Agenda and minutes

Items which in the opinion of the Chair should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

The Board received a comprehensive update from Department for Transport following the recent election of a new Labour Government with Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has now appointed cabinet and ministerial positions. These are as follows:

·         Louise Haigh – Secretary of State for Transport, she comes with welcomed transport experience and a keen interest in safety and road safety.

·         Lord Peter Hendy – Ministry of State and Portfolio Holder for Rail

·         Lilan Greenwood – Portfolio Holder for the Future of Roads

·         Simon Lightwood – Portfolio Holder for Local Transport, including oversight and sponsorship responsibilities for Sub-national Transport Bodies.

·         Mike Kane – Portfolio Holder for Aviation, Maritime and Security.

The Department for Transport received a staff address last week where they heard about the new Labour Government’s five missions, recognising that transport feeds into all of them. The missions are: (i) kickstart economic growth, (ii) make Britain a clean energy superpower, (iii) take back our streets, (iv) break down barriers to opportunity, and (v) build an NHS fit for the future. Louise Haigh has also identified the following five priorities for transport: (i) improving performance of the railways and driving forward rail reform, (ii) improving bus services and growing usage across the county, (iii) transforming infrastructure to work for the whole country, promoting social mobility and tackling regional inequality, (iv) delivering greener transport, and (v) better integrating transport networks. The Prime Minister see city regions as key areas to deliver the missions and met with Mayors last week. Louise Haigh also visited the north to look at bus related issues and opportunities, noting bus is going to be a key mode of transport under this government.

Peninsula Transport want to give a special thanks to the Department for Transport for transferring the FY24/25 funding. By doing this early in the year it provides greater clarity and the ability to deliver the business plan for this financial year.

The Chair also gave a special thanks to the Department for Transport for their much-appreciated support.

The Board heard that a new Chair and Vice Chair are going to be appointed for Peninsula Transport. With the change in Government and the King’s speech coming later in the week, it is expected that there is going to be significant change to how transport, especially buses and trains, are going to be run in the future. Following the first spending review it will also show how much investment will be available from transport, noting that it is expected that this will likely be constrained. Therefore, going forward Peninsula Transport are well placed to continue supporting the needs of the region and providing a single voice to Government.

The recommendations were MOVED on bloc by Cllr Davis, SECONDED by Cllr Billings and RESOLVED by all that the recommendations be taken forward and Cllr Mark Coker is welcomed as the new Chair of Peninsula Transport and Cllr Richard Wilkins as Vice Chair.

As the new Chair, Cllr Coker proposed transitioning to in person attendance at future meetings. The group decided to continue this discussion at the next board meeting on the 3^rd October before making any changes to the current hybrid meeting approach.

The Board heard that Cllr Andrea Davis has been nominated as Chair for the Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF). It was PROPOSED by Cllr Coker that Cllr Davis is elected as Chair, SECONDED by Cllr Williams-Pears and RESOLVED that all are in favour.

The Chair welcomes Cllr Davis into this new role and looks forward to working together going forward.

Thursday 3^rd October @ 10:00. To be held on Microsoft Teams.

Please use link below for County Council Calendar of Meetings;

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1

The Board have been invited to an Autumn Board meeting being held on Thursday 3^rd October 2024 from 10:00 via Microsoft Teams.

Please use link below for County Council Calendar of Meetings;

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1

It was noted that the terms of reference for both the STB and PRTF are to be updated and this will be actioned ahead of the next board meeting.