Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes, Cllr Martyn Cox, Cllr David Molyneux, Joanne Roney, Tom Stannard and Tony Oakman.

1.      That Members of the GMCA welcomed the opportunity to take part in events to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2022 and that it be a further reminder that there will never be room for racism, hate or discrimination in Greater Manchester.

2.      That it be noted that the GM Mayor met with the Secretary of State on the 26 January 2022 as only he can enable a review, variate or withdrawal of the Clean Air Scheme.  The Secretary of State has been requested to consider all options, in particular to lift the Government’s legal direction on all ten Greater Manchester Local Authorities to provide more time for compliance to be achieved.

3.      That it be noted that Members of the GMCA were committed to improving air quality and the health of residents but also recognised that major changes were needed to the current scheme.  The request made to the Secretary of State followed previous articulations regarding the fear that the current scheme may not be successful in achieving compliance by 2024 but would cause real hardship to many businesses in GM as a result of recent changes to the supply chain and cost of inflation.

4.      That it be note that there would be further engagement regarding the proposed Clean Air Zone in 7-10 days’ time and an update provided at the next meeting of the GMCA.

To receive declarations of interest in any item for discussion at the meeting. A blank form for declaring interests has been circulated with the agenda; please ensure that this is returned to the Governance & Scrutiny Officer 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations received in relation to any item on the agenda.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2021.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 17 December 2021 be approved.

To note the Minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 17 December 2021.

That the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee meeting held on 17 December 2021 be noted.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Standards Committee held on 17 December 2021.

That the minutes of the GMCA Standards Committee meeting held on 17 December 2021 be noted.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 21 January 2022.

That the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee meeting held on 21 January 2022 be noted.

·       To note the minutes of the GMCA Housing Planning & Environment Oveview & Scrutiny Committee held on 11 January 2022.

·       Economy, Business Growth & Skills Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 14 January 2022.

That the minutes of the Housing, Planning & Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on the 11 January 2022 and the Economy, Business Growth & Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 14 January 2022 be noted.

Report of GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.           That the GM Mayor’s proposal to increase the Mayoral General Precept to £102.95 (Band D) comprising of £71.20 for functions previously covered by the Fire and Rescue Authority precept and £31.75 for other Mayoral General functions be considered.

2.           That it be noted that the proposal for the Mayoral General Precept for 2022/23 is part of a multi-year strategy for setting the Mayoral precept baseline which will be adjusted in future years as further Mayoral functions are covered by the funding raised.

3.           That the following be noted:

i)       the overall budget proposed for the Fire and Rescue Service,

ii)      the use of the reserves to support the revenue and capital budgets, and the assessment by the Treasurer that the reserves as at March 2023 are adequate,

iii)     the proposed Fire Service capital programme and proposals for funding,

iv)     the medium-term financial position for the Fire and Rescue Service covered by the Mayoral precept.

4.           That the detailed budget proposals for other Mayoral functions be noted.

5.           That the use of reserves as set out in Paragraph 3.3 of the report be noted.

6.           That Members of the GMCA be asked to consider whether they would wish to submit any written comments to the Mayor in line with the legal process and timetable described in this report.

7.           That it be noted that at its meeting on 11 February 2022 there will be an updated budget submitted, consistent with the precept proposals, to reflect final tax base and collection fund calculations and the final Revenue Support Grant settlement.

Report of Baroness Beverly Hughes, Deputy Mayor for Police, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire

1.            That the draft Standing Together Plan be noted.

2.            That it be noted that the GM Police & Crime Panel would be given the opportunity to review and sign off the Plan at their meeting on the 31 January 2022.

Report of Councillor Neil Emmott, Portfolio Lead for Green City Region.

1.          That the draft GM Retrofit Action Plan and its contents be noted.

2.          That the GM Retrofit Action Plan be approved for design & publication (attached at Annex 1 to the report).

Report of Councillor Elise Wilson, Portfolio Lead for Economy.

1.          That the new Greater Manchester International Strategy be approved.

2.          That the approach to developing the GM International Strategy Delivery Plan be noted.

Report of Councillor Martyn Cox, Leader of Bolton Council.

1.            That the Greater Manchester Information Strategy be approved.

2.            That it be agreed that GMCA Member (Cllr Martyn Cox) and Chief Executive (Alison McKenzie-Folan) lead and oversee implementation of the GM Information Strategy.

Report of GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.            That the That it be noted that the GMCA, as requested by Government on 20 July 2021, prepared and submitted to the Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Fund in early September, as part of the process to secure up to £1.19 billion of capital funding for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27.

2.            That it be noted that on 22 November 2021, the Secretary of State wrote to the GM Mayor to say that GMCA had be awarded an indicative allocation of £1.07 billion of capital funding conditional on the submission of a programme business case by the end of January 2022.

3.            That the key planning assumptions that the draft Programme Case was based upon as set out in section 3 of the report be noted.

4.            That the approval of the draft Programme Case be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA and TfGM in consultation with the GM Mayor and for submission to Government.

5.            That it be noted that, following further review by Government and the announcement of the final award from Government, the final Programme Case will come to GMCA for approval.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.           That approval be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM, in consultation with the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Chief Executive of Stockport MBC, to approve the GMCA ZEBRA fund bid that has been produced in combination with Stockport MBC and Stagecoach Group Plc (Stagecoach). The bid seeks DfT funds of £36.9m alongside Stagecoach investment of approx. £37.2m and a GMCA contribution of £12.5m to support the introduction of 170 Zero Emission Buses in the south of GM by 2024. 

2.           That the conditions and details for this submission as set out in section 1 of the report be noted. 

3.           That the GMCA financial contribution of £12.5m be provisionally approved, that will be financed by prudential borrowings, noting that the borrowings will be repaid to GMCA over the lifetime of the assets through a subsidy control clawback mechanism; and that it be further noted that in the event that the submission is successful, final approval would be sought once costs have been confirmed.

4.           That it be noted that any assets created through this fund would be available for the future franchised GM bus network.

Report of Councillor Elise Wilson, Portfolio Lead for Economy and Business.

1.            That the latest update of the Greater Manchester Economic Resilience Dashboard and response be noted, including delivery of the Local Industrial Strategy and Greater Manchester Economic Vision.

2.            That the Leader of Bury Council, Eamonn O’Brien expressed his gratitude for their recent Good Employment Charter accreditation and urged other Greater Manchester Authorities to lead by example and make the pledge.