To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2025.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2025 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the City Treasurer

This report provides a high-level overview of the latest budget position for the Council in respect of its 2025/26 budget. Each scrutiny committee is invited to consider the officer developed options which are within its remit and to make recommendations to the Executive before it agrees to the final budget proposals in February 2025.

The Committee considered the report of the City Treasurer which provided a high-level overview of the updated budget position.

Key points and themes in the report included:

• Introduction and background;
• Reporting that when the Council set its 2024/25 budget in February 2024, it was forecasting a budget shortfall of £29m in 2025/26 increasing to £41m in 2026/27 and £77m by 2027/28;
• It was now expected that, subject to the outcome of the budget consultation a balanced budget could be set for 2025/26 after the application of savings approved in previous budget rounds of £10.6m, new proposed savings of £18.2m, and the use of c£18m smoothing reserves, alongside grant increases announced in the provisional settlement on 18 December 2024; and
• At the time of writing the report the final settlement had not yet been released, any changes between the provisional and final settlement would be reported to the Executive alongside any changes to the proposals outlined as a consequence.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources addressed the Committee and said the Council was now expected to deliver a balanced budget for 2025/26 after the application of savings approved in the previous budget, new proposed savings of £18.2m that had been considered at the December meeting, the use of c£18m smoothing reserves, alongside grant increases announced in the provisional settlement on 18 December 2024 and an increase in Council Tax of 4.99%. He commented that whilst there would be a requirement to replenish an appropriate level of reserves for the city and pressures still existed, particularly in relation to demand across Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, Manchester was in a much more financially stable position when compared to many other local authorities. He also commented that it was anticipated that the planned government Spending Review would result in multiple year settlements for local authorities which he welcomed.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• To welcome the improved settlement, while recognising the ongoing challenges;
• To welcome the investment in district centres, retrofitting homes, adult social care, children’s services, homelessness and roads;
• To recognise the progress made in building new homes, including affordable homes, despite the financial situation, and to welcome the roll-out of Selective Licensing; and
• To welcome the introduction of longer-term settlements which would enable the Council to plan for the future more effectively.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources supported Members’ comments.  He highlighted the ongoing impact of the spending cuts which were imposed on the Council from 2010 onwards, advising that challenges still remained in relation to the cost of social care, and he also highlighted the positive work that the Council had done during this period.  He looked forward to a more positive relationship between local government and the new national government.

Decision

To note the forecast medium term revenue budget.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

This report provides a further update to members on the priorities for the services in the remit of this committee and details the proposed changes to the budget.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided a further update to Members on the priorities for the services in the remit of the Committee and detailed the proposed changes to the budget.

Key points and themes in the report included:

• Introduction and background;
• Service overview and priorities;
• Information on the service budget and proposed changes;
• Commissioning and procurement priorities;
• Workforce implications;
• Equality and anti-poverty impact; and
• Future opportunities, risks and policy/strategy considerations.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• Staffing levels in Building Control;
• The impact of removing long-term vacant posts;
• The impact of the reduction of project funding for Work and Skills; and
• The move to LED street lighting and proposals to optimise street light configurations and the impact on safety.

The Leader informed Members that the LED street lighting was brighter than the previous lighting in many areas and that it was a Council priority for people to feel safe in their communities, advising that if lights were too bright they could create glare for drivers who wore glasses.  She reported that optimisation was being tested and rolled out in phases across the city and she encouraged Members with concerns to join visits in their ward to see what the difference would be. 

The Head of Network Management reported that many other local authorities had already optimised their street lighting with very few, if any, issues.  He informed Members that trials had been carried out and another trial was being planned.

In response to the question about the Building Control workforce, the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) explained that local authorities were under pressure due to competition with the private sector for Building Control professionals but that Manchester had undertaken work to stabilise its workforce, including a service redesign which had improved recruitment and retention and, while there was more to be done, the Council was now in a better position than it had been previously and compared to many other local authorities.  She advised that there had been a Council-wide approach to identifying posts which had been vacant for some time, that there was no concern from an operational perspective about the impact of deleting the posts which had been identified within her Directorate and that the budget that had been assigned to these posts while they were vacant was not routinely used for other purposes.  In response to a Member’s question about the figures within the report, she advised that appendix 1 provided the clearest overall summary of the proposed changes, highlighting that this was not only about cuts as Growth and Development was an income-generating directorate.  In response to the question about Work and Skills Project funding, she advised that this proposal would result in a small reduction in service provision, for example, the number of roadshows taking place, but the team would still be looking to reach as many people to promote employment and training opportunities.  The Director of Inclusive Economy informed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

This report provides an overview of Universities’ contribution to the growth and ambition of the city and how they support innovation, business start-up, and graduate retention.  It also outlines how they develop their resilience in the context of the challenges they face as well as their plans for the future.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided an overview of the universities’ contribution to the growth and ambition of the city and how they supported innovation, business start-up, and graduate retention.  It also outlined how they developed their resilience in the context of the challenges they faced as well as their plans for the future.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Overview of the universities in 2024;
• Key facts;
• Economic impact;
• Reach and impact;
• Business and innovation; and
• Social impact.

Julian Skyrme, Executive Director of Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement, The University of Manchester informed Members that the University would be releasing its full independent Economic Impact Report from London Economics later that day and a link would be shared with the Committee Members.  He highlighted the University’s significant role in job creation across the city, including spinouts and student and staff start-ups and bringing additional talent into the city, as well as providing jobs for local people, procurement expenditure within Manchester and attracting tourism.  He reported that the University was a Real Living Wage employer and supported other employers in Manchester to become Real Living Wage employers.  He advised that the University worked with local communities on issues which mattered to them, for example, work on air quality in Ardwick and providing free NHS dental treatment for local communities which were unable to access this.  He also highlighted the University’s cultural contribution, including its role in the city’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature and City of Lifelong Learning, as well as the work of Manchester Museum in working with local communities to create the UK’s first South Asian Gallery.   

John Holden, Associate Vice-President for Major Special Projects, The University of Manchester informed Members about the University’s new strategy, including what it was doing to advance its contribution to the economic growth of the city, across its students, research and global activities, highlighting the creation of Unit M, as outlined in the report.  He advised that the University would drive growth, through creating student and staff spinouts, through work with local Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and through attracting inward investment into the region.  He advised that Unit M would also engage with local communities so that they could benefit from the opportunities that this growth brought to the city and open up the University’s research to answer pressing policy questions.

Professor Steve Rothberg, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) informed the Committee that MMU was proud to be part of the city and the region’s economy.  He reported that his university trained thousands of teachers, social workers and health care professionals and had pioneered degree apprenticeships.  He highlighted that MMU had a more diverse student population, with more mature students, than the sector average and that nearly half of their students were the first generation in their family to go to university.  He outlined some of the university’s achievements, including a Gold Award in Teaching Excellence,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report shares the breadth of work across the culture sector, the Council's role in support of the sector and highlights many of the projects and initiatives that contribute to making Manchester a truly significant global city for culture.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which outlined the breadth of work across the culture sector and the Council's role in support of the sector and highlighted many of the projects and initiatives that contributed to making Manchester a truly significant global city for culture.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The Council’s investments in arts and culture;
• Places and spaces for culture;
• Cultural Impact Survey;
• Always, Everywhere: Manchester’s Cultural Ambition 2024-2034;
• Cultural Consortium;
• Zero carbon and environmental sustainability;
• Manchester Culture Awards 2024;
• International partnerships and other collaborations;
• Place partnership;
• Cultural Education Partnership – MADE;
• English National Opera; and
• Classical Music Audience Group and Manchester Classical.

Officers delivered a presentation which outlined the findings from the Cultural Impact Survey.

Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:

• The under-representation of young people on Boards;
• The importance of local cultural events and capturing information on these, including events funded through the Neighbourhood Investment Fund (NIF);
• The long-term stability of Arts Council funding;
• Changes in employment in the sector since the pandemic, including the reduction in the number of freelancers;
• Whether there were sufficient apprenticeships in the sector to provide a pipeline to fill roles in the future;
• Public transport, particularly difficulties travelling home from evening cultural events to some parts of the city;
• To request the progress report on the Eurocities Culture Forum and information on what city had done to monitor sustainability in relation to the organisations it funded;
• To request that when the Committee received its next Annual Culture Report it include a progress update on work on employment in the sector and Board membership;
• To support a targeted approach to wards where cultural engagement was low and to welcome the progress being made, in particular in relation to Wythenshawe, and to support the integration of culture as a consideration in regeneration;
• Longer term trends in school engagement, including comparisons to pre-pandemic figures; and
• Welcoming that the report demonstrated how culture contributed to a range of Council priorities and noting how it was driving city centre footfall.

The Principal Resources and Programmes Officer (Culture) recognised Members’ points about the importance of local cultural events.  He reported that 40 organisations had responded to the Cultural Impact Survey, 17 of which were organisations funded by the Council for whom it was mandatory to provide this information.  He advised that the invitation to complete the survey was sent to a wider group of organisations.  He recognised that completing the survey could be time-consuming, although he advised that organisations not in receipt of funding were told that they did not need to provide all the information requested.  In response to a question from the Chair, he advised that music, and the performing arts sector more broadly, had had a harder time recovering from the pandemic than museums and galleries and that this might be related to audience behaviour, cost and the variety of the offer at present due to organisations having limited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree, and the Economy Dashboard for information.

A report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit was submitted. The overview report contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.  The report also included the Quarterly Economy Dashboard, for information.

Decision:

That the Committee note the report, including the Quarterly Economy Dashboard, and agree the work programme.