Scottish City Region and Growth Deals Delivery Board Minutes: June 2026

Attendees and apologies

Board Members

• Elma Durdevic - Chair ED Deputy Director, Local Growth and Place, Scotland Office
• Anne-Marie Martin AMM Deputy Director, Regional Economic Development, Scottish Government
• Alessandro Fusco AF Head of Scotland Team, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Michelle Cummins MC Finance Business Partner, Scottish Government
• Lydia Isard (v) LI Policy Advisor, HM Treasury
• Miriam Simpson MS Head of Local Growth, Scotland Office (job-share)
• Kate Bryson (v) KB Head of East & West of Scotland Growth Deals, Scottish Government
• Kimberley Daly KD Head of Highlands, Islands, Edinburgh and South Growth Deals, Scottish Government

SO Officials

• Nathan Lappin (v) NL Team Leader, Local Growth
• Laura Barker (v) LB Team Leader, Local Growth 
• Craig Birrell (v) CB Team Leader, Local Growth
• Anna Fletcher AFl Senior Policy Advisor, Local Growth Team

SG Officials

• Andrew Morris (v) AM Team Leader, Investment Governance Portfolio 
• Fiona Loynd (v) FL Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Kenneth Robertson (v) KR Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Jennifer Treasure (v) JT Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Anne Ashton (v) AA Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Allison Rice (v) AR Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Sharon Donelly (v) SD Team Leader, Regional Economic Development
• Ian Scott (v) IS Economic Policy Officer

Secretariat

• Brennan Leslie BL Policy Advisor, Local Growth Team

(v) indicated they attended virtually

Apologies: Beth Hall, Head of Local Growth, Scotland Office (job-share)
 

Items and actions

1.    Welcome, introductions and apologies

ED welcomed everyone to the meeting, noting that it was her first meeting as Interim Director. She highlighted that this marked the first of two Board meetings to be chaired by UKG.

2.    Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The minutes from the previous 11 March Board were confirmed as being formally endorsed via email correspondence and have been published.

3.    Finance Business Partner Update

An update on finance was discussed, focusing on the difficulties of managing underspend across the programme.

4.    Deals Performance Dashboard

The following Deals were selected for in-depth discussion: Stirling & Clackmannanshire, Moray Growth Deal, and Ayrshire Growth Deal. This included discussions on progress made to date, opportunities and challenges.

5.    Continuous Improvement 

Progress of Continuous Improvement workstreams was discussed in detail. This included noting that Major Change guidance has been signed-off by the Board and will be published shortly.

6.    Horizon Scanning

Both Governments reflected on upcoming milestones, including the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary election and implementation of the UK Government’s Local Growth Fund.

7.    Risk Review 

Deal and programme risks were reviewed.

8.    Action Tracker

Outstanding actions were discussed and emerging actions highlighted for the next Board.

9.    AOB

Elma Durdevic noted that this was Alessandro Fusco’s last Board, as he would be moving roles soon, and thanked him for his valuable contributions. The introduction of a new decisions log was welcomed. 

10.    Close and next meeting

The next Board was confirmed set for 26 August, UKG to chair.