To elect the Chairman of the Council for the Municipal Year 2013/14. 

RESOLVED

Councillor N Young be elected as the Chairman of the South East Midlands Local Transport Board for the municipal year 2013/14.

To elect the Vice-Chairman of the Council for the Municipal Year 2013/14. 

RESOLVED

Councillor Geary be elected as the Vice-Chairman of the South East Midlands Local Transport Board for the municipal year 2013/14.

To approve nominations for the Accountable Body for a 5 year term.

RESOLVED

that Luton be appointed the Accountable Body for a 5-year term.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest.

None were declared.

To receive communications and announcements from the Chairman.

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

Members of the public or other organisations will be allowed to present their case on specific Agenda items.  A total of 15 minutes for these presentations will be allowed at the start of each Local Transport Board meeting.

No members of the public had registered to speak.

To receive a report on the background and rationale to the Local Transport Body for the South East Midlands area.

The Board considered a report that provided the background information to the coalition government’s decision to introduce the concept of a Local Transport Body (LTB).  The LTB would be allocated funding to be used for local transport priorities.  It would be comprised of the four highway authorities within the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership area, this being Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.

NOTED

1.            the background and rationale to the Local Transport Body for the South East Midlands area; and

2.            the Government’s response to the report produced by Lord Heseltine ‘No Stone Unturned’ in which there were proposals to set the Local Transport Body within the context of a wider funding framework which supports local growth and wealth generation by 2015.  In particular this move highlights the need for Local Transport Bodies to progress in adopting their assurance frameworks and developing their priorities by the prescribed timeline.

To approve the Local Framework submitted to the Department for Transport.

The Board considered a report that set out the South East Midlands Local Transport Board (SEMLTB) Assurance Framework.  The draft Framework had been submitted to the Department for Transport on 28 February 2013.  The Local Framework, once finalised, will be used to develop a Memorandum of Understanding constituting the setting up of the SEMLTB for approval by Members.

The primary role of the SEMLTB would be to decide which transport investments would be priorities, to review and approve business cases for each prioritised scheme and to ensure effective delivery of the programme.

RESOLVED

1.            that the SEMLTB Assurance Framework submitted to the Department for Transport be approved; and

2.            the initial comments received from the Department for Transport and the response to these be noted.

This report specifically deals with the prioritisation process as set out in Part 2 of the Local Framework, the requirements for which are set out in Part 2 of the DfT Guidance.

The Board considered a report that dealt with the prioritisation process.  The key elements for the prioritisation process were:

• that each Local Authority would prepare a list of eligible transport schemes; and

• that the prioritised shortlist would be generated by a spreadsheet methodology that takes into account the South East Midlands Local Transport Board (SEMLTB) objectives, together with the scheme cost, deliverability to programme, value for money and the environmental/social distribution impacts.

Members discussed the objectives to which each scheme would be assessed, together with the weighting to be applied to each.  There was some concern that the scoring would be between 1-3 and not 1-5 or 1-10.  It was agreed that the objective “Contribute to a better quality of life by improving the natural and built environment” would be scored as 2 and not 1 as suggested in the report.

Members noted that the proposed list of strategic infrastructure projects for the SEMLTB was an evolving list and was likely to be changed as the local authorities reviewed their own schemes. 

A request was made for the officer representative from South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership to be invited as an observer to the officer Working Group meetings on the prioritisation work.

RESOLVED

1.            that the list of strategic transport schemes for inclusion as part of the prioritisation process be approved;

2.            that the weightings associated with the objectives and other factors against which each scheme in the long list would be assessed be approved subject to the objective “Contribute to a better quality of life by improving the natural and built environment” would be scored as 2 and not 1 as set out the in the report;

3.            that the scope of the consultants brief to undertake the prioritisation process be approved;

4.            that the officer Working Group be authorised to invite a shortlist of consultants to Tender for the prioritisation work and, in consultation with the Members, to agree the preferred consultant to undertake the study; and

5.            that the allocation by each Local Authority of £5,000 to undertake the prioritisation work be endorsed.

To approve the following dates:

1)     21 June 2013 – 10.00 a.m.

2)     25 July 2013 – 10.00 a.m.

3)     December 2013/January 2014 to follow

RESOLVED

that the dates of the next meeting would be:

1)           21 June 2013 – 10.00 a.m.

2)           25 July 2013 – 10.00 a.m.

3)           December 2013/January 2014 – TBC

The above meetings would take place at Central Bedfordshire Council, Watling House, High Street North, Dunstable.