Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Sir Richard Leese - Manchester (Cllr Bev Craig attending), Eamonn Boylan - GMCA, Joanne Roney - Manchester (James Binks attending), Steven Pleasant - Tameside (Sandra Stewart attending), Geoff Little - Bury (Paul Lakin attending), Steve Rumbelow – Rochdale, (Neil Thornton attending) and Tony Oakman - Bolton (Sue Johnson attending).

1.           That the GMCA expressed their condolences following the sad passing of Lord Peter Smith, recognising his significant contribution to the growth of Greater Manchester, especially in relation to brokering conversations with Government regarding Devolution.

2.           That Councillor Martyn Cox be welcomed as the new Leader of Bolton and subsequently Bolton’s representative on the GMCA.

3.           That Harry Catherall be welcomed to the GMCA, as the new Chief Executive for Oldham, and that the work undertaken by the previous Chief Executive, Carolyn Wilkins, for her contributions to GM over her term of office be recognised.

4.           That the recent announcement by Sir Richard Leese advising that he would be standing down as the Leader of Manchester City Council after 25 years be noted, recognising his incredible record of service and ‘leadership from the front’ that had made Manchester the place that it was today.

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 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

Andy Burnham declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in relation to item 25 on the agenda.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 25 June 2021.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 25 June 2021 be approved.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held –

·         Corporate Issues and Reform – 6 July 2021

·         Economy, Business Growth and Skills – 9 July

That the minutes of the meetings of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committees held in July 2021 be noted as follows:

·         Corporate Issues and Reform – 6 July 2021

·         Economy, Business Growth and Skills – 9 July

·         To note the minutes of the GMCA Waste and Recycling Committee meeting held 13 July 2021.

·         To agree the appointment of Councillor Allison Gwynne as the Chair of the Waste & Recycling Committee for this municipal year.

1.        That the minutes of the GMCA Waste and Recycling Committee meeting held 13 July 2021 be noted.

2.        That the appointment of Councillor Allison Gwynne as the Chair of the Waste & Recycling Committee for 2021/22 be agreed.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee held 27 August 2021.

That the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee held 27 August 2021 be noted.

·         To note the minutes of the GM Transport Committee meetings held 18 June and 20 August 2021.

·         To note the decision of the GM Mayor to approve the appointment of Councillor Mark Aldred as Chair of the GM Transport Committee for this municipal year.

1.    That the minutes of the GM Transport Committee meetings held 18 June and 20 August 2021 be noted.

2.    That the decision of the GM Mayor to approve the appointment of Councillor Mark Aldred, as Chair of the GM Transport Committee, for 2021/22 be noted.

Report of Liz Treacy, GMCA Monitoring Officer.

1.            That the appointment of Cllr Martyn Cox, Bolton, as a member of the GMCA be noted.

2.            That the appointment of Cllr Martyn Cox to the GMCA Standards Committee be agreed.

3.            That the appointment of Cllr Martyn Cox to the GMCA Resources Committee be agreed.

4.            That the appointment of Councillor Christine Roberts (Wigan) to replace Councillor Joanne Marshall (Wigan) on the GMCA Audit Committee be agreed.

5.            That the following appointments, by the GM Mayor and District Councils to the GM Transport Committee,  be noted as follows:

·         Cllr Tom McGee to replace Cllr Elise Wilson (Stockport), who remains his substitute, by the GM Mayor.

·         Cllr Dzidra Noor, to replace Cllr Julie Connolly (Manchester) as the substitute member.

·         Cllr Barrie Holland (Tameside) as the substitute member.

6.            That the appointment of Cllr Jude Wells (Stockport) to the GM Joint Commissioning Board to replace of Cllr Tom McGee, who remains the substitute member, be noted.

7.            That the appointment of Cllr Jude Wells and Cllr Tom McGee  (substitute member) (Stockport) to the GM Health & Care Board be noted.

8.            That the following appointments to the Air Quality Administration Committee be noted as follows:

·         Stockport Council - Cllr Tom McGee and Cllr Jude Wells (substitute member)

·         Salford City Council, Cllr Mike McCusker and Cllr Sophia Linden (substitute member)

9.            That the following appointments to the Air Quality Charging Authorities Committee be noted as follows:

·         Salford City Council - Cllr Mike McCusker and Cllr Roger Jones (substitute member)

·         Stockport Council - Cllr Tom McGee and Cllr Jude Wells (substitute member)

10.         That the appointment of Cllr Amanda Peers (Stockport) to the GM Work & Skills Executive be noted.

11.         That the appointment, by Salford City Council, of City Mayor Paul Dennett and Cllr Mike McCusker (substitute member) to the Joint Development Plan - Places for Everyone Committee be noted.

12.         That the following appointments to the GM Culture & Social Impact Fund Committee be noted as follows:

·      Stockport Council - Cllr David Sedgwick and Cllr Tom McGee (substitute member)

·      Manchester City Council - Cllr Tim Whiston

13.         That the appointment of Cllr Amanda Chadderton (Oldham) to the Growth Co Board replacing Cllr Arooj Shah be agreed.

Report of Liz Treacy, GMCA Monitoring Officer.

That the decisions taken under delegated powers as detailed in the report be noted.

Verbal report of the Chief Constable, Stephen Watson.

You can view the GMP Implementation Plan here

1.            That the presentation from the Chief Constable Stephen Watson be noted.

2.            That the further measures to improve the force’s accountability and transparency as outlined by the GM Mayor, specifically the commitment to regular reporting to the GMCA and the Police & Crime Panel, be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, GM Mayor.

1.           That the update on progress made to deliver against the Armed Forces Covenant coherently across GM be noted.

2.           That the forthcoming developments with regards to forthcoming legislation, which will provide the impetus to further enhance delivery of Greater Manchester’s Armed Forces Covenant, be noted.

3.           That the proposal to re-sign the Greater Manchester’s Armed Forces Covenant in accordance with the GM Mayor’s Manifesto pledge be approved.

Report of Cllr Brenda Warrington, Portfolio Leader for Equalities.

1.           That the Annual Reports provided by the Disabled People’s Panel, LGBTQ+ Panel and the Youth Combined Authority, and updates from the Race Equality Panel, Women and Girls Panel, and Faith and Belief Panel be noted.

2.           That it be noted that recurrent funding of £350,000 would be required from the Mayoral Budget from 2022/23 to continue the work of the Equality Panels.

Report of Salford City Mayor,  Paul Dennett, Portfolio Leader for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

1.        That the missions set within the Homelessness Prevention Strategy in Greater Manchester be approved.

2.        That the principles set to guide homelessness prevention activity in Greater Manchester be approved.

3.        That the commitment to the development of an accompanying Greater Manchester Homelessness Prevention Action Plan, by October 2021, that sets out regional commitments, deliverables and indicators be approved.

4.        That it be noted that Greater Manchester’s target for 50,000 affordable homes will be at the heart of the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review bid.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

That the progress of the Minimum Licensing Standards workstream be noted and the proposals at Stage 1 of the recommendations be endorsed.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.           That the unique opportunity that the HS2/NPR Programme presents for Greater Manchester, in achieving the GMCA objectives for economic rebalancing and growth be noted.

2.           That the critical issues that require a resolution for HS2 and NPR delivery in Greater Manchester be noted.

3.           That the scale of activity and investment that will be required over the coming years to secure the full potential of HS2 and NPR impact in Greater Manchester through the programmes for station development/renewal, local connectivity provision, place-based regeneration and local skills/supply chain development, as set out in the Greater Manchester HS2/NPR Growth Strategy be noted.

4.           That in addition to the issues surrounding the principal HS2/NPR stations at Manchester Airport and Piccadilly, the importance of HS2 development stages for Wigan North Western and Stockport Stations be recognised.

5.           That the HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg (Crewe to Manchester) Bill process; the opportunities for GMCA to engage and influence the Bill; and the importance of ensuring that the final scheme is brought forward in a manner that is sensitive to local planning conditions, be noted.

6.           That the update on the development of Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) be noted.

7.           That the work programme underway to continue to develop, engage with and inform the HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail Programme be endorsed.

8.           That the importance of Inter-city and Intra-city rail services to the success of HS2 and NPR be endorsed.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.            That the release of up to £1.656 million of development cost funding for the 4 MCF schemes, as set out in section 2 of the report, be approved.

2.            That the proposed update to the previously agreed governance process and scheme of delegation for the Greater Manchester Active Travel Fund (ATF) programme, in respect of the GM-wide complementary measures package, be approved.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Leader for Resources.

1.            That the current 2021/22 forecast, of £681m million, compared to the 2021/22 capital budget of £439m, be noted.

2.            That the addition to the Capital Programme of the GM Clean Air Zone (part of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan), as outlined in section 9 of the report, with a current forecast expenditure of £18.4 million in 2021/22, £18.8 million in 2022/23 and £9.5 million in 2023/24 be approved.

3.            That the addition to the Capital Programme of the Clean Funds Scheme (part of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan), as outlined in section 9 of the report, with a current forecast expenditure of £5.1 million in 2021/22, £73.2 million in 2022/23 and £31.3 million in 2023/24, be approved.

4.            That the addition of Bus Franchising to the Capital Programme be noted and the additional capital expenditure of £24.6 million in 2021/22, as outlined in section 10 of the report, be approved.

5.            That, in line with the financial strategy, incremental prudential borrowings of up to £15.7 million in 2021/22 to finance depot and land acquisition capital expenditure for Bus Franchising, be approved.

6.            That it be noted that Bus Franchising capital expenditure, and the related interest and repayment costs, be, as appropriate, funded from the overall financial strategy as previously approved by the GMCA.

7.            That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and the TfGM Finance and Corporate Services Director to determine the optimum funding mix between Earnback Capital grant and Prudential Borrowings for Bus Franchising capital expenditure.

8.            That the addition to the capital programme of the Affordable Homes, Public Sector Decarbonisation, Homelessness Rough Sleeper Programme and Green Homes Grant schemes, outlined in section 14 of the report, be approved. 

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Leader for Resources.

1.             That an increase to Mayoral budget of £283k, to be funded from reserves, as set out in Section 2 of the report, be approved.

2.             That an increase to the GMCA General budget of £21.381m, fully funded from additional income and use of reserves, as set out in Section 3 of the report, be approved.

3.             That the use of reserves and revenue grants unapplied for GMFRS of £1.077m, as set out in Section 4 of the report, be approved.

4.             That the award of £8.6 million of funding from Department for Transport, with respect to the Intra-City Transport Settlement Resource funding for financial year 2021-22, be noted, and that the inclusion of this funding and associated costs in the 2021/22 budget, which will be used alongside the previously approved funding from TCF, for expenditure on the development of a pipeline of infrastructure schemes in Greater Manchester by TfGM and the ten Local Authorities, be approved.

5.             That the updated budget prepared for implementation of the GM Bus Franchising Scheme in 2021/22 be noted and the inclusion of this expenditure and funding in the 2021/22 budget be approved in line with the funding arrangements for Bus Franchising previously approved by GMCA in November 2020 and originally approved in October 2019.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.           That the progress report on the action plan within the Cricket Strategy be noted.

2.           That it be agreed to vary the original terms of the grant to support activity within the Strategy, requiring the in-principle agreement of an Urban Cricket Centre in order to release the GMCA’s funding for each year of the strategy, as described in Section 3 of the report.

Report of Paul Dennett City Mayor of Salford and Greater Manchester Portfolio Leader, Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

1.           That the issues raised in the report be noted.

2.           That the short-term actions, as set out in section 7 of the report, be agreed.

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

1.          That the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Strategy and its contents be noted.

2.          That it be agreed that GMCA adopt the GM Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Strategy (draft attached at Annex 1 of the report).

Report of Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Leader for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

2. That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer acting in conjunction with the GMCA Monitoring Officer to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.          That it be noted that GMCA was requested on 20 July 2021 to prepare a submission to the Government’s new City Region Sustainable Transport Fund by as soon as possible after the end of August, so as to secure up to £1.19 billion of capital funding for the period 2022/23 to 2026/27.

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

3.          That the draft Prospectus, summarising the GM submission in accordance with the Fund guidance, for submission to Government be approved.

4.          That it be noted that further draft background documents for the submission are contained in Part B of the agenda, to be released as they are finalised through review with Government.

Report of Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive Officer GMCA & TfGM.

That this item be deferred to the meeting of the GMCA to be held on 24 September 2021.

That, under section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public should be excluded from the meeting for the following items on business on the grounds that this involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as set out in the relevant paragraphs of Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

That, under section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public should be excluded from the meeting for the following items on business on the grounds that this involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as set out in the relevant paragraphs of Part 1, Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

That subsequent to the Part A report, which considers the draft CRSTS Prospectus to be submitted to Government, the additional supplementary material to be included in GM’s submission, in particular the detailed list of schemes that underpin the Prospectus proposals and a description of some additional annex materials to be provided to Government, be noted.

Report of Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Leader for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 23 above refers).

That the report be noted.

To note that the GMCA would next meet on Friday 24 September 2021.