Agenda item

Report of Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy

Purpose of report

To seek £100,000 of New Homes Bonus grant to be made available to The Apprenticeship & Training Company Ltd. in order to fund the delivery of a number of construction apprenticeships and skills related objectives primarily during the 2017/ 2018 financial year. These objectives are being included withinCDC’s Economic Growth Strategy (2017-2020).

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1         To approve the grant of £100,000 New Homes Bonus to The Apprenticeship & Training Company Ltd (the ‘Company’). This will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a funding agreement between the Council and the Company to include a right for the Council to nominate a representative to the Company’s Board.

Resolved

(1)          That the grant of £100,000 New Homes Bonus to The Apprenticeship & Training Company Ltd (the ‘Company’) and it be noted that this will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a funding agreement between the council and the Company to include a right for the council to nominate a representative to the Company’s Board.

(2)          That authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Lead Member for Financial Management, to agree future allocations of New Homes Bonus provided for in the budget in accordance with the principles previously set out by the Executive.

(3)          That with regard to New Homes Bonus allocations, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the relevant member of the Joint Management Team and Executive Lead Members (within whose area the proposed scheme falls e.g. for economic development schemes, this will be the Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy and the Lead Member for Estates and the Economy) to determine the schemes in accordance with council policy on which these allocated funds should be spent.

The Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy submitted a report to seek £100,000 of New Homes Bonus grant to be made available to The Apprenticeship & Training Company Ltd. in order to fund the delivery of a number of construction apprenticeships and skills related objectives primarily during the 2017/ 2018 financial year. These objectives are being included withinCDC’s Economic Growth Strategy (2017-2020).

Resolved

(1)          That the grant of £100,000 New Homes Bonus to The Apprenticeship & Training Company Ltd (the ‘Company’) and it be noted that this will be subject to the satisfactory completion of a funding agreement between the council and the Company to include a right for the council to nominate a representative to the Company’s Board.

(2)          That authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Lead Member for Financial Management, to agree future allocations of New Homes Bonus provided for in the budget in accordance with the principles previously set out by the Executive.

(3)          That with regard to New Homes Bonus allocations, authority be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the relevant member of the Joint Management Team and Executive Lead Members (within whose area the proposed scheme falls e.g. for economic development schemes, this will be the Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy and the Lead Member for Estates and the Economy) to determine the schemes in accordance with council policy on which these allocated funds should be spent.

Reasons

Increasing the number of new apprenticeships in England is a high profile Government objective. The Council supports this aspiration. The amount of new development taking place in the Council’s district over the next 20 years or so, coupled with the evidenced shortage of construction skills provides both an incentive and opportunity to secure the provision of new construction related apprenticeships.

The Cherwell District Council Local Plan Part 1 as well as the Council’s Economic Strategy contain strategic aspirations relating to the need to support an increase in skills and training within the Council’s district. It is intended that the activities set out in section 5 of this report will be reflected within CDC’s Economic Growth Strategy (2017-2020).

The signals from informal discussions with developers to date are that they generally support the approach CDC is promoting, as a helpful initiative designed both to increase the number of local skilled construction operatives available to support the building industry, as well as promoting the construction trades generally as a valuable future career path for young people.

The setting up and operating of The Apprenticeship and Training Company Ltd to manage apprenticeships on behalf of developers and their contractors is a key element of delivering the apprenticeships and skills this area needs. However in order to be able to trade confidently over the first year of operation, the Company needs some financial support. It is in the Council’s interest to provide such financial support given the long term outcomes that will arise from the Company’s activities which will benefit the local economy and thus accord with the Council’s economic objectives.

Alternative options

Option 1: Not to agree the recommendations.