authorities.

The role of these arrangements will include monitoring and to make recommendations for

improvement and/or changes on:

(i) The decisions of TfSE;

(ii) The decisions of TfSE which are taken by TfSE in accordance with the delegations

(iii) Making reports or recommendations to TfSE with respect to the discharge of the functions of TfSE;

of 80

and

(iv) Making reports and recommendations on transport matters that affect the area of TfSE or the

inhabitants of the area.

(v) Making recommendations to TfSE in advance of any decisions that TfSE proposes to take

In order to discharge these responsibilities, the Scrutiny Committee has the power to:

(i) To review and scrutinise decisions made or other action taken by TfSE;

(ii) To make reports or recommendations with respect to the discharge of the functions of TfSE;

(iii) To make reports or recommendations on transport matters that affect the area of TfSE or inhabitants

of the area;

(iv) To require members or officers of TfSE to attend meetings of the Committee to answer

questions;

(v) To invite other persons to attend meetings of the Committee.

Key Principles for the Operation of the Scrutiny Committee

The constituent authorities will work together to maximise the exchange of information and views, to minimize

bureaucracy and make best use of the time of members and officers of other bodies or agencies.

(i) Members of the Scrutiny Committee will, when considering reviews, determine whether the issue is

more appropriately dealt with by one of the constituent councils or elsewhere and will not duplicate

the work of existing bodies or agencies.

(ii) Subject to prior consultation, the constituent authorities will respond positively to requests for

information, or for the attendance of a member or officer at any meetings set up under these

arrangements.

(iii) It is for each constituent council to decide who it considers the most appropriate person(s) to speak

on its behalf at any meetings set up under these arrangements.

Scrutiny Panels

The Scrutiny Committee can establish Scrutiny Panels to undertake agreed scrutiny reviews.

Scrutiny Panels established shall include representatives from at least 3 of the constituent councils.

Each Scrutiny Panel shall appoint a Chair and Vice Chair from amongst its members.

Scrutiny Panels established under this protocol must be appointed to carry out specific scrutiny tasks and be time

limited. Their continuation will be subject to confirmation at each annual meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

Different approaches to scrutiny reviews may be taken in each case but members will seek to act in an

inclusive manner and will take evidence from a wide range of opinion.

Voting if needed will be by a show of hands and a simple majority will be required to approve any

recommendation.

The Scrutiny Panels will meet as appropriate for the scope of scrutiny required.

Budget and Administration

The Scrutiny Budget will be agreed as part of TfSE’s annual budgetary processes.

The budget will be required to meet all officer support to the scrutiny arrangements, including research support.

The decisions and recommendations of any Scrutiny Panels set up under these arrangements will be

of 80

communicated to TfSE, and other Scrutiny Committee members as soon as possible after resolution by those

appointed to any such Scrutiny Panel.

Any external expenditure shall be procured and managed through and in accordance with TfSE’s adopted

financial processes.

5. TfSE Officer Bodies

5.1 Section 5 describes those bodies which consist of TfSE officers and officers co-opted from

other organisations.

TBC

of 80

Appendix 4 – PROTOCOL FOR THE EXERCISE OF CONCURRENT FUNCTIONS

Date

Between

Transport for the South East (TfSE)

And

(Constituent Authorities/ other Authorities)

Background

1) By Regulations made the [Date/Month/Year] TfSE has been established as a Sub-national

Transport Body with the following key functions.

a) The preparation of a South East Transport Strategy;

b) The provision of advice on the South East’s priorities as a Statutory Partner in the

Departments investment processes;

c) The co-ordination of regional transport activities (such as smart ticketing);

2) The carrying out of these functions may entail the exercise of the functions set out in the

Regulations which TfSE holds concurrently with the Constituent Authorities or other local

authorities. TfSE and the Constituent Authorities have agreed to enter into this Protocol to

govern the way in which these concurrent functions will be exercised.

Protocols

1) Where TfSE has defined a project, gained the consent of the relevant authorities and the

scheme has been approved by TfSE, the Constituent Authorities acknowledge in

principle that TfSE shall exercise those powers and functions which it holds concurrently

with the Constituent Authorities so as to enable it to carry out the project, subject to the

consent provisions set out in the TfSE Regulations. A project shall be any defined

proposal for works that is to be proposed to the Partnership Board and to the TfSE Board

for approval.

2) TfSE agrees that where it proposes to carry out a project that requires the exercise of concurrent

powers within the geographical area of one or more of the Constituent Authorities it will carry out

prior consultation with any relevant Authorities including those Constituent Authorities and other

Authorities over the exercise of those powers and functions, and agrees that it must gain their

consent prior to TfSE considering whether to approve the project.

3) TfSE agrees that it will not exercise the highway powers or functions it holds concurrently with

the highway or other relevant authorities without having first obtained the agreement of the

authorities concerned to the exercise of those powers and functions and the manner in which

they will be exercised

4) TfSE agrees that it will request any consents required under the Regulations in relation

to:

The exercise of any concurrent function or the manner in which TfSE

proposes to exercise any concurrent function in a timely manner, and that

where practicable, this should be secured before the approval of the project.

of 80

TfSE will exercise its concurrent functions in such a way as to be compatible

with and complementary to the exercise of these functions by the Constituent

Authorities

of 80

5) Where either party consider that the scale and nature of a project are of a complex

nature TfSE and the Constituent Authority or other Authority will enter into a bespoke

Protocol to govern the way in which TfSE’s activities will interact with those of the

Constituent Authority or other Authority.

6) The parties will act in a spirit of mutual co-operation but any disagreement between

TfSE and a Constituent Authority or other Authority about the exercise of concurrent

powers and functions will be referred in the first instance to the Chief Officers of TfSE

and the other party with a view to achieving a resolution between the parties, and in

default of agreement to the Partnership Board for resolution provided always that

notwithstanding any recommendations made by the Partnership Board under this

provision , the consent of any Authority required under the Regulations wi ll still be

required.

7) Future operations of TfSE should, where possible, seek to draw down powers from

central government, rather than seek concurrent powers with the local transport

authorities.

of 80

Appendix 5 – SCHEDULE OF APPROVALS

Category Functional Lead TfSE Members’ Board

1. Approval of TfSE’s

Business Plan and Capital and

Revenue Budgets

Preparation coordinated by Finance Director Approval

2. Virement between

heads of expenditure within

revenue budgets

Director approval for both the receiving and

transmitting budgets up-to £100,000

All amounts up-to £25,000 require approval

by Financial Controller.

All amounts greater than £25,000 require

approval by Finance Director.

CEX to provide final approval on all

virements greater than £100,000.

Will be provided with a budget revision each

quarter.

Budget Virements between revisions will

be reported in the Quarterly Operating

Report.

3. Approval of release of

contingency (not including

financial reserves)

Director approval for the release budgeted

contingency.

All amounts up-to £25,000 require approval

by Financial Controller.


approval by Finance Director.

4. Approval of release of

financial reserves

(supplemental estimates

resourced from reserves)

Finance Director and Chief Officer to

approve non- budgeted draws on reserves

Members to be informed of non-budgeted

draws on reserves.

5. Approval to

commission budgeted

works, goods and services

from TfSE Core funding.

Up-to £50,000 requires formal budget holder

approval and approval from the Financial

Controller.

Greater than £50,000 also requires

functional Director, Finance Director, and

CO approval.

Procurement Manager consulted on all

amounts.

Prior approval of Scope / remit required for

contracts more than £1,000,000.

6. Approval to award

contracts for which

appropriate commissioned

approvals exist for the

supply of works, good and

services from TfSE Core

funding.

Up-to £50,000 requires formal budget

holder and Financial Controller approval

All amounts above £50,000 require

functional Director and Finance Director

approval.

All amounts greater than EU threshold

also to require CO approval.


amounts.

of 80

7. Approval to submit

business cases to access

capital funding

Up to £1,000,000 to require approval from

the functional Director, the Finance Director,

and CO

Prior approval of Scope / remit required for

Business case applying for greater than

£5,000,000.

8. Agree terms of funding

agreements with DfT / other.

Up to £5,000,000 to include the Finance

Director

Above £5,000,000 to include the CO

9. Approval to commission

works, goods and services for

Programme /Capital items

with business case approval /

funding approval. NB – these

will be subject to funding

conditions.

Up-to EU threshold requires formal

budget holder and Financial Controller

approval

Greater than EU threshold requires functional

Director Finance Director approval.

Greater than £1,000,000 also to requires

CO approval.


amounts.

Actual capital expenditure to be reported

against budget in Quarterly reporting.

10. Approval to award

contracts for which appropriate

commissioned approvals exist

for the supply of Programme /

Capital works (potentially

including goods and services)



approval.

All amounts greater than EU threshold also

require approval from the functional director,

the Finance Director, and the CO.


amounts.

11. Contract cost over-

runs to any contracts already

awarded (subject to

compliance with legislation,

and commissioning and

procurement regulations).



approval.

All amounts greater than OJEU threshold

require approval from the functional

director and Finance Director and CO.


amounts.

All changes to contracts that result in additional

expenditure will be reported as part of in-year

budget monitoring reports.

of 80

12. Contract scope

changes to contracts for

budgeted works, goods and

services from TfSE Core

funding (subject to




Up-to £50,000 requires formal budget

holder and Financial Controller approval.


approval from the functional director and

Finance Director and CO.


amounts.

Prior approval of scope / remit required for

scope changes to contracts where the total

aggregate value is more than £1,000,000.

13. Contract scope

changes to contracts for the

supply of budgeted

Programme / Capital items

with business case approval /

funding approval. NB – these

will be subject to funding

conditions. (subject to






approval.

All amounts greater than EU threshold

require approval from the functional

director and Finance Director.

Greater than £1,000,000 also requires CO

approval.


amounts.

14. Grant Awards to third

parties. (Prior approval of

the intention to disburse

grant required)

Up-to £200,000 to include functional

Director, Finance Director and CO.

15. Bidding for

Grants from DfT

or other bodies

Thematic directors to manage the

development of bids.

Finance Director to formally approve bids

following endorsement by the thematic

Director.

CO to approve all Grant bids up to

£1,000,000.

Prior approval for bids for more than

£5,000,000.

All grant bids to be reported quarterly.

16. Approval of Suppliers Procurement Manager, with engagement

with the Financial Controller where

appropriate for credit checks.

of 80

17. Purchases below

£1,000

Budget holder and Financial Controller

approval, in accordance with relevant

policies (including travel and expenses). If

purchase is a call off from an existing

contract, a copy of the agreed price is

required. If the purchase is from a new

supplier, 3 written quotes are required

obtained by TfSE officer.

18. Purchases likely to

exceed £1,000 but below

£10,000

Three written quotes obtained by TfSE

officer, approved by budget holder and

Financial Controller.


exceed £10,000.

Three written quotations obtained by

Procurement Manger, approved by budget

holder and Financial Controller.


exceed £50,000.

Formal competition managed by

Procurement Manager in consultation with

Finance Director


exceed EU threshold or

relevant procurement

thresholds.

Refer to Procurement Manager

22. Disposal of assets (values

based upon the market value

of the assets pre- disposal).

Up-to £50,000

All amounts up to £25,000 Finance Director.

Amounts greater than £50,000 to also to

include the CO.

To be informed of asset disposals in

Quarterly Operating Report.

23. Write-off of assets,

including bad debts

Up-to £500,000



include the CO.

To be informed of asset disposals in

Quarterly Operating Report.

24. Acquisition of any interest

in land (including freehold

transfers, contracts for leases

or leases on property) or

leases of equipment of any

form.

Up-to £500,000



include the CO.

To be informed of the

acquisition / lease of property or the

lease of equipment in the Quarterly

Operating Report.

of 80

25. New (or changes to

existing) bank and investment

accounts or terms of service.

Finance Director To be informed of any substantive changes to

banking arrangements in the Quarterly Operating

Report.

26. Treasury Strategy Review

/ sign-off/ in- year

amendments.

Finance Director To approve the Annual Treasury

Management Strategy.

To approve substantive in-year changes to

Treasury Management strategy that can be

considered in a timely manner.

27. Short term investment of

excess funds

Cash management protocols agreed

through a Treasury Management Practices

document.

Financial Controller where less than one

month and less than £2,000,000.

Finance Director in all other circumstances.

28. Payments from TfSE Up-to £25,000 – any two authorized

signatories

Between £25,000 and £100,000 – two

authorized signatories of whom one is an

“A” signatory.

29. Legal, Financial

consultancy / advisory, or IT

expenditure of any type.

Subject to normal approval limits, but must

be approved by the relevant Directorate

head (i.e. Monitoring Officer, Finance

Director, HR and Mobilisation Director etc)

Notes to the table of Authority

1. For the avoidance of doubt, all values referred to exclude VAT.

2. References to EU threshold should be taken to mean the EU limit (or equivalent) at the point in line the

activity is taking place.

3. Unless stated otherwise, the authority of budget holders is limited to decisions affecting their own cost

centre. Decisions impacting on multiple cost centres must be taken jointly, via the operations board.

4. Membership of the TfSE Senior Officer Group are included in the TfSE Governance

Framework.

5. Procurement of any type, whether capital or revenue in nature is subject to the provisions of the

Contracts and Procurement Rules contained within Appendix [x].

6. Formal Monitoring Officer advice must be sought for certain procurements per 30.1.5 of the

constitution

Appendix 3

Paper 4

Report to: Shadow Partnership Board - Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title of report: Transport Strategy Development

Purpose of report: To provide a progress update on the draft Transport Strategy

public consultation, and to update on the procurement process for the in-depth area studies and scoping work on the thematic studies.

RECOMMENDATIONS: The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the progress on the draft Transport Strategy public consultation;

(2) Note the progress on the procurement process to secure professional

services to undertake the five area studies and Strategic Investment Plan (SIP);

(3) Note the progress on the scoping work for the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy; and

(4) Agree to commence the procurement activity for the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy following completion of scoping work

1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide a progress update on the public consultation currently in progress on the draft Transport Strategy and the Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA). The report also updates the Shadow Partnership Board on the progress of the procurement process to secure a provider/s to undertake the area studies that will identify the interventions needed to deliver the strategy, and to develop a Strategic Investment Plan (SIP). The report also provides an update on further scoping work underway to deliver a Future Mobility Strategy and a Freight Strategy for the South East, and seeks approval to commence the procurement activity on these two strategies following completion of the scoping work.

2. Background 2.1 In September 2019 the Shadow Partnership Board considered and approved a report with the recommendation that the draft Transport Strategy, and associated Integrated Sustainability Appraisal, be subject to a three month public consultation. 2.2 The Board also approved a recommendation to procure providers to undertake in-depth area studies to identify the transport interventions required to deliver the Transport Strategy.

Agenda Item 6

2.3 On 17 October 2019, members of the Board were invited by email to comment on an additional recommendation for the TfSE secretariat to undertake further scoping work required to develop a Future Mobility Strategy and a Freight Strategy. 2.4 Attached as Appendix 1 is the Transport Strategy route map which illustrates the timetable for the next steps in the Transport Strategy process. 3 Draft Transport Strategy Consultation 3.1 The draft Transport Strategy was formally launched for public consultation at the ‘Connecting the South East’ event at Farnborough International on 10 October 2019. The event was attended by 200 delegates. Further details about the event are included in the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Report included on the Agenda. 3.2 The formal launch was followed by a Parliamentary Reception on 15 October, and five regional events in Reading, Woking, Canterbury, Brighton and Southampton. These events provided the opportunity to engage with stakeholders across the TfSE area, and to give them the opportunity to find out more about the draft Transport Strategy, and to ask questions to assist them in formulating their consultation response.

3.3 The consultation is scheduled to end on 10 January 2020, after which time responses will be analysed and the need for possible changes to the draft Transport Strategy and Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) to be identified, before being considered by the Board in April 2020 for final approval.

4 Area Studies Procurement 4.1 At their meeting in September 2019 the Shadow Partnership Board approved the recommendation to begin the procurement process to secure providers to undertake five area studies. These will identify the most prescient challenges and opportunities in the area under study. This will help to identify where geographically, and under what conditions, local sustainable transport schemes and wider policy interventions should be implemented to deliver the Transport Strategy. The proposed map showing the five radial and orbital study area locations are shown in Appendix 2. 4.2 The area studies will include three radial study areas; South West, South Central and South East, and two orbital areas; Inner Orbital and Outer Orbital. Following engagement with stakeholders, there is broad agreement that the first two area studies to be commissioned should be the Inner Orbital and Outer Orbital studies. The Inner Orbital study includes the key economic hubs of Reading, Gatwick and key locations in Kent, and will investigate how the east-west links between them could be improved. The Outer Orbital study has been identified as a priority due to the strategic importance of the east west linkages between a number of the key international gateways and key economic hubs including Southampton Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Dover, Brighton and Hove and key locations in Kent. 4.3 Since the Shadow Partnership Board in September 2019, the TfSE secretariat have consulted with constituent authorities on potential procurement frameworks to ensure the widest selection of providers are given the opportunity to tender to complete the studies. Following this consultation, it was decided to utilise the Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation (ESPO) consultancy framework with East Sussex County Council providing procurement support as the accountable body for TfSE.

This framework was used to procure the Transport Strategy. The timeline attached in Appendix 3 shows the anticipated timescales for the area studies procurement process. 4.4 The completion of the five area studies will lead to the development of the Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) which will set out the transport infrastructure investment required across the South East up to 2050. It is recommended to procure a provider to undertake the SIP through the same procurement process as the area studies. This part of the contract will begin once the five area studies are completed. 4.5 The anticipated cost of each area study is expected to be in the region of £250,000. The grant of £500,000 received from DfT for 2019/20 means that on award of contract, there is sufficient funding for two area studies to be developed; which it is proposed will be the Inner Orbital, and the Outer Orbital studies. The remaining three radial studies will begin once further funding has been secured from DfT. 4.6 A tender evaluation panel will be established consisting of members of the TfSE Transport Strategy Working Group. Tenders will be assessed on a 70:30 quality: price basis. Following the tender evaluation process and the necessary approvals, it is anticipated that the contract will be awarded in mid-February 2020. An update on the outcome of the tendering process will be provided to the Shadow Partnership Board in April 2020.

4.7 As per the process of developing the Transport Strategy, the Board will similarly be consulted on the Strategic Investment Plan, all area and thematic studies as work progresses and will have final approval.

5 Future Mobility Strategy and Freight Strategy 5.1 On 17 October 2019, the members of the Shadow Partnership Board were contacted by email to request approval to proceed with scoping work to develop a Future Mobility Strategy and a Freight Strategy. This work will enable briefs to be developed for a formal procurement process to identify providers to undertake the strategy development work in early 2020. 5.2 The Future Mobility scoping work will identify TfSE’s potential role in shaping the development of future transport technology in a way that will meet the vision and priorities that are set out in the draft Transport Strategy. This scoping work has been directly awarded to WSP who undertook the recent Future Transport Technology Study and who have agreed to undertake a considerable proportion of this additional scoping work at their own cost. This means that the cost of this scoping work to TfSE is £5,000. Given that the work is less than £25,000 in value, a direct award is permissible under the procurement rules operated by ESCC as our accountable body. 5.3 Following approval to proceed with the scoping work, three workshops were held in late November with key stakeholders from the public and private sector as follows:

26 November – Canterbury

27 November – Brighton

28 November – Woking

5.4 The purpose of the workshops was to identify what the key priorities across the TfSE area should be along with practical actions required to accelerate existing future mobility initiatives. The workshop outcomes will help to formulate a draft brief for the Future Mobility Strategy. 5.5 The Freight Strategy scoping work will help identify the brief for developing the strategy. This will include undertaking a number of stakeholder workshops and establishing a TfSE Freight Forum (as a sub-group of the TfSE Transport Forum) which will be tasked with overseeing the development and the implementation of the Freight Strategy. The scoping study will also identify what action would be needed to improve the availability of data on freight movement.

5.6 The cost of the scoping activity for the Freight Strategy and action plan is estimated at £25,000, and three potential suppliers will be approached to quote for this work. Given the anticipated value of the scoping work, a full competitive tendering exercise is not required under the Procurement rules operated by ESCC as our accountable body.

5.7 On completion of the scoping work, the TfSE secretariat will commence the procurement exercise to identify suppliers to develop the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy. A report will be brought before the next meeting in April 2020, to update the Board on outcomes of the scoping work and progress with the procurement activity.

6 Forthcoming Activity 6.1 Over the next three months the key activities to be undertaken will be as follows:

Invitation to tender for the area studies and SIP issued – December 2019

Transport Strategy consultation ends – 10 January 2020

Three Freight stakeholder workshops – January 2020

Area studies and SIP contract awarded – February 2020

Procurement process for the Future Mobility Strategy and Freight Strategy – early 2020

6.2 A further report on the draft Transport Strategy consultation responses will be presented to the Shadow Partnership Board in April 2020, along with the final Transport Strategy for approval. An update on the procurement process for the area studies will also be presented to the Board in April 2020, along with an update on the procurement process for the Future Mobility Strategy, and the Freight Strategy.

7 Financial Considerations 7.1 In May 2018, the DfT made a grant award of £1m to TfSE towards the development of the Transport Strategy, which was supplemented by £100,000 in 2017/18. The total cost of the work commissioned to date is £926,000. This includes Lots A, B, C and D, as well as design work and strategy related events. In May 2019 DfT made an additional grant award of £500,000 award to TfSE to take forward the technical work programme.

7.2 The estimated cost of commissioning two area studies is £500,000, but this may be revised following the outcomes of the competitive tendering exercise. A sum of £5,000 has been allocated for the scoping work for the Future Mobility Strategy and £25,000 for the scoping work for the Freight Strategy. The estimated cost for developing the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy is £75,000 per strategy. Based on the predicted costs, there will be a small shortfall (approximately £6,000) between the DfT grant and costs of the Area Studies and thematic studies. This will be covered by local contributions.

8 Conclusion 8.1 The draft Transport Strategy and Integrated Sustainability Appraisal (ISA) is currently open for public consultation. The procurement process to secure external resources to undertake the five area studies is being developed, with two area studies planned to be commissioned in 2019/20. Scoping work is progressing well on developing the briefs for the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy, and the procurement process to develop the two strategies is planned to begin in early 2020.

8.2 A further progress report will be presented to the Shadow Partnership Board at the April 2020 meeting to update on the public consultation and to approve the final Transport Strategy. The Board will also be updated on the procurement process for the area studies, along with the procurement process to develop the Future Mobility Strategy and the Freight Strategy.

RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Rob Dickin Tel. No. 07840 649245 Email: [email protected]


Economic Connectivity Review

Public Consultation Final Strategy

Area Studies Tranche 1

July 2018

Oct 2019

Jan 2020

March 2020

Sept 2020

March 2021

Sept 2021

SIP

Transport Strategy Development

Thematic Studies

Freight Strategy

Future Mobility Strategy

Area Studies Tranche 2

Transport Strategy Routemap

(Strategic Investment Plan)

Appendix 1

Area Studies (Radial) Radial Area Studies

South West

South Central

South East

Appendix 2 – Area Studies

Area Studies (Orbital) Orbital Area Studies

Inner Orbital

Outer Orbital

Appendix 3 - Area Studies

Procurement

Task Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Wee

k 1

Wee

k 2

Wee

k 3

Wee

k 4

Procurement Documents

Tender Period

Contract Evaluation

Contract Award

Standstill / Mobilisation

Contract start March 2020

Contract duration - 8 months

Mar-20Oct-19 Nov-19 Dec-19 Jan-20 Feb-20

Ch

ristmas C

losu

re

Paper 5

Report to: Shadow Partnership Board –Transport for the South East

Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East

Title of report: Priority Major Road Network and Large Local Major Schemes

2020-2025

Purpose of report: To update on the progress with the identified priority schemes in the South East of England for inclusion the Major Road Network and Large Local Major Scheme programmes

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to note the progress with the Major Road Network (MRN) and Large Local Major (LLM) schemes in the TfSE area.

1. Introduction 1.1 The Department for Transport (DfT) has previously requested that all the Sub-National Transport Bodies (STBs) identify their top priority schemes for potential inclusion in the Major Road Network (MRN) and Large Local Majors (LLM) programmes covering the period 2020 - 2025. 1.2 This report sets out the latest progress with the TfSE priority schemes. 2. Background 2.1 In the 2018 budget, HM Treasury confirmed the creation of the new National Roads Fund. This will hypothecate English Vehicle Excise Duty to roads spending and will amount to £28.8 billion between 2020 and 25. Of this the government expects to spend £25.3 billion on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) through Road Investment Strategy 2, which would leave £3.5 billion to be spent on the MRN and LLM schemes. These figures will need to be finalised as part of a future spending review following the general election. 2.2 The MRN Investment Guidance published by the DfT in December 2018 invited STBs to prepare a Regional Evidence Base (REB) by summer 2019 to support the need for interventions on the MRN. The guidance also set out the types of schemes that will be eligible for funding, the criteria against which potential schemes will be assessed, and the timescales for the development and delivery of schemes.

Page 149

Agenda Item 7

2.3 The DfT are clear that the list of priority schemes submitted was to be the result of collective decision making and that a broad range of stakeholders (MPs, LEPs and local highway authorities) should be consulted as part of the prioritisation process.

2.4 In common with several other STB’s, TfSE’s REB was not complete in time for it to be used to help identify potential schemes. Therefore those schemes which had already been identified by the constituent authorities as potential candidate schemes were considered for potential inclusion on the list.

2.5 At a meeting on 18 March 2019, the Shadow Partnership Board approved the process to be used to assess and prioritise the potential MRN and LLM schemes. Constituent authorities were invited to submit their business cases for potential schemes to TfSE by 17 May 2019. Applications were received for 18 MRN and 9 LLM schemes.

2.6 The results of the prioritisation process that was used to identify the top 10 MRN schemes was presented to the Shadow Partnership Board meeting on 14 June 2019. At that meeting, the Shadow Partnership Board agreed the list of priority MRN schemes and a group of “emerging priority” LLM schemes that should be submitted to the DfT. The results of the process that was used to prioritise the LLM schemes was presented to the Shadow Partnership Board on 19 September 2019. At that meeting, the Shadow Partnership Board agreed the list of priority LLM schemes that should be submitted to the DfT

2.7 Development of the REB for the TfSE area is being undertaken by Steer/WSP alongside their work to develop the Transport Strategy and this is due to be completed in December 2019.

3. Progress Update 3.1 Since the MRN and LLM priority schemes have been submitted, DfT have been assessing the business cases for the schemes that have been submitted by all the STB’s. This has included seeking the views of wider DfT colleagues (including those from housing, and cycling and walking) as well as consulting with Highways England for their view about the potential impact of the schemes on the Strategic Road Network.

3.2 The business cases are being assessed and considered in batches dependant on which stage of development the scheme is at; pre-Strategic Outline Business Case (pre-SOBC), Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), or Outline Business Case (OBC). DfT have fed back their detailed comments on our pre-SOBC and SOBC schemes, firstly to TfSE and then subsequently also to the scheme promotors in the constituent authorities. OBC schemes are following a different process and timescale, and feedback on these will follow in due course.

Page 150

3.3 There are a number of themes included in the feedback that are worth noting as they apply to all schemes and should be considered by all constituent authorities when developing their schemes.

Scheme promoters should ensure that appropriate cycling and walking measures are considered and incorporated unless there is a strong reason not to. With ‘supporting all road users’ being one of the objectives of the MRN, not considering such measures could impact adversely on future scheme assessments. Cycling and walking measures should meet DfT’s soon to be published national cycle design guidance (or equivalent where applicable).

On public transport, whilst the MRN and LLM guidance was clear that large public transport schemes will be expected to be funded from other programmes such as the Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) and through Devolution Deals, DfT do expect the needs of all users, including public transport users to be addressed. DfT expect to see consideration of bus priority measures to feature in business cases. Examples of these could include enforced bus lanes, signal and junction priority, bus feeder lanes and/or gates.

DfT still expects Local Authorities to contribute at least 15% towards the total cost of the scheme. This applies even if the scheme is one part of a wider programme, parts of which the Local Authority may have already funded. Local contributions of 15% must relate to the specific scheme which the Local Authority is asking the DfT to fund.

The DfT are also considering setting up a scheme modelling and economics surgery, to assist scheme promotors with the development of those parts of their business cases. 3.5 Scheme promotors have been asked to respond to DfT’s feedback and comments on their schemes by 5 December 2019. By this date scheme promotors should either answer DfT’s queries on their schemes, or, if the scheme programme doesn’t allow for that, provide DfT with a timetable setting out when they will be able to respond in detail. 3.6 A number of announcements have also been made on schemes across the country, including on two pre-SOBC schemes within the TfSE area. Both the A28 Birchington, Acol and Westgate on Sea Relief Road (Kent CC MRN scheme) and the West Quay Road Realignment (Southampton CC LLM scheme) were approved to progress to SOBC stage.These schemes were identified as the TfSE top priority MRN pre-SOBC and LLM pre-SOBC schemes respectively in our submission to Government. 3.7 Trackers showing progress with all the TfSE priority MRN and LLM schemes are provided at Appendices 1 and 2.

Page 151

4. Conclusions 4.1 Since TfSE submitted its top priority MRN and LLM schemes to Government earlier this year, the DfT have been assessing the schemes business cases and have provided feedback. A number of themes have emerged that highlight the importance of scheme promotors including high quality cycling, walking and public transport provision within their scheme proposals. Scheme promotors have also been asked to provide further detailed business case information to DfT. 4.2 A number of announcements have also been made on schemes across the country. Two of our top priority MRN and LLM schemes at pre-SOBC stage were both approved to progress to the next stage in the business case development process. These are the A28 Birchington, Acol and Westgate on Sea Relief Road and the West Quay Road Realignment. RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East Contact Officer: Sarah Valentine Tel No: 07701 394355 Email: [email protected]

Page 152


Appendix 1

TfSE MRN Scheme Tracker

Scheme Status Priority Scheme Name AuthorityDevelopment

StageComments

1Northam Rail Bridge Replacement

and EnhancementSouthampton CC SOBC

Business case information assessed by DFT and rated amber

Feedback received and further information requested from SCC on 5/11/19

2 A284 Lyminster Bypass West Sussex CC OBCBusiness case information being assessed

by DfT

3 Redbridge Causeway Hampshire CC OBC

Business case information being assessed by DfT

Feedback and clarification questions received from DfT, WSCC reponded Sept 2019

4 A249 at M2 Junction 5 Kent CC OBC


Feedback and clarification questions re the economic case received from DfT on 21/11/19

5 A22 Corridor Package East Sussex CC OBC


Feedback and clarification questions re economic case received from DfT Oct/Nov 19

6 A320 North Corridor Surrey CC SOBCBusiness case information assessed by DFT

and rated amber/redFurther information requested from SCC

7A259 (King’s Road) Seafront

Highway Structures (‘Arches’) Renewal Programme

Brighton and Hove CC OBCBusiness case information being assessed

by DfT

8A28 Birchington, Acol and Westgate-

on-Sea Relief RoadKent CC

DevelopingSOBC

Business case information assessed by DfTApproved (3/10/19) to proceed to SOBC

development

9A259 Bognor Regis to

Littlehampton EnhancementWest Sussex CC Pre-SOBC


Feedback received and further information requested from WSCC on 5/11/19

10 A259 South Coast Road Corridor East Sussex CC Pre-SOBC


Feedback received and further information requested from ESCC on 5/11/19

A259 (King’s Road) Seafront Highway Structures (‘Arches’)

Renewal Programme (continued)Brighton and Hove CC Pre-SOBC

A2270/A2101 Corridor Movement and Access Package including

Cophall Roundabout East Sussex CC Pre-SOBC

A22 Corridor Phase 2 East Sussex CC Pre-SOBC

A299 Thanet Way Major Structural Renewal

Kent CC Pre-SOBC

A228 Colts Hill Strategic Link Kent CC Pre-SOBC

A24/A243 Knoll Roundabout and M25 J9A

Surrey CC Pre-SOBC

A259 Chichester to Bognor Regis Enhancement

West Sussex CC Pre-SOBC

A24 Corridor Horsham to Worthing West Sussex CC Pre-SOBC

Updated Nov 2019

Top Ten Priority Schemes

ranked in priority order

Pipeline schemes

(listed by local authority)

For consideration in MRN2

Page 153

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

TfSE LLM Scheme Tracker

Scheme Status Priority Scheme AuthorityScheme

Development Stage

Comments

M2/A2 Brenley Corner Upgrade Kent CC pre-SOBC


Further information requested from KCCAwaiting RIS2 announcement

1 West Quay Road Realignment Southampton CCDeveloping

SOBCBusiness case information assessed by DFTApproved to proceed to SOBC development

2New Thames Crossing East of

ReadingTVLEP

(Wokingham BC)SOBC


Further information requested from WBC

3 A326 Capacity Enhancement Hampshire CC pre-SOBCBusiness case information assessed by DFT

and rated amber/redFurther information requested from HCC

4 City Centre Road Portsmouth CC pre-SOBCBusiness case information assessed by DFT

and rated amber/redFurther information requested from PCC

5A229 Blue Bell Hill Junction

UpgradesKent CC pre-SOBC

Business case information assessed by DFT and rated amber/green

Further information requested from KCC

6A31 Hickleys Corner Underpass,

FarnhamSurrey CC pre-SOBC

Business case information assessed by DFT and rated amber/red

Further information requested from SCC

A325 Wrecclesham Relief Road Surrey CC pre-SOBC

A24 Corridor ImprovementsHorsham to Capel

Surrey CC/W Sussex CC

pre-SOBC

Updated Nov 2019

For consideration in LLM2Pipeline Schemes

Priority Scheme considered more appropriate to be delivered through RIS2

TfSE LLM Priority schemes ranked in

priority order

Page 155

Appendix 2

Paper 6 Report to: Shadow Partnership Board –Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title: Financial update for 2019/20 and outline Annual Report Purpose: To update on the budget position for Transport for the South

East and agree the outline Annual Report

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The Shadow Partnership Board is recommended to:

(1) Note the current budget position for 2019/20 as at the end of November 2019;

(2) Note the Department of Transport position on grant funding for 2020/21;

(3) Agree to set a local contribution, subject to individual constituent authority budget setting, of £58k for county authorities and £30k for individual unitary authorities for the 2020/21 financial year;

(4) Agree the outline budget for 2020/21 financial year;

(5) Delegate authority to the Lead Officer to recruit an additional technical

post funded through DfT grant funding; and

(6) Note the outline Annual Report for 2019/20 and the draft Business Plan for 2020/21.

1. Financial Overview 1.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Shadow Partnership Board on the revenue budget for Transport for the South East (TfSE) for 2019/20 and commence the process for setting a budget for 2020/21. 1.2 The paper also sets out the proposed approach to the development of the Annual Report for publication in April 2020.

2. 2019/20 Budget Update 2.1 In September 2019, the Shadow Partnership Board agreed the revised budget for 2019/20. This included revised figures for the Transport Strategy to enable TfSE to deliver area studies that add considerable value to the evidence base, but are achievable within the overall budget envelope.

2.2 Appendix 1 sets out the current spend against the budget to the end of November 2019 and the forecast expenditure to the end of March 2020.

Page 157

Agenda Item 8

2.3 TfSE’s income budget for 2019/20 is £2,270,530. This includes grant funding of £500,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT) in 2019/20 which is specifically reserved for the development of the Transport Strategy.

2.4 Staffing expenditure is expected to be lower than originally anticipated, with an underspend of approximately £46,000.

2.5 The current spend in 2019/20 for the Transport Strategy, which includes Lots B, C, D and design work, is £660k. Approximately £64k will be invoiced upon completion of the consultation exercise and sign off of the final Strategy. There is some contingency in the budget to allow for any additional changes following the consultation, but it is likely there will be a carry forward from the Strategy budget.

2.6 Although the report shows no current spend against the area studies and the thematic work streams, there are plans in place to undertake procurement activity which will ensure that this funding is fully committed by the end of March 2020. This commitment will be around £575k, which comprises £500k on two orbital area studies and £75k on a freight and logistics strategy.

2.7 Members will note that there has been an increased level of spend against the events budget, which reflects the recent activity associated with the launch of the Transport Strategy. The Connecting the South East event was largely self-funded through exhibitor contributions, but TfSE has funded the regional events and the MP’s reception.

2.8 The Board will be asked to consider and approve submitting TfSE’s Proposal to Government at its April board meeting. If the board agree the Proposal it will be submitted with the agreed Transport Strategy following the April board meeting. There is unlikely to be any spend against this budget line. However, it is clear that work will be needed on this in 2020/21 to ensure that TfSE is able to make decisions on the structures and form that it would want to adopt as a statutory body. 2.9 Based on the analysis undertaken of current levels of spend and the expected expenditure in the next three months, it is forecast that TfSE will have a small carry forward of approximately £141k. This is subject to change as the work programme evolves throughout Q4.

2.10 It is intended to maintain the level of reserves at the amount forecast at the beginning of the year. This will cover expenses in the event of winding up TfSE and it is considered a prudent use of reserves to ensure we can meet our liabilities. Any additional costs associated with the closure of TfSE would be covered through the Intra-Authority Agreement.

3. Update on DfT funding position 3.1 We had been working with the DfT to secure funding for the next financial year and were exploring opportunities for further one off funding for the remainder of this financial year. However the pre-election period has meant that no decisions can be made until after the election. Whilst this is frustrating, we remain positive about our future funding position.

Page 158

3.2 Early confirmation of the DfT grant allocation following the election is to be welcomed, as this will allow TfSE to mobilise for activity starting in April 2020. 3.3 It is also worth noting that the DfT and the Minister have been supportive and positive about the development of our Transport Strategy and are keen to ensure TfSE’s financial position is established through the next spending review. 4. Local Contributions for 2020/21 4.1 It is evident that DfT wish to see local contributions continuing to form part of TfSE’s approach to funding and welcome the local contributions made to date. The local contribution has enabled TfSE to fund a small staffing complement and to undertake work to support the Transport Strategy, including the work on the Economic Connectivity Review. 4.2 Currently constituent authorities have paid a contribution for 2019/20 financial year of £58k for county authorities and £30k for individual unitary authorities. It is proposed to continue this into the 2020/21 financial year and for the amounts to stay the same. 5. 2020/21 proposed budget 5.1 Early work has commenced to prepare an outline budget for 2020/21. This is attached as Appendix 2 and has been used as the basis for initial discussions with the Department for Transport. 5.2 Upon the advice of DfT, this assumes a DfT grant contribution of £1m for 2020/21. With the funding that will already be committed to the area studies and thematic work streams as well as the carry forward of £141k, this will give TfSE an approximate operating budget of £2.5m. Early confirmation of funding from DfT will enable TfSE to put in place the mechanisms to deliver an ambitious work programme for this funding. 5.3 The outline budget sets out how the DfT grant will be used to fund additional work on the Transport Strategy, including a further three Area Studies and additional thematic work on future transport technology. This would enable TfSE to progress against key areas within the Transport Strategy and continue to build a strong evidence base to inform the Strategic Investment Plan, which would be produced in 2021/22. 5.4 To enable the delivery of the ambitious technical programme, it is proposed that an additional resource be recruited on a 12 month fixed term basis. We do not have the benefit of core funding, as Midlands Connect and Transport for the North do, and are therefore in discussions with the DfT about this being supported by the DfT as part of their grant towards completion of the technical strategy work. The post holder would supplement the existing Transport Strategy workstream and increase the capacity to deliver the area and thematic study work. We would not intend to recruit unless we could secure third party funding for the post. At this stage the board are asked to agree the principle of additional posts provided these are solely funded from third party sources. In the event this is forthcoming, the Board are asked to delegate authority to recruit to the Lead Officer for TfSE.

Page 159

5.5 As outlined above, TfSE has not yet incurred any costs as part of its bid for statutory status. However, once the Board agreed to submit the Proposal to Government, additional work will be needed to consider the various options for operational models and to start the implementation for the preferred model. Funding has been allocated to this in the outline budget, but any decision on how this is progressed will be agreed through the Shadow Partnership Board. It is proposed that the member sub-group with responsibility for governance takes a lead on this work. 5.6 The proposed budget for communications and engagement costs remain largely unchanged from 2019/20. This will enable us to deliver an events programme and to continue with activities to raise the profile of TfSE. 5.7 Operational costs are anticipated to be slightly lower than 2019/20. This is due to the fact that any costs associated with the delivery of the transport strategy (e.g. room hire) have been removed and placed in the strategy budget. 5.8 Reserves would be slightly reduced, but would still offer sufficient cover for expenses related to the winding up of TfSE. 5.9 The outline budget will be reviewed to take account of comments received from Board members and a final budget will be agreed at the Shadow Partnership Board in April 2020. 6. Annual Report and Business plan 6.1 In March 2019, the Shadow Partnership Board agreed the publication of the TfSE Business Plan for 2019/20. The Business Plan adopted a hybrid approach to include elements of an annual report, including a focus on successes in 2018/19, and a business plan, setting out the proposed work plan for 2019/20. 6.2 It is proposed that a separate Annual Report will be prepared to provide clarity around our role, vision and purpose, a summary of our achievements in 2019/20, as well as information on our governance structures, our Board and a financial report. The document will be made available on the TfSE website and will provide interested parties with access to detailed information on the organisation. An outline is attached as Appendix 3. 6.3 A shorter, more focused document will be produced as the 2020/21 Business Plan. This will set out the priorities for the technical work programme, including the area studies and the thematic studies, as well as the work to progress the Proposal to Government and events programme. It will also outline clear objectives against which we will measure our success. An outline is attached as Appendix 4. 6.4 Following discussion by the Board, the intention is to finalise the Annual Report and Business Plan and to present them to the Board in April 2020 for sign-off. This will include design work.

Page 160

7. Conclusions and Recommendations 7.1 It is recommended that the Board notes the financial position for 2019/20, including the forecast to the end of March 2020. Discussions with the DfT are underway regarding the grant settlement for 2020/21 and Board members are recommended to agree the proposed level of local contributions for 2020/21. 7.2 Board members are also recommended to agree the outline budget for 2020/21 and to receive a full budget in April 2020. 7.3 It is recommended that the Board note the outline structures for the Annual Report and Business Plan. The final versions of both report will be presented to the Board for sign off in April 2020.

RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East


Page 161


Appendix 1: TfSE Budget position to end of November 2019 and forecast position at end of March 2019

2019-20 Position

Agreed Budget

Position at end of Nov 2019

Forecast Variance

Brought forward -1,388,530 -1,388,530 -1,388,530

19/20 Contributions -382,000 -382,000 -382,000

DfT Grant -500,000 -500,000 -500,000

-2,270,530 -2,270,530 -2,270,530

Staff costs

Salaries (including on-costs)

503,000 299,762 457,018 45,982

Travel expenses 13,000 10,728 13,000

Training 1,800 494 1,800

Strategy

Transport Strategy 733,603 652,990 733,603

Area Studies 500,000 500,000

Smart Ticketing

Freight, logistics and gateways

75,000 75,000

Integrated Transport Technology

65,880 5,000 60,880

Strategy Design and publication

15,000 7,250 15,000

Communications and Engagement

Proposal to Government

25,000 0 0 25,000

Events 25,000 14,224 20,000 5,000

Advertising and publicity 13,000 7,147 10,000 3,000

Website 7,000 374 5,000 2,000

Stakeholder Database 5,000 0 6,000 -1,000

Licenses / subscriptions 2,500 1,567 2,500

Operational expenses 21,860 10,728 21,860

Total spend: 2,006,643 1,005,264 1,865,781 140,862

TfSE contingency/reserves

263,887 263, 887

Estimated carry forward

£140,862

Page 163

Appendix 1

Appendix 2: TfSE outline budget – 2020/21

INCOME Notes

Local Contributions £498,000

Subject to approval at the December 2019 meeting of the TfSE Shadow Partnership Board

DfT Grant £1,000,000

Reserves £263,887

Carry forward £140,862 Estimated carry forward, subject to change

Committed funding £575,000 £500,000 on area studies and £75,000 on freight and logistics

TOTAL INCOME £2,477,749

EXPENDITURE

Staffing

Core Policy Team £530,000

7.6 FTE costs covered by Local Authority contributions. Includes on-costs, expenses and training costs

Regional Capacity/Capability £75,000

12 month fixed term contract funded through DfT 2020/21 grant to support technical work on strategy

Transport Strategy

Transport Strategy Work completed in 2019/20

Area Studies - Tranche 1 £500,000 Two orbital studies - committed in March 2020 from DfT 2019/20 grant

Area Studies - Tranche 2 £750,000 Three radial studies - funded through DfT 2020/21 grant

Innovation and Technology £75,000 Future Mobility Strategy - funded through DfT 2020/21 grant

Smart Ticketing Incorporated into Future Mobility Strategy - may need follow up work after Future Mobility Strategy is published

Freight and Logistics £75,000 Freight strategy - committed in March 2020 from DfT 2019/20 grant

Strategic Rail TBC following publication of Williams Rail Review

Other strategy costs £25,000 To cover any design and printing, strategy events and workshops/meetings

Sub national Transport Body Proposal £125,000

Figures to include study into potential structures and some initial legal work in 2020/21. Further costs for 21/22 subject to discussion with DfT

Operational Expenses £16,000

Communications/Engagement £43,500

Reserves £263,249

TOTAL EXPENDITURE £2,477,749

Page 165

Appendix 2

Appendix 3: Outline Annual Report for 2019/20

Chair’s foreword

Summarising the transformational year we’ve had – draft proposal, transport strategy, political engagement and support etc.

Lead officer’s statement

Key themes include recruitment of a full team, lean and efficient, becoming a trusted partner for government, success built on collaboration, well placed for future success

About TfSE

Who we are, what we do, how we are structured, how we are funded

Our achievements

Publishing our transport strategy Developing our proposal to government Driving roads investment: MRN/LLM and RIS2 Strengthening stakeholder relationships

Looking to the future

Summary of key priorities for 2020-21 Signpost to Business Plan for more detail

Our governance

Structure charts plus summary of governance processes New governance structures to be established in 2020 Short summary re: accountable body and constitution

Financial report

Chart demonstrating income and high level spend categories s151 responsibilities of Accountable Body Future governance and audit arrangements

Risk register

Summary of key risks and mitigations

Our team

Team photos, biogs and contact details

Page 167

Appendix 3

Appendix 4: Outline Business Plan 2020/21

About TfSE Short summary of who we are and what we do

Becoming a statutory body Next steps re: our proposal to government

Our transport strategy:

Turning vision into reality

Area studies

- Orbital studies - Radial studies

Thematic studies - Freight and logistics - Future mobility

Making the case for roads

investment

MRN/LLM priorities and pipeline RIS2 and shaping RIS3

Planning a better railway (tbc)

The content of any rail section will largely be dependent on the outcome of the Williams Review and its implications for the region. Where TfSE is involved in any specific joint working with Network Rail – for example potential work on South coast connectivity – we will highlight these.

Strengthening our

relationships

Widening our reach with stakeholders Private sector engagement on innovation and financing

Enhancing our governance

New governance structures (Governance and Audit Committee, Scrutiny committee) to be established during 2020

Looking to the future

Closing comments from the Chair re: the year ahead and the longer-term vision / ambition

Page 169

Appendix 4

Paper 7 Report to: Shadow Partnership Board – Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title of report: Communications and Stakeholder Engagement update Purpose of report: To update the board on communications and stakeholder

engagement activity

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to:

(1) Note the high level of engagement and communication activity that has been undertaken in the past 3 months; and

(2) Note the proposed outline for post-election political engagement activity

1. Introduction 1.1 This has been an extremely busy and productive few months on the communications and engagement front, with activity focused primarily on the launch of, and ongoing support for, the draft transport strategy consultation. 1.2 Almost 600 stakeholders from across the region attended a TfSE event in the month of October alone, with significant further engagement at Highways UK in November in addition to bespoke meetings and other interactions. 1.3 A host of new relationships have been developed through this engagement activity and, as a result, interest, awareness and advocacy are at new high levels – evidenced by an increase in our stakeholder database to more than 1400, a 535% increase in social media engagement compared with the previous three months, press coverage in a variety of publications as well as positive quotes, comments and feedback from stakeholders. 1.4 The announcement in October of a general election required changes to our planned comms and engagement activity; however, a new Parliament also provides an opportunity to engage with new MPs and strengthen relationships with returning MPs. 2. Supporting the draft transport strategy consultation ‘Connecting the South East’ stakeholder launch, 10 October 2.1 Aimed at top-tier national and regional stakeholders, our formal launch event at Farnborough International enabled us to present our draft transport strategy to more than 200 attendees from across the public and private sector.

Page 171

Agenda Item 9

2.2 In addition to TfSE-led sessions, the agenda included a range of external speakers from partners and other stakeholder organisations including Public Health England, CBI, Natural England, Rail Delivery Group and Transport Focus. 2.3 Transport minister George Freeman MP provided the keynote speech, highlighting the significant synergies between our draft transport strategy and the then government’s objectives around the ‘three Ds’ of decarbonisation, disconnection and digitalisation. 2.4 Q&A sessions, panel discussions and networking opportunities gave the event a strong collaborative feel and feedback from attendees was very positive; 83% of survey respondents rated the event either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ and 94% said it improved their understanding of the transport strategy. 2.5 The event was filmed and photographed, with all sessions available on the TfSE YouTube channel in order to widen our stakeholder reach. 2.6 A post-event review has been carried out and will enable us to ensure that future events continue to provide the best value for money and support business objectives. Parliamentary reception, 15 October 2.7 Hosted by Huw Merriman MP (Con, Bexhill and Battle), our Parliamentary reception provided a valuable opportunity for board members to engage with MPs from across the region. 2.8 In total 14 MPs (see Appendix 1 at the end of this paper) were represented (13 in person plus one office staff member) and we were delighted that transport minister George Freeman MP was again able to spare his time to show support for our draft transport strategy. 2.9 All MPs who attended were supportive of TfSE and were keen to understand the impact the strategy could have on their constituencies. 2.10 Following the event a number of MPs, including the minister, used social media to show their support for our work, which we were able to amplify via our own channels. Regional engagement events, 16-24 October 2.11 To help us engage with as wide a range of stakeholders as possible, a series of five regional events were held in partnership with local authorities and LEPs. 2.12 The partnership approach enabled us to provide a strong local perspective, underlining our shared commitment to collaborative working and promoting the potential local benefits of our strategy. 2.13 The events were promoted via media and social media with support from our partners to ensure the correct stakeholders were invited. 2.14 In total, 382 people attended one of our sessions, 300 of which were new contacts. Combined attendance numbers across all sessions were:

Reading - 82

Woking - 36

Canterbury - 74

Page 172

Brighton - 118

Southampton - 72 2.15 Feedback on the events was overwhelmingly positive; 95% of survey respondents said they found the event useful and have a better understanding of TfSE as a result, with 75% saying they intend to submit a consultation response. 2.16 We are extremely grateful to all LEP and local authority officers and members who have given time and energy to supporting our engagement activity. It enabled us to present ourselves as a truly collaborative partnership for our region. Media, social media and digital communications 2.17 Media coverage of the draft transport strategy has been wholly positive, with coverage in publications including RAIL, New Civil Engineer, Local Government Chronicle, Local Transport Today and Kent Online. 2.18 A sustained programme of proactive social media has resulted in significant increases in engagement, much of which has driven people to the TfSE website to read more about the transport strategy and take part in the consultation. 2.19 A blog post about the transport strategy by Rupert Clubb for Transport Times was sent to a distribution list of 12,000 transport professionals. A blog for Transport Knowledge Hub has been seen by more than 3,000 people. 3. Highways UK, 6-7 November 3.1 TfSE joined England’s other sub-national transport bodies (STBs) as an exhibitor at Highways UK in Birmingham, an event attended by more than 4,000 industry delegates. Our focus for the event was on promoting our draft strategy and discussing our future work programme. We were also pleased to be joined by two Board Members (Cllr Keith Glazier and Cllr Colin Kemp). 3.2 The STB stands were centred around a shared ‘hub’ space which provided a focal point for presentations and discussions across the two days. These included a session with Cllr Glazier and Mark Valleley looking at our innovative approach to developing the transport strategy, as well as a session on our MRN priority schemes led by Sarah Valentine. 3.3 On the main event stage, Rupert Clubb joined other STB lead officers for a panel discussion on the main stage focusing on sustainability and climate change, providing a valuable opportunity to highlight our strategy’s credentials. 3.4 The TfSE stand was busy throughout with a range of stakeholders keen to discuss our strategy and potential future priorities. A number of valuable new connections were made and follow-up meetings planned. 3.5 We were also pleased to support a networking event organised by Women in Transport, a not-for-profit organisation which promotes a more inclusive transport sector.

Page 173

4. Broadening our engagement Private sector 4.1 A number of joint and individual meetings have been held with various private sector organisations, including innovators and disruptors, to explore potential areas for public/private sector collaboration in enabling the effective and affordable delivery of the transport strategy. 4.2 Organisations engaged with include: Telefonica, Grid, Tomorrow’s Journey, Wayra, Dale, KPMG, EHI, Eurovia, Atkins, Amey, Balfour Beatty, Bam Nuttall, Kames, Ferrovial, Bouygues, O2, Enterprise/Liftshare and Aecom. Another meeting will be scheduled for the new year. Universities 4.4 Following feedback from the Forum and the Board, contact was made with the twelve universities in the TfSE region. 4.5 Nine universities attended an inaugural meeting to learn about TfSE and begin to explore possible relationships and opportunities for joint working that could aide delivery of the transport strategy. The meeting was chaired by Cllr Keith Glazier and was held on 2 December at Brighton University. 4.6 The following universities attended: Canterbury Christ Church; Sussex; Brighton; Solent; Surrey; Portsmouth, Kent, Southampton and Chichester. 4.7 We discussed how we could engage with universities as corporate entities, both as major employers and significant users of the South East transport network. We also began to explore opportunities to work together on research and innovation in transport planning, provision and development. 4.8 A further verbal update on the outcomes of this meeting will be given at the Board meeting. 5. Political engagement – new MPs 5.1 Our political engagement plan has been updated to reflect the current situation and the general election on 12 December. 5.2 We will use the opportunity to contact all new MPs, sending them an introductory briefing pack with the offer of a meeting to discuss our work in more detail. Returning MPs will receive a similar letter, building on existing awareness. RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Russell Spink / Lucy Dixon-Thompson / Jasmin Barnicoat Tel. No. 07565 012037 / 07702 632455 / 07749 436080 Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]

Page 174




Appendix 1: List of attendees at TfSE Parliamentary reception, 15 October 2019

George Freeman MP, Minister of State for Transport

Huw Merriman MP (Con, Bexhill and Battle) – host

Lloyd Russell Moyle MP (Lab, Brighton Kemptown)

John Redwood MP (Con, Wokingham)

Damian Hinds MP (Con, East Hampshire)

Sir Roger Gale MP (Con, Margate, Herne Bay & the Villages)

Richard Benyon MP (Con, Newbury)

Jeremy Quin MP (Con, Horsham)

Nus Ghani MP (Con, Wealden)

Tim Loughton MP (Con, East Worthing & Shoreham)

Sir Paul Beresford MP (Con, Mole Valley)

Tom Tugendhat MP (Con, Tonbridge and Malling)

Anne Milton MP (Ind, Guildford) Representatives for:

Sir Michael Fallon MP (Con, Sevenoaks)

Page 177

Appendix 1

Paper 8

Report to: Shadow Partnership Board –Transport for the South East

Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Interim Chair of the Transport Forum

Title: Transport Forum Update

Purpose: To summarise the Transport Forum meeting of 20 November

2019 and inform the Board of the Transport Forum’s recommendations and actions taken.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to: (1) Note the recent meeting of the Transport Forum;

(2) Note and consider the comments received on the Transport Strategy and

future area studies;

(3) Note and consider the suggestions and proposed future programme of the Transport Forum; and

(4) Review and agree the recommendations and action taken to date for the operation of the Transport Forum.

1. Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Shadow Partnership Board on the most recent meeting of the Transport Forum, the Forum’s future work plan and the recommendations and action taken for the Forum’s operation.

2. Feedback from Transport Forum Meeting on 20 November 2019 Transport Strategy update

2.1 Mark Valleley spoke in detail about a few key ideas from the draft Transport Strategy and used an interactive website to seek the views of the Forum on some important questions asked in the consultation. This provided a good opportunity for the Forum to discuss and share their thoughts on the draft Transport Strategy.

2.2 Rob Dickin also outlined the proposal for the area studies that TfSE will be procuring shortly and asked the Forum to share their thoughts on what they think should and should not be included in these studies. See the comments received in Appendix 1.

Forward plan

2.3 The Transport Forum work programme was reviewed and suggestions for future topics and external speakers were requested.

Page 179

Agenda Item 10

2.4 The Forum felt very strongly that the importance of the links between planning and transport should not be underestimated and they need to be strengthened. Suggestions to invite Homes England and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Forum have been noted and will be added to the work programme. See Appendix 2 for an updated work programme. Feedback on Proposal to Government consultation 2.5 Jasmin Barnicoat gave an update on the outcome of the recent Shadow Partnership Board discussions regarding the Proposal to Government submission.

Feedback from sub-group on Forum operation

2.6 As agreed at the Shadow Partnership Board meeting in June 2019 the Transport Forum established a small sub-group to review the operations of the Forum to ensure that it is able to support TfSE in the delivery of the Transport Strategy. As part of this, the sub-group of the Transport Forum met (physically and virtually) three times and has reviewed the Forum’s function, role, membership, communications, mechanics and processes.

2.7 The wider Forum discussed and agreed the recommendations from the sub-group at their September and November meetings. The recommendations, proposed solutions and action taken (or will be taken imminently) is attached as Appendix 3.

2.8 Some actions already taken are that the communication between the Partnership Board and the Forum has been strengthened and the communication from TfSE to the Forum has been improved.

2.9 In addition, three Forum members (Phil Dominey, Richard Higgins, Paul Walker) will attend SOG on a rotational basis and will be the Forum’s representatives on that group. They will develop and maintain the relationship with the Senior Officers from LEPs and Local Authorities.

2.10 The membership of the Forum has also been expanded to include representation from environmental groups, user groups and health.

Strategic consultations 2.11 Jasmin outlined the two recent consultations TfSE has drafted responses to so the Forum have an opportunity to view TfSE’s comments on wider strategic issues. Summary of Forum recommendations 2.12 The Forum broadly support the draft Transport Strategy but do have some comments which they would like to be noted in Appendix 1. 2.13 The Forum have identified ideas and challenges they would like to explore in 2020 to aid their understanding of the issues the transport sector is facing. These have been added to the Forum’s work programme in Appendix 2. 2.14 The Forum have identified areas of its operation that could be improved and action has already been taken to carry out these recommendations in Appendix 3.

Page 180

3. Future Transport Forum Engagement 3.1 The next meeting of the Transport Forum will be held on Tuesday 31 March 2020. Some Forum members will also be attending stakeholder workshops on future mobility and freight in the coming months.

3.2 A more detailed update on plans for stakeholder engagement is included as ‘Paper 7 – Communications and Engagement Update’.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations 4.1 It is recommended that the Board note the successful meeting of the Transport Forum and the important communication link this provides TfSE with its key stakeholders. It is also recommended that the Board note and consider the future programme of the Transport Forum.

4.2 It is recommended that the Board note and consider the comments received in response to the draft Transport Strategy discussions that took place.

4.3 In addition, the Board is recommended to agree the proposed changes to the Forum operation and note the action taken to date.

GEOFF FRENCH Interim Chair of the Transport Forum Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Jasmin Barnicoat Tel. No. 07749 436080 Email: [email protected]

Page 181


Appendix 1

Feedback from Transport Forum – 20 Nov 2019 Transport Strategy Consultation Questions - comments

The term ‘decide and provide’ feels too controlling, prefer the word ‘influence’ instead.

The scenarios presented (for example sustainable future) could be more extreme.

There was a concern with the ‘our approach – strategy direction’ infographic as it does not clearly depict the urgency of the situation and looks like we have to wait to make the interventions. It is felt the curve is too vague and the stages should be explained.

Freight and communities work and need to continue to work together to be harmonious. The ‘planning for people’ and ‘planning for places’ almost need to be alongside each other.

Are the right people in the room to make the 'planning for places' element happen? These issues cover so many sectors, TfSE needs to be organised and able to bring together the right people.

There is a disconnect between planning policy and transport policy which is causing problems, especially with housing developments.

Something has to change in the hierarchy for example, major planning given to STBs.

It is important that people move to better sustainable options because they want to. We need to make it economically and emotionally right. However, relying on people to do the right thing will not make the achievements needed.

Demand management is necessary and it does come (and is already being used) in many forms. It needs to be utilised better going forward. Need to encourage people in the right direction.

Is demand management reflecting the true cost to society of the various transport modes currently? Answer is no and this should be re-balanced.

Need to understand the best way of approaching the issues we face and what order thee actions should take.

Although agree that the vision is great, how attainable is it? Especially due to population growth.

Area studies – what should or should not be included.

Regional control of traffic - control of connected vehicles and demand management

How we link to development of alternative fuel supplies. e.g., no network of hydrogen yet, but need to ensure not just focussing on one alternative fuel (electric). Need to connect with energy strategy in the region.

Stakeholder engagement - need to ensure there is a mechanism to check in and ensure there is still connection and agreement.

Page 183

Appendix 1

Take account of local plans and other existing work. Need to be aware of local authority plans and housing growth plans etc

Also take into account local authority cycling and walking plans.

Also important to ensure TfSE is having an influence on the local transport plans to ensure

they are not remaining business as usual and they do take our strategy into consideration.

They need to reflect the changing agenda and TfSE’s vision for 2050.

Need to ensure there is link up with other STBs and adjoining Local Authorities. This is an integrated wider network to consider and work with. Important for freight.

Need to make sure there is fair and equal access. A fairer system of charging and taxation.

Need to get to grips with the problem with planning and transport policy. Need the detail around this and how we can quickly move this forward.

Need to understand how to improve sustainable transport services as there are roles for bus and train. This area needs greater examination as is rail better for long distance, but bus is key to local travel? Do train stopping services cause problems to longer distance higher speed rail? Or is the western expressway working ok as it is and maybe it is more about capacity rather than altering the type of journey? Would be good to see this analysed in the studies.

It was felt by some that the transport strategy and integrated sustainability appraisal do not really tackle climate change. Need to understand carbon budgeting and research needs to be undertaken to see how we can use the infrastructure to achieve the carbon emissions now. There isn’t much of a carbon budget left, we need to be making reductions from day 1. There needs to be more of a sense of urgency and the targets will not be achievable if we are using the budget to build infrastructure now.

Need to understand how we can encourage the youth to change their behaviour as they

grow into adults. Ensure they make sustainable choices in the future.

2 areas that are not specifically area studies but important and key (all to atleast the

standard of London);

- Integrated ticketing

- Integrated travel information

Page 184

Appendix 2

Transport Forum Meetings – Work Programme

(Below is subject to change as it is linked to the TfSE work programme which is also subject to change due to national influences)

Date Venue Agenda Items Guests / Presenters

Tuesday 31 March 2020

- 1-4pm

TBC Feedback from Dec SPB meeting

Transport Strategy consultation outcomes and recommendations

Annual report and business plan

CPT future bus strategy

Presentation from Homes England / MHCLG on how to link with planning policy and ensure big developments properly consider sustainable transport

Williams Rail Review outcomes

Area studies

(Standing item) - forward plan and ideas for future presentations/guests

(Standing item) - strategic consultations

(Standing item) AOB

(Standing item) Next Meeting

Karen Tiley (CPT) ?

Tuesday 30 June 2020 -

1-4pm

TBC Energy concerns with future transport - National Grid - Local community energy - Schemes in place to deal with this issue (e.g. Network Rail’s switch to

green energy for track electricity)

Corporate form of TfSE



(Standing item) AOB


Tuesday 06 Oct 2020 - 1-

4pm

TBC Low Carbon Vehicle Partnerships presentation

How the switch can be made to alternative vehicles and the environmental impact from removing the old vehicles

Real implications from carbon pathway we are to follow to meet the targets

Andy Eastlake?

Page 185

Appendix 2

Date Venue Agenda Items Guests / Presenters



(Standing item) AOB


Tuesday 12 Jan 2021 -

1-4pm

TBC Cycling and walking strategies

Motorcycle Action Group – powered 2 wheelers and their impact on the environment

Presentation from another STB



(Standing item) AOB


Unspecified date / ideas to be explored

Implementing some of the recommendations in the strategy

Future of aviation

RIS3

External speaker from abroad

Page 186

Transport Forum Sub-GroupRecommendations Issue Proposed Solution Action taken

Transport Forum

members need to know

their views are taken into

account

• Agree at the end of each Forum meeting on points

that need to be raised with the Board

• The Chair of the Forum to include these points in a

written and verbal report to the Board

• If recommendations are not agreed, Board should

provide justification to the Chair and this is reported

back to the Forum

• Standing agenda item at the end of each forum

meeting to agree feedback points for the Chair

• Written report from Chair of the Forum to the Board

including these points

• Note from Chair of the Forum following Board

meeting to provide Board feedback

Function of the Forum

needs to be clearly

defined

• The Sub-group has made some suggestions on how

this could evolve.

• The Forum will adopt the following, which align with

the agreed Terms of Reference;

� Consultative

� Needs to make clear recommendations to the

Board

� Testing role – act as due diligence for strategy

and schemes

� Prioritisation for future work programme, e.g.

area studies

� Prioritisation for schemes, e.g. MRN and RIS

� Collective lobbying – support TfSE and priority

schemes

� Possible role to test procurement briefs

1

Page 187

Appendix 3

Issue Proposed Solution Action taken

Profile of the Forum • Include a Transport Forum page on the TfSE

website (including name of representative and

organisation)

• Publish a formal note of the meeting on the

website

• TfSE website currently being redesigned and will include

this

• Notes of the meeting will be published on website

Communications • Publish all papers a week in advance of the

meeting

• Notes from meetings and associated

presentations to be shared within a week of

the meeting date

• All Forum members to receive regular TfSE

newsletter for dissemination to contacts

• Papers to be circulated a week in advance and note of

meeting to be circulated within a week

• All Forum members added to Connections newsletter

database

• Transport Forum newsletter circulated following Forum

meetings

• Note from the Chair following Board meetings with

summary of discussion

Forum meetings • Forum will continue to meet on quarterly basis

• Forum to identify task and finish groups or

already existing sector groups to lead on key

areas if work needs taking forward between

meetings

• Possibly create a small ‘exec’ function to meet

with Chair between quarterly meetings

• Meetings to move around the region

• Agreed to ‘map’ existing groups – with the input from

Forum members. This will be completed Q4 2019/20

• Agreed not to proceed with smaller ‘exec’ function at this

time as hopefully, the attendance of Forum reps at SOG

meetings will help to bridge the communication gap

• Seeking alternative meeting venues in the region

Transport Forum Sub-GroupRecommendations

2

Page 188

Issue Proposed Solution Action taken

Forward planning • Forum to have clearly defined work programme

that aligns with TfSE work plan, i.e. understanding

of further strategy plan and what the Forum will be

expected to input

• Suggestions for discussion topics or external

speakers welcomed from all members of the Forum

• Future work programme to end of 2019/20

developed. 2020/21 to be developed alongside TfSE

Business Plan

• Standing item added to Forum agenda for members

to suggest future agenda items / presentations /

guests

Governance • Chair of Transport Forum to continue to attend

quarterly SOG meetings to build relationships with

senior officers and promote the input from the

Forum

• Membership of the Forum to be expanded to

include interest groups that are missing, e.g.

environment, youth, etc

• Reinvigorating business memberships, both from

LEPs and business representation bodies

• Mapping exercise of existing groups

• SOG relationship has evolved – three Forum

members (Phil Dominey, Richard Higgins, Paul

Walker) will attend SOG on a rotational basis and

will be the Forum’s representatives on that group.

They will develop and maintain the relationship

with the Senior Officers from LEPs and Local

Authorities.

• Circulate SOG meeting dates to the Forum so they

can feedback to the reps above before meetings

• Membership invites issued to identified groups

• Identify any additional relevant user groups to invite

to become Forum members

Transport Forum Sub-GroupRecommendations

3

Page 189

Paper 9

Report to: Shadow Partnership Board - Transport for the South East Date of meeting: 11 December 2019 By: Lead Officer, Transport for the South East Title: Responses to Consultations Purpose: To endorse draft responses submitted to various

consultations

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to:

(1) Endorse the draft letter of support for Coast to Capital’s Local Industrial Strategy Draft Economic Profile consultation; and

(2) Endorse the draft response to the Highways England A27 Arundel Bypass further consultation.

1. Introduction 1.1 Transport for the South East (TfSE) has prepared responses to a number of recent consultation documents that relate to strategic infrastructure and transport schemes. 1.2 This paper provides an overview of the responses to the following consultations:

Coast to Capital – Local Industrial Strategy

Highways England A27 Arundel Bypass 2. Coast to Capital – Local Industrial Strategy 2.1 In December 2018, Government announced that the entire country will benefit from Local Industrial Strategies (LISs). Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) were asked to lead this process on behalf of local areas through negotiation with Government. All LISs are set to be published by March 2020. 2.2 In September 2019, Coast to Capital LEP published the first draft of their Local Industrial Strategy Draft Economic Profile. This evidence base builds on the analysis set out in Gatwick 360°, Coast to Capital’s Strategic Economic Plan. It provides a new layer of analysis at a more local level. The economic profile collates a broad range of intelligence on the socio-economic position of Coast to Capital over the past five years. 2.3 The deadline for response was 31 October 2019. An officer level response set out in Appendix 1 was submitted before the deadline and members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to agree this response.

Page 191

Agenda Item 11

3 Highways England – A27 Arundel Bypass Further Consultation 3.1 Highways England are currently undertaking a further consultation on their A27 Arundel Bypass scheme. Highways England’s A27 Arundel Bypass scheme was identified within the Government’s 2015-2020 Road Investment Strategy (RIS1). 3.2 In autumn 2017, Highways England carried out an initial public consultation exercise on the options that were being considered for improving the A27 Arundel Bypass. In May 2018 Highways England publicised the preferred route for this scheme before deciding to take six options back to a further round on public consultation.

3.3 In response to the consultation, TfSE have highlighted the need for the highest level of environmental mitigation measures to be developed and delivered as part of the scheme. As is stands Highways England have not provided detail around the environmental mitigation measures that would be put in place for each option despite all options having major adverse impacts on the environment.

3.4 TfSE acknowledge that all the options offer some improvements to facilities for non-motorised users (NMU’s – equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians including wheelchair users), but would welcome Highways England to look further into maximising the opportunities that are available for the scheme. By ensuring that any new crossings are accessible to all NMU’s, upgrading existing public rights of way, and providing new NMU facilities on the bypassed section of the A27 as well as new links. Highways England would be able to provide an improved network of routes for multiple modes of transport, which would facilitate more sustainable access to services and employment and increase the health, leisure and community benefits of the scheme. 3.5 The deadline for response was 24 October 2019. An officer level response set out in Appendix 2 was submitted before the deadline and members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to agree this response.

4 Conclusion 4.1 The members of the Shadow Partnership Board are recommended to agree the responses to the two consultations on the Coast to Capital – Local Industrial Strategy Draft Economic Profile and also the Highways England A27 Arundel Bypass. RUPERT CLUBB Lead Officer Transport for the South East

Contact Officer: Benn White Tel. No. 07714 847288 Email: [email protected]

Page 192


Appendix 1

0300 3309474 [email protected] transportforthesoutheast.org.uk Transport for the South East, County Hall, St. Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, BN7 1UE

Emailed to: [email protected]

30 October 2019 Dear Sirs Transport for the South East response to the consultation on the Coast to Capital Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) Transport for the South East welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Coast to Capital Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) consultation. Transport for the South East (TfSE) is an emerging Sub-national Transport Body (STB) which is being established in line with provisions of the Local Transport Act 2008 (as amended). As a STB, TfSE’s principal role is to facilitate sustainable economic growth through the development of its transport strategy which will identify the transport infrastructure required to deliver additional housing and employment space across the region. TfSE provides a single voice across its geography on the transport interventions needed to support growth. The South East is crucial to the UK economy and is the nation’s international gateway for people and business. High-quality transport infrastructure is critical to making the South East more competitive, contributing to national prosperity and improving the lives of our residents. We welcome the opportunity to comment on the evidence base for the emerging Coast to Capital LIS. We understand that this is a key stage in the development of the LIS and the early engagement is welcomed. It is crucial for Transport for the South East and Coast to Capital LEP to continue to foster the strong working relationship that has been built to date. Transport for the South East has recently published its draft Transport Strategy for consultation. We feel that this offers a strong evidence base that can be used by LEPs in the production of their LIS. Copies of our Transport Strategy and supporting documents can be found on the TfSE website. The C2C evidence base starts to identify many of opportunities and challenges for transport infrastructure in the Coast to Capital area and the wider south east which are included in the Transport Strategy. Our Transport Strategy seeks to improve connectivity between businesses, improve access to labour markets, and facilitate housing and employment space growth. The strategy work also looks to improve access to the international gateways and accessibility to deprived communities to deliver sustainable economic growth.

Page 193

Appendix 1



0300 3309474 [email protected] transportforthesoutheast.org.uk

Transport for the South East, County Hall, St. Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, BN7 1UE

The delivery of the TfSE Transport Strategy and the LIS need bold ambitious interventions to support their delivery. We would welcome the opportunity to be involved in further discussions with the LEP to co-design the next stages of the LIS, particularly focusing on transport and infrastructure, to ensure the important alignment between the two documents. Once again, thank you for giving Transport for the South East the opportunity to respond to the evidence base. Transport for the South East welcomes the opportunity to work closely with the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership and support the development of the LIS. This is an officer response. The TfSE Shadow Partnership Board meets on 11 December 2019 to consider the draft response and a further iteration of the response may follow. Yours sincerely,

Rupert Clubb, Lead Officer, Transport for the South East

Page 194


Appendix 2

Emailed to: [email protected]

24 October 2019 Dear Sirs

Response to the A27 Arundel Bypass Further Consultation

Transport for the South East welcomes the opportunity to respond to the A27 Arundel Bypass further consultation.

Transport for the South East (TfSE) is an emerging Sub-national Transport Body (STB) which is being established in line with provisions of the Local Transport Act 2008 (as amended). As a STB, TfSE’s principal role is to facilitate sustainable economic growth through the development of its transport strategy which will identify the transport infrastructure required to deliver additional housing and employment space across the region.

TfSE provides a single voice across its geography on the transport interventions needed to support growth. The South East is crucial to the UK economy and is the nation’s international gateway for people and business. High-quality transport infrastructure is critical to making the South East more competitive, contributing to national prosperity and improving the lives of our residents.

Our Economic Connectivity Review (ECR) published in 2018 provided a detailed analysis of the underlying socioeconomic conditions of the area and showed the key roles that the transport network and its strategic corridors have in driving economic growth in the South East and the UK. The A27 was identified as one of the key strategic corridors where the evidence suggests that economic investment in transport infrastructure should be focussed to generate maximum future return.

The A27 is the only major east-west trunk road south of the M25 and links a number of the cities and ports that are critical to the UK economy. Our consultation draft Transport Strategy published earlier this month has built upon the evidence and analysis conducted in the ECR and confirms the A27 as a key orbital transport corridor across our area. Our draft Strategy recognises that sections of single carriageway road limit capacity and highlights that there are significant areas of congestion on this corridor. Our draft Strategy further identifies that the poor performance of this corridor represents a significant barrier to fostering sustainable growth along the South Coast.

The South East has a varied and highly valued natural environment, parts of which are also designated due to the quality of the environment, and this helps make the area an attractive place to live, work and visit. Our draft Strategy strongly supports economic growth, but not at any cost, and is clear that any intervention in the area’s transport networks must ensure that the environment is protected and where possible enhanced.


Page 195

Appendix 2

ftp://to:[email protected]/


http://transportforthesoutheast.org.uk/

The South East is a popular location for leisure walking and cycling, and our strategy suggests that there is scope to expand the infrastructure to encourage more sustainable forms of transport, particularly for more local journeys.

The stated objectives of the A27 Arundel Bypass scheme are aligned with the TfSE vision, goals and priorities set out in our Transport Strategy, and therefore TfSE supports the need for intervention on the A27 at Arundel to address the current congestion issue and to remove the constraint to future economic growth. However, we consider that it is not within our remit to comment upon any particular route option. We would expect that in developing the scheme, the highest standards of design are employed that will provide a long term solution that delivers potential economic benefits and successfully mitigate its environmental impacts.

We consider that in accordance with Government policy every effort must be made to ensure that biodiversity net gain is achieved through this project, and we would therefore expect that a high quality package of environmental mitigation measures is developed and delivered as part of the scheme.

We also consider that there are opportunities to provide enhanced infrastructure and provision for non-motorised users and that these should be included in the design of the preferred route.

We note that although £100-£250 million has been allocated for the A27 Arundel Bypass through the Road Investment Strategy only two of the six options are considered broadly deliverable within this budget. The delivery of major highway improvements in or near environmentally designated areas should reflect a need for the highest standard of design, including environmental mitigation. Although this cannot come at any cost, it is considered that the design of the Arundel bypass scheme should be determined by what is needed to fully deliver on Highway England’s strategic objectives, rather than just what is affordable within the current budget.

This is an officer response. The TfSE Shadow Partnership Board meets on 11 December 2019 to consider the draft response and a further iteration of the response may follow.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss any element of this response.

Yours sincerely,

Rupert Clubb Lead Officer, Transport for the South East


Page 196


http://transportforthesoutheast.org.uk/