Agenda and decisions

That apologies be received from Councillors Mark Hunter (Stockport) and Arooj Shah (Oldham).

1. That the GMCA record its thanks and well wishes to outgoing Leaders and GMCA members; Councillor Amanda Chadderton and Martyn Cox.

2. That Councillor Arooj Shah (Oldham) and Councillor Nicholas Peel (Bolton) be welcomed to their first meeting of the GMCA.

3. That the GMCA record its congratulations to Stockport MBC following the naming of Stockport as the Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2023.

4. That the GMCA record its thanks and well wishes to Simon Warburton of Transport for Greater Manchester as he prepares to take on the role of Executive Director of Transport at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

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.

That Mayor Andy Burnham declared an interest in items 20 and 23 on the agenda.

To consider the approval of the minute of the GMCA meeting held on 24 March 2023.

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 24 March 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider the approval of the minutes of the GMCA Resources Committee held on 24 March 2023.

That the minutes of the meeting of the GM Resources Committee held on 24 March 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

To note the minutes of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 22 March 2023.

That the minutes of the meeting of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 22 March 2023 be noted.

Report of Gillian Duckworth, GMCA Monitoring Officer.

1.     That the appointments by Greater Manchester Local Authorities of members and substitute members to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for 2023/24 be noted as follows:

2.     That it be noted that all substitute members will be invited to attend meetings of the GMCA, to be able to speak but not vote (unless acting in the absence of their member) as provided for in the constitution.

3.     That the appointment of Portfolio Leaders be noted as follows:

4.     That the GMCA Audit Committee for 2023/24 be appointed as follows:

5.     That the GMCA Resources Committee for 2023/24 be appointed as follows:

Andy Burnham (Lab)

Bev Craig (Lab) (Manchester)

Paul Dennett (Lab) (Salford)

Eamonn O’Brien (Lab) (Bury)

Tom Ross (Lab) (Trafford)

David Molyneux (Lab) (Wigan)

Mark Hunter (Lib Dem) (Stockport)

6.     That the Greater Manchester Waste & Recycling Committee for 2023/24 be appointed as follows:

7.     That it be noted that the appointment of the Chair of the GM Waste & Recycling Committee will be made at the GMCA meeting in July 2023, on the recommendation of the GM Waste & Recycling Committee.

8.     That it be agreed that the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee for 2022/23 will continue to operate until the appointment of the Committee for 2023/24 at the GMCA AGM in June 2023.

9.     That the appointments to the Clean Air Charging Authorities Committee for 2023/24 be noted as follows:

Report of Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM and Gillian Duckworth, GMCA Monitoring Officer.

1.  That the establishment of a new joint transport committee (the Bee Network Committee) of the GMCA, the Mayor and the ten Greater Manchester constituent councils be approved.

2.  That the appointment of members to the Bee Network Committee, as set out in Appendix 1 be approved, noting the increase in the maximum membership of the committee from 15 to 16 members to improve political balance of the Committee.

3.  That the Terms of Reference of the Bee Network Committee, as set out in Appendix 2, be approved.

4.  That the delegation of functions of the GMCA, as set out in the Terms of Reference to the Bee Network Committee be approved, and that the delegation of Mayoral functions, as set out in the Terms of Reference, attached at Appendix 2, be noted.

5.  That the Rules of Procedure for the Bee Network Committee, as set out in Appendix 3, be approved.

6.  That all the above be recommended to the ten Greater Manchester constituent councils

7.  That thanks be placed on the record to Councillor Eamonn O’Brien for his work on leading the governance review.

Report of Councillor Mandie Shilton-Godwin, Chair of the Task and Finish Group and Councillor John Walsh, Chair of the GMCA Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

1.  That the recommendations within the report be endorsed.

2.  That the GMCA agree to seek opportunities where it can support the delivery of the recommendations, specifically:

a.  To continue to lobby for adequate national resources to support effective water management across GM (Recommendation 4),

b.  To request that Government seeks guidance from GM Local Authorities as to how best to review current planning policy to ensure that integrated water management is a predominant consideration for all new planning developments (Recommendation 6) and

c.   To request that DLUHC (Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) implement Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in line with the outcome of the consultation to ensure effective delivery with an appropriate level of central government funding provided to enable the work to be resourced at a regional level (Recommendation 6).

3.  That it be noted that the report will now be shared with GM Local Authority Councillors, Planning Committees, Scrutiny Committees and MPs for their information and appropriate action.

4.  That it be noted that at the next meeting the GMCA will receive the GM Integrated Water Management Plan which will also pick up a number of the recommendations in the report.

5.  That the GMCA record its thanks to Mandie Shilton-Godwin for leading the Task & Finish Group.

6.  That the GMCA record its to Nicola Ward, GMCA Statutory Scrutiny Officer, for support in the production of the report.

7.  That the Chief Executive of United Utilities be invited to attend the GMCA for the discussion on GM Integrated Water Management Plan item at the next meeting of the GMCA.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.

1.  That the updates provided on progress made to deliver against the Armed Forces Covenant coherently across GM be noted.

2.  That the intent to develop a 5-year Roadmap, including Health outputs be approved .

3.  That consideration be given to the formation of a leadership body made up of armed forces representatives from the 10 GM Local Authorities be included in the development of the 5-year roadmap.

4.  That recognition be given to the determination across Greater Manchester to meet recent legislation but go even further to deliver a Gold Standard Offer for our Armed Forces Community, to be enshrined in a new GM Armed Forces Covenant.

5.  That Armed Forces Community be recognised as a key Community of Identity that should be prioritised accordingly.

6.  That all Leaders receive an open invitation to visit Wigan Council’s Armed Forces Hub as an exemplar of what can be achieved.

7.  That the GMCA expresses its love and best wishes to the family of Fusilier Lee Rigby on the tenth anniversary of his passing.

8.  That the GMCA expresses its love and best wishes to all those impacted by the Manchester Arena Bombing following the recent marking of the sixth anniversary at the Glade of Light Tribute.

Report of Paul Dennett, Portfolio Lead for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure .

1.  That the agreed measures to facilitate a coordinated and consistent approach across Greater Manchester’s boroughs, in order to minimise the homelessness impact of Afghan Bridging hotel closures, be acknowledged.

2.  That it be agreed that representations be made to Government aimed at minimising the impact of the Bridging hotel closures, restating GM’s commitment to welcoming people seeking asylum and refugees and addressing the role of wider asylum and immigration policies in driving homelessness.

3.  That all GM Leaders be invited to sign the letter to the Secretary of State.

4.     That the GMCA record its sincere thanks to Manchester and Stockport Councils for all that they were doing to provide accommodation to displaced Afghan nationals.

Item withdrawn from agenda

Item withdrawn.

Report of Cllr Bev Craig, Portfolio Leader for Economy.

1.      That the latest assessment and emerging response be noted.

2.     That it be noted that Cost of Living and Economic Resilience update reports will now be received on a quarterly basis going forward.

Report of Councillor Bev Craig, Portfolio Lead for Economy and Cllr Ged Cooney, Portfolio Lead for Co-operatives and Communities.

That it be agreed that the item be deferred to the meeting of 9^th June 2023.

Report of Harry Catherall, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive, Green City Region.

1.  That the content and detail within the report be noted.

2.  That the outlined actions proposed for 2023/24 in respect of the GMCA’s Corporate Sustainability Strategy be approved.

3.  That Leaders be requested to circulate the Members briefing (Annex 01) to their respective local Councillors for information.

4.  That it be noted that the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Tom Ross will submit a related report to the GMCA, ahead of the Green Summit later in the year.

Report of Steve Rumbelow, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

1.  That the proposal for the Combined Authority enter into the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Salford City Council and Homes England to form the Salford Strategic Regeneration Partnership, be approved.

2.  That the objectives and principles of the Strategic Regeneration Partnership as set out in section 4 below be noted and approved.

3.  That the GMCA receive further updates on delivery progress at Salford Strategic Regeneration Partnership.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Portfolio Lead for Transport and Eammon Boylan, Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM.

1.     That the outcome of the work that has been undertaken in recent months to formulate a strategy to consider the budgetary pressures on the Transport Capital Programme be noted and endorsed and that an annual report covering the ongoing impacts of budgetary pressures be received (Section 2).

2.     That the draw-down of CRSTS funding be approved, as follows:

·         Golborne Station: £0.98m to enable the ongoing development of the Outline Business Case (OBC) for this DfT retained scheme (para 3.6).

·           Ashton – Stockport QBT scheme: £0.09m to commence work to progress an Outline Business Case (OBC), including the completion of an exercise to prioritise interventions for delivery (para 3.8).

·           Tyldesley Travel Hub (including Park and Ride) Scheme: £0.25m to develop an Outline Business Case (OBC) (para 3.12).

·           Oldham Town Centre (Accessible Oldham Phase 2): £0.9m to develop the scheme to Final Business Case (para 3.16).

·           Queens Park Bridge (Strategic Highways Maintenance): the remaining £1.6m to enable Rochdale Council to tender and carry out the works to complete the scheme (Section 4).

3.  That the draw-down of CRSTS funding for the balance of development funding for schemes that secured interim CRSTS funding in February 2023 whilst a review of budgetary challenges was undertaken be approved (Section 5), as follows:

·         High Speed 2 / Northern Powerhouse Rail Programme: £7.15m to continue development of the programme.

·         Rapid Transit Extensions Package: £0.45m to continue development of the programme.

·      Tram-Train Package: £3.26m to continue development of the programme.

·         Travel Hubs Package: £0.25m to continue development of the programme.

·         Stop Improvements and New Stops Package: £0.5m to continue development of the programme.

4.  That those schemes that had achieved SOBC, and that GMCA approved £2.6m of CRSTS funding draw-down in February 2023 to continue scheme development (Section 6) be formally noted as follows:

·           Bury: Radcliffe Town Centre.

·         Stockport: Hempshaw Lane.

·         Stockport: Bredbury Economic Corridor Improvement (BECI).

·         Stockport: A6 / School Lane / Manchester Road.

5.  That the addition (including the respective allocations to Local Authority partners) to the 2023/24 Capital Programme (funded from CRSTS), (Section 7) be approved a follows:

·           £16.3m forecast expenditure for Minor Works / Road Safety (previously Integrated Transport Block) measures.

·         £35m for core highway maintenance.

6.  That an increase to the Core Highways Maintenance budget for 2023/24 from £26.5m to £35m (para 7.3) be approved.

7.  That it be noted that the Spring Budget included additional road maintenance funding of £6.2m for GM (para 7.5).

8.    That the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s update following a meeting with the Rail Minister be received, and that concerns raised regarding the impact upon the Castlefield Corridor following the withdrawal of support for Platforms 15 & 16 at Manchester Piccadilly be noted.

Report of Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Portfolio Lead for Transport and Eamonn Boylan, Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM.

1.    That the release of a total of up to £17.1 million of MCF delivery funding for the following schemes, as set out in Section 2 of the report, be approved:

a.    Greater Manchester Bee Network Crossings – Phase 3: £4,312,386;

b.    Bolton Town Centre East – Phase 1: £4,998,000;

c.    Oldham Town Centre – Lord Street/Rock Street: £2,951,594;

d.    Trafford Talbot Road: £4,751,389.

2.    That the award to Greater Manchester of £25.2 million from round 4 of the Active Travel Fund (ATF4) be noted and that the addition of this funding to the 2023/2024 GMCA Capital (£24.1 million) and Transport Revenue budgets (£1.1 million) respectively, be approved.

3.    That the release of up to £3.6 million of ATF4 delivery funding for the Stockport Helix Ramp scheme, as part of the wider Stockport Mixed Use development be approved.

4.    That the planned governance and assurance for GM’s ATF4 programme, including delegation to the Active Travel Programme Board for the award of cycle parking grants, as set out in Section 3 of this report, be approved.

Report of Councillor David Molyneux, Portfolio Lead for Investment and Resources and Steve Wilson, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Investment.

1.  That the loan facility of up to £1m into the Enterprise Growth for Communities Fund be approved.

2.  That the investment into The Modular Analytics Company Limited of £400,000, approved under delegation, be noted.

3.  That the amendment to the investment quantum into Miribase Limited (“Shopblocks”) of £350,000, approved under delegation, be noted.

4.  That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and Monitoring Officer to review the due diligence information in respect of the above loan, and, subject to their satisfactory review and agreement of the due diligence information and the overall detailed commercial terms of the loan, to sign off any outstanding conditions, issue final approvals and complete any necessary related documentation in respect of the loan noted above.

5.  That the GMCA will receive an annual report on the GM Investment Framework, detailing work undertaken over the previous 12 months.

Report of Steve Rumbelow, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Housing, Homelessness and Infrastructure.

1.  That the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund loans detailed in the table below, as detailed further in this and the accompanying Part B report be approved.

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

3.  That the variations to the terms of various GM Housing Investments Loans Fund loans detailed in the table below which have been approved by the GMCA Chief Executive under delegated authority, as detailed further in this and the accompanying Part B report be noted.

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 Investment and Resources and Steve Wilson, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Investment.

That the contents of the report be noted.

Clerk’s Note: This item was considered in support of the report considered in Part A of the agenda (Item 19 above refers).

Report of Steve Rumbelow, Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Housing, Homelessness & Infrastructure.

That the contents of 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).