Agenda item

Philip Clifford, Senior Adviser, introduced item two.

Philip stated that the report summarised this Board’s previous discussions. In light of discussions at this board, work commissioned by this Board in the last political cycle and further discussions between the Chairs of City Regions, People and Places, and Resources Boards, three main areas of a work plan had been agreed: devolution messaging report; progressing work on a tourism levy; and exploring an e-commerce levy.

The three areas were taken in turn to the board:

-       devolution messaging report: all members agreed that the LGA should take short term messaging around the spending review issues in the new year.

-       progressing work on a tourism levy: all members agreed with the steer taken by the three chairs to commission this work to the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board in order to investigate the practicalities in the wider tourism context and a place based approach to engage in this sector.

-       e-commerce levy: This belongs in the remit of the Resources Board with oversight by the EEHT Board, as it explores the impact on highstreets wellbeing. It was agreed that the Resources Board would feed back to this Board on the developments made and also on issues surrounding Business Rates Avoidance.

Decision:

The following decisions were made:

-       The Devolution messaging report will be dealt with in relation to the spending review in the new year.

-       Members agreed that the Culture, Tourism and Sport Board will be commissioned to investigate the practicalities of the tourism levy.

-       Members agreed that the Resources Board lead on e-commerce levy and feedback updates to this board.