Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Sue Johnson (Bolton) (represented by Lee Fallows), Joanne Roney (Manchester) (represented by James Binks) and Tom Stannard (Salford) (represented by John Searle).

1.     That the GMCA welcomes the confirmed adoption of Places for Everyone, recognising the contributions of each of the constituent districts in bringing it to this point.

2.     That infrastructure reports on supporting growth locations be submitted to a future GMCA meeting.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.     That the launch of Tranche 2 of the Bee Network on Sunday 24^th March 2024 be noted.

2.     That the successful launch of Stockport Interchange on Sunday 17^th March 2024 be noted.

3.     That it be ensured that residents were made fully aware of the compensation scheme when moving from individual bus operator fares products to the Bee Network fare structure.

4.     That the Mayor reaffirms his commitment to the introduction of TravelSafe Live Chat as soon as possible.

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 none.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 23 February 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 23 February 2024 be approved as a correct record.

To note the proceedings of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 21 February 2024.

That the proceeding of the meeting of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21 February 2024 be noted.

To note the proceedings of the Bee Network Committee held on 22 February 2024.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the Bee Network Committee held on 22 February 2024 be noted.

To note the proceedings of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 13 March 2024.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 13 March 2024 be noted.

To note the proceedings of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 13 March 2024.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 13 March 2024 be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.          That the recruitment process undertaken be noted.

2.          That the appointment of Caroline Simpson to the role of Group Chief Executive Officer for the GMCA, Fire & TfGM at a salary of £240k per annum, based on the role description attached to this report be approved.

3.          That Caroline Simpson (as the Chief Executive Officer of the GMCA) be designated as the statutory Head of Paid Service for the GMCA in accordance with s4 Local Government & Housing Act 1989.

4.          That Caroline Simpson (as the Chief Executive Officer of the GMCA) be appointed as the Combined Authority Returning Officer for any Combined Authority election taking place after the commencement of her appointment.

5.          That Caroline Simpson be appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer of TfGM (the Transport Executive) and GMCA (the Transport Authority) as the Director General of TfGM in accordance with the provisions of the Transport Act 1968.

6.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Deputy Chief Executive & GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to finalise the terms of the contract and the start date.

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

1.      That the A Bed Every Night budget for 2024/25 (£5,600,000) be approved.

2.      That the intended direction of travel for the ABEN budget for 2025/26 be noted.

3.      That following the last year of the programme there be a review of the year, considering how the activity could be continually built upon.

4.      That the Mayor will raise the importance of changing funding mechanisms to ensure a fair flow to districts with additional burdens when he meets with the Home Secretary.

Report of Councillor Mark Hunter, Portfolio Lead for Children and Young People.

1.   That the positive early signs in relation to compliance with the ‘Greater Manchester Pledge’ as part of an ambition to tackle the issue of high costs and reliance on agency social workers be noted.

2.   That the positive progress towards the establishment of the Greater Manchester Fostering Hub, to be hosted by Rochdale Council, as part of the national Fostering pathfinder, supported by the announcement of a further allocation of funding from DfE to support communications activity over the next 12 months, be noted.

3.   That funding of up to £5m be allocated to acquire properties to be used for Project Skyline. The selection of properties will be determined by the Skyline Board and recommended to the GMCA for acquisition. 

4.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to review and agree the due diligence information and the overall detailed commercial terms of the acquisitions, to sign off any conditions, issue final approvals and complete any documentation in respect of the property acquisitions on behalf of the GMCA, as recommended by the Skyline Board.

5.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to review, agree the content, and sign the Partnership Agreement on behalf of GMCA, noting that GMCA’s role is one of convener, funder, owner and landlord of the properties acquired.

6.   That approval be given for the GMCA to take the lead role in procuring the contract on behalf of the 10 districts but that one of the 10 LAs is named in the contract as the lead Authority and is provided as part of the partnership arrangements with resources to manage the contract on an ongoing basis on behalf of the 10.  That it be noted that contract management will have resource implications which will need to be shared across Local Authorities.

7.   That the current consultation process underway with Locality Boards across Greater Manchester in relation to the development of the ‘Giving every child and young person the best start in life’ part of the GM Integrated Care Partnership Joint Forward Plan, be noted.

Report of Councillor Mark Hunter, Portfolio Lead for Children & Young People.

1.   That the key findings of the 2023 #BeeWell survey results be noted.

2.   That approval be given for members to act on what the data was telling and support the #BeeWell mission to make young people’s wellbeing everybody’s business and that those examples provided in the report to suggest connections to local priorities, ensuring young people’s voices were leading the response be utilised.

3.   That the examples shared where #BeeWell, and the voices of young people, has had impact, locally be received.

4.   That the GMCA record its thanks to Councillor Mark Hunter and the Childrens Board for their work in bringing the survey together.

5.   That approval be given for the valuable ward breakdown data to be made available to individual districts.

Report of Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business & Inclusive Growth and Councillor Arooj Shah, Portfolio Lead for Equalities & Communities.

1.   That the latest assessment and emerging response and views on the next steps in that response be noted.

2.   That the GMCA record its continued concerns around the uncertainty of ongoing Household Support Funding.

3.   That the Deputy Mayors campaign in collaboration with the Co-Operative Group to make violence against retail workers a specific offence be noted.

4.   That Transport for Greater Manchester be requested to remind residents through communications channels of the significant savings that could be made through combined travel mode ticket offers.

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

1.      That the Covenant and the commitments within it be endorsed.

2.      That the GMCA record its thanks to Rabbi Warren Elf for his continued contribution.

3.      That the GMCA record its thanks to Sara Todd as the Chief Executive Lead for the work undertaken on the Covenant.

Report of Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Portfolio Lead for Technical Education & Skills.

1.   That the achievements and performance of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the 2022/2023 academic year, set out in Section 2 be noted.

2.   That the developments and progress of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the current 2023/2024 academic year, set out in Section 3, be noted.

3.   That the proposed indicative devolved AEB allocations and ‘Level 3 Single Pot’ for grant funded and indicative devolved AEB allocations for procured providers for skills provision be approved and that authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer to agree any minor changes that arise during discussions between each institution and GMCA.

4.   That the Level 3 Single Pot commissioning approach be noted and that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM, GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead and Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital to take forward this commissioning, to contract award.

5.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead and Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital, to make decisions relating to the procurement of skills & work delivery utilising any devolved AEB underspend.

6.   That approval be given for support to be continued for the administration and management costs for the 2024/2025 academic year.

7.   That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the proposed indicative devolved AEB allocations, ‘Level 3 Single Pot’ and subsequent expenditure for the GM grant-funded local authorities, and to grant delegated authority to the GMCA Treasurer to approve any minor changes that arise in the course of discussions between each local authority and GMCA.

8.   That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the continuation of the AEB LA Grant Programme to each of the ten local authorities, including varying where necessary levels of funding per local authority.

9.   That the GMCA record its thanks the GMCA Education, Work & Skills Team.

Report of Councillor Nicholas Peel, Portfolio Lead for Digital City Region.

1.      

1.      That the development of the Greater Manchester Smart Decarbonisation Network (GM-SDN) in line with the Memorandum of Agreement between GMCA and DSIT be endorsed.

2.      That support be given to work between local authorities to share learning and where possible identify opportunities to scale the Smart Decarbonisation Network (SDN) and associated outcomes.

3.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Digital City Region, to approve the allocation of funding for partner organisations and any required variations to funding allocations subsequently required to meet the overall project objectives within the defined parameters of the project.

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

1.      That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be received and noted.

2.      That the GMCA record its thanks to the GMCA Finance Team.

3.      That the forecast, as at the end of quarter 3, for 2023/24 business rates income be noted.

4.      That the planned income for 2024/25 be noted.

5.      That the proposed 2024/25 Greater Manchester use of the 2023/24 business rates income be approved.

6.      That the position in respect of the future developments in relation to retained business rates be noted, including

·       Trailblazer Devolution (TDD) 10-year business rates retention scheme.

·       TDD Growth Zones enhanced business rates areas.

·       Investment Zone enhanced business rates areas.

·       GM partial reset

Future approach to GM investment

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

That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy be approved.

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

That the Capital Strategy for 2024/25 be approved.

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

1.      That the publication of a State of Nature Report be noted.

2.      That the progress in developing the Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy be noted.

3.      That the delivery of the Green Spaces Fund be noted.

4.      That the compliance with the Biodiversity Duty be noted.

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

1.          That the commencement of the procurement process for biowaste treatment contracts for the period June 2026 to March 2034 be approved.

2.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Head of Paid Service in consultation with the GMCA Treasurer and the Portfolio Lead for Green City Region, to approve the award of contracts under the biowaste framework.

3.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to complete all necessary legal agreements for the Biowaste treatment contracts.

4.          That approval be given to the market testing exercise as set out in the biowaste strategy at section 4.0.

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

1.          That the extension of the WRMS and HWRCMS contracts for waste disposal between the parties set out in section 1 of the report from 2026 to 2034 be approved.

2.             That the completion of contract documentation be delegated to the  GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, in consultation with to the Executive Director, Waste and Resources.

3.             That the concerns raised about the landfill site at Pilsworth South be noted and that the resolution of the issue be considered a highest level priority due to ongoing health concerns raised by residents.

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

1.      That the Lease renewal for accommodation within the Tootal Buildings to be occupied by the GMCA on a 10-year term with 5-year break option as per the terms set out in the corresponding Part B report be approved.

2.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer and GMCA Treasurer to finalise the terms and complete the lease and any related documents required to give effect to this decision.

Report of Councillor Gerald Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

That the report be noted.

Report of Councillor Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

That the Greater Manchester Housing Delivery Plan, as set out in this document and the Implementation Plan as set out in Annex 1, be approved.

Report of Councillor Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

1.      That approval be given for a £5m loan into a newly created Greater Manchester Key Worker Fund, to be managed by Places for People’s investment arm – Thriving Investments Limited.

2.      That the use of £2m to refinance the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund investment from Hive Homes (Greater Manchester) LLP be approved.

3.      That the proposed £0.5m equity investment to Step Places for the third phase of the Bolton Moor Lane development be approved.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation  with the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

Report of Councillor Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

1.      That the GMHILF loans, detailed in the table below, be approved, as detailed further in this and the accompanying Part B report. The recommendation is to approve as a cap on lending, with the Combined Authority committing to provide £120m across the two schemes and having the option to provide a further £20m if there was surplus funding available.

2.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer to change the funding source of GMHILF loans into the Brownfield Housing Fund in advance of 31 March 2024.

3.      That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer GMCA & TfGM, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Housing, to approve funding and urgent variations to existing funding for GMHILF, City Deal Receipts and/or the Brownfield Housing Fund funding in the period 22 March 2024 to 31 May 2024.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

5.      That it be noted that any recommendations approved under the delegation will be reported to the next available meeting of the GMCA.

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

1.      That the proposed follow-on equity investment of up to £300k to The Modular Analytics Company Limited be approved.

2.      That the capital loan of up to £2.6m to Glenbrook Industrial Limited be approved.

3.      That amendments to the £650k loan in place with FM Outsource Limited be approved.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & 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.

5.      That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM and the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Investment and Resources, to approve projects for funding and agree urgent variations to the terms of funding in the period 22 March 2024 to 30 May 2024.

6.      That it be noted that any recommendations approved under the delegation will be reported to the next available meeting of the GMCA.

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.

PART B

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

That the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 22 above refers).

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

That the report be noted.

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

Report of Councillor Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

That the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 26 above refers).

Report of Councillor Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Housing.

That the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 27 above refers).

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

That the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 28 above refers).