, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
That's exactly why I asked the question—it's with regard to that accountability about these committees coming together. Is there an opportunity for you in north Wales—? If there is a decision that is contrary to what you want in your area, what would happen…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Dyfrig, the same questions to you, if I may.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Okay.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
But then there are opportunities as well where you use your executive power as leader to go forward and enact decisions, just as the leader of Pembrokeshire County Council.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Councillor Simpson, coming back to you, when you sit as a council leader on the CJC, are you representing the executive power of the cabinet, or the council itself? So, do you take forward a council decision, or do you take forward a cabinet decision when you…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Okay. Thank you very much, Dyfrig.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
I was going to ask quickly: have these joint committees assisted the work of Ambition North Wales, or could the work have continued without having the CJCs?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Could I—?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Dyfrig, can I ask you the same question, please? What's the situation with regard to the CJCs and Ambition North Wales?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
That's helpful, thank you.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
What would you base that on? Is that on the number of local authorities who participate in the CJC and the region, or any other factor? Because in the previous panel, we had Ceredigion and Powys, who are only two local authorities, and the Cardiff region…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Are you talking about taking the governance of the city deal and putting it under the CJC, instead of having two operating models?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Swansea Bay City Deal and North Wales Growth Deal
Diolch, Cadeirydd. Starting with the Swansea bay city deal, as you're in the area, I want to talk about the CJCs—the corporate joint committees. What's the establishment of the CJC and its current position with regard to this deal and the CJC? I'm not sure if…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Thank you, Chair.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Okay. Thank you, Kellie. That was really helpful. I'm conscious of time, so I'm handing back.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Okay. On that point, then, the element that I'm trying to get at, and I understand that you're not the politician in this, is the level of accountability in the decision-making process. You described it as being a company director. Well, company directors are…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
So, both council and cabinet are empowering them. So, there is: the council agree, then the cabinet and then—. Or is it a cabinet executive decision?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Kellie, I know you're not a politician in the sense of a council leader, but what's the mechanism within the Cardiff bay city deal region in terms of decision making around the CJC and the executive power a leader has? What's the mechanism there?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
So, at the moment, it's basically, because you've not had to do it, it's still, some of it, a process to be found out.
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Yes, that's the point. Is there a meeting, a full council meeting where the sort of decision is made and ratified through a vote and then the leader goes forward to discuss it, or does the leader take delegated powers to go, 'I think this is the best way…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
And I'll let both of you look to each other to see who will answer first. [Laughter.]
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
So, I can take from your answer there, Kellie, and the written evidence as well from the Cardiff capital region, and the evidence from Powys and Ceredigion as well, that you're actually in two different locations, given the demographics and the locations of…
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Yes, okay. Helpful. Kellie, to move to yourself and Cardiff and the CJCs there, what's your take on the current setup of CJCs and the deal, the city deal itself?
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
I could see, when James raised that question, both of you nodded along there—
, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee
Mid Wales Growth Deal and Cardiff Capital Region City Deal
Okay.
