Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received from Councillor Eamonn O’Brien (Bury), Councillor Gerald Cooney (Tameside), Steve Rumbelow (Rochdale) & Alison McKenzie-Folan (Wigan). 

1. That an update following the publication of the Grenfell Tower Report, including the plans for addressing the 59 actions within it be received and that  an implementation plan be submitted to a future meeting of the GMCA for consideration. 

2. That the appointment of Huw Merriman, as the Chair of the Liverpool Manchester Railway Partnership Board be noted.. 

3. That the update on the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force and the opportunities that lie within it be received. 

4. That the update on the amendments to Leaders Portfolios be received. 

5. That the GMCA will liaise with Tameside to ask for further clarity around recent changes to the Pension Fund’s governance arrangements.

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 in advance of the  meeting.

That Mayor Andy Burnham registers an interest on Item 20 (Q1 Capital Funding) in relation to LEVI funding.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the meeting of the GMCA held on 12 July 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 12^th July 2024 be approved as a correct record.

1.      To approve the minutes of the meeting of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 17 July 2024.

2.      To approve the appointment of Councillor Alan Quinn as the Chair of the Waste & Recycling Committee for 2024/25 year.

3.      To approve the appointment of Councillor Steve Adshead as Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Waste and Recycling Committee for 2024/25.   

1.   That the minutes of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 17 July 2024 be approved.

2.   That the appointment of Councillor Alan Quinn as the Chair of the Waste & Recycling Committee for 2024/25 year be approved.

3.   That the appointment of Councillor Steve Adshead as Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Waste and Recycling Committee for 2024/25 be approved.

To approve the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 22 March & 12 July 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee meetings held on 22 March & 12 July 2024 be approved.

A.     To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 24 July & 14 August 2024.

B.     To consider the contents of the Overview & Scrutiny Annual Report.

1. That the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 24 July & 14 August 2024 be noted.

2. That the update from Councillor Nadim Muslim, Chair of Overview & Scrutiny, be received.

3. That contents of the Overview & Scrutiny Annual Report be noted.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 31 July 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 31 July 2024 be noted.

To note the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 27 June & 25 July 2024.

That the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 27 June & 25 July 2024 be noted.

Report of Gillian Duckworth, GMCA Monitoring Officer & Solicitor.

1.      That the nomination to the Integrated Care Partnership Board be withdrawn from the agenda.

2.      That the appointment of Councillor Paul Heilbron (Salford) as the member and Councillor Jonathan Moore (Salford) as the substitute member on the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee for 2024/25 be approved.

3.      That the appointment of Councillor Nathan Evans (Trafford), Councillor David Tilbrook (Tameside) and Councillor Diane Wiliamson (Oldham) as substitute members on the Bee Network Committee for 2024/25 be approved.

4.      That the appointment of Councillor Tony Davies (Salford), to the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee replacing Councillor Joshua Brooks (Salford) be approved.

5.      That the appointment of Councillor Martin Donaghy (Bolton) to the GMCA Homelessness Board be approved.

6.      That the appointment of Councillor Jake Austin (Stockport) as a member and Councillor Joshua Charters (Oldham) as a substitute member on the Police, Crime & Fire Panel be noted.

7.      That the appointment of Councillor David Chadwick (Bolton), Councillor Jake Austin (Stockport) as members of the Police, Crime & Fire Steering Group and the appointment of Councillor Steve Gribbon as a substitute member of the Police, Crime & Fire Steering Group be noted.

Report of City Mayor, Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First and Councillor Tom Ross, Portfolio Lead for Green City Region.

1.    That the Business Plan for the Integrated Water Management Plan to 31 March 25 (Annex A) be approved.

2.    That the existing budget allocation 2024-2026 be noted.

3.    That the national announcements be noted, as contained with paragraph 1.12-1.13 of the report be noted

4.    That the progress and outputs from the 1^st Annual Business Plan, as contained within paragraphs 2.1–2.2 of the report be noted.

5.    That the verbal update received from the Environment Agency be received.

6.    That the verbal update received from United Utilities on the Integrated Water Management Plan and the work taking place to address ongoing sewage overflow issues be received.

7.    That closer integration of blue light services into the Integrated Water Management Plans be progressed.

8.    That closer integration with neighbouring authorities be progressed on cross boundary issues, including the future management of assets such as reservoirs, which have a direct impact on Greater Manchester.

9.     That a report on the potential pipeline for investment be submitted to a future meeting of the GMCA.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.   That the introduction of an Annual Bee Bus Ticket priced at £800 be approved.

2.   That the introduction of a TfGM scheme with local Credit Unions, from January 2025, to improve access to annual bus tickets be endorsed.

3.   That the continuation of the Bee Network Recompense Scheme for Tranche 3 bus customers be approved.

4.   That the introduction of multi modal ‘pay as you go’ (PAYG) contactless ticketing and capped fares across bus and tram in March 2025 be approved.

5.   That the potential go live dates for the ‘pay as you go’ scheme of either 16^th or 23^rd March 2025 be acknowledged.

6.   That the plans to provide an update on the annual review of the Capped Fares Scheme and proposed next steps be noted.

7.   That the potential extension of the Care Leavers scheme, from aged 21 to aged 25, from April 2025 be noted.

8.   That the GMCA acknowledges the achievements of the Bee Network bus integration following the first anniversary of the tranche 1 go live date.

9.   That the verbal updates provided by SM Credit Union and Unify on the work of GM’s 14 credit unions be received.

10.   That GM Leaders be requested to actively promote the Annual Bus Ticket Credit Scheme and information relating to local credit unions to all of their staff members.

Report of City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1.       That the launch of the Housing First Unit be welcomed, that the proposed Housing First vision for Greater Manchester be approved, and that support be given for a programme of engagement with the government, private sector and broader stakeholders to gain support and contribution to the necessary radical actions.

2.       That commitment be given to an ambition to drive forward growth and increase housing supply by delivering 75,000 new homes in the current Parliament, including 10,000 Truly Affordable Net Zero (TANZ) homes, subject to necessary support from Government.

3.       That the potential for GM Housing Investment Loan Fund surpluses to significantly assist in work to deliver the Housing First vision be noted.

Report of City Mayor, Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1. That the 6-point GM Temporary Accommodation Action Plan be approved.

2. That the financial outputs of the data analysis exercise be noted.

3. That the Influencing Priorities, described in section 4 of the report, as a starting point for dialogue with government be endorsed.

4. That the GM Out of Borough Protocol be approved.

5. That the GMCA record its thanks to the GMCA team for the work undertaken on providing the evidence base and proactive work to inform the development of the regional action plan.

6.    That the GMCA Treasurer be requested to undertake analysis of the potential for reducing, through government support, the £75m pressure currently faced by GM authorities on temporary accommodation.

Report of City Mayor Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1. That the £11.1m allocations to projects identified in the “2024/25 Reallocations” schedule be approved.

2. That approval be given to the £10.2m allocations to projects identified in the “2024/25 In-principle Reallocations” schedule, subject to successful due diligence being completed.

3.    That the variations to projects detailed in Appendix 2 of the report, be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1. That the draft Atom Valley MDZ Business Plan 2024 - 2025 be approved.

2. That a further report be submitted to the GMCA on the Atom Valley Mayoral Development Zone following the outcome of the Spending Review.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.      That the importance of the rail network for GM and unlocking future economic growth be noted.

2.      That the government’s plans for rail reform and ongoing GM engagement with Shadow Great British Railways.

3.      That further engagement with HMG, rail partners and others to explore and influence legislative and structural options that would achieve GM ambitions be approved.

4.      That the update received following the consideration of this item at the GM Overview & Scrutiny Committee be received.

5.      That TfGM be requested to consider provisional timelines for the integration of the eight nominated rail lines into the wider Bee Network.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.      That the update from the DfT Outline Business Case review and associated risks highlighted be noted.

2.      That the proposals for securing the land interests required to deliver the scheme as set out within this report be noted.

3.      That TfGM securing the required land interests in accordance with the agreed programme budgets be approved.

4.      That the submission of a planning application for the scheme and the preparation of the CPO and supporting documentation including issuing Land Interest Questionnaires to affected landowners be approved.

5.      That the entering into of any ancillary agreements required to achieve the scheme objectives be approved.

6.      That the importance of ensuring all railway stations on the 8 rail lines, identified for integration within the wider Bee Network, be fully accessible be endorsed.

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

1.      That the proposed award of the Working Well: Work and Health Programme contract on the basis set out in the report be approved.

2.      That the proposed Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care 12-month contract extension and increase in value on the basis set out in this Report be approved.

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

1.  That the current 2024/25 forecast of £636.3m compared to the 2024/25 budget of £685.2m and approve changes to the capital programme as set out in the report be noted.

2.  That the addition of £3.8m to the 2024/25 GMCA Capital Programme from an extension to the fourth round of the Active Travel Fund (ATF4) award as outlined in section 2.6.1 be approved.

3.  That the addition to the capital programme of £16.2m of Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding to deliver local, on-street charging infrastructure across Greater Manchester and to accelerate the commercialisation of, and investment in, the local charging infrastructure sector be approved.

4.  That the addition to the capital programme of £4.8m of Investment Zone grant funding to support the development of high-potential clusters identified as Investment Zones with a focus on developing Advanced Manufacturing & Materials be approved.

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

1.          That the forecast position at 30^th June 2024 be noted.

2.          That an increase to the Mayoral budget of £357k funded from Mayoral reserves towards spend on mayoral priorities (para 3.2) be approved.

3.          That an increase to the revenue grant to Transport for Greater Manchester of £3m funded from DfT devolved BSOG grant for tendered services (para. 6.5) be approved.

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

1.      That the annual treasury management report for 2023/24 be noted.

Report of City Mayor, Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1.      That a variation to the terms of the GM Housing Investment Loans Fund loan detailed in the table below, as detailed further in this and the accompanying Part B report be approved.

2.      That authority be delegated the GMCA Treasurer acting in consultation with the GMCA Monitoring Officer to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

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

1.      That an equity investment of £50,000 to NeuWave Technologies Limited be approved.

2.      That an equity investment of £50,000 to Verciti Ltd be approved.

3.      That an equity investment of £50,000 to H2Origin Ltd be approved.

4.      That the changes to the terms of the existing loan to Holiferm Ltd in line with the update provided in the confidential part of the agenda be approved.

5.      That an equity investment of up to £750k to Watercycle Technologies Limited, approved under delegation be noted.

6.      That amendments to the terms of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce loan in line with the update provided in the confidential part of the agenda be noted.

7.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Monitoring Officer to review the due diligence information in respect of the above loans, 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 and loans noted above.

8.      That a fuller discussion of the potential of the Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Investment Loans Fund be held at a future 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.

Report of City Mayor, Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1.              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 David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead Resources & Investment.

1.  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 24 above refers).