Agenda and decisions

1. That the appointment of Carlos Meakin as the new Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service be noted and welcomed.

2. That the GMCA record its thanks to the outgoing Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Ben Norman, for his considerable contributions to the work of Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.

3. That the GMCA records its support for all individuals impacted by the announcement that Sky was planning to close three call centre sites in the UK, including Stockport, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.

4. That the Mayor of Greater Manchester will work with the Leader of Stockport Council and relevant officers to arrange a meeting with Sky’s leadership to discuss their rationale, explore any possible alternatives, and ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities to their employees and the GM community.

5. That the GMCA record its thanks and best wishes to Councillor Mark Hunter, following the announcement that he intends to stand down as the Leader of Stockport Council at the end of May 2025.

6. That the GMCA record its thanks and best wishes to Steven Rumbelow following his retirement as the Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council.

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 meeting held on 7 February 2025.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 7 February 2025 be approved as a correct record.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 26 February 2025.

That the proceeding of the meeting of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 26 February 2025 be noted.

To note the minutes of the Bee Network committee held on 27 February 2025.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the Bee Network Committee held on 27 February 2025 be noted

To note the minutes of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee minutes held on 12 March 2025.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 12 March 2024 be noted.

To note the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 18 March 2025.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 19 March 2025 be noted.

The GMCA is recommended to:

·       Note the Councillor Jackie Schofield as the GMCA substitute member to Councillor Nick Peel (Bolton).

·       Appoint Councillor Jacqueline Owen as a member of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

·       Appoint Councillor Sangita Patel as substitute member of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

·       Appoint Councillor Helen Foster Grime to the GM Culture & Social Impact Fund Committee.

·       Appoint Councillor Sean Fielding to the GM Homelessness Board.

·       Appoint Councillor Helen Foster Grime as a substitute member on the GM Homelessness Programme Board.

1.      That the appointment of Councillor Jackie Schofield as the GMCA substitute member to Councillor Nick Peel (Bolton) be noted.

2.      That Councillor Jacqueline Owen (Tameside) be appointed as a member of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

3.      That Councillor Sangita Patel (Tameside) be appointed as a substitute member of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

4.      That Councillor Helen Foster-Grime (Stockport) be appointed to the GM Culture & Social Impact Fund Committee.

5.      That Councillor Sean Fielding (Bolton) be appointed to the GM Homelessness Board.

6.      That Councillor Helen Foster-Grime (Stockport) be appointed as a substitute member of the GM Homelessness Programme Board.

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 to act on what the data is telling us and support the #BeeWell mission to make young people’s wellbeing everybody’s business. Support the development of an action plan to improve young people’s wellbeing, across the city region and into localities and neighbourhoods.  Utilise the insights to inform future policy, including our ambitions to create a stronger education system. 

3.                     That GM Local Authorities be requested to celebrate the improvement of young people’s wellbeing by sharing a quote or short video clip to beewell@manchester.ac.uk highlighting how you are supporting young people in Greater Manchester to #BeeWell.

4.                     That it be noted that the dashboard breaking down details by neighbourhood will be published on 4^th April 2025.

5.                     That the GMCA record Councillor Mark Hunter thanks to the Children & Young People’s Team at the GMCA for their support to him as portfolio lead over the past two years.

6.                     That it be noted that the findings will be helpful to Councillor Arooj Shah in her role as the national Chair on the LGA Children & Young People’s Board.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.                     That the performance of Greater Manchester’s Transport Network be noted.

2.                     That the GMCA record its thanks to the team at TfGM for the delivery of the ‘Pay and Go’ scheme from 23^rd March, concluding a successful phase 1 launch of the Bee Network.

3.                     That it be noted that a significant agreement has been reached with Greater Manchester Police on the introduction a TravelSafe Live Chat from Autumn 2025.

4.                     That minimum models of service for Partington and other areas traditionally underserved by transport networks in the region will be considered as part of the network review.

5.                     That it be noted that within the first 4 days of operation, the ‘Pay and Go’ system had seen 120,000 customers take advantage of the scheme.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.                     That the content of the consultation and how it related to Greater Manchester’s ambitions for rail be noted.

2.                     That the outline GMCA response to the consultation, and the proposed approach for developing the response further be endorsed.

3.                     That authority be delegated to the Group Chief Executive, in consultation with the GM Mayor, to finalise and submit a response to the consultation.

4.                     That all GM MPs would be asked to support the lobbying of government on rail reform in the region.

5.                     That the Group Chief Executive will seek agreement on the transfer of rail land to TfGM for regeneration as part of the Task and Finish Group.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.                     That the approach to the use of integrated settlement flexibilities within 2025/26 be approved.

2.                     That the approach to virement of integrated settlement (under GMCA constitution scheme of delegation) be approved

3.                     That a further report be submitted to the GMCA in due course.

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

That the approach to allocations to programmes formerly funded through UKSPF for 2025/26 under the Local Growth and Place pillar of Integrated Settlement and the proposed allocations and proposals, as set out in the report, be approved.

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

1.                           That the procurement of a similar service to the current Working Well: IPSPC programme for 2025/26, on the basis set out in this report, be approved.

2.                          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Chief Executive Portfolio Lead and Portfolio Leader for Technical Education, Work & Skills, to approve the award of the new contract and any post-award variations to the contract including approving any extensions provided for in the contract.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

That the use of £5m to create an implementation support fund, as set out in paragraph 4, including the flow of investment into localities, noting the specific deliverables identified in the report, be approved.

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

1.                          That approval be given to the proposed funding allocations and administration arrangements as set out in the report, for the following programmes:

•            Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant

•            Rough Sleeping Accommodation Grant

•            A Bed Every Night

•            GM Housing First/RSAP Programme

•            Youth Homelessness Prevention Pathfinder

2.                          That the current position in relation to the GM Community Accommodation Tier 3 programme be noted.

3.                          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Group Chief Finance Officer to determine the final allocations to the projects, referred to in Tables 5) and 6) in the report, in the event that the additional required funding referred to in paragraph 5.10 becomes available.

4.                          That the comments raised by the GM Overview & Scrutiny Committee be supported and that officers be requested to consider how these recommendations could be incorporated into the Live Well model given the funding implications.

That it was noted that the Rough Sleeper Allocation Grant was currently underperforming and that consideration may want to be given to secure improved and faster results.

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

1.           That the achievements and performance of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the 2023/2024 academic year, set out in Section 2 of the report, be noted.

2.           That the developments and progress of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the current 2024/2025 academic year, set out in Section 3 of the report, be noted.

3.           That the approach towards integration, as set out in Section 5 of the report, be noted.

4.           That approval be given to the indicative 2025/2026 academic year GM Adult Skills allocations for grant funded and procured providers and that delegated authority be granted to the Group Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Chief Executive Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital, to agree any minor changes that arise during discussions between each institution / organisation and GMCA, set out in Section 4 of the report.

5.           That authority be delegated to thethe Group Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Chief Executive Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital, to make decisions relating to commissioning and procurement of skills & work delivery during the 2025/2026 academic year utilising existing adult skills funding and any adult skills reserves, set out in Section 4 of the report.

6.           That support for the administration and management costs for the 2025/2026 academic year, be approved.

7.           That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the proposed indicative 2025/2026 academic year GM Adult Skills allocations for grant funded Local Authorities and to grant delegated authority to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Chief Executive Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital, to agree any minor changes that arise during discussions between each institution and GMCA, set out in Section 4 of the report.

7. That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the continuation of the Adult Skills LA Grant Programme to each of the ten local authorities for the 2025/2026 academic year.

That the GMCA record its thanks to Gemma Marsh for all her considerable work on leading the skills landscape in GM.

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

1.           That the forecast, as at the end of quarter 3, for 2024/25 business rates income be noted.

2.           That the planned income for 2025/26 be noted.

1.                 That the proposed 2025/26 GM use of the 2024/25 business rates income be approved.

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

·      National business rates reset

·      GM partial reset

·      Approach to the use of income secured through the enhanced business rates retention zones

·      Alignment of future business rates income with the GMCA Integrated Settlement

That the comments raised by the GM Overview & Scrutiny Committee be received.

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 for 2025/26 be approved.

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

That the Capital Strategy for 2025/26 be approved.

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

That the forecast position at 31^st December 2024 be noted.

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

1.                          That the creation of a Net Zero Housing Retrofit Framework Agreement be noted and that its use be promoted.

2.                          That it be noted that the sustainability assessment identified numerous long term positive impacts on health, wellbeing, jobs and skills as well as carbon reduction through the increase in home energy efficiency and reduction in fuel poverty.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy.

1.      That the Mayor undertaking a consultation exercise in respect of the designation of a Mayoral Development Corporation for Northern Gateway (Chapter 4) be endorsed.

2.      That it be noted that a further report setting out the outcome of the consultation will be submitted to the GMCA.

3.      That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the undertaking of a consultation exercise in respect of the designation of a Mayoral Development Corporation for Northern Gateway.

4.      That Transport for Greater Manchester would be requested to accelerate the Tram/Train Pathfinder to support the business case for Atom Valley and the Northern Gateway MDC.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy.

1.                               That the proposal for contact to be made with the relevant Government department to outline proposals for the expansion of the Stockport Mayoral development area and obtain support for the proposed process for expansion, as set out in this report, be approved.

2.                               That the proposal to undertake a consultation on expanding the Mayoral development area covered by Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation from the area ‘Stockport Town Centre West’ to include the area ‘Stockport Town Centre East’ (see Appendix One), enabling it to become the delivery vehicle for housing-led regeneration across the entirety of Stockport town centre be endorsed.

3.                               That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the undertaking of a consultation exercise, as described above and in the report.

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

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

1.         That an equity investment of £125,000 to Wi-Q Limited, approved under delegation be noted.

2.         That authority be delegated to the Group Chief Finance Officer and Group Solicitor and 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 loans, to sign off any outstanding conditions, issue final approvals and complete any necessary related documentation in respect of the loans noted above.

3.         That authority be delegated to the Group Chief Executive Officer, and Group Finance Officer, 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 29 March 2025 to 29 May 2025.

4.         That it be noted that any recommendations that are approved under the delegation will be reported to the next available meeting of the Combined Authority