Track the business activity and commercial plans of East Midlands Combined County Authority — identify tender and future spending opportunities before they reach the market, follow cabinet and committee decisions, and understand the council’s priorities, with intelligence extracted from 18 analysed meetings.
Meetings analysed18
Procurement opportunities15
Pressures tracked16
Estimated pipeline value£33.1bn–£33.4bn
East Midlands Combined County Authority Procurement Intelligence | QuorumInsight
Active procurement topics
Over the last 12 months, the most frequently discussed commercial topics in this council's meetings have been Professional Services (37 mentions, rising), Economic Development & Business Support (28 mentions, steady), Highways & Transport (24 mentions, easing) and Construction & Building Works (21 mentions, steady).
Commercial signals extracted from recent East Midlands Combined County Authority meetings — approvals, budget decisions and early procurement discussions, before a tender is published.
The board approved the annual pay policy statement for publication, as required under the Localism Act 2011. This is a statutory governance action rather than a procurement decision, but it confirms the authority's salary disclosure and remuneration framework.
“the request is the annual pay policy statement is approved ready for publication within this financial year as statutorily required the report set out sets out m pay policy in relation to the remuneration of its employees in accordance with Section 38 of the localism ACT 2011”
The board was asked to approve a £2 million capital investment into Midlands Mind Forge Limited, a patient-capital vehicle backed by Midlands universities to support IP-rich start-ups and science and tech businesses. The aim is to address a regional funding gap, crowd in private capital, and generate jobs and growth over the longer term.
“In this report uh we're being asked for four recommendations. The first of which is to approve a2 million pound capital investment into Midlands Mine Forge uh Limited. Um then it will be delegate authority on any decisions relating to subsidy. Uh at this point in time uh there'll…”
The committee approved a major transport investment package for 2025/26, including £66 million from CRSTS and £21 million from BSIP capital. The package prioritises deliverability, maintenance, active travel, bus improvements, resilience, and several major road schemes, while the board still needs to approve the final submissions to DfT.
“the purpose of this report is to bring together oversight of a number of different funding streams and that are currently the responsibility of Mema on behalf of the region there's been a variety of different announcements over recent months and so the purpose is to to put those…”
The committee was told it now has a key role in the East Midlands Investment Zone: it will determine which programmes or projects enter the EIZ pipeline, approve investment proposals between £2.5 million and £15 million once the single assurance framework is live, and recommend larger cases to the board. This is a material governance and procurement delegation change affecting future spending decisions.
“Um we've developed our sensor space program very much in mind. We have a big approach to partnership. Um so um our pre-committee or our pre-w functions um ship engagement and consultation um and I'll come on to those in a bit more detail when we get to the committee structure um…”
The board approved the distribution of new transport funding streams, including £66 million for the city region sustainable transport settlement and £21 million for bus services improvement plan funding, plus associated revenue for scheme development. Delivery will be through constituent authorities and EMCCA, with an emphasis on meeting DfT deadlines and demonstrating delivery capability to secure future multi-year settlements.
“the primary recommendations that we're asking for from board today are related to two funding streams for which we need to make submissions back to DFT before the end of this month border us to approve the distribution of those schemes and then the detailed profile which is liste…”
The board approved delivery of the Connect to Work programme, a major employability support contract worth about £44 million over five years. Delivery will be commissioned through Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council and two external providers procured via an open and competitive process, with mobilisation needed so referrals can begin by 2026-01-01.
“As a critical first step to achieve our ambitions on economic inactivity, we are mobilizing the connect to work program. Connect to Work is a national program commissioned and developed locally and delivered locally which will provide intensive personalized support to people with…”
The board approved several major funding and policy decisions, including a £30m future skills infrastructure programme, a £2.4m Tour de France Femmes project, revised transport and capital budgets, and a new round of brownfield housing funding worth £57.2m. It also adopted a complaints policy, backed regional EV charging leadership and construction skills funding, and discussed delivery, monitoring and geographic fairness across rural and urban areas.
The board approved major transport, visitor economy and local growth funding decisions. Key discussions covered nearly £300m of transport investment allocations, creation of a Visit East Midlands advisory board, and endorsement of the Local Growth Fund investment plan for £107m. Members also raised delivery capacity, rural connectivity, digital gaps, and the need to align transport, housing and regeneration priorities.
The committee considered first-year audited accounts, external audit findings, internal audit progress, a consultation draft procurement strategy, and a member code of conduct protocol. Key themes were a one-off reporting weakness on 2023/24 accounts, a formal performance management framework now being put in place, deferred audits for cyber security and procurement until services are embedded, and proposed procurement emphasis on value for money, sustainability and local supply chains.
The meeting focused on EMCCA’s expanding remit, accommodation needs, community development funding, arts and culture strategy, investment zones, and the 2026/27 budget. The main procurement and spending discussion centred on a much larger transport and capital programme, including highway maintenance funding, public transport levy arrangements, local growth fund allocations, and how new homelessness funding and mayoral funding will be governed and spent. Members also raised scrutiny, performance measures, and the capacity needed to deliver a larger capital pipeline.
The committee reviewed delivery of the 2025/26 transport investment programme and then agreed key allocations for the next phase of EMCCA transport funding. Discussion focused on highways maintenance, community and neighbourhood schemes, integrated public transport, and a set of urgent capital/revenue projects that need commitment now to avoid delivery delays. Members also raised the need for better promotion of funded schemes, stronger consultation with districts and boroughs, and improved understanding of the funding formulas and pipeline prioritisation.
The committee discussed the Brownfield Housing Fund, including committed schemes, replacement of a withdrawn project, delivery timelines, and the need to secure contracts before the March 2026 deadline. Homes England outlined the new Social and Affordable Homes Program, with funding, timelines, flexibilities, regeneration, energy efficiency, rural and specialist housing, and homelessness-related move-on accommodation. Members also reviewed strategic pipeline work on Broad Marsh, South Derby growth zone, and the Chesterfield-Staveley corridor, including procurement of developers, infrastructure shortfalls, and regeneration frameworks.