Decisions

1.   That the establishment of a new Assistant Director of Transport Communications at SM6 be approved.

2.   That it be noted that that this will see the associated disestablishment of the existing Head of Strategic Communications at TfGM, delivering a budget saving of £18,000 - £21,600.

1.   That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive, GMCA & TfGM  to progress the “Head of Low Carbon” post in the Environment Directorate to band SM7 of the senior pay-scale, backdated to November 2023 following the Job Re-evaluation.

2.   That it be noted that the post has been re-evaluated in line with the LGA framework and that the outcome of that re-evaluation was that the posts should move from Grade 11 onto the Senior pay-scale (SM7).

3.   That it be noted that additional costs will be met from existing GMCA Environment Directorate budgets.

That the draft GMCA Business Plan for 2024-25 be approved.

1.     That the publication of the GMCA Gender Pay Gap on the GMCA website on an annual basis based on snapshot of data as at 31 March 2023, to comply with the legislative requirement for employers with more than 250 employees, be approved.

2.   That the proposal to publish the GMCA wide Ethnicity Pay Gap be endorsed.

3.   That it be noted that the outcome of the work underway on workforce representation will be submitted to a future meeting of the Resources Committee.

That the minutes of the meeting of the Resources Committee held on 26 January 2024 be approved as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest made in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no Chairs Announcements or Urgent Business.

Apologies were received and noted from City Mayor, Paul Dennett.

1.      That the proposed follow-on equity investment of up to £300k to The Modular Analytics Company Limited be approved.

2.      That the capital loan of up to £2.6m to Glenbrook Industrial Limited be approved.

3.      That amendments to the £650k loan in place with FM Outsource Limited be approved.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & 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.

5.      That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM and the GMCA Treasurer, 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 22 March 2024 to 30 May 2024.

6.      That it be noted that any recommendations approved under the delegation will be reported to the next available meeting of the GMCA.

1.      That the GMHILF loans, detailed in the table below, be approved, as detailed further in this and the accompanying Part B report. The recommendation is to approve as a cap on lending, with the Combined Authority committing to provide £120m across the two schemes and having the option to provide a further £20m if there was surplus funding available.

2.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer to change the funding source of GMHILF loans into the Brownfield Housing Fund in advance of 31 March 2024.

3.      That authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer GMCA & TfGM, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Housing, to approve funding and urgent variations to existing funding for GMHILF, City Deal Receipts and/or the Brownfield Housing Fund funding in the period 22 March 2024 to 31 May 2024.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

5.      That it be noted that any recommendations approved under the delegation will be reported to the next available meeting of the GMCA.

1.      That approval be given for a £5m loan into a newly created Greater Manchester Key Worker Fund, to be managed by Places for People’s investment arm – Thriving Investments Limited.

2.      That the use of £2m to refinance the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund investment from Hive Homes (Greater Manchester) LLP be approved.

3.      That the proposed £0.5m equity investment to Step Places for the third phase of the Bolton Moor Lane development be approved.

4.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation  with the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, to prepare and effect the necessary legal agreements.

That the Greater Manchester Housing Delivery Plan, as set out in this document and the Implementation Plan as set out in Annex 1, be approved.

1.      That the Lease renewal for accommodation within the Tootal Buildings to be occupied by the GMCA on a 10-year term with 5-year break option as per the terms set out in the corresponding Part B report be approved.

2.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer and GMCA Treasurer to finalise the terms and complete the lease and any related documents required to give effect to this decision.

That the report be noted.

1.          That the extension of the WRMS and HWRCMS contracts for waste disposal between the parties set out in section 1 of the report from 2026 to 2034 be approved.

2.             That the completion of contract documentation be delegated to the  GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, in consultation with to the Executive Director, Waste and Resources.

3.             That the concerns raised about the landfill site at Pilsworth South be noted and that the resolution of the issue be considered a highest level priority due to ongoing health concerns raised by residents.

1.          That the commencement of the procurement process for biowaste treatment contracts for the period June 2026 to March 2034 be approved.

2.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Head of Paid Service in consultation with the GMCA Treasurer and the Portfolio Lead for Green City Region, to approve the award of contracts under the biowaste framework.

3.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to complete all necessary legal agreements for the Biowaste treatment contracts.

4.          That approval be given to the market testing exercise as set out in the biowaste strategy at section 4.0.

1.      That the publication of a State of Nature Report be noted.

2.      That the progress in developing the Greater Manchester Local Nature Recovery Strategy be noted.

3.      That the delivery of the Green Spaces Fund be noted.

4.      That the compliance with the Biodiversity Duty be noted.

That the Capital Strategy for 2024/25 be approved.

That apologies be received and noted from Sue Johnson (Bolton) (represented by Lee Fallows), Joanne Roney (Manchester) (represented by James Binks) and Tom Stannard (Salford) (represented by John Searle).

1.      That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be received and noted.

2.      That the GMCA record its thanks to the GMCA Finance Team.

3.      That the forecast, as at the end of quarter 3, for 2023/24 business rates income be noted.

4.      That the planned income for 2024/25 be noted.

5.      That the proposed 2024/25 Greater Manchester use of the 2023/24 business rates income be approved.

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

·       Trailblazer Devolution (TDD) 10-year business rates retention scheme.

·       TDD Growth Zones enhanced business rates areas.

·       Investment Zone enhanced business rates areas.

·       GM partial reset

Future approach to GM investment

1.      

1.      That the development of the Greater Manchester Smart Decarbonisation Network (GM-SDN) in line with the Memorandum of Agreement between GMCA and DSIT be endorsed.

2.      That support be given to work between local authorities to share learning and where possible identify opportunities to scale the Smart Decarbonisation Network (SDN) and associated outcomes.

3.      That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead for Digital City Region, to approve the allocation of funding for partner organisations and any required variations to funding allocations subsequently required to meet the overall project objectives within the defined parameters of the project.

1.   That the achievements and performance of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the 2022/2023 academic year, set out in Section 2 be noted.

2.   That the developments and progress of Greater Manchester’s devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) for the current 2023/2024 academic year, set out in Section 3, be noted.

3.   That the proposed indicative devolved AEB allocations and ‘Level 3 Single Pot’ for grant funded and indicative devolved AEB allocations for procured providers for skills provision be approved and that authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer to agree any minor changes that arise during discussions between each institution and GMCA.

4.   That the Level 3 Single Pot commissioning approach be noted and that authority be delegated to the Chief Executive Officer, GMCA & TfGM, GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead and Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital to take forward this commissioning, to contract award.

5.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer, in consultation with the Portfolio Lead and Portfolio Lead Chief Executive for Education, Skills, Work, Apprenticeships and Digital, to make decisions relating to the procurement of skills & work delivery utilising any devolved AEB underspend.

6.   That approval be given for support to be continued for the administration and management costs for the 2024/2025 academic year.

7.   That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the proposed indicative devolved AEB allocations, ‘Level 3 Single Pot’ and subsequent expenditure for the GM grant-funded local authorities, and to grant delegated authority to the GMCA Treasurer to approve any minor changes that arise in the course of discussions between each local authority and GMCA.

8.   That the Mayor of Greater Manchester approved the continuation of the AEB LA Grant Programme to each of the ten local authorities, including varying where necessary levels of funding per local authority.

9.   That the GMCA record its thanks the GMCA Education, Work & Skills Team.

1.      That the Covenant and the commitments within it be endorsed.

2.      That the GMCA record its thanks to Rabbi Warren Elf for his continued contribution.

3.      That the GMCA record its thanks to Sara Todd as the Chief Executive Lead for the work undertaken on the Covenant.

1.   That the latest assessment and emerging response and views on the next steps in that response be noted.

2.   That the GMCA record its continued concerns around the uncertainty of ongoing Household Support Funding.

3.   That the Deputy Mayors campaign in collaboration with the Co-Operative Group to make violence against retail workers a specific offence be noted.

4.   That Transport for Greater Manchester be requested to remind residents through communications channels of the significant savings that could be made through combined travel mode ticket offers.

1.   That the key findings of the 2023 #BeeWell survey results be noted.

2.   That approval be given for members to act on what the data was telling and support the #BeeWell mission to make young people’s wellbeing everybody’s business and that those examples provided in the report to suggest connections to local priorities, ensuring young people’s voices were leading the response be utilised.

3.   That the examples shared where #BeeWell, and the voices of young people, has had impact, locally be received.

4.   That the GMCA record its thanks to Councillor Mark Hunter and the Childrens Board for their work in bringing the survey together.

5.   That approval be given for the valuable ward breakdown data to be made available to individual districts.

1.     That the GMCA welcomes the confirmed adoption of Places for Everyone, recognising the contributions of each of the constituent districts in bringing it to this point.

2.     That infrastructure reports on supporting growth locations be submitted to a future GMCA meeting.

1.   That the positive early signs in relation to compliance with the ‘Greater Manchester Pledge’ as part of an ambition to tackle the issue of high costs and reliance on agency social workers be noted.

2.   That the positive progress towards the establishment of the Greater Manchester Fostering Hub, to be hosted by Rochdale Council, as part of the national Fostering pathfinder, supported by the announcement of a further allocation of funding from DfE to support communications activity over the next 12 months, be noted.

3.   That funding of up to £5m be allocated to acquire properties to be used for Project Skyline. The selection of properties will be determined by the Skyline Board and recommended to the GMCA for acquisition. 

4.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to review and agree the due diligence information and the overall detailed commercial terms of the acquisitions, to sign off any conditions, issue final approvals and complete any documentation in respect of the property acquisitions on behalf of the GMCA, as recommended by the Skyline Board.

5.   That authority be delegated to the GMCA Treasurer and GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to review, agree the content, and sign the Partnership Agreement on behalf of GMCA, noting that GMCA’s role is one of convener, funder, owner and landlord of the properties acquired.

6.   That approval be given for the GMCA to take the lead role in procuring the contract on behalf of the 10 districts but that one of the 10 LAs is named in the contract as the lead Authority and is provided as part of the partnership arrangements with resources to manage the contract on an ongoing basis on behalf of the 10.  That it be noted that contract management will have resource implications which will need to be shared across Local Authorities.

7.   That the current consultation process underway with Locality Boards across Greater Manchester in relation to the development of the ‘Giving every child and young person the best start in life’ part of the GM Integrated Care Partnership Joint Forward Plan, be noted.

There were none.

1.      That the A Bed Every Night budget for 2024/25 (£5,600,000) be approved.

2.      That the intended direction of travel for the ABEN budget for 2025/26 be noted.

3.      That following the last year of the programme there be a review of the year, considering how the activity could be continually built upon.

4.      That the Mayor will raise the importance of changing funding mechanisms to ensure a fair flow to districts with additional burdens when he meets with the Home Secretary.

1.     That the launch of Tranche 2 of the Bee Network on Sunday 24^th March 2024 be noted.

2.     That the successful launch of Stockport Interchange on Sunday 17^th March 2024 be noted.

3.     That it be ensured that residents were made fully aware of the compensation scheme when moving from individual bus operator fares products to the Bee Network fare structure.

4.     That the Mayor reaffirms his commitment to the introduction of TravelSafe Live Chat as soon as possible.

1.          That the recruitment process undertaken be noted.

2.          That the appointment of Caroline Simpson to the role of Group Chief Executive Officer for the GMCA, Fire & TfGM at a salary of £240k per annum, based on the role description attached to this report be approved.

3.          That Caroline Simpson (as the Chief Executive Officer of the GMCA) be designated as the statutory Head of Paid Service for the GMCA in accordance with s4 Local Government & Housing Act 1989.

4.          That Caroline Simpson (as the Chief Executive Officer of the GMCA) be appointed as the Combined Authority Returning Officer for any Combined Authority election taking place after the commencement of her appointment.

5.          That Caroline Simpson be appointed as the Group Chief Executive Officer of TfGM (the Transport Executive) and GMCA (the Transport Authority) as the Director General of TfGM in accordance with the provisions of the Transport Act 1968.

6.          That authority be delegated to the GMCA Deputy Chief Executive & GMCA Solicitor & Monitoring Officer to finalise the terms of the contract and the start date.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Waste & Recycling Committee held on 13 March 2024 be noted.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the GMCA Audit Committee held on 13 March 2024 be noted.

That the proceedings of the meeting of the Bee Network Committee held on 22 February 2024 be noted.

That the proceeding of the meeting of the GMCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21 February 2024 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.

PART B

That the minutes of the GMCA meeting held on 23 February 2024 be approved as a correct record.

That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement, Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy be approved.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Elaine Taylor, Paul Dennett, Hamid Khurram and David Meller.

RESOLVED/-

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

2.      That the additional vehicles being introduced to strengthen and improve the performance of services in the Tranche 1 area be noted.

3.      That the improvements being made to the Bee Network App be noted.

4.      That the Metrolink maintenance and renewals works planned to take place over the next quarter be noted.

5.      That plans to introduce the TravelSafe Live Chat function through the Bee Network app, that would allow users to discreetly report a crime or antisocial behaviour and connect them with Greater Manchester Police in real time be noted.

6.      That the opening of Stockport Interchange – a state-of-the-art facility and community park that serves as a model of GM integration - with active travel links, Metrolink capacity and connections to the rail station be noted.

7.      That it be noted that the outline business case to DfT on the proposals for a new rail station at Golborne had been submitted. This follows a public consultation on proposals for the station, which received almost 3,000 responses, with 93% in support.

8.      That it be noted that the Committee were supportive of the motion agreed at TfN Board held on 20.03.2024 to issue statutory advice to the Secretary of State to cancel Avanti’s contract at the earliest possible opportunity, with the state-owned operator of last resort (OLR) taking on responsibility in the short term.

9.      That it be noted that the Rapid Transit Strategy would be brought to a future meeting.

RESOLVED/-

1.      That the development of a pilot of 24-hour bus services in Greater Manchester be noted.

2.      That the process followed to develop the pilot proposals be noted.

3.      That the recommended routes (V1 and 36) to be taken forward as part of the pilot be endorsed.

4.      That the next steps to be taken by TfGM in development of the proposed pilot be noted.

5.      That it be noted that following endorsement of the outlined approach, TfGM would engage with Go North West (who operate both the V1 and 36) to establish the operational requirements, costs and timing of the pilot, and would continue to engage with the trade unions. The final proposal and timing for the pilot would be brought to the Bee Network Committee prior to mobilisation.

6.      That it be noted that a financial overview would be provided to members during the next municipal year to allow a better understanding of costs involved for running of services.

7.      That it be agreed that a progress update on the development of the pilot be brought to the Committee in the summer of 2024.   

RESOLVED/-

1.         That the current position in relation to CRSTS1 and CRSTS2 be noted.

2.         That the drawdown and reallocation of CRSTS funding and associated scheme for progression be approved as follows:

• Access for All: £4.71m CRSTS funding;

• Rapid Transit Integration Programme:

Stop Improvements and New Stops Package. £1.28m CRSTS funding;

• Future Rapid Transit Programme:

Extensions Package. £3.3m CRSTS funding;

• Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI): £1.09m CRSTS funding;

• Manchester: Ancoats Streets for All. Full Business Case approval and £1.36m CRSTS funding;

• Manchester: Transforming Deansgate: £2.15m CRSTS funding;

• Stockport: Queens Road Bridge (Strategic Maintenance). Reallocation of £0.5m and drawdown of a further £2.6m CRSTS funding;

• Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Programme: Depot Electrification: total of £37.8m CRSTS funding £25.3m and match funding £12.5m;

• ZEB Programme: Reallocation of £1.57m of ZEB Programme Tranche 1 funding;

• Improving Journeys – Orbital Bus Routes (QBT) – Traffic Signal Upgrades.

Full Business Case approval and £0.21m CRSTS funding; and

• Core Highways, Strategic Highways and Local Safety & Minor Works

Maintenance funding for 2024/25, totalling £57.85m.

3.       That the drawdown of and variations to Active Travel funding be approved as follows:

• £1.025m of MCF funding for Tameside’s Active Neighbourhoods, Phase 2;

• £3.59m of MCF funding for Manchester’s Levenshulme Active Neighbourhood;

• £1.8m of Active Travel Fund Round 4 (ATF4) funding for Salford Chapel Street East, Phase 1; and

• Agree formal MCF scheme budget variations for Manchester City Council as set out in paragraph 3.12.

4.        That the release of £0.994m from previously approved funding to facilitate the replacement of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) with a digital solution be noted.

5.             That it be noted that a decision in relation to Access for All funding was expected early May. However, should no decision on next round of funding be forthcoming in the near future it was agreed that a letter be issued to Government on behalf of the Bee Network Committee requesting an update on progress.

RESOLVED/-

That the minutes of the Bee Network Committee held on 22 February 2024 be approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED/-

1.      That the Committee appointment to the Vision Zero Advisory and Scrutiny Board be differed to the Annual General Meeting of the Bee Network Committee.

2.      That the considerable amount of work done by the Bee Network Committee during its initial year be noted.

3.      That the retirement of the Deputy Monitoring Officer, Gwynne Williams and the appointment of Melinda Edwards as the newly appointed Deputy Monitoring Officer be noted.

4.      That the retirement of the Chief Executive TfGM and GMCA, Eamonn Boylan OBE be noted.

RESOLVED/-

That it be noted that Councillor Phil Burke, as an employee of Keolis Amy declared a prejudicial interest in item 5 – Bee Network Performance.

RESOLVED/-

1.      That the current position in relation to the HS2 and NPR programme in Greater Manchester including the future areas of development and current Government timeframes be noted.

2.      That the update in relation to the emerging recommendations of the Private Consortium led by Sir David Higgins be noted for the Consortium has confirmed that, based on work done to date, the best option for improving rail links between the Midlands and the North was a new line between Handsacre Junction and Manchester Airport, using the same route as HS2 but with different specification to make it more affordable be noted.