Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received and noted from Councillor Arooj Shah (Oldham), Councillor Eleanor Wills (Tameside), Lynne Ridsdale (Bury), Shelley Kipling (Oldham), James Binks (Rochdale) & Melissa Caslake (Salford).

That Councillor Mark Roberts be welcomed to his first meeting of the GCMA as the Leader of Stockport 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 at least 48 hours before the start of the meeting.

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 28 March 2025.

That the the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 28 March 2025 be approved as a correct record.

To approve the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 7 February and 28 March 2025.

That the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee meetings held on 7 February & 28 March 2025 be approved as a correct record.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 26 March and 9 April 2025.

That the proceeding of the meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 26 March and 9 April 2025 be noted.

To note the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 27 March 2025.

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

A)     To note the appointment of Councillor Mark Roberts (Stockport) to the GMCA.

B)      The GMCA is requested to appoint the Mayor of Greater Manchester to the Transport for the North Board, the Rail North Committee and the General Purposes Committee.

C)      The GMCA is requested to appoint Eamonn O’Brien as substitute member to the Transport for the North Board, the Rail North Committee and the General Purposes Committee.

D)     Appointment of Independent Members of the GMCA Audit Committee

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

1.         That the appointment of Councillor Mark Roberts (Stockport) to the GMCA be noted.

2.         That the Mayor of Greater Manchester be appointed to the Transport for the North Board, the Rail North Committee and the General Purposes Committee.

3.         That Councillor Eamonn O’Brien be appointed as the substitute member to the Transport for the North Board, the Rail North Committee and the General Purposes Committee

4.         That the appointment of Mr Paul Stone and Mrs Jackie Njoroge as Independent Members of the GMCA Audit Committee be approved, subject to the completion of required pre-employment checks, with immediate effect.

Report of Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Safer , Stronger Communities.

1.         That the report and GMFRS Fire Plan 2025-2029, found at Appendix A be noted.

2.         That the GMFRS Fire Plan 2025-2029 and the formal launch and publication activities be endorsed.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester and  Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester for Safer & Stronger Communities.

1.    That the contents of the initial review findings be noted.

2.    That the recommended 3 phased approach to implementing an integrated 11^th District to police the transport network be supported.

3.    That the programme for phase 1, including a dedicated TravelSafe LiveChat facility be noted, with further consideration of funding requirements to be considered as part of the programme.

4.    That the signing of the safety charter for food delivery courier companies be noted.

5.    That it be noted that the Vision Zero Conference would be taking place on 25^th June 2025.

6.    That all GM Local Authorities be requested to disseminate information around TravelSafe LiveChat as it moves towards full mobilisation.

Report of Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth.

1.      That GM’s ambitious plans for growth and the work underway to develop an Integrated Pipeline as a key tool for supporting delivery and investment be noted.

2.      That the progress being made to scale up delivery across GM, including the plans being progressed for the GM Development Forum, GM Skills Academy and GM Delivery Vehicles to accelerate development be noted.

3.      That the launch of the initial version of GM’s Integrated Pipeline through the MappingGM platform, providing residents and business with key information about plans for growth be noted.

4.      That the further development of the Integrated Pipeline to support GM’s growth ambitions and meet the objectives and purpose, as set out in this report, be approved.

5.      That it be noted that GM Development Forum insight sessions, considering a number of development topics, such as affordable housing and net zero, will be planned in across the year.

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

1.  That the overall vision of a GM AI Demonstrator region be approved, in principle.

2.  That the contribution of a range of stakeholders in shaping this report be acknowledged and it be noted that further consultation and co-design with partners and interested parties will take place over the coming weeks and months.

3.  That the creation of a GM AI Data and Innovation Office (ADIO),  to be supported by £500,000 from GMCA reserves led by GMCA Digital in 2025/26, be approved.

4.  That members note the importance of capturing the wider public significance of AI developments.

5.  That the development of opportunities to create educational and vocational courses via the Raspberry Pi Foundation MBacc partnership be noted.

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

1.  That the Annual Business Plan (2025-26) and strategic priorities for the Integrated Water Management Plan (Annex A) be approved.

2.  That the headline investments from United Utilities, including their approach to the Advanced Water Industry National Environment Programme (AWINEP) (Annex B), be noted.

3.  That the lessons learnt from the integrated response implemented following flooding at Platt Bridge and Hindley, Wigan, on New Year’s Day and applicability to other areas at risk of flooding be noted.

4.  That the review of early warning systems for flood incidents be noted.

5.  That the strategic asks of Government (Annexes C and D) be noted.

6.  That the importance of integration across all partner agencies in preparing for, and responding to, flooding issues be highlighted, particularly the need for transparent plans with clear lines of responsibility and accountability.

7.  That the update from the MP for Leigh & Atherton on work taking place in the locality to continually push for an adequate response to address flooding incidents at Platt Bridge and Hindley be noted.

8.  That the GMCA record its thanks to the MP for Leigh & Atherton and all residents across GM impacted by the New Year flooding incidents for their work with partners to hold the relevant bodies to account.

9.  That the reflections of GMFRS on the response to the New Year flooding incidents across GM be received.

10.  That it be noted that a round table event was being scheduled for early July to which all national and local partners agencies would be invited.

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

1.  That option 6, as the preferred methodology for use of a £10m grant from the Department for Education (“DfE”), to enable Local Authorities to ensure sufficient and appropriate education and training places are available for 16–19-year-olds in Greater Manchester be approved.

2.  That the approach to using £10M of recycled Local Growth Fund (LGF) as additionality to the DfE funding as part of a strategic approach to ensuring sufficient education and training places are available to young people be approved.

3.  That authority be delegated to the Group Chief Finance Officer to make the final allocations and grant awards in consultation with the Portfolio Lead and Lead Chief Executive.

4.  That the GMCA record its thanks to the Department of Education for the £10m grant funding.

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

1.      That the allocation of £14,866,624 to all ten Greater Manchester local authorities, as set out in section 3 of the report, for the purposes of delivering the Community Accommodation Service (Tier 3) programme, be approved.

2.      That, subject to the approval of the proposed grant allocations, as outlined in section 3 of the report, it be noted that the Group Chief Finance Officer has the necessary delegations to facilitate the entering into of the required grant agreements with Local Authorities.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the contents of the report be noted.

2.  That the final School Travel Strategy and the adoption of the vision of wanting more young people to choose to walk, wheel, scoot, cycle and use public transport to travel to school and access further education be approved.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.      That the proposed approach to the re-procurement of the Small Franchise Agreements and extensions to the School Franchise Agreements be noted.

2.      That the completion of the consultation process on the proposed variation to the Franchising Scheme be noted.

3.      That the report “Bus Franchising – Report on Mobilisation Period Consultation”, attached as Appendix 2, and conclusions be endorsed.

4.      That the Mayor be recommended to vary the Franchising Scheme in the manner proposed and as attached at Appendix 1 to the report submitted.

5.      That when the Mayor has decided whether or not to vary the Franchising Scheme, that the following be agreed:

o   to adopt and publish this report and its appendices as its response to the consultation, together with the Mayor’s decision, as the report to be published by the GMCA under section 123(M)(8) of the Act;

o   to give notice of this report to the traffic commissioner in accordance with section 123G(2) of the Act; and

o   to give notice of the decision to the traffic commissioner in accordance under section 123(M)(2) of the Act.

6.      That the links into the GM Good Employment Charter be noted.

Report of Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy, Business and Inclusive Growth.

1.      That the creation of an MDC for Middleton Town Centre be approved, in principle.

2.      That GMCA officers be requested to explore with Rochdale Council, detailed options for an MDC to be created for Middleton Town Centre, with a view to a further report being submitted to the GMCA in due course.

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

That the contents of the report be noted.

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

1.      That an investment of up to £750,000 to Black Bull Biochar Ltd be approved.

2.      That an amendment to a loan provided to HM Pasties Ltd be approved.

3.      That the approval of a loan of £500,000 to Heyside Plastics Limited, an investment of £250,000 to PhovIR Technologies Limited and an investment of £250,000 to CAGE Technologies Ltd, provided under the delegated authority process be noted.

4.      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 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 these.

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 20 above refers).