The Liverpool City Region Overview and Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 14 October 2026 to discuss the development of an international strategy, review financial performance, and consider the establishment of a Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board. The meeting proceeded on an inquiry basis due to the absence of a quorum, focusing on gathering feedback and providing an indication of members' views on these key strategic areas.

Liverpool City Region International Strategy

The committee received an update on the development of the Liverpool City Region's emerging international strategy. Adrian Nolan and Molly Russell presented the strategy, which aims to provide an overarching framework for the city region's global engagement. The strategy is built around three pillars: trade and investment, the visitor economy, and knowledge exchange and collaboration. It seeks to align activity across the combined authority and its partners, highlighting the city region's place in the world and the opportunities it wishes to pursue internationally.

Key aspects of the strategy include identifying priority markets, underpinned by a robust evidence base and a set of principles to guide targeted activity. The strategy will be developed through engagement with local authorities, businesses, universities, and other stakeholders. Feedback to date has been supportive, with a focus on how international engagement can support local outcomes for residents, businesses, and communities. The strategy is intended to translate global opportunities into tangible local benefits, such as creating better jobs through attracting investment and growing trade.

Members raised several points, including the absence of a specific funding stream for the international strategy at this stage, with funding expected to be detailed in the delivery phase. There was also discussion about the potential for Cabinet members to attend future meetings to provide an overview, particularly when Mayor Steve Rotheram is unavailable. Questions were raised about the promotional marketing at airports and how new destinations are cross-referenced with priority sectors. The importance of learning from past inward investment attempts, even those that did not result in relocation, was also highlighted. Concerns were voiced about the cost of foreign trips in the current economic climate, with an emphasis on ensuring value for money and transparency in proposals and resources. The principles guiding the strategy's market selection were discussed, as were the potential for a dedicated team to manage this ongoing work. The committee also considered the need for a quality assurance framework to mitigate risks associated with bad actors and the importance of aligning the strategy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Marmot City Region framework. Key performance indicators are still being developed, and members requested more information on these for future meetings.

Financial Performance and Budget Revisions

Clare Hall, Director of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services, presented the financial performance and budget revisions for Quarter 1 of the 2026/27 financial year. The report indicated a projected underspend of just under £13 million against the budget. Key variances included favourable investment income due to a strong cash position and higher market interest rates, a natural delay in recruitment contributing to an underspend, and minor amendments to IS funding and new grants.

The Combined Authority (CA) had agreed to reallocate £10.7 million of the forecast underspend to further support the Investment and Development Fund. Budget revisions on the revenue side, funded through reserves, included additional allocations for the tidal power project, the extension of the £2 bus fare cap, public sector innovation, and investment and delivery pre-development activities.

In terms of capital expenditure, the programme was forecasting an underspend of £118.7 million, largely due to the reprofiling of expenditure into future financial years. The capital programme continues to be funded predominantly through government grants. The report also detailed the CA's reserves position, with approximately £70 million scheduled for expenditure in the year on various initiatives, including bus franchising and AI investments. A new reserve of £6 million was established to provide further investment for the Investment and Delivery Fund.

Members raised questions regarding the breakdown of corporate costs and contingencies, and the allocation of £1 million for preparations related to the transfer of Police and Crime Commissioner and Fire and Rescue Authority functions. Concerns were expressed about the clarity of the wording regarding the transfer of these functions and the potential for expenditure without a clear benefit to all boroughs within the city region. The timing of financial reports to the committee was also discussed, with a request for performance against budget to be presented to scrutiny earlier in the year. The committee also sought clarification on benchmarking reserve levels against other combined authorities.

Establishment of Liverpool City Region Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board

Robert Tad and Val Keane presented proposals for the establishment of a Liverpool City Region Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board. The board aims to improve population health and reduce health inequalities by bringing together local authorities, the combined authority, the voluntary community faith and social enterprise sector, and representatives from the health system. This initiative is particularly relevant given that the Liverpool City Region has the highest level of health deprivation of any English region. The new duties for the combined authority to actively consider health improvement and health inequalities, alongside the adoption of Marmot City Region status, provide a strong mandate for this partnership.

The report highlighted the importance of avoiding duplication with existing health and wellbeing boards, wider public health collaborations, and the scrutiny of NHS services. The focus of this new board will be on reaching a shared understanding of health needs and challenges across the city region and coordinating the use of various levers to prevent ill health and improve overall population health. A proposal was made for Councillor Robinson to chair the board, with the chair of the Integrated Care Board as vice-chair. The committee was also invited to consider the option of the chair of overview and scrutiny being part of this board.

Members expressed scepticism about the added value of another partnership board, given the existing governance arrangements and the significant role of the Integrated Care Board. Concerns were raised about how the board would influence decisions when the Integrated Care Board holds substantial funding and may need to prioritise Cheshire over Merseyside. The committee also discussed the need for a clear work plan linked to the Marmot City Region status and the potential for a task and finish group to scrutinise this further. Questions were raised about the potential for duplication and whether local authorities would retain their own health and wellbeing boards. The committee also discussed the use of data related to all-cause mortality and the potential impact of such data on residents.

Work Programme for 2026-27

The committee reviewed its work programme for 2026-27. Suggestions for inclusion in the work programme included a deep dive into the tidal barrage project, a briefing on the climate crisis and resilience, the impact of data centres, and an update on regional homelessness. The committee also discussed aligning the review of Section 1 of the Equality Act with the Marmot City Region task and finish group. A verbal update on the tidal project was planned ahead of the Combined Authority meeting on 6 November. The committee also noted that the Q2 financial performance review in November would be scheduled to take place after it had been considered by the Cabinet.