Draft Minutes of the Europe and International Panel Held on Friday 16 September 2016 Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge

Transcription

1 Draft Minutes of the Europe and International Panel Held on Friday 16 September 2016 Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge Members Present First name Last name Organisation Group Cllr Graham Butland (Chair) Braintree District Council Conservative Cllr Roy Davis Luton Borough Council Labour Cllr Nick Daubney King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council Conservative Cllr Ann Holland Southend Borough Council Conservative Cllr Sandy Martin Suffolk County Council Labour Subscribing Partners Present First name Last name Organisation Michael Barnes Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP Frances Bedding Suffolk County Council Ian Beggs University of East Anglia Eliska Cheeseman Norfolk County Council Eddie Gibson East of England LGA Sue Hanshaw University of Essex Lawrence Hardy University of East Anglia Jemma Little Anglia Ruskin University Jonathan Millins East of England Brussels Office Observers Present First name Last name Organisation Phoebe Brundle Assistant - MEP Vicky Ford MEP Conservative Richard Howitt MEP Labour Phil Lakin National Trust Chris Parkhouse East of England Business Group Brian Stacey Department for International Trade Andrew Thomson Association of Colleges in the Eastern Region 1

2 Apologies First name Last name Organisation Group Stuart Agnew MEP UKIP Cllr Kevin Bentley* Essex County Council Conservative Cllr Robert J. Bucke Tendring District Council Independent Cllr Sue Carpendale Babergh District Council Liberal Democrat Jackie Eveleigh* East of England Brussels Office Lucy Gonzalez Anglia Ruskin University George Kieffer South East LEP Cllr John Lamb* Southend Borough Council Conservative Michael Large* East of England Business Group Vince Muspratt* Norfolk County Council Alastair Rhind New Anglia LEP Cllr Kay Twitchen Essex County Council Conservative Geoffrey Van Orden* MEP Conservative * Denotes a substitute was sent in their place. 1. Welcome Cllr Graham Butland, Deputy Chair, announced that Cllr Kevin Bentley was unable to Chair the meeting due another commitment. 2. Apologies and substitutions Jonathan Millins read out the list of apologies and substitutions. 3. Draft minutes of the meeting of 15 April 2016 Vicky Ford asked for a correction to the minutes to reflect that the European Parliament had voted to renew marketing approval of glyphosate for seven years, rather than for an immediate ban as was stated in the minutes. This amendment having been accepted; the minutes were adopted. 4. Presentation: Anglia Ruskin University EU Funded Projects: Benefits and Impacts Jemma Little gave a presentation on the benefits and impacts of EU funded projects to both the university and the wider region. The presentation covered a wide range of funding programmes and example projects included: KEEP+; SMART 4 MD; Keep Me Safe; RECONASS; and applied gaming. Some of the benefits from running EU projects includes supporting graduates, improved industry connections, link with creative communities and maximising university assets. Questions and answers followed. Vicky Ford asked how ARU s success could be more widely publicised in an interesting and visible way? Jemma Little responded that more work can always been done on communication and project promotion and asked Panel members to help promote the universities successes. Lawrence Hardy wanted the Panel to send a clear message to project promoters and the Government that Brexit must not get in the way of this success. Sue Hanshaw agreed with Lawrence Hardy s point and argued more cooperation between the region s universities on promoting European successes was needed. Cllr Butland congratulated ARU on its good work. 2

3 Action: Brussels Office to circulate ARU presentation to Panel members. 5. Report back from meeting held on 9 August with European Partnership subscribers following referendum. Item 5 was taken together with Item 6. Jonathan Millins reported to the Panel that the meeting, chaired by Cllr Bentley, was positive and constructive. Discussions centrered on the impact of the referendum in the region and to the Brussels Office. It was reported that subscribing organisations had endorsed the continued work of the Brussels Office and the European Partnership. A press release was published in August to reflect that decision. As a result of the August meeting, a letter to the Prime Minister and ministers was drafted. Panel members discussed this letter. Vicky Ford welcomed the continued support for the Brussels Office and its role in support the science and research agenda in the region. Vicky Ford asked if the letter could ask the Government to keep an open mind to science and research funding post Eliska Cheeseman asked that a new section to the letter be added to raise the concerns from the France (Channel) England Interreg programme hosted by Norfolk County Council. The Panel agreed that this should be included. Richard Howitt asked that councils, LEPs and universities keep supporting the Brussels Office financially as it s the only organisation in the region doing this type of work will be an important year for the Brussels Office as it guides the region through the Brexit process and helps to achieve a good deal for the region. Richard Howitt reminded members that the East of England benefited hugely from the Brussels Office and that other regions, for example the East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber had suffered from not having a presence in Brussels. Whatever the future for UK-EU relations, the Brussels Office and European Partnership deserved strong political support, he said. Vicky Ford informed the meeting that she along with other Conservative MEPs had met the Prime Minster and Chancellor to discuss Brexit. The message to MEPs was remain engaged with the EU. Ministers and civil servants are focused on information gathering. Vicky argued that the Panel should be a way of delivering a clear political voice to Government and others on the needs of the region. Phil Lakin asked about the issue of FLAGs and the risks to heritage lottery funding. Ian Beggs informed the Panel that despite the referendum, no UEA EU funded project has been lost so far, however, concerns existed over the project pipeline and financial uncertainty. Sue Hanshaw said there were anxieties over funding but no major problems report as yet. Concerns do exist over evaluation bias and the overall attractiveness of the UK to researchers post-brexit, she said. Cllr Roy Davis argued that the Brussels Office needed to be properly resourced to deliver what was being asked of it and that this should partly come from EELGA. Indeed, it may be necessary to expand the role of the Brussels Office post-brexit. Cllr Sandy Martin agreed with Cllr Davis and added that the letter should also look to the future and ensure that Government protects funding to the region. Lawrence Hardy supported the letter and the continued work of the office, saying it was vital to remain engaged with continental Europe. The Chair, Cllr Graham Butland, highlighted that the name of the Panel was Europe and International and that Brexit will mean more emphasis on the international, a role that the Brussels Office is well placed to deliver. Three textual changes were later submitted and incorporated into the letter. Action: Jonathan Millins to circulate draft letter for amendments and then keep Panel informed on the response from Government to the letter. 3

4 6. Presentation: Brexit Developments Item 6 was taken together with item 5. Minutes for item 6, see above. Jonathan Millins gave a presentation on Brexit developments and the different potential models that could form part of the UK negotiations. Action: Jonathan Millins to circulate presentation. 7. Horizon 2020 update UK figures and the interim evaluation Jonathan Millins presented Jackie Eveleigh s paper highlighting the drawdown figures from the Horizon 2020 programme. The programme is much more competitive than its predecessor FP7 with an overall success rate of 12.5%. The UK is currently ranked the highest among EU Member States in terms of the number of participations. As of September 2016, the region had received over 274 million, with Cambridgeshire based organisations receiving the bulk of the funding at 212 million. Jonathan also introduced the forthcoming mid-term evaluation of Horizon 2020 that would form the basis of the post-2020 research and innovation funding landscape in the EU. The consultation will open in October 2016 and members were asked to stay engaged with the Brussels Office to ensure a comprehensive and well informed response can be submitted. Jonathan reminded members that in the formation period for Horizon 2020, the East of England engaged the European Institutions at all levels and helped to deliver a programme that is now benefiting the region significantly. Jemma Little said it might be possible for ARU to survey SMEs to get their direct input. Cllr Sandy Martin felt that the funding was not benefiting the region as a whole and was too Cambridge-centric. Vicky Ford and Jemma Little disagreed with Cllr Martin and recalled that even when a project is centred in Cambridge, the supply chain and economic value is felt much more widely. Jonathan Millins reminded the Panel that the region fought for an excellence based programme and not a territorial funding programme. As a result, funding goes to the best projects, regardless of Member State or region. Cllr Roy Davis said that people should come and learn from Cambridge and learn best practice. Ian Beggs highlighted the success of UEA and the John Innes Centre who are only beaten by the University of Oxford in terms of European Research Council grants. Cllr Martin argued that work should be undertaken to learn from Cambridge and suggested a good practice guide to help share the expertise within the region. Phil Lakin said the National Trust had participated in Horizon 2020 projects and some useful learning was available via European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST). Action: Paper to be presented to Panel at next meeting on the mid-term evaluation. 8. ESIF Roundtable Michael Barnes informed members that GCGP LEP had committed 34% of its ERDF so far. Hertfordshire LEP stands at 33% and New Anglia LEP at 50%. Focus for GCGP is on innovation and research and trying to fill the gap between SMEs and institutions. Government has asked LEPs for a project pipeline, to which LEPs have responded and are awaiting comments. GCGP submitted ten projects. Longer term issue around sub-national governance, devolution and economic development post-brexit. 9. International Trade Brian Stacey from the Department for International Trade (DIT) gave a brief overview of the new Department, new Secretary of State Liam Fox and the transition from UK Trade and Investment. Brain said DIT was examining market access options post-brexit and assessing the impact of Brexit on 4

5 inward and outward investments. He reminded members that the EU remains the competent authority for trade deals until Brexit. November 2016 is export month. DIT is also developing digital tools for SMEs to access help and financial support from five banks. 10. MEP Roundtable Vicky Ford gave an overview of her recent activities which included meeting with ministers and departments, attending regional roundtables and a meeting with the new UK Commissioner Sir Julian King. Vicky has also been working with Government on practical issues around the Single Market and Customs Union and how to ameliorate the impact of Brexit. Richard Howitt was attending Panel for the last time after 22 years as an MEP for the East of England. As of 1 st November, Richard will the Chief Executive for the International Integrated Reporting Council in London. Richard said he was profoundly sad that the UK would be leaving the EU and he regretted the direction of debate on Brexit. He thanked all the councillors, LEPs and universities for their hard work and their cooperation with him over many years. He said it was a great privilege to have been an MEP and he will continue to live in the region. Richard is particularly proud of his contribution to work on ESIF and TEN-T funding. Richard informed the Panel that his Labour colleague Ms Alex Mayer would be assuming the role of MEP as number two on the electoral list, in accordance with procedure. Cllr Butland thanked Richard for all his hard work over the years and the Panel voted unanimously to record their thanks for his contribution to the Panel and the region. Stuart Agnew was unable to attend and submitted his report in writing: Since the recess I have become involved in the fate of a Norfolk man who finds himself in prison in Croatia. A worrying aspect of the case is the length of the delay between the imprisonment and the advising of the British Consulate. I have spent some time with his family who are very concerned about the mental health of the individual concerned and the difficulty of trying to get any information from the Croatian authorities. The Commission are introducing a scheme to reward farmers for producing less milk, whilst at the same time buyers of milk are asking farmers to produce more with a small price increase. I was pleased to support Vicky Ford MEP in her initiative to organise a personal security briefing for MPs/MEPs. This was held at Cambourne Police station and gave me the opportunity to relate problems that I had had in this respect. 11. Committee of the Regions Postponed to next meeting. 12. Dates of next meetings in 2016 / 2017 Due to a clash with many commitments for many members, it was agreed to reschedule the December Panel meeting. Next meetings: 2 December 2016, Huntingdon 24 February 2017, location TBD 5

6 13. AOB Information Items taken without debate: EIP Action Plan 2016 Greenhouse gas emission targets Revision of waste legislation European Innovation Council update European Week of Regions and Cities 2016 New Skills Agenda for Europe *** 6