Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority

The committee considered and unanimously recommended adoption of the combined authority’s procurement strategy and contract procedure rules. Officers confirmed the document follows public procurement guidelines, aligns with Lincolnshire County Council’s procurement rules because they deliver the functions, and will remain under review as legislation and guidance change.

The authority appointed a chair and most members of the Economic Advisory Panel after an open recruitment process, but four private-sector seats remain vacant. The remaining recruitment will target defence, manufacturing and geographic gaps, creating an ongoing opportunity for business representation and sector-informed procurement insight.

The meeting approved the scheme of member allowances and set the elected mayor’s remuneration at £86,000, following recommendations from the independent remuneration panel. The scheme covers the mayor, deputy mayor, scrutiny and audit committee members, and provides for implementation guidance from the monitoring officer.

A new subcontracting rule will cap automatic subcontracting by grant-funded providers at 25% of the grant without prior permission. This is a procurement control designed to prevent uncontrolled pass-through of funding and protect local delivery capacity.

Officers confirmed the authority has been awarded £34m for a Brownfield Plan Fund for Greater Lincolnshire. The government criteria are still being formalised, but the authority is developing a process for local authorities, developers and partners to apply for the funding. This is a clear capital funding opportunity tied to housing delivery.

The board endorsed the strategic priorities, strategic skills plan and commissioning plan for the devolved Adult Skills Fund. The authority will administer the programme through Lincolnshire County Council under a service level agreement and will use KPIs and delivery plans to control quality, which is a major procurement and contract-management change.

The board focused on newly devolved adult skills responsibilities and how to manage in-year funding, boot camps, and post-16 capacity funding across Greater Lincolnshire. Members discussed allocation formulas, provider quality oversight, flexibility to reallocate underspends, and contractual safeguards for underperformance or malpractice. They also approved technical updates to skills funding rules and a construction skills exchange project, while highlighting NEETs, transport barriers, and the need to align provision with local labour market demand.

The committee focused heavily on the Greater Lincolnshire housing strategy, including tensions between the CCA’s strategic housing ambitions, local plans, viability constraints, infrastructure capacity, and the role of Homes England and brownfield funding. Members also considered a transport hubs programme and local assurance framework, aiming to create multimodal hubs at Hixham and Gainsborough and to build a pipeline of investable transport projects. Finally, the committee approved a procurement strategy and contract procedure rules document, while requesting a more outcomes-based performance reporting framework and clarifying future scrutiny/work programme arrangements.