Issue - meetings

The Director of Legal and Governance submitted a report to be noted and to endorse the submission of a Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) led bid to the  overnment by 5th February 2021 for a Freeport in the Tees Valley sub-region.

It is proposed that Middlesbrough Council’s endorsement of the bid be signified by the Elected Mayor signing the bid on behalf of the Council.

The bid for Freeport status must be supported by the leader of each Local Authority- in this case the Elected Mayor of Middlesbrough - within whose area the proposed

Freeport zone lies. An Executive decision is sought to endorse the bid and to enable

the Mayor to signify the Council’s endorsement by signing the bid. Should the bid be

successful, then further discussions will take place with TVCA and Government in

order to finalise proposals for the Freeport, prior to a further report being brought back to full Executive for approval.

As set out by the Government, Freeports are a flagship programme that will play an

important part in the UK’s post-COVID economic recovery and contribute to realising

the levelling up agenda by bringing jobs, investment and prosperity to some of the

most deprived communities across the UK, with targeted and effective support. The

government recognises that different regions will have different existing strengths,

institutions and local economic strategies.

The Government intends to select successful Freeport locations that account for and take full advantage of the diverse potential and comparative advantage of different

regions of the UK. The Government has confirmed that they remain committed to

running a fair, open and transparent bidding process to ensure Freeport locations are

selected on the basis of their ability to fulfil our objectives.

The report further outlined the Freeport bid submission process; the proposals; the potential freeport economic impact and advised of the consultation process to date.

OPTIONS

No other options were discussed.

ORDERED

That the Mayor endorse the submission of the bid

REASON

For reasons outlined in the report.