May 2020
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference is bringing together policymakers and stakeholders to examine the progress and the next steps in the delivery of City Region and Growth Deals in Scotland.
Developments that are relevant to the discussion:
It takes place with:
- Publication of Audit Scotland’s first performance audit on City Region and Growth Deals;
- The first Gateway review of the Glasgow City Region Deal, due to be published in due course;
- The Regional Skills Assessments (RSA) summary reports released late last year; and
- Recent publication of the National Islands Plan, which provides a framework for The Scottish Government to deliver better connectivity and sustainable economic development and increase education and skills for island communities. It comes with subsequent reports of concerns from stakeholders and within the Scottish Parliament that it lacks defined targets.
Key areas for discussion:
- Addressing concerns - Audit Scotland’s review findings around accountability, clarity of purpose and what the deals are expected to deliver, investment levels, and the partners involved;
- Lessons so far - what can be learnt from Glasgow’s experiences, and how the deals announced in 2019 are being shaped and developed, as well as next steps;
- Alignment with national policy - ensuring that implementation of the City Region and Growth Deals fits with the UK and The Scottish Government priorities and strategies;
- Developing proposals - priorities including meeting local needs and putting in place effective governance systems;
- Collaboration - ensuring local authorities work together in the decision-making process for quick and effective project delivery, and strategies for sharing best practice across Scotland and the UK;
- Delivery of key infrastructure - looking at transport and telecoms networks - including project selection, funding, fit with wider strategies, and coordinating different city region and growth deals;
- Building Scotland’s skills base - including through the use of RSA to meet future local needs - and addressing nationwide skill shortages in the financial and business services sectors;
- Universities - enhancing their role through the development of centres of research and excellence; and
- Local authorities - how they can lead on delivering local economic models, promoting community involvement, and supporting the delivery of inclusive growth.
The agenda:
- City Region and Growth Deals in Scotland: delivery, accountability and progress so far;
- The Glasgow City Region Deal Gateway Review: outcomes and way forward;
- Co-ordinating City Region and Growth Deals across Scotland: governance, collaboration and delivering economic development; and
- Building an inclusive economy and developing a skilled workforce through City Region and Growth Deals.
Policy officials attending
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stake holders.
It’s certainly the case with this one. Places have been reserved by parliamentary pass-holders from the APPG on Fair Business Banking, and officials from The Scottish Government; the Scotland Office; the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland; the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland; the Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner; Transport Scotland; Social Security Scotland; BEIS; DCMS and Defra.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
