Tees Valley Combined Authority’s (TVCA’s) cabinet, struggling to extract itself from the best value notice (BVN) imposed on it by the government almost 18 months ago, will break its own productivity record when it sits down on Friday (25 September) to discuss a blockbuster agenda of 23 items and 658 pages. No one can say that the mayor, Lord Ben Houchen, and his five cabinet colleagues are not getting through a lot paperwork in their efforts to get back on track.
They are used to it. Agendas of hundreds of pages are not uncommon at TVCA. Since the BVN was imposed in April 2025, cabinet meetings have included 26 September 2025 (505 pages), 12 December 2025 (285 pages), 30 March 2026 (353 pages), 26 June 2026 (336 pages) and 31 July 2026 (264 pages).
On 27 June 2025 the Cabinet got through 948 pages of business. But that was in two separate meetings – the annual general meeting (485 pages) followed 30 minutes later by the regular meeting (463 pages).
Bumper agendas do not necessarily mean marathon meetings. The longest of those listed here was that on 12 December 2025 (2hrs 31mins 44 secs) and none of the others was over two hours. On 31 July 2026 cabinet members managed to get through the business in 27mins 27secs.
This is probably possible because cabinet members hold informal meetings in advance and agree a collective line to take. We know this happened in the case of this Friday’s meeting because agenda papers repeatedly say so. Draft versions of several reports were circulated in advance of an informal cabinet meeting on the 11 September.
This is arguably a sensible step for reasons of practicality and is certainly a well established one in local authorities for decades, though such pre-meetings are usually confined to members of the majority party so they can decide the party line on contentious issues. Informal meetings are also impossible to prevent – what is to stop cabinet members meeting for a discussion in the pub, though probably not attended by officials?
But whether they are wholly compatible with another statement that appears just as frequently at the start of cabinet reports – “the combined authority is committed to transparency and accountability” – is another question.
Governance items
The 658 pages for this Friday start with routine administrative matters – apologies for absence, declarations of interest and minutes of the previous meeting – followed by a verbal mayoral update on key activity since the previous meeting.
Then come governance items. These are at the core of TVCA’s actions to prove it is a well-run authority that no longer needs to be subject to a best value notice and can be trusted by the government to take responsibility of the full range of devolved funding, powers and responsibilities.
These items include an update on attempts by TVCA to appoint a permanent director of finance and resources, a statutory requirement, which it has still not managed to do after more than a year. So it has had to appoint a second interim director on a 12-month contract
Organisational improvement plan
Also in this section of the agenda is a progress report on the authority’s organisational improvement plan, which is needs to complete before it can extricate itself from the BVN and proceed to the organisational excellence action plan.
“[S]ignificant progress”, we are told, “has continued across all improvement themes, with a substantial proportion of actions now complete and activities focused on implementation, embedding and evidencing sustainable change.” Full details are given in a 36-page chart.
Independent Advisory Board
Next is a progress report from the independent advisory board (IAB) set up to monitor the improvement process. The IAB, we learn, thinks that “as of August 2026, 84% of the actions in TVCA’s improvement plan were complete, or complete with ongoing activity to embed the changes, and 97% of actions were on track to be delivered by the end of September 2026, delivered against a backdrop of considerable change and capacity challenges.”
TVCA, says the IAB, is “now strategically moving beyond an organisational improvement plan…to a broader continuous improvement strategy…This transition in approach comes at a critical time, with the strategic authority landscape continuing to evolve rapidly through the implementation of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, alongside increasing expectations from government around devolution, accountability, assurance and place leadership.”
Organisational Excellence Strategy and Plan
Next on the agenda is the organisational excellence strategy (OES) designed to “move TVCA from a time-limited improvement programme to a sustainable programme of continuous development that enables ongoing organisational excellence and readiness for future devolution.” The OES itself takes up 12 pages of the agenda. The OES is followed by the organisational excellence plan (six pages).
Single assurance framework
Governance measures are not over yet. The single assurance framework (SAF) is “a unified set of systems, processes, and protocols that combined authorities use to ensure transparent decision-making, strong governance, risk management, and value-for-money across all projects and funding streams. It covers project initiation, business case development, approvals, monitoring, evaluation, and accountability arrangements.” All combined authorities must have one, and TVCA’s has now been cleared by the government. It takes up 54 pages of the agenda, plus covering report.
Code of Conduct
At this point, cabinet members will come to consider a new code of conduct for themselves. Although the current code is said to be compliant with legislative requirements and fit for purpose, it is proposed to replace it with the LGA (Local Government Association) model code to ensure that best practice is being followed and to create consistency (11 pages including appendix, plus complaints procedure and covering report).
Overview and scrutiny committee
The annual report of the overview and scrutiny comes next. The OSC is the committee of backbench councillors from TVCA’s five constituent borough councils whose job is to do just what its name suggests.
In 2025/26, the OSC looked into how TVCA is managing its responsibilities in relation to transport; education, employment & skills, governance, decision-making and accountability. It says it placed emphasis on ensuring that recommendations translated into action.
Delegated decisions
Finally in the governance section of the agenda, the cabinet will find delegated decisions taken since their last meeting – that is, decisions taken by council officers without direct reference to cabinet members in line with previously agreed procedures. This time there are two to report, and they are not trivial, though they could be seen as simply implementing agreed policy.
They involve the payment of £34.9mn and £19.9mn of transport funding to South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) for Steel House park & ride project and the Teesworks multi-modal transport hub respectively.
Though the cabinet papers explain why these decisions were taken and by what authority, they may raise some eyebrows given that STDC already owes TVCA £421mn. However, these latest sums are grants, not loans.
Phew. Now to the normal business
After 266 agenda pages dealing with how TVCA is getting its governance in order, cabinet members will be able to turn to normal business, starting with a quarterly budget update.
TVCA ended the first quarter of 2026/27 with a projected net surplus of £1.705mn for the year which was £0.278mn less than the budget forecast of £1.983m.
Forecast Enterprise Zone business rate income is down by £5.233mn reflecting delays in the confirmation of valuations and operational dates for Enterprise Zone sites, offset by a saving of £6.140mn on interest payable, arising from lower than anticipated borrowing.
On-lending policy
TVCA on-lends to third parties to deliver its strategic regeneration ambitions. This financial year it has advanced £541mn to third parties and this is forecast to increase by £54mn by 31 March. So it needs an On-Lending and Investment Policy to meet the requirements of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Treasury. The policy is set out for approval (four pages plus covering report).
Local Transport Delivery Plan 2026/7 to 2031/32
The transport plan involves spending £98mn revenue and £1.4bn capital over the period and is being presented to the cabinet for approval (34 pages).
Inward Investment Strategy
The cabinet is being asked to approve a strategy setting out how to attract more UK and overseas investment between 2026 and 2031. Its aim is to create good jobs, help local firms win work and bring lasting benefits to all five boroughs. The cabinet is also being recommended to do this in partnership with the five borough councils. It’s a 47-page full-colour document with a covering report.
Work will focus on chemical & process, clean energy, life sciences & biomanufacturing, advanced manufacturing, and digital & creative.
These are said to be the areas where Tees Valley has the strongest assets, workforce and business base. Key opportunities include carbon capture, offshore wind, defence & aerospace, space, civil nuclear, critical minerals and sustainable aviation fuel.
Tees Valley, says the cabinet report, can build on its industrial sites, ports, utilities, research centres and supply chains. Sector and country priorities will be reviewed as markets, technology and global conditions change.
There’s a 47-page coloured brochure plus covering report.
Investment Zone: Capital Strategy
This is about developing the creative & digital sector by filling gaps in the existing infrastructure. Two priorities are proposed: a digital & creative enterprise hub in Middlesbrough, focused on business growth, innovation and commercialisation, and a creative production hub in Hartlepool, focused on creator-economy activity, specialist facilities, shared equipment and production supply chains.
There’s an 80-page coloured brochure plus covering report.
Tees-Humber Local Innovation Partnership Fund
This report is an update on the partnership fund, which is said to directly supports delivery of the Tees Valley Local Growth Plan by strengthening one of the region’s nationally important growth sectors and translating industrial, innovation and clean energy assets into new investment, higher productivity and good quality jobs. Just 13 pages.
Workforce Development Programme
This is another update. It provides the cabinet with the latest on the delivery of key workforce development programmes being progressed through the business solutions team. It summarises progress against current priorities, identifies emerging funding and partnership opportunities, and sets out the implications for the Tees Valley employment and skills system.
Strategic Place Partnership
TVCA is developing a strategic place partnership with Homes England to provide a formal framework for Homes England, the combined authority, local authorities and the Tees Valley Housing Partnership to align priorities, capacity and expertise to unlock strategic housing sites, support brownfield regeneration and strengthen the housing pipeline. Cabinet is being asked to note progress to date and approve the Partnership Business Plan and associated governance arrangements, which will guide delivery and provide oversight. The cabinet report presents an update and recommends approval for the business plan. The plan is 43 pages including coloured maps and illustrations. And there is a covering report.
Brownfield Housing Fund Round 4 Strategic Framework
This is the latest phase of a long-term government investment programme designed to unlock housing delivery on previously developed land and stalled sites by addressing barriers such as contamination, infrastructure constraint and other abnormal development costs. Round 4 provides a further £33.3mn to accelerate the remediation and development of brownfield sites. The programme is expected to unlock approximately 1,085 additional homes, supporting the delivery of the Tees Valley Local Growth Plan, driving regeneration, and bringing forward sustainable housing development across the region.There is a 55-page business case, an appraisal outcome report and a 16-page covering report.
Last (but not least, we hope) the rough sleepers
This ten-page report gives an update on how TVCA is allocating its £3.1mn share over three years from the government’s rough sleeping programme to the five borough councils.
And what’s missing?
Not included in this report is the 15th item om the agenda, the Wholly and Partly Owned Companies Policy, on which North East Bylines is writing a separate report because of its potential significance for Teesside International Airport, Also omitted is information about the costs of recruiting temporary staff, including agency fees, about which Bylines is also publishing separately.
Comment
The 600-plus pages outlined only briefly above should not be taken to represent transparency. They are information overload. This particular agenda is an extreme example, but it is not uncommon for cabinet members to be presented with hundreds of pages of reports to discuss, as we saw earlier. What is more, reports often seem to consist of repetitious verbiage of little or no significance. Items can only appear on the cabinet agenda with the agreement of the mayor. The suspicion must be that he is attempting to distract the cabinet and bury bad news in plain sight.
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