Scottish City Region and Growth Deals Delivery Board minutes: June 2025

Attendees and apologies

Board Members

(v) indicates a virtual attendee.
Alasdair Macdonald - Chair (AMc) Deputy Director, Policy, Scotland Office
Anne-Marie Martin (AMM) Deputy Director, Regional Economic Development, Scottish Government
Alessandro Fusco (AF) Head of Scotland Team, Ministry Housing, Communities and Local Communities
Eve Wilde (v) (EW) Territorial Office Spending Principal, HM Treasury
Michael Walker (MW) Finance Business Partner, Scottish Government

UKG Officials

Miriam Simpson (MS) Head of Local Growth and City Deals, Scotland Office (job-share)
Beth Hall (BH) Head of Local Growth and City Deals, Scotland Office (job-share)
Craig Birrell (LB) Team Leader - Borderlands, Falkirk & Grangemouth, Moray, Stirling & Clackmannanshire, & Tay Cities

Scotland Office

Christina Spicer (CS) Senior Policy Advisor - Aberdeen, & Islands, Scotland Office

SG Officials

Kate Bryson (KB) Head of East & West of Scotland Growth Deals
Kimberley Daly (KD) Head of Highlands, Islands, Edinburgh and South Growth Deals
Andrew Morris (AMo) Investment Governance Portfolio Team Leader

Secretariat

Brennan Leslie (BL) Policy Advisor, Scotland Office

Observers attending virtually:

Scotland Office: Nathan Lappin
Scottish Government: Jennifer Treasure, Peter McGregor, Kenneth Robertson, Allison Rice, Anne Ashton, Hazel Tierney, Fiona Loynd, & Millie Gilchrist

Items and actions

1.    Welcome, introductions and apologies

AMc opened the meeting, welcoming all participants and facilitating introductions.
Michelle Cummins sent her apologies, with MW representing SG Finance in her place.

2.    Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes from the 17 March 2025 board were approved by correspondence with no additional comments.

3.    Finance Business Partner Update

An update on finance was discussed.

The current financial position for 2025/26 was detailed alongside the 2024/25 outturn position. 

It was confirmed that funding allocation for 2025/26 would be communicated to local partners shortly. Funding allocations had been based on activity levels but further funding may be available contingent on utilisation of initial allocation.

The upcoming Spending Review was also discussed, particularly relating to the possibility of greater flexibility for Deals in ensuring funding was more aligned to updated delivery plans. 

4.    Deals Performance Dashboard

The following Deals were selected for depth discussion: Ayrshire, Islands, Aberdeen, Stirling & Clackmannanshire, and Borderlands. This included discussions on progress made to date, opportunities and challenges. 

5.    Continuous Improvement

The continuous improvement workstreams were reviewed and discussed. This included an update on the progress on Programme Closure guidance with the aim to seek stakeholder review and feedback sessions in the summer.

6.    Economy and Fair Work Committee Inquiry Report

There was a presentation on the Economy and Fair Work Committee Report. The Deputy First Minister has sent a holding response to the Committee and outlined plans to provide a further detailed response in due course. It was agreed to incorporate the report recommendations into the continuous improvement workstream. 

7.    Risk Register

Updates to the Risk Register were approved and plans made to have a formal review of risks ahead of the next Board. 

8.    Action Tracker

Updates to the action tracker were approved. There was a commitment to continue to look for lessons learnt as part of Boards governance and by both governments

9.    AOB

A correspondence concern from a member of the public was discussed on the A9/A96 development in Inverness. The Board noted its continued support for local partners advancing road infrastructure within this project. 

An update on the wording for the GOL letter was discussed. 

10.    Close and next meeting

AM thanked everyone for their contributions and closed the meeting.
The next meeting is to be chaired by UKG again, and a hold has been put in place for the 24th September.