The Lancashire Combined County Authority met to approve the budget, discuss governance models, and review progress on key initiatives. County Councillor Stephen Atkinson was appointed as Chair, and Councillor Phil Riley was appointed as Vice Chair. The authority approved the amended 2025/26 revenue budget and capital programme, accepted the Growing Places Fund from Lancashire County Council, and agreed to develop a localised Get Britain Working plan.

Lancashire Business Board Funding

The board approved a funding request of £50,000 from the Lancashire Business Board to undertake stakeholder communications and engagement activities. Andy Walker, Head of Service - Business Growth at Lancashire County Council, explained that the funding would help the board raise its visibility and reputation among the wider business community, as well as promote Lancashire's capabilities to government and potential investors.

Mo Isap, Chair of the Lancashire Business Board, addressed the meeting to say that the board had some:

very, very committed, very serious business colleagues who are very committed to the future of Lancashire and our economy and growth, and therefore are, you know, very much in line with everything that we see here today around how we now maximize inward investment and opportunities from government, from post-spending review and everything else that's available for us as a county.

He added that the board was keen to evaluate potential projects for investment that would create real outcomes for the county's people and communities.

Growing Places Fund

The authority approved in principle the acceptance of the £19.4 million Growing Places Fund from Lancashire County Council. The Growing Places Fund is a resource previously managed by the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). When the LEP was wound-up, ahead of the formation of the Lancashire Combined County Authority, the county council became the custodian of the Growing Places Fund as it was the Accountable Body for the LEP. The fund is deployed as a revolving loan fund to release commercial development projects in Lancashire. The Public reports pack stated that the fund was originally awarded to the LEP in 2012 as a grant and utilised as a revolving investment fund to facilitate the delivery of commercial property projects aligned with the wider ambition for economic development.

The authority mandated officers to conclude discussions on the details of the transfer with the Executive Director of Growth, Environment, Transport and Health at Lancashire County Council, and delegated final approval of the agreed arrangements to the Chief Operating Officer in conjunction with the Chair.

Get Britain Working Plan

The authority agreed to develop a localised Get Britain Working plan, named 'Get Lancashire Working', in partnership with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Job Centre Plus (JCP). The Public reports pack stated that the plan is in line with the government's ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate over the next 10 years. The plan will focus on reducing economic inactivity by better integrating work, health, and skills provision.

The Head of Paid Services was authorised to approve the content of the submission to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding progress on the plan, with a deadline of 27 June 2025. A draft of the plan will be presented to the Skills Advisory Board on 10 July 2025, and the final version will be presented to the authority for approval on 9 September 2025.

Budget Update

The authority approved the amended 2025/26 revenue budget and capital programme. Joanne Ainsworth, Principal Accountant at Lancashire County Council, presented the update, which included new grant allocations and expenditure commitments. The Public reports pack noted that the changes were necessary due to significant changes to some of the assumptions made, both in terms of monies to be received and expenditure needed to be incurred.

The updated budget includes the following grants:

• Bus Service Improvement Plan: £19,127,824 (revenue) and £17,470,799 (capital)
• Combined Active Travel Fund: £1,286,455 (revenue) and £4,073,774 (capital)
• Integrated Transport Grant: £9,269,000 (capital)
• Local Transport Grant: £1,349,000 (revenue) and £34,945,000 (capital)
• Rural Prosperity Fund: £653,065 (capital)
• Department for Education Capacity Fund: £100,000

The updated budget also includes the following expenditure commitments:

• £28,620 for insurance premiums
• £25,000 for Careers Hub Match funding
• £10,000 for Employment Consultants to support the Chief Operating Officer recruitment process
• £17,025 for expenditure at UKREiiF[^1]

• £20,103 for consultants working on developing the Lancashire Growth Plan

  [^1]: The UK's Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) is a convention that connects people, places and businesses to accelerate and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment.

The budget also includes an increase in the budget provision for the Governance review from £50,000 to £75,000. The updated budget leaves £725,549 in reserves, which is £75,000 less than originally planned.

Constitution, Membership and Appointments

The authority noted the Lancashire Combined County Authority Constitution, membership, and appointments to committees and outside bodies for the 2025/26 municipal year. The authority approved changes to the constitution to allow the advisory boards to appoint a second representative from the Business Board and to clarify that the advisory boards may invite other individuals to meetings on an ad hoc basis. The authority also approved the appointment of Mark Davies, Chief Executive of Lancaster City Council, as the authority's Statutory Scrutiny Officer, and Peter Clements as an Independent Person (Standards).

Calendar of Meetings

The authority approved the calendar of meetings for the authority, its committees, and advisory boards for the 2025/26 municipal year.

Review of Governance Models

County Councillor Stephen Atkinson, Lancashire County Council, provided a verbal update on the review of the governance models of the combined county authority. He stated that the ideal position would be a referendum on having a mayor for the Lancashire Combined County Authority and that he had written to the minister to ask if that would be possible. He added that he had a meeting with the minister on Thursday when that should become clear.

Councillor Alistair Bradley raised concerns that things were being slowed down around governance and that he hoped it was not being slowed down as a result of political will. County Councillor Stephen Atkinson, Lancashire County Council, responded that that was not happening and that everyone was working together in an open and honest position.

Forward Plan and Work Plan

The authority approved the proposed work plan for the period June 2025 to April 2026. Councillor Phil Riley raised concerns about the Local Transport Plan and the transport group, stating that he was keen to progress and that he was waiting for nominations to fill the spaces that are vacant on both of those pieces of work.