Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received from Councillor Eamonn O’Brien (Bury), Councillor Arooj Shah (Oldham), Councillor David Molyneux (Wigan), Caroline Simpson (Stockport), Sandra Stewart (Tameside) and Councillor Nadim Muslim (Chair of the GM Overview & Scrutiny Committee).

That the GMCA acknowledges the sad passing of Sam Malik, a valued member of the Manchester Music Commission, and that condolences be passed on to his family, friends and the wider Manchester music community impacted by this.

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 interest made in relation to any item on the agenda.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 9 February 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 9 February 2024 be approved as a correct record.

To note the proceedings of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 7 February 2024.

That the minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 7 February 2024 be received.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1. That the contents of the report be noted.

2. That the update on the ‘Unbroken Cities’ network plans to support the Mayor of Lviv on the development of a rehabilitation centre be received.

3. That the GMCA endorses the following statement:

• The Holodomor was an act of genocide against Ukrainians in 1932-33.
• The GMCA recognises the 4th Saturday of November as a day of remembrance for the innocent victims of the Holodomor.

Report of Deputy Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Homelessness.

1. That the unprecedented levels of homelessness and rough sleeping among new refugees in Greater Manchester, the linked service pressures and the opportunities for improvements to our service offer to this cohort, now and in the longer-term be noted.

2. That support be given to efforts to secure additional funds to boost Voluntary Community Faith Social Enterprise (VCFSE) provision for this cohort, with a focus on prevention and Private Rented Sector (PRS) access, and ensure that Housing Options and homelessness teams support delivery of GMCA-commissioned services.

3. That the continued or additional investment in capacity for specialist frontline support for people in or leaving the asylum system, especially across homelessness, social services, education teams, using current and future (potential) Asylum Dispersal Grant funding be considered.

4. That support be given for continued engagement with national Government and efforts to evidence and communicate impacts on people, services and communities are visible more widely.

5. That support be given to shared key policy asks in order to:

6. That the update received on the ongoing significant pressures placed upon local authorities in meeting homelessness need as a result of failures in national migration and asylum policy be noted.

Report of Councillor Nick Peel, Portfolio Lead for Digital.

1.    That the significant issues in telecare arising from the PSTN switchover rollout be noted.

2.    That support be given to further action including correspondence with Government to urge action in response to the current risk to adults, and to develop a funded National Action Plan that includes telecare switchover working with telecommunications providers, the telecare industry and the LGA.

3.    That the establishment of the GM PSTN Working Group as a forum to assess the readiness of GM for the switch over, share best practice and bring forward significant issues as they arise be noted.

4.    That it be noted that there has been an exchange of letters between the Mayor and DSIT Secretary of State in December 2023 and January 2024 regarding increasing concerns of the PSTN switchover.

5.    That it be noted that a further paper would be brought back to the GMCA asking the government for an extension to the switchover deadline.

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

1. That the refreshed Greater Manchester Age-Friendly Strategy be approved.

2. That the comments received from Nakib Narat, the Chair of the GM Older People’s Equality Panel, be noted.

3.      That thanks be expressed to all political and officer leads for their considerable work on developing the refreshed Strategy.

Report of Councillor Tom Ross, Portfolio Lead for Green City Region.

1. That the update on Innovate UK funding and the opportunity to deliver a Net Zero Accelerator be noted.

2. That approval be given to GMCA submitting a business case and acting as the accountable body for a circa £6-7m award from Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) potentially via Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, with delegated authority to the Lead Portfolio holder, Chief Executive and Treasurer to finalise the business case, receive and defray funding if successful.

Report of Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy & Business.

1.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Chief Executive Officer and Treasurer, in consultation with the Economy Portfolio Chief Executive and Leader, to negotiate with Government project allocations in 2024-25.

2.      That a further update will be provided to the GMCA, following Ministerial approval, confirming the project allocations in 2024-25, and overall indicative allocations across the programme as a whole be noted.

3.      That the further detail sought by members on the GM Investment Zone Package be made available at the appropriate time.

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

1.    That an equity investment of up to £500k to Advanced Therapeutic Materials Ltd be approved.

2.    That a convertible loan of up to £400k to Financielle Ltd be approved.

3.    That a loan of up to £300k to Home Global Holdings Ltd be approved.

4.    That authority be delegated to the Combined Authority Treasurer and Combined Authority Monitoring Officer to review the due diligence information in respect of the above investments, and, subject to their satisfactory review and agreement of the due diligence information and the overall detailed commercial terms of the investments, to sign off any outstanding conditions, issue final approvals and complete any necessary related documentation in respect of the investments noted above.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.       That the progress towards the implementation of Tranche 2 of bus franchising be noted.

2.       That the update received on the Bee Network Night Bus Pilot be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1. Thatthe outcome of the process to procure a preferred service provider to operate the Hyde Road, Sharston, Stockport, Tameside and Wythenshawe Large Local Service Contracts in Sub-Area C of the Scheme be noted and agreed.

2. That the proposed key contractual arrangements of the Hyde Road, Sharston, Stockport, Tameside and Wythenshawe Large Local Service Contracts be noted.

3. That the comments of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee be received and noted.

4. That the update received on the proposal for a contactless rail pilot scheme to take place within Greater Manchester in 2025 be noted.

5. That it be noted that the new Stockport Interchange will officially be opened on 17^th March.

6.      That it be noted that a new fleet of electric buses will operate out of South Manchester from November 2024, ahead of Tranche 3 going live in early 2025.

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 Councillor David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Resources & Investment.

That the contents of the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report in Part A of the agenda (Item 12 above refers).

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.    That the comments received from the GM Overview & Scrutiny Committee be noted.

2.    That the recommendations within the report be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the recommendations within the report be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the recommendations within the report be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the recommendations within the report be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the recommendations within the report be approved.