Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Councillor Bev Craig (Manchester), Councillor Neil Emmott (Rochdale), Councillor Eleanor Wills (Tameside), Councillor David Molyneux (Wigan) & Harry Catherall (Tameside).

1. That the update on the CSE Assurance Review and the GMP Child Protection Inspection report be received.
2. That it be noted that the GMCA will be writing to the government to push for an extension into February 2025 on the consultation around reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
3. That the update from the Mayor on achievements during 2024 and key aims heading into 2025 be received.

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 at least 48 hours in advance of the start of the meeting.

There were none.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 29 November 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 29 November 2024 be approved.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 27 November 2024.

1. That the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 27 November 2024 be noted.
2. That the update received from Cllr Nadim Muslim on the current work of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee be noted.

To note the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 28 November 2024.

That the minutes of the GMCA Bee Network Committee held on 28 November 2024 be noted.

1.             To appoint 1 GMCA member to the GMCA Standards Committee.

2.             To appoint 1 GMCA member to the Growth Company Board.

3.             To appoint Cllr David Sweeton (Lab) (Tameside) and Cllr Brenda Warrington (Lab) (Tameside) as members and Cllr Charlotte Martin as a substitute member to the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

4.             To appoint Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) as a member of the GM Waste & Recycling Committee.

5.             To appoint Cllr Leanne Feeley (Lab) (Tameside) as a member and Cllr Hugh Roderick(Lab) (Tameside) as a substitute member on the GM Culture & Social Impact Fund Committee.

6.             To appoint Cllr Andrew McClaren (Lab) (Tameside) to the GM Work & Skills Forum.

7.             To appoint Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) to the Green City Region Board.

8.             To note the appointment of Cllr Stephen Homer (Lab) Tameside) as a member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen (Lab) (Tameside) as a substitute member on the Bee Network Committee.

9.             To note the appointment of Cllr Eleanor Wills (Lab) (Tameside) as a member and Cllr Tafheen Sharif (Lab) (Tameside) as the substitute member of the GM Integrated Care Partnership Board.

10.          To note the appointment of Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) as the member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen as the substitute member on the GM Clean Air Charging Authorities Committee.

11.          To note the appointment of Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) as the member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen as the substitute member on the Air Quality Administration Committee.

1.  That Cllr Eleanor Wills be appointed as a GMCA Member to the GMCA Standards Committee.

2.  That Cllr Eleanor Wills be appointed as a GMCA Member to the Growth Company Board.

3.  That Cllr David Sweeton (Lab) (Tameside) and Cllr Brenda Warrington (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed as members and Cllr Charlotte Martin (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed as a substitute member to the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

4.  That Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed as a member of the GM Waste & Recycling Committee.

5.  That Cllr Leanne Feeley (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed as a member and Cllr Hugh Roderick (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed as a substitute member on the GM Culture & Social Impact Fund Committee.

6.  That Cllr Andrew McClaren (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed to the GM Work & Skills Forum.

7.  That Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) be appointed to the Green City Region Board.

8.  That the appointment of Cllr Stephen Homer (Lab) (Tameside) as a member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen (Lab) (Tameside) as a substitute member on the Bee Network Committee be noted.

9.  That the appointment of Cllr Eleanor Wills (Lab) (Tameside) as a member and Cllr Tafheen Sharif (Lab) (Tameside) as the substitute member of the GM Integrated Care Partnership Board be noted.

10.That the appointment of Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) as the member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen as the substitute member on the GM Clean Air Charging Authorities Committee be noted.

11.That the appointment of Cllr Laura Boyle (Lab) (Tameside) as the member and Cllr Jacqueline Owen as the substitute member on the Air Quality Administration Committee be noted.

Report of Kate Green, Deputy Mayor, and City Mayor Paul Dennett, Deputy Mayor & Portfolio Lead for Housing First.

1.      That it be noted that the governance structure had been established to ensure the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GTI) Phase 2 report were being implemented effectively within the city-region.

2.      That the contents of GM Remediation Acceleration Plan, set out in appendix A of the report, be noted.

3.      That further update reports on this work will be submitted to the GMCA in the new year.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, Portfolio Lead for Technical Education, Skills & Work and Councillor Mark Hunter, Portfolio Lead for Children & Young People.

1.    That it be agreed that there should be a greater focus on education in the Greater Manchester Strategy.

2.    That it be agreed that the areas outlined in the report were the priorities for this work.

3.    That it be agreed that work on promoting inclusive mainstream schools, improving attendance, on making GM the best place to teach and on post 16 sufficiency should be taken forward immediately, noting that these areas do not require agreement from central government.

4.    That it be agreed that officers should further develop this proposal, working with the education sector and partners alongside senior officers from LAs. This will include developing proposals which can be taken forward at GM level now and proposing solutions which require national government action.

5.    That the GMCA record its thanks to Tim Bowman, Gemma Marsh and the Education, Work & Skills Team at GMCA for all their work on bringing this together.

6.    That concerns raised about exclusions and pupil referral units be noted, and that work will take place to establish a best way in which all young people in the region can benefit from the best possible education system.

7.    That it be noted that a renewed dedication to improving school readiness was required in the new year.

8.    That consideration would be given to establishing a ‘bank of teachers’ to reduce pressures on schools and dependencies upon agencies in the new year.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.   That the update received on the performance of Greater Manchester’s Transport Network and preparation for completion of bus franchising be noted.

2.   That the GMCA will call for the government to act upon the increasingly poor performance seen across the Greater Manchester and wider national rail network.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.       That it be noted that TfGM were progressing work on the procurement of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under a programme to address current and future energy demand.

2.       That it be noted that the TfGM PPA will function as a pathfinder for future PPAs to encompass the wider GMCA Group and potentially other GM partners.

3.       That the proposed procurement approach for the TfGM Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) project be noted.

4.       That it be noted that a further report will be submitted to the GMCA in Summer 2025, prior to entering into a PPA.

5.       That the GMCA record its thanks to Mark Atherton and the GMCA Environment Directorate for the successful delivery of the 2024 GM Green Summit.

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

1. That the £10.8m allocations to projects identified at Appendix 1, of the report, be approved, subject to further due diligence

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

Report of Gillian Duckworth, Group Solicitor & Monitoring Officer.

1. That the experience of the Covid 19 Pandemic whereby all GMCA meetings were held remotely in considering the response to the Government Consultation be noted.

2. That it be agreed that meetings of the GMCA should normally be held in person but the right to determine whether its meetings or meetings of its various committees were held in person or remotely should rest with the GMCA in order to consider local circumstances and retain flexibility and for this view to be fed back into the consultation.

3.    That the Consultation questions and draft responses, based on feedback from Members, as set out in appendix 1 of the report, be noted and that authority be delegated to the Group Solicitor and Monitoring Officer to finalise the submission, in consultation with the Mayor.

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

1. That a loan facility of up to £9,500,000 to North West Evergreen Limited Partnership be approved.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Group Treasurer in consultation with the Group Solicitor and 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.

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 report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 14 above refers).