Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received from Councillor Nicholas Peel (Bolton), Councillor Bev Craig (Manchester), Councillor David Molyneux (Wigan), Sue Johnson (Bolton), Tom Stannard (Salford), Sara Todd (Trafford) and Alison McKenzie-Folan (Wigan).

1.  That the announcement that Eamonn Boylan would be retiring as the Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority & Transport for Greater Manchester following the May 2024 Mayoral Elections be acknowledged.

2.  That the latest rail network development updates be received following the decision of the Government to cancel the Manchester to Birmingham arm of HS2.

3.  That it be noted that the Combined Authority will be kept informed of the outcomes following the letter sent to the Department for Transport  requesting that protections of the land purchased for HS2 be extended into 2024 to ensure full consideration of the options available.

4.  That it be noted that following the ongoing tragic events in the Middle East, the Mayor has met with the Greater Manchester Jewish Community and the Mayor and Leaders will today be meeting with the Greater Manchester Muslim Community.

5.  That members express their condolences and best wishes to the family and friends of Sir Bobby Charlton following his sad passing, and that his incredible contribution to the promotion of Greater Manchester on the world stage be acknowledged.

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 before the start of the meeting.

That Mayor Andy Burnham declared an interest in Item 17 (Electric Vehicle Charging Tariff) and would vacate the Chair and leave the meeting for consideration of this item.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 29 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To approve the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 29 September 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee meeting held on 29 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 27 September 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 27 September 2023 be noted.

To note the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 28 September 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA Bee Network Committee meeting held on 28 September 2023 be noted.

To note the minutes of the Greater Manchester Waste & Recycling Committee held on 11 October 2023.

That the minutes of the Greater Manchester Waste & Recycling Committee meeting held on 11 October 2023 be noted.

Report of Councillor Arooj Shah, Portfolio Lead for Equalities and Communities.

1.    That the contents of the report be noted.

2. That it be noted that the GMCA would consider its role in supporting delivery of the themes and actions within the proposed framework and development of a Race Equality Strategy

3. That the key themes and actions, as set out in the report, including the appointment of a political and organisational lead from each local authority to drive forward individual action and collective development of a Greater Manchester Race Equality Strategy be endorsed.

4. That the points raised through the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee be received and noted.

5. That the comments made by The Chair of the GM Race Equality Panel be received and noted.

6. That the GMCA record it thanks to Elizabeth Cameron for chairing the first year of the GM Race Equality Panel.

Report of Councillor Arooj Shah, Portfolio Lead for Equalities and Communities.

1.     That the progress update be noted.

2.     That the Fair Funding Protocol for activities and services that the VCFSE sector carries out across Greater Manchester, which were funded directly from the GMCA’s budget, be approved.

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

1.    That the current and forthcoming pressures on Rough Sleeping and Statutory homelessness services, and the activity undertaken to mitigate these, be noted.

2. That the funding risk and uncertainty for all homelessness programmes beyond 31 March 2025 be noted.

3. That the ongoing work to define a vision for homelessness beyond 2025 be noted.

4. That a request be made to the Home Office for further support to be made available and that a stable alternative to the temporary Home Office Refugee Transitions Outcome Fund (RTOF), which was due to end in March 2024, be developed.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.       That the draft progress report, noting the development in the approach to progress reporting, with a greater emphasis on whole system metrics and actions, be approved.

2.       That the whole system actions included in the report and the next steps from progressing these actions through a round of thematic, sectoral and place-based engagement on the findings be approved.

3.       That the impact assessment summary noted, and that it also be noted that the process adopted for the development of this progress report, has not gathered sufficient detail to assess specific impacts arising from delivery of programmes and policies supporting the GMS ambitions.

4.       That it be noted that the assessment completed takes an overview approach, considering the strategic intent of the GMS and collective ability to, over time, achieve that strategic intent.

5.       That the comments raised through the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee in relation to the five key areas within the GMS be received and noted.

Report of Councillor David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources & Investment.

1.    That the forecast position at 30^th September 2023 be noted.

2. That the proposed areas for the enhanced Business Rates sites in Greater Manchester be noted.Also noted that confirmation and approval of final sites will be reported to a later meeting of the GMCA, following formal feedback from government and that the final details for the operation of enhanced Business Rates sites will be included in the Investment Plan.

3. That the updates to the GMCA general budget, as set out in section 3 of the report, be approved.

4. That the intention, subject to formal approval by the Department for Transport (DfT), to re-allocate £15m of Bus Service Improvement Programme (BSIP) grant funding, previously awarded by DfT to support bus services, be noted, and that it also be noted that £7.5m of this re-allocation was to be utilised in 2023/24 and £7.5m in 2024/25.

5. That the Mayor’s first monthly progress update following the commencement of the Bee Network franchise be received.

Report of Councillor David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources & Investment.

1.    That the current 2023/24 forecast of £623.6m, compared to the previous forecast of £681.3m, be noted, and changes to the capital programme, as set out in the report, be approved.

2. That other increases in capital budget over £0.5m be approved as follows:

·         Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund capital funding of £0.7m, as outlined in section 3.4.3. of the report.

·         Transport Local Growth Deal 1 Major Schemes of £1.7m, as outlined in as outlined at section 3.11 of the report.

·         UK Shared Prosperity Fund of £7.7m, as outlined in section 4.10, of the report.

Report of Councillor David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Investment & Resources.

1.    That the UKSPF E22 investment in SME workspace in Oldham town centre, to support the creation of SME workspace in the Flexible Workspace project in the Spindles Centre and not the Prudential Building, be approved.

2.    That the proposition for any UKSPF E22 underspend, under the £15m total allocated be reassigned to E22 projects that had to reduce grant ask in 2023, up to the maximum E22 total of £15m agreed by GMCA in January 2023, be approved.

3.    That it be noted that the overall UKSPF investment to the end of March 2025 remains the same overall at £1.462m but is to be split into £1m capital investment and £0.462m revenue investment.

4.    That the revised outputs and outcomes proposed and the positive contribution they will make to achieving those set out in the GM UKSPF Investment Plan be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.     That the designation of a Mayoral Development Zone known as Ashton Mayoral Development Zone (AMDZ) be approved.

2.     That the proposed area of the AMDZ, as indicated in the appendix to the report, be approved.

3.     That the establishment of the AMDZ Board be approved and that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer GMCA & TfGM to agree appropriate representation on the Board, in consultation with Tameside Council.

4.     That it be noted that the projects within the proposed AMDZ will aim to deliver sustainable forms of development that reflect and deliver the GM Strategy.

5.     That the principles of the business case and development strategy for the MDZ, as set out in the report, be approved, noting that the AMDZ Board will refine these into the development of a business case, for the AMDZ in overseeing the delivery of the growth sites, for submission to a future meeting of the GMCA for approval.

6.     That it be noted that the current funding resource will be from Tameside Council’s unallocated Levelling Up Capacity Grant with GMCA providing support with officer time.

7.     That that future updates on delivery progress at AMDZ be submitted to the GMCA.

Report of Paul Dennett, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham declared an interest in the report and vacated the Chair and left the room for the discussion.

Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett, GMCA Deputy Mayor, took the Chair for this item of business.

1. That the establishment of a floor and a ceiling price cap of 30% above the below the current EV tariff, as, set out in the report, be approved.

2. That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA  &  TfGM to approve tariff charges within those limits.

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 Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

That the recommendations within the report be approved.