Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Cllr Elise Wilson and Joanne Roney.

That following a decision of Government to delay the legal direction for GM Local Authorities to ensure all vehicles comply to the Clean Air standards by 2026, a full public statement outlining the next steps would be published next week.

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 the start 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 GMCA meeting held 28 January 2022.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 28 January 2022 be approved.

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To note the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on the 28 January 2022.

That the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee meeting held on 28 January 2022 be noted.

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

·         Housing Planning and Environment held 1 February 2022

·         Economy, Business Growth and Skills held 4 February 2022

1.             That the minutes of the Housing, Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 1 February 2022 and Economy, Business Growth and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 4 February 2022 be noted.

2.             That the GMCA note the concerns raised at the GMCA Economy, Business Growth and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee, raised at the meeting held on 4 February, in relation to the 40% decline in the number of Computing and IT students at GCSE level nationally between 2015 and 2020 at a time when the digital economy was rapidly growing in Greater Manchester and that only 11% of students took computer science, with young people in areas of deprivation having less access to school computer science courses, and that the numbers of girls choosing computer science as a course remains at only 23%.

3.             That in response to those concerns, further work would be undertaken in conjunction with the Work and Skills portfolio to ensure that young people were prepared to take on employment within this growing sector.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1. That the summary report be noted.

2. That the GMCA record its thanks to the GMCA Treasurer, his team at the GMCA and the GM Local Authority finance team across GM for their work in the preparation of the 2022.23 budgets.

3. That the feedback from the virtual session with the GMCA Corporate Issues & Reform Overview and Scrutiny Committee be received and that it be noted that following these discussions the Scrutiny Chair had agreed to exempt the suite of GMCA budget reports from call-in.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.              That the Mayor’s General budget for 2022/23, as set out in the report,  together with the calculation of the precepts and Council Tax rates set out in Appendix 2, be approved.

2.              That 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 approved.

3.              That the overall budget for the Fire and Rescue Service for 2022/23 covered by the Mayoral precept and the medium-term financial position for the Fire and Rescue Service be approved.

4.              That the use of reserves as set out in section 3 of the report be approved, noting that the assessment by the GMCA Treasurer that the reserves as at March 2022 are adequate.

5.              That it be noted that in accordance with legal requirements, the minutes will record the names of those Members voting for or against the Mayor’s budget and precept proposals.

6. That it be noted that the GM Police, Fire and Crime Panel had discussed and noted the proposed GMFRS precept increase at their meeting on the 10 February 2022.

7. That the final Business Rate collection figure from all GM Authorities be noted as £60,000 and that an updated set of Business Rates  figures  would be circulated in due course.

8. That it be noted that the final table at item 3.1 be amended as follows:

Closing reserves 2021/22 - £41,820

Closing reserves 2022/23 - £42,462

9. That the GMCA Treasurers Statement in providing an assurance that the GMCA Mayoral General Budget proposals were robust and the reserves were adequate, be noted.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1.            That the issues which were affecting the 2022/23 transport budgets, as detailed in the report, be noted. 

2.            That the GMCA budget relating to transport functions funded through the levy, as set out in the report for 2022/23, be approved.

3.            That a Transport Levy on the District Councils in 2022/23 of £105.773 million, apportioned on the basis of mid-year population 2020, be approved.

4.            That a Statutory Charge of £86.7 million to District Councils in 2022/23, as set out in Part 4 of the Transport Order, apportioned on the basis of mid-year population 2020, be approved.

5.            That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in conjunction with the TfGM Finance and Corporate Services Director, to make the necessary adjustments between capital funding and revenue reserves to ensure the correct accounting treatment for the planned revenue spend for the following schemes, detailed in paragraph 4.36:

·       Mayor’s Challenge Fund 2022/23 project and programme management costs of up to £1.9 million.

·       Active Travel Fund (Round 2) £0.25 million of revenue funding for associated programme management and assurance costs.

6.            That the proposal to increase fees and charges where applicable, in line with inflation and to approve the increases proposed to Bus stop closure charges, as set out in paragraphs 4.59 and 4.60 of the report, be approved.

7.            That the use of Transport reserves in 2021/22 and 2022/23, as detailed in section 5 of the report, be approved.

8.            That it be noted that the funding for Bus Franchising in 2022/23 was approved as part of the Mayoral Budget 2022-23, also on this agenda.

9.            That it be noted that the Corporate Issues and Reform Overview & Scrutiny Committee had discussed their concerns regarding the risks to the budget associated with the uncertainty surrounding more longer-term funding for bus and Metrolink services and that those concerns were echoed by the GMCA Treasurer.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1.            That the budget relating to the GMCA functions excluding transport and waste in 2022/23, as set out in section 2 of the report, be approved.

2.            That District contributions of £8.603 million, as set out in section 3 of the report, be approved.

3.            That the use of reserves, as set out in section 4 of the report, be approved.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1.              That the forecast outturn for 2021/22 be noted.

2.              That the proposed 2023/23 Trade Waste rate of £118.30 to allow forward planning by Districts be noted.

3.              That the capital programme for 2022/23, as set out in Appendix A of the report, be noted.

4.              That the budget and levy for 2022/23 of £164.8m (1.5% increase) be noted.

5.              That the risk position set out in the Balances Strategy and Reserves be noted.

6.              That it be noted that due to the volatility within the waste sector, there was a risk that the significant budget underspend may not be retained in 2022/23.

7.              That it be noted that it remained the intention of the GMCA to return a minimum of £10m million to those GM Authorities who held a GM waste contract.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1.              That the current 2021/22 forecast of £479.9 million, compared to the 2021/22 quarter 2 capital forecast of £625.7 million, be noted.

2.              That the capital programme budget for 2022/23 and the forward plan, as detailed in the report and in Appendix A be approved.

3.              That it be noted that as the anticipated funding through the City Region Sustainable Transport Fund of £1.07b had not yet been finalised, a further capital budget report would be submitted to the GMCA once the details had been agreed.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Investment and Resources.

1.              That the proposed Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy to apply from the 1 April 2022, be approved, in particular:

a.    The Treasury and Prudential Indicators listed in Section 4.

b.    The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Strategy in Section 3.

c.     The Treasury Management Scheme of Delegation at Appendix F.

d.    The Borrowing Strategy outlined in Section 4.

e.    The Annual Investment Strategy detailed in Section 5.

f.      Delegation to the Treasurer to step outside of the investment limits to safeguard the GMCA’s position as outlined in section 5.21.

2.              That the change in the Minimum Revenue Provision Strategy be approved to enable it to apply in 2021/22.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

That the Capital Strategy for 2022/23 be approved.

Report of Cllr David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources and Investment.

1.              That an increase to the Mayoral budget of £125k to be funded from reserves, as set out in Section 2 of the report, be approved.

2.              That an increase to the Fire and Rescue Service budget of £539k to be fully funded from reserves, as set out in Section 4 of the report, be approved.

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

1.              That the A Bed Every Night service developments over the coming three years be noted.

2.              That the A Bed Every Night budget for 2022/23 (£5,850,000) be approved.

3.              That the direction of travel towards a more equitable allocation of funds to Local Authorities, pending reviews on the total budget required and evidence of the need for variance in Local Authorities allocations for 2023/24 and 2024/25, be approved. 

4.              That the continuation of the Greater Manchester Housing First pilot be noted and that the ongoing delivery be supported.

5.              That the submission of the Greater Manchester Rough Sleeper Initiative bid be noted and the planned delivery supported.

6.              That the GMCA record its thanks to the GMCA and Local Authority teams working to increase the profile of the Mayors Charity for their significant work to date.

Report of Cllr Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships.

1.              That the overall progress of the Skills Bootcamps Pilot be noted.

2.              That the proposed approach to new Skills Bootcamp delivery in 2022/23 be noted.

3.              That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work & Apprenticeships and Digital City Region, to agree section 14 grant conditions, the commissioning route and award of individual grants/contracts.

4.              That it be noted that Tameside Council would like to contribute to the planning of future Skills Bootcamps.

5.              That it be noted that the GM Mayor would continue to pursue further skills funding devolution through ongoing conversations with the Levelling Up Secretary.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.              That it be noted that the HS2 Phase 2b Crewe to Manchester hybrid Bill was deposited on 24^th January 2022.

2.              That the Bill process that TfGM will be required to follow to respond to the Environmental Statement consultation; consultation period of 25^th January 2022 to 31^st March 2022 be noted.

3.              That the submission of a response to the consultation on the Environmental Statement for HS2 Phase 2b Crewe to Manchester Bill be approved.

4.              That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA &  TfGM, in consultation with the GM Mayor, to approve a response to the consultation on the Environmental Statement for the Crewe to Manchester HS2 Phase 2b Bill.

5.              That a further report would be submitted to the GMCA on the Parliamentary and Select Committee process for HS2 Bill and that it be noted that representations, including specifically the underground Station at Manchester Piccadilly and the significant implications for wider connectivity, including Tameside, would be raised as part of the formal petitioning process.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.              That the Corporate Plan, including summary version, noting the organisation’s key achievements and priorities for the coming years be noted.

2.              That the Corporate Plan, summary document, the approach to develop annual business plans to sit alongside the corporate plan and an effective performance framework to monitor progress in delivering the activities, set out in the report, be endorsed. 

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

1.              That receipt of the DLUHC Further Brownfield Housing Funds and allocation of grant funding to those sites, as set out within para 2.3 of the report, and the entering into individual Grant Agreements for those recommended sites, be approved.

2.              That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, acting in conjunction with the GMCA Monitoring Officer, to agree the final terms of all the necessary agreements.

Report of the GM Mayor, Andy Burnham.

1.              That the release of up to £5.4 million of MCF funding for the Bury and Salford schemes, as set out in section 2 of the report, in order to secure full approval and enable the signing of the necessary legal agreements, be approved.

2.              That the planned continuation of the Mayor’s Challenge Fund Cycling and Walking Programme into 2022/23, in support of continued scheme delivery across Greater Manchester, be noted.

3.              That it be noted that at the start of the new municipal year there would be an opportunity to set out the new leadership and governance arrangements for the cycling and walking programme.

4.              That a future report would be submitted to the GMCA on the widening of the pilot scheme undertaken in Tameside regarding junction zebra crossings.

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 Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

That the financial modelling for A Bed Every Night income and expenditure in years 2023/24 and 2024/25 be noted.