The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) Board convened to discuss a range of strategic initiatives, including approving a new development fund, corporate plan aims, and budget updates. Councillors also reviewed and approved amendments to the authority's constitution and appointed members to the Economic Advisory Panel.

GLCCA Budget Update

The board agreed to a reallocation of the authority's 2025/26 budget and scheme of delegation to enable a move to a permanent delivery structure. They also agreed to write to the government to ask for assistance with election costs for the Mayoral election.

Debbie Simpson, Interim S76 Officer, presented the budget update, noting that while overall expenditure is forecast to exceed the budget, this is predominantly due to the Mayoral election costs. The meeting heard that the election was £630 over budget, and that the combined authority was following convention from an accounting perspective by building up a reserve. Councillor Rob Waltham MBE, North Lincolnshire Council, felt it was perverse that the government devolved powers to them, but it was pushing them over budget in the first year. He proposed that the authority write to the government to ask them to fund the election costs.

Councillor Sean Matthews, Lincolnshire County Council, seconded the proposal to write a joint letter, calling it ludicrous that over $600,000 of their budget was going to be spent on money spent before they began.

Councillor A J Baxter asked about the authorisation limits for different people within the organisation when procuring a large project. They asked if the people involved had to be reimbursed for their time and effort. Lee Sirdifield, Interim Chief Operating Officer, responded that the county has a traded service for that, and like other organisations, there are a set of procurement rules built into the finance.

Marc Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire, said that it was important to look at value for money, not just cost. He said that he wouldn't want the message to be that the cost of the office is the ultimate win, because the public will judge on delivery.

GLCCA Development Fund

The board voted to endorse the administration of a new GLCCA Development Fund in accordance with the content of the report and supporting guidance note.

The fund will allocate £500,000 per year to support strategic projects or programmes within Lincolnshire. The fund aims to support development activities such as advanced feasibility, master planning, viability studies and technical studies. The maximum that each applicant could apply for would be £100,000.

Ruth Carver explained that the main principle is that combined authorities' money is used as a last resort, so applicants would be looking to draw down other sources of funding first.

Councillor Mrs J Brockway asked for greater detail on the criteria for the benefit of everybody as soon as possible.

Councillor Waltham said that there was an opportunity to fund projects, so it would help them to work out if it was worth working together. He also shared his position on consultants, but said that the paper had done a good job with this, because it does talk about professional, technical space.

Councillor Baxter said that it looked quite exciting, and wanted to understand it. They noted that there were loads of things that the fund was not for, and asked if there was a lower limit, and would the council expect to see cross-county bids from organisations like Citizens Advice.

Councillor Nick Worth said that he would love to see support digitising high streets, and that he thought the council would be inundated with applications.

Corporate Plan - Aims and Objectives

The board agreed to the over-arching themes of the Greater Lincolnshire Plan, and noted the process of engagement of development of the plan.

The plan is based upon a concept of bolder ambitions, better connected communities and brighter futures. Lee Sirdifield explained that the corporate plan is one of many documents that the organisation is in the process of developing, and that it will set out part of the strategic framework for the organisation.

Councillor Baxter said that the priority themes were all very laudable, but that it was still very nebulous, and missing something. They said that there was nothing about infrastructure, health, equity, or environment. They also asked about the dates for the workshops, and if they crept into November.

Councillor Waltham supported the premise of moving ahead with the corporate plans of working together on the key delivery aspects of this. He said that the key to it is outcome and measurement.

Review of the Authority's Constitution

The board approved the proposed amendments and additions to the authority’s constitution detailed in appendices A-C, and noted the proposed plan for the ongoing review of the constitution.

Lisa Tremble explained that the authority has accepted that the constitution for all of its life is a live document, and that it is going to be continually under review.

Councillor Baxter thanked officers for producing it as a markup, which made it far easier to navigate. They raised some questions about the meanings within, such as the last meeting or the previous meeting, and about adjournments of meeting. They also said that they thought the constitution was overreaching in terms of the law, and that they didn't think the council could decree that people will not be allowed to take photos or video without permission. They also asked why the council wouldn't allow placards or banners.

Councillor Waltham welcomed the amendments, and said that they were pleased that they were able to move away from bobbing up and down to try and get the same outcome, which was a vote. They also raised a point of clarity around the code of conduct, and how that best applies to the combined authority.

Councillor Brockway raised a point of information about the placards, saying that they had previously had placards fall down on members, and that's why the glass had to be put in place. They also asked about a point in the constitution about the monitoring officer rejecting a question if it is substantial, and if the member of public would be able to be given the information that was put out when the question was first asked.

Appointment of Chair and Members to the Economic Advisory Panel

The board agreed to appoint Alison Hands as Chair of the Economic Advisory Panel and as the Associate Member for Business for the Authority. They also agreed to appoint five additional private sector members of the Economic Advisory Panel, Professor Neal Juster as the Education representative on the Economic Advisory Panel, and Katrina Pierce as the Business Representative Organisation member of the Economic Advisory Panel. The board delegated authority to the Chair of the EAP to undertake an open recruitment process to recruit further members to the areas identified within the report.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns DBE explained that this has been a two-stage process, and that she had pushed back on it because she was really conscious about the geographical split, and also looking at the growth plan and growth areas, like ag tech, defense, and AI.

Councillor Waltham said that it was really helpful that the mayor collaborated on this, and that it helped tonally to find the people that they've found across the sectors. He said that the challenge was the gaps, as the mayor had identified, and that the coast stuff is still a concern. He said that they needed to be able to be part of that final process, because it worked so well at the start.

Councillor Baxter assumed that the 48 people that applied all knew that they were only going to get remuneration of their expenses and out-of-pocket time. They also noted that they were pleased that Alison Hands and Katrina Pierce are on as two women all together.

Risk Management Framework

The board noted the risk management framework.

Caroline Illingworth explained that it was a risk management framework to be used for identifying, assessing and managing risk within the authority, and that it is based on the principles used by Lincolnshire County Council and other local authorities in the process detailed in the framework.

Calendar of Meetings

The board approved the calendar of meetings for the remainder of the 2025/26 municipal year attached at Appendix A, and the calendar of meetings for the 2026/27 municipal year attached at Appendix B. They also delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer, following consultation with the Chairs of the relevant Board(s) or Committee(s), to amend the Calendar of Meetings as and when required.

Councillor Waltham welcomed the calendar, and said that it was important that they do get out there and be in the communities across Lincolnshire as well. He said that it was important that the transparency on these committees that it's broadcast as well, and that they need to make sure they have that provision as well.

Councillor Matthews said that they didn't recall there being a recess at all, and that it was just business as usual, really.