The Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) met to discuss and approve a vision and objectives document, the Lancashire Growth Plan, and a plan to get Lancashire working, while also agreeing to consult on a local transport plan. The board also discussed employment and workforce matters, budget monitoring, and engagement with the Great North Partnership¹.

Lancashire Combined County Authority Vision and Objectives

The LCCA approved the LCCA Vision and Objectives document for final design and publication on the LCCA website. The document provides an overview of the role, priorities, principles and governance of the LCCA, reflecting the vision and objectives set out in the LCCA Proposal submitted to the government in 2024, the Lancashire Growth Plan, the Lancashire Transport Plan, and the Get Lancashire Working Plan.

Lancashire Growth Plan 2025 - 2035

The board formally approved the Lancashire Growth Plan 2025-35 as the primary economic vision of the combined county authority. The growth plan identifies key sectors for economic growth, including:

• National security
• Clean growth and nuclear renaissance
• Sustainable digital and artificial intelligence
• Advanced engineering and manufacturing excellence
• Culture and tourism

The board requested that officers, in conjunction with the LCCA's Economic Advisory Board, bring a further report to the LCCA detailing how the growth plan will now be promoted, actioned and programme managed by key stakeholders on the LCCA. The board also approved the utilisation of the platform of the LCCA and sign and align structures to maximise Lancashire's ability to secure new national investment opportunities and other relevant government funding support for growth plan delivery, for example, the upcoming Local Innovation Partnership Fund.

Councillor Phil Riley, Leader, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, emphasised the importance of productivity and ensuring that people outside the county are aware of Lancashire's strengths.

Mo Isap, Lancashire Business Board, cautioned that the plan should not become another hypothesis that will just sit on some shelf somewhere . He stressed the need for serious civil service capability to mobilise the plan and lobby for investment. He also highlighted the competitive state with other areas also seeking investment in similar sectors.

Councillor Alistair Bradley spoke on behalf of district leaders, emphasising their interest in the specific projects that will come forward and how the group can enable activity on the ground by harnessing the private and public sectors.

Local Transport Plan: Update and Approval to Consult

The board approved the draft Local Transport Plan (LTP) and supplementary documents and authorised the Director of Environment and Planning (Lancashire County Council), Deputy Chief Executive (Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council), and Director of Communications and Regeneration (Blackpool Borough Council) to undertake public consultation on the draft LTP in Autumn 2025, and to update the draft LTP as necessary following the consultation.

The revised draft LTP, details of consultation responses and supplementary documents following public consultation will be shared with the LCCA Transport Advisory Board for comment, with a final version of the LTP to be submitted to the LCCA for approval in early 2026. The Head of Paid Service was authorised to sign off any further changes to the draft LTP and supplementary documents prior to and post consultation.

Councillor Riley emphasised the need to bring the projects to the attention of the government and the requirement for investment into some of these projects.

Get Lancashire Working

The board approved the Get Lancashire Working Plan for submission to the Department for Work and Pensions and publication on the LCCA website. The plan sets out a number of key priorities and provides a road map for Lancashire to contribute to the national target of achieving 80% employment rates by 2035.

Matthew Lottie-Jones, Director of the Lancashire Skills Hub, said that the Get Lancashire Working Plan firmly aligns with both the growth plan, recognising the need for inclusive employment that economic growth impacts Lancashire residents, and the local transport plan, recognising the importance of connectivity to employment and learning opportunities as well.

Councillor Riley highlighted the importance of this work in addressing the productivity gap and issues like the NHS and welfare, advocating for a focus on positivities rather than negativities.

Isap encouraged the team to approach this on a much more macro blueprint which is scalable and repeatable across other component parts of what we are responsible for.

Adult Skills Fund – Procurement Options

The board noted the proposed procurement strategy and approved the recommended option for the establishment of an open framework for the procurement of skills provision. The Head of Paid Service was authorised, in consultation with the chair of the Skills Advisory Board, the Section 73 Officer and the Monitoring Officer, to approve the outcome of the procurement process for Adult Skills Fund and the award of service contracts. The Head of Paid Service was also authorised, in consultation with the Chair of the LCCA, the Section 73 Officer and the Monitoring Officer, to confirm support for the laying of the Statutory Instrument to devolve Adult Skills Fund to Lancashire, on request of the Department for Education, estimated to be November 2025.

Advisory Board Updates

County Councillor Simon Evans, Deputy Leader, Lancashire County Council, provided an update on the work undertaken by the Skills Advisory Board, noting the careers inclusion summit, the extension and growth of the pilot mod stem and digital bursary target at college students, that connect to work delivery was due to commence with Lancashire the first area to go live in the north of England, and that a financial skills bootcamp program was underway with additional funds awarded for bootcamps aligned with construction and built environment from the get Britain building funds.

Andy Walker, lead Officer for the Economy Advisory Board, provided an update on the work undertaken by the Economy Advisory Board, noting that the work around the growth plan has focused some of its activity around this and providing political oversight to that process, that there have been some changes in membership with two new council representatives on the group and one new district council representative, and that there is a strong forward plan of work now emerging for the economic advisory board.

Councillor Riley provided an update on the work undertaken by the Transport Advisory Board, noting that the board continued to emphasise the importance of east–west connectivity, particularly the Rosie's Line, which served 50% of Lancashire's population, and that the board was also expressing a concern that Lancashire's voice had historically been lost in regional transport discussions dominated by major cities and the board hoped that the new combined authority structure would give Lancashire greater influence and visibility in future transport planning.

Lancashire Business Board Update

Andy Walker and Isap provided a brief verbal update on the work being done by the Lancashire Business Board.

It was noted that the board has had five formal meetings since its inception, as well as holding an additional two special-purpose meetings to comment on specific initiatives, including the national industrial strategy, that the board remained committed to supporting Lancashire's economic ambitions and strengthening the case for both national and commercial investment in the region.

Isap said that the challenge is for the business board to remain fit and committed and motivated and that there needs to be a very now deliberate work stream coming across its bows across this next 12 months and beyond to say this is the sort of priority these are the projects these are the initiatives that now we are going to pursue and we require the business board support and input steer and some sort of support in promotion as well.

Employment and Workforce Matters

The board approved the proposed core Terms and Conditions for employment as set out at Appendix A of the Report, the implementation of a pay and grading structure for Green Book roles, including job evaluation arrangements as set out at Appendix B of the Report, and the proposed Employee Relations Framework, as set out at Appendix C of the Report, and be the basis for workforce engagement and consultation within the LCCA.

Quarter 1 June 2025 Budget Monitoring

The board noted the Quarter 1 Monitoring Position against the 2025/26 Budget, gave approval to create a membership budget line in this and future years revenue budgets, approved the acceptance of the Highways Maintenance Grant from the Department for Transport with effect from Quarter 3 - 2025/26 and to the passporting of that grant on to the constituent Upper Tier Authorities in the same allocations as they are received from the Department for Transport, and approved that the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer, be authorised to finalise any agreements necessary to implement the payments of the grants to the constituent authorities as set out in the report.

Lancashire Combined County Authority Engagement with the Great North Partnership

The board approved the LCCA participation in the Great North Partnership to develop collaborative relationships across the 11 mayors and CCA Chairs of the North, and authorised a LCCA payment of £30,000 to the Great North Partnership, covering subscription fees in 2025/26, subject to the outcome of the meeting of the Great North Partnership on 6th September 2025 to facilitate the development of the Great North brand and identify opportunities for partnership.

Isap said that we have to work collaboratively with our colleagues across the region for the bigger price but that we have to be eyes wide open about what we expect very deliberately from the outset from this collaborative contribution and consortia type approach and that there is some deal making to be done and advocated for unilateral deal making with mayors in the first instance where they understand in a unilateral sense what we are looking to seek and therefore as a combined construct then there is a buy in to what we would seek to have achieved from that.

Lancashire Combined County Authority - Forward Plan and Work Plan

The board approved the proposed Work Plan as set out at Appendix A of the Report, and that the Interim Chief Operating Officer incorporate implementation activities into the forward plan and work plan.