Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from City Mayor Paul Dennett (Salford), Councillor Nicholas Peel (Bolton), Joanne Roney (Manchester) & Sara Todd (Trafford).

1.             That the GMCA record its best wishes to His Royal Highness, King Charles, for a speedy recovery from his recent cancer diagnosis.

2.             That it be noted that the GM Police Fire & Crime Panel, at its meeting on 30^th January 2024 unanimously agreed the Mayor’s request to increase the police precept by £13 per year for a band D property (£10.11 for a Band B property) with effect from 1 April 2024.

3.             That the concerns raised by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham and Councillor Tom Ross in relation to the review of the current Kellogg’s premises within the Trafford borough be noted, and that the GMCA and partners would closely engage with Kellogg’s throughout the full review period.

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.

There were no declarations of interests received.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 26 January 2024 be approved.

To consider the approval of the proceedings of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 26 January 2024.

That the proceedings of the Resources Committee meeting held on 26 January 2024 be approved.

To consider the approval of the proceedings of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 24 January 2024.

That the proceedings of the Audit Committee meeting held on 24 January 2024 be noted.

To consider the approval of the proceedings of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 24 January 2024.

Budget Reports

That the proceedings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 24 January 2024 be noted.

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

That the contents of the summary report be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.    That the Mayor’s General budget for 2024/25, as set out in this 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 £112.95 (Band D) comprising of £81.20 for functions previously covered by the Fire and Rescue Authority precept and £31.75 for other Mayoral General functions be approved.

3.    That the following be approved:

i.  the overall budget for the Fire and Rescue Service for 2024/25 covered by the Mayoral precept.

ii.  the medium-term financial position for the Fire and Rescue Service.

4.    That approval be given to the use of reserves, as set out in section 3 of the report, and the assessment by the Treasurer that the reserves as at March 2025 were 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 the feedback from the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee be received and noted.

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

1. That the risks and issues which were affecting the 2024/25 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 this report, for 2024/25 be approved.

3. That a Transport Levy on the District Councils in 2024/25 of £119.473m, apportioned on the basis of mid-year population 2022, be approved.

4. That a Statutory Charge of £86.7m to District Councils in 2024/25, as set out in Part 4 of the Transport Order, apportioned on the basis of mid-year population 2022, be approved.

5. That the proposal to increase fees and charges, as noted in the report, including the increases proposed Departure Charges and Bus stop closure charges, as set out in paragraphs 4.24 and 4.25, be endorsed.

6. That the use of Transport reserves in 2023/24 and 2024/25, as detailed in section, be approved.

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

1. That the budget relating to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority functions, excluding transport and waste in 2024/25, as set out in section 2 of the report, be approved.

2. That District contributions of £8.5 million, as set out in section 5 of the report, be approved.

3. That the use of reserves, as set out in section 6 of the report, be approved.

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

1.       That the proposed 2025/26 Trade Waste rate of £138.93, to allow forward planning by Greater Manchester Local Authorities, be approved.

2.       That the budget and levy for 2024/25 of £174.3m (3.1% increase) be approved.

3.       That a one-off reduction of £20m to the levy in 2024/25, funded from reserves reducing the 2024/25 requirement to £154.3m be approved and that authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer to agree the basis of distribution with Greater Manchester Local Authority Treasurers.

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

5.                    That Members welcome the work undertaken by the Finance Team that has allowed for the return of funds into local authority budgets.

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

1. That the current 2023/24 forecast of £579.1m compared to the 2023/24 previous forecast of £623.6m be noted and that changes to the capital programme, as set out in the report and Appendix A, be approved.

2. That the capital programme budget for 2024/25 of £685.2m and the forward plan for future years, as set out in the report and Appendix A, be approved.

3. That the addition to, and the subsequent drawdown from, the 2023/24 capital programme of £4.4m for local highways maintenance activities, as outlined in section 3.9.4 of this report, be approved.

4. That the inclusion of Trailblazer funding, as outlined in section 4.14 of the report, be approved.

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

1.                That the 2023/24 forecast outturn position for the GMCA budgets at the end of December 2023 (quarter 3) be noted.

2.                That the return of the forecast in year underspend of £10m from the Waste & resources budget be approved.