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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £150,297 and £200,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Updated Budget for 2025/26 as outlined in Appendix A to the report. 2. To approve the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £150,297 and £100,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Budget for 2026/27 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £74,093 each in respect of the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the Strategic Planning Budget it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe and RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 2. To approve the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £25,907 each and a levy of £6,700 chargeable against Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority in respect of the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the delivery model for regional funding for Regional Transport and Local Growth Fund it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Jake Berriman and RESOLVED that the current preferred delivery model for regional funding from Welsh Government in relation to Regional Transport funding and the Local Growth Fund is the Lead Authority model, in a similar vein to how UKSPF funding has been delivered and managed.
RESOLVED to approve the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2025.
Apologies for absence were received from Emma Palmer, Chief Executive Powys County Council and Daniel Burgess Head of Economy and Climate Powys County Council.
There were no declarations of interest reported.
The minutes of the last meeting held on 8 October 2025 as a correct record.
The Regional Transport Plan (RTP) had been submitted to Welsh Government and the Committee was advised that the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales had just confirmed that it had been approved in full. Welsh Government had requested a small amount of additional information which had been compiled and would be submitted. The Chair commended Members and Officers for their work on the RTP and noted it was an example of the effectiveness of the regional approach.
The CJC received an update on the ongoing work in the region. Regional Skills Partnership The Regional Skills Partnership was progressing against six employment and skills priorities. The work programme had been aligned to give increased focus on net‑zero and green skills. The Career Connections pilot was now live in five secondary schools, focusing on construction and manufacturing. The Careers in 360 digital platform had been launched with strong early uptake. Mid Wales Growth Deal Ten projects were now progressing with £6.8m contractually committed. “Stop–Go” reviews had been undertaken in January with the following high-level outcomes were agreed: Go (Conditional) · Elan Valley Lakes · CymruTech Park (Newtown) · Cynefin (CAT, Machynlleth) Review (time limited) · Tir Glas (Lampeter Campus, UWTSD) – placed in Review until March 2026. · Aberaeron Harbour – placed in Review until March 2026. A recent Portfolio Assurance Review had returned an Amber Green rating, providing assurance on strategic alignment and governance arrangements, while highlighting the need for continued focus on delivery capacity and funding certainty as projects move into implementation. The Outline Business Cade for the Montgomery Canal restoration had been approved (£8m subject to FBC and clarifications). A Pipeline refresh was underway for future investment opportunities and would be reported to the Growing Mid Wales Board in March. Energy The Regional Energy team were focussing on the delivery of the Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs). The team had monthly meetings with the Distribution Network Operators. Grid capacity, connections and distribution had been identified as a key priorities for the Region. The Leaders would be raising this with the DNOs when they met them on 6 March. Four projects had secured Whole Systems Research and Innovation in Decarbonisation (WSRID) funding: · £125,000 - Lafan working with Coleg Sir Gar/Coleg Ceredigion, looking at sustainable utilisation of on farm nutrients. · £125,000 – Water 2 Water working with First Milk to develop an app that allows farmers to design SLES suited to their specific energy needs. · £250,000 – Centre for Energy Equality (CEE), combining with Severn Wye Energy Agency and Challoch the HARVEST project will deliver a social virtual power plant in Llanidloes. · £70,000 – Challoch, Assessing how forestry and timber industries can benefit from locally generated green hydrogen in terms of decarbonising their operations. UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 92% of funding had been allocated at the time of reporting. Delivery had been extended to September 2026 but with no additional funding. Work was underway to plan for transition to the new Local Growth Fund, with an indicative £12.2m allocation for 2026–27.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £150,297 and £200,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Updated Budget for 2025/26 as outlined in Appendix A to the report. 2. To approve the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £150,297 and £100,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Budget for 2026/27 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £74,093 each in respect of the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the Strategic Planning Budget it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe and RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 2. To approve the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £25,907 each and a levy of £6,700 chargeable against Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority in respect of the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the delivery model for regional funding for Regional Transport and Local Growth Fund it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Jake Berriman and RESOLVED that the current preferred delivery model for regional funding from Welsh Government in relation to Regional Transport funding and the Local Growth Fund is the Lead Authority model, in a similar vein to how UKSPF funding has been delivered and managed.
The Committee was advised that Welsh Government had awarded the Mid Wales CJC two additional grants for the 2025/26 budget, £200k for the Regional Transport Plan and £200k to fund the core costs. For the 2026/27 budget, Powys and Ceredigion County Councils had committed to provide funding annually to the MWCJC of £100k each. It was recommended that both Councils provide £74,093 of funding towards the General Budget and £25,907 to the Strategic Planning Budget, being no change from the previous year. Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority would continue with their current level of funding towards the Strategic Planning function (£6,700 – which was based on national park population projections). With regard to the General Budget it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Jake Berriman and RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £150,297 and £200,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Updated Budget for 2025/26 as outlined in Appendix A to the report. 2. To approve the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £150,297 and £100,000 for the Regional Transport Plan Budget for 2026/27 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £74,093 each in respect of the General Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the Strategic Planning Budget it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe and RESOLVED 1. To approve the Updated Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2025/26 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 2. To approve the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27 of £49,703 as outlined in Appendix A. 3. To approve a levy chargeable against Powys and Ceredigion County Councils of £25,907 each and a levy of £6,700 chargeable against Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority in respect of the Strategic Planning Expenditure Budget for the MWCJC for 2026/27. With regard to the delivery model for regional funding for Regional Transport and Local Growth Fund it was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Jake Berriman and RESOLVED that the current preferred delivery model for regional funding from Welsh Government in relation to Regional Transport funding and the Local Growth Fund is the Lead Authority model, in a similar vein to how UKSPF funding has been delivered and managed.
The CJC was updated on recent engagement with Commissioners and Welsh Government civil servants regarding regulatory expectations for the CJC. Because the CJC does not employ staff, applying full statutory requirements wasn’t considered necessary in the same way it would be for a typical statutory body. The civil servants had indicated support for a pragmatic regulatory approach for the CJC, recognising its unique structure and limited staffing. The Future Generations Commissioner had agreed that merging well‑being objectives from both authorities into the CJC’s vision was appropriate. The Equalities Commissioner had been informed that the two authorities comply with equalities legislation individually; no further response has yet been received. The CJC had recently written to argue that applying formal Welsh Language Standards is not appropriate in this context, even though the organisation already exceeds typical expectations in practice. There was a general sense that commissioners understand the CJC’s position and accept that only minimal statutory requirements should apply, rather than the full suite normally expected of a statutory body. The CJC welcomed the pragmatic approach being taken.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2025.
The CJC considered the annual return for the year ended 31st March 2025. It was moved by County Councillor Bryan Davies and seconded by County Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe and RESOLVED to approve the Annual Return for the year ended 31st March 2025.
The Chair asked for an agenda item for the next meeting for a discussion on arrangements for the CJC following the Senedd elections.
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