To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2020.

Decisions

(1)       To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2020 as a correct record.

(2)       To receive the minutes of the District Centre Subgroup meeting of the 19 February 2020.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) attached

This report details the work undertaken by the District Centres Sub Group to enable its findings to be integrated into Local Plans.  The report also outlines the on-going work by IPM and the Council on centres as part of their roles in the Area Based Collaborative Entrepreneurship in Cities (ABCitiEs) European Partnership.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) that summarised the work of the Subgroup that had commenced their enquiry in March 2016 and presented their final recommendations.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were: -

·                Welcoming the report and enquired how was this work was being shared with other local authorities;

·                Noting that an evidence based approach was useful to share good practice, promote growth and stimulate activity in other areas of the city;

·                Acknowledging that appropriate levels of staff resourcing remained a challenge and welcomed the comment from the Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration that this would be explored further;

·                Were residents engaged in the identity branding of district centres; and

·                Had consideration been given to using other sources of data, other than footfall to measure activity in district centres.

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration paid tribute to the Chair of the Subgroup and all of the Members who had participated in the work of the group. She also expressed her gratitude to the Institute of Place Management for the support provided to the work of the group. She acknowledged the quick wins that had been delivered in the pilot areas and noted the importance of these to engage local stakeholders in with this work. She commented that the challenge would be in resourcing this activity going forward, however the importance of district centres to delivering the zero carbon city ambition was recognised and adequate consideration needed to be given to this when developing the Local Plan. 

Dr Steve Millington endorsed the comments from the Executive Member and thanked the Members for engaging with the Institute of Place Management to deliver this work.

The Chair of the District Centres Subgroup stated that she wished to thank all of the Members and officers who had engaged with the Subgroup. She advised that the rationale for establishing the Subgroup was in recognition of the importance of district centres, both as a catalyst for economic activity and to promote and deliver a sense of place and identity for local residents, whilst recognising the changing nature of the high street. She described that an Our Manchester approach had been used to deliver this work and the group recognised the importance of partnership working.

The Chair of the District Centres Subgroup stated that it was important to ensure the basics were right, such as ensuring district centres were free of litter, pavements were maintained and signage was appropriate, stating that this would all contribute to delivering a sense of place and identity. 

The Strategic Director (Growth and Development) informed the Committee that options were being considered for building additional capacity within the Growth & Development Directorate to deliver the ambitions described within the report. He stated that this work would be delivered in conjunction with local stakeholders, noting that this approach would also inform local branding campaigns for individual district or neighbourhood centres. Dr Millington stated that it was recommended that place  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) attached

This report provides Economy Scrutiny Committee Members with an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) following the publication of the independent review of HS2 by Douglas Oakervee and the recent announcement on HS2 by the Prime Minister on 11 February 2020.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) that provided Members with an update on High Speed 2 (HS2) and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) following the publication of the independent review of HS2 by Douglas Oakervee and the recent announcement on HS2 by the Prime Minister on 11 February 2020.

The Leader introduced the report and added that the Prime Minister had recently announced that HS2 and NPR would be delivered in full and that a new delivery body had been established to oversee the integration of HS2 into NRP. He further stated that the terms of reference for the commission to review infrastructure had also been released and the draft report for the options for Piccadilly station would allow for an appraisal and evaluation of these, noting that the report had recommended a review of the entire rail network in and around the city. He stated this was a rapidly changing and positive development.

The Deputy Head of City Centre Growth and Regeneration stated that since the Committee report had been written, the Department for Transport had announced that they would be publishing a response to the independent review of HS2 and they were currently preparing a timetable for the delivery of the Crewe to Manchester section of Phase 2.

Councillor Lovecy, Ward Councillor for Rusholme stated that the Council position was to oppose the proposed location of Vent Shaft 4. She stated that the Committee should recommend that the Council urgently request that the Minister for Transport should publish the findings of consultation undertaken last year on the proposed location of the fourth vent shaft and autotransformer station, adding that it was her opinion that the exercise had been flawed. She further stated that the Committee should also recommend that the Minister for Transport instruct HS2 to investigate alternative sites for this vent, adding that the current location was inappropriate and there was widespread opposition to this.

The Leader stated that he supported the recommendation to urge the Minister to release the findings of the consultation. He stated that the position of the Council was to oppose the current proposed location for fourth vent shaft and said that if the preferred option for Piccadilly station was accepted the tunnel required would not be travelling along the current proposed route and the number of vent shafts required could be reviewed. He further informed the Committee that it would be himself who made any request to the Secretary of State to release the findings of the consultation exercise and it would be the Chief Executive who would submit any representations regarding the location of vents, inclusion of social value and training to the National Infrastructure Commission.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were: -

·                Supporting the comments of Councillor Lovecy;

·                Seeking an assurance that Manchester would benefit from the creation of new jobs and the building of new houses;

·                Following the recent decision regarding the expansion of Heathrow, consideration needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

This item has been withdrawn with agreement from the Chair.

This item was withdrawn

The Economy Dashboard for Quarter 3 of 2019/20 attached.

The Committee considered the Economy Dashboard for Quarter 3 2019/20.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were: -

·                Welcoming the inclusion of Marmot indicators and requesting that life expectancy data at a Neighbourhood level be included;

·                Recommended that comparative data and analysis against other core cities in relation to living wage activity be included;

·                Noting the importance of wellbeing and these metrics should be prominent in future reporting;

·                Clarification was sought on how Manchester wellbeing data was captured and recorded;

·                Recommending that consideration should be given to reporting metrics as trends over time in addition to presenting snap shots of data;

·                Consideration needed to be given to how the Council engaged with, and used all available levers with a range of organisations and business sectors across the city to maximise the number of residents in receipt of the Real Living Wage;

·                Members may wish to consider a report on Living Hours at a future meeting of the Committee; and

·                Comparisons between the outcomes for Manchester residents and other comparable European cities should be reported.

Officers acknowledged the comments from Members and stated that life expectancy data was being analysed, however expressed caution against drawing comparisons with other core cities as it was important to compare against areas with similar factors and social dynamics. He further stated that the importance of health and wellbeing was understood and would continue to be reported against, noting the emphasis the Industrial Strategy placed on health and wellbeing. He informed the Committee of how surveys were undertaken in Manchester to capture a range of information, including wellbeing. He stated that the Council consulted with residents on a range of issues throughout the year and consideration would be given as to how this information could inform and be used when reporting against these metrics, however currently there was no specific Manchester wellbeing survey. The Leader stated that further consideration would be given to this area.

Officers reported that the format for presenting the wealth of data was constantly being reviewed to ensure it was appropriate and accessible, and further noted the comment regarding comparisons and benchmarking against European cities.

The Chair recommended that a report on the Living Wage and Living Hours would be scheduled as an item for consideration at a future meeting of the Committee. The scope of this report would be discussed with officers and scheduled for an appropriate date.

Decision

To note the report.

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.

The report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations was submitted for comment. Members were also invited to agree the Committee’s future work programme.

A Member recommended that consideration needed to be given to scheduling a future meeting dedicated to skills and the world of work, with the Manchester College invited and this could include contributions from young people. The Chair commented that Members would be holding a Work Programming session in May to inform the Committee’s work programme for the new municipal year and this would present an opportunity to scope this and other items further.

Decision

The Committee notes the report and approves the work programme, noting the above comments and those of the Chair relating to the Living Wage and Living Hours discussed under the previous item of business.