POLICY COMMISSION MEETING

Meeting	Policy Commission for Economy, Tourism, Regeneration and Transport
Ref	E.PC.14/06/06
Date	14 June 2006
Time	18.00 hours
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport
Purpose of meeting	Formal Public Meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs George Brown (Commissioner), Henry Adams, Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Charles Hancock, John Hobart, Lora Peacey-Wilcox
	Cabinet	Cllr Ian Ward, Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning & Transport
	Cabinet Secretariat	Cllr David Pugh, Cllr Alan Wells
	Other Councillors
	Officers	Ms Andrea Lisseter, O&S Team Ms April West, O&S Team
	Stake holders
	Apologies	Cllr Ivan Bulwer
Agenda Items
1. To agree the notes of the previous meeting	1.1 The notes of the meeting held on 10 May 2006 were agreed.
2. To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda	2.1 Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox declared a personal interest as she was the owner of a small business. 2.2 Cllr Henry Adams declared a personal interest as he was the owner of a small business.
3a. To consider the scoping document in relation to the Island Ports Sustainability Study E1/06	The Commissioner stressed that the Commission’s task in all projects was to examine the elements of prospective policies and to take evidence from stakeholders prior to making recommendations to the Cabinet. The Commissioner emphasised that Commissions were not decision making bodies. 3.1 The Island Ports Sustainability Study had been launched on 1 June 2006. 3.2 The Team Leader for Planning Policy had been identified as the lead officer for the enquiry. 3.3 A meeting with the Islands MP had taken place. It was clarified that the Commission would not be looking at commercial and competition issues or the viability of a fixed link, and the Council was not looking to become a service provider. Information would be shared with the MP to avoid duplication of work. 3.4 The project had attracted a lot of interest. Interested parties were invited to put their views forward in writing to the lead Member, Cllr Charles Hancock, at County Hall. 3.5 A member of the public, Mr McKindley, told the Commission he had looked into a similar project previously and would share information with the Commission. 3.6 The next steps would involve inviting stakeholders to provide evidence to the Commission. 3.7 The Commission would recommend to Cabinet how the Isle of Wight Council could work with stakeholders to sustain and develop Island ports to meet the aspirations of the Island Plan. 3.8 The Commission formally adopted the scoping document.
3b. To consider the scoping document in relation to Isle of Wight Council Procurement Part 1 E4/06	3.9 This project would ensure procurement practice within the Council is open, transparent, and consistent across all departments. It would also give the public an understanding of procurement within the Council. 3.10 The project would receive evidence from stakeholders in order to map Council spend, ascertain constraints around the existing procurement of services, develop a procurement model, add to work carried out by Derek Rowell relating to smart cards, and ascertain the viability of a policy to purchase locally. 3.11 The completion date for this project would be December 2006. 3.12 The Commission formally adopted the scoping document.
3c. To consider the scoping document in relation to Isle of Wight Council Procurement Part 2 E4/06	3.13 An amended version of this paper was tabled at the meeting. 3.14 The project would look into the duplication of procurement in the public sector and investigate opportunities to procure goods and services with Island public sector partners. 3.15 The Commission would be looking at policy matters only. The project was not a procurement exercise. The project would look at value for money options with the best economic benefit for the Island. 3.16 The Commission noted that there were opportunities to involve the voluntary sector in this project. 3.17 The completion date for this project would be February 2007. 3.18 The Commission formally adopted the scoping document.
3d. To consider the scoping document in relation to Small Business Support E5/06	3.19 This project would identify what non-pecuniary assistance currently exists for small businesses; to ensure non-pecuniary assistance is tailored to the needs of Isle of Wight businesses; and to identify any skills gaps. 3.20 Evidence from stakeholders would ascertain what help can be given to small businesses to assist with sustainability and economic growth, investigate what more can be done to ensure non-pecuniary assistance available is taken up, and investigate how other authorities have dealt with the challenges of supporting new businesses in areas of low aspiration. 3.21 The Commission noted that the local business associations should be consulted. 3.22 The completion date for this project would be July/August 2007. 3.23 The Cabinet Member for Environment, Planning and Transport would continue to look into Isle of Wight Council business rates. 3.24 The Commission formally adopted the scoping document.
Action required	None