To allow Members an opportunity to [a] declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in any items which appear on this agenda; and [b] record any items from which they are precluded from voting as a result of Council Tax/Council rent arrears; [c] the existence and nature of party whipping arrangements in respect of any item to be considered at this meeting. Members with a personal interest should declare that at the start of the item under consideration.  If Members also have a prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interest they must withdraw from the meeting during the consideration of the item.

The Chair declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 7 – Levelling Up Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund Update.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 12 January 2023.

An amendment to the minutes of the previous meeting was proposed to reflect that Councillor Angela Moran submitted apologies.

Decision: That the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 12 January 2023 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment outlined above. 

Report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing.

This report provides an update on the Local Plan. It provides a general overview of current planning policy; an update on emerging planning policy (Places for Everyone and the Manchester Local Plan); a summary of the current consultation on updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) expected this Spring; and potential future changes to NPPF via the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing which provided an update on the Local Plan. The report also provided an overview of current planning policy; an update on emerging planning policy (Places for Everyone and the Manchester Local Plan); a summary of the current consultation on updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) expected this Spring; and potential future changes to NPPF via the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The emerging Local Plan presented an opportunity to review current planning policy and will set out how the city should meet the need for new development over the next 15–20 years. It will identify where new development should happen, which green spaces and other aspects of the environment should be protected or enhanced, and how transport and other infrastructure will be improved;
• The range of policies included within the Local Plan to address key issues and challenges;
• The range of studies commissioned to provide the evidence base of the Local Plan;
• The timetable for the stages of the Local Plan’s development, with adoption planned for winter 2024;
• The Places for Everyone local plan - a joint development plan of the nine Greater Manchester districts which will determine the kind of development that takes place in their boroughs - was nearing completion of hearing sessions and would undertake further round of formal consultation on any proposed changes to the plan in late 2023 and would be adopted by individual full councils;
• The ongoing government consultation on the proposed approach to updating the NPPF; and
• Changes to national planning policy proposed under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022 (LURB).

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

• The internal scrutiny process of the Local Plan, and whether this would be subject to further consideration by this Scrutiny Committee;
• How the impact of future carbon emissions and rainfall could be forecasted to support the evidence-base for the Local Plan;
• The impact of implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 concerning Sustainable Draining Systems (SuDS);
• The importance of a sense of place, and whether the city had the local services and infrastructure to support new emerging communities;
• The reforms to national planning policy proposed in theLURB and the implication of these on planning policy around affordable housing;
• If any further detail around Compulsory Purchase powers and Investment Zones was available;
• The impact of the government’s recent building safety announcement on the Council’s ability to hold developers to account on cladding issues;
• How planning powers are used to require developers to use local labour;
• Noting the Council’s record for high-quality development, and querying whether the new National Development Management Policy Framework would require the Council to accept lower quality development in line with the revised policies;
• Whether the current evidence bases within the Council’s strategies were sufficient; and
• Expressing concerns over the potential loss of flexibility for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development).

Changes to Manchester’s current statutory social housing allocations scheme were implemented in November 2020. This report provides an overview of an evaluation of the scheme, which was agreed to be undertaken after 24 months of operation to analyse the scheme’s effectiveness.

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which outlined an evaluation of the Council’s social housing allocations scheme which had been undertake following 24 months of operation to analyse its effectiveness.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The scheme was designed to provide priority to rehousing applicants based on housing need, with priority within bands determined by length of time in the band;
• Demand for social housing remained high with over 14,000 households on the register, of which 8,000 were in bands 1-3 and in some form of housing need;
• The evaluation found that the overall objectives for the scheme were being met although there were increasing challenges around temporary and emergency accommodation;
• Allocations to those in priority need accounted for 64.8% of all lettings, compared to 31.6% under the old scheme;
• During the first two years of the new scheme, 40% of all allocations went to applicants on the housing register due to being homeless, compared to 19% in 2019/20;
• One of the main achievements of the scheme was the successful rehousing of a considerable number of young people who were ready to transition out of care;
• The COVID pandemic caused significant challenges with regards to repairing and refurbishing vacant properties but officers were working to make these properties available; and
• It had been necessary to make some minor changes to the process and the scheme to improve the situation around temporary and emergency accommodation. Proposed changes included awarding Band 2 status to prevention duty applicants and to permit those owed the prevention or relief duty to accept a private rented tenancy offer, to discharge either homelessness duty (prevention or relief) and to retain a Band 2 award for rehousing. These changes would encourage people to present at an earlier stage and encourage changes in behaviour to access alternative accommodation rather than temporary accommodation.

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

• Welcoming the changes and outcomes of the revised Policy;
• How the Council could keep residents experiencing domestic violence safe where they could not be moved straightaway;
• Whether there was an increase in those in band 2 as a result of the changes;
• The wait times for those with band 2 priority; and
• Noting an increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation, which was higher than in other Greater Manchester areas.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development introduced the item and explained that the report formed part of the 2-year evaluation of the revised Housing Allocations Policy which had been subject to extensive consultation. He explained that the changes looked at how the Housing Allocations Policy could help those with the most serious housing need, such as those experiencing domestic abuse and serious violence and those leaving care. He noted a challenge in the amount of housing stock available to allocate and a lack of investment in social housing over the last 13 years by the Conservative and coalition governments. He stated that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

This report provides a summary of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as it applies to Manchester including the context of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda, and the competitive Levelling Up Fund which it sits alongside. 

The committee considered a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided a summary of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund as it applied to Manchester, including the context of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and the competitive Levelling Up Fund (LUF) which it sat alongside.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Manchester was classed as a Priority 1 area for Levelling Up by the Government, based on need for economic growth, improved transport connectivity and regeneration;
• 2 bids were submitted by the Council in LUF Round 1, of which one – ‘Culture in the City’ – was successful. A bid to regenerate Withington Village was unsuccessful. A bid submitted in LUF Round 2 to regenerate Wythenshawe Town Centre was also unsuccessful;
• Culture in the City aimed to deliver 8,282m² of high quality, affordable, technology and creative work and production spaces at HOME Arches and Campfield Market, with £19,822 million awarded from LUF;
• The Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) was launched in April 2022 as a replacement for European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) following Brexit, and the distribution of this across all areas of the UK meant that Greater Manchester’s proportion of this is substantially lower than that from ESIF; and
• Manchester was allocated a total of £5,013,823 in SPF for Communities and Place funding which was prioritised for investment in district centres.

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

• Welcoming the Executive Member’s recommitment to investing in Wythenshawe town centre;
• Whether there was any indication from government to increase local funding allocations to account for the fact that some areas had disproportionately been unsuccessful with LUF and other funding schemes;
• Welcoming support for business start-up and incubation, and querying if there were any additional contingencies to support businesses during the cost-of-living crisis;
• Conveying frustration at the government rule introduced during the decision-making process that any applicant council who had been successful in Round 1 would be unsuccessful in Round 2 and the time and resources that this misused;
• How SPF could work with local labour market policies and how this would help residents;
• The process for unsuccessful funding bids;
• The devolution trailblazer scheme for Greater Manchester;
• Whether the Council is consulted on funding simplification; and
• The criteria for SPF and how are resources assigned to evaluate this.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development explained that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Fund were two funding pots which the government released as part of their wider Levelling Up strategy. He stated that the Council had submitted a strong bid in round 2 of the LUF for £20million to transform and invest in Wythenshawe which was rejected without formal notification to the Council. He stated that he had some concerns with the LUF allocation process generally as it made local authorities compete against each other, but he reiterated the commitment of the Council’s Labour administration to investing in Wythenshawe.

The Strategic Director (Growth and Development) stated that the Council had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report sets out the latest forecast revenue budget position, and the next steps. Following the provisional finance settlement announced 19 December the Council is forecasting a balanced budget for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The risk has moved to the next Spending Review period 2025/26 where a shortfall of £57m is forecast. This reduces to £40m after the proposed use of £17m smoothing reserves.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which outlined the Council’s latest forecast revenue budget position, and the next steps. Following the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement announced on 19 December 2022, the Council was forecasting a balanced budget for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The risk moved to the next Spending Review period in 2025/26 where a shortfall of £57m was forecast and this would reduce to £40m after the proposed use of £17m smoothing reserves.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The Finance Settlement meant that the budget gap identified in November could be closed, without the need for further cuts and savings, and provided some opportunity for reducing the quantum and rephasing some of the savings;
• It was now proposed that options of £36.2m be progressed, a reduction of £6.1m, although additional funding streams announced as part of the Settlement came with several spend requirements, and additional pressures had emerged since the November Scrutiny report;
• £16m of reserves per annum were being used to close the pre-Settlement budget gap and would be rephased to support a sustainable position, particularly to support closing the budget gap in 2024/25 and to deal with the significant risks faced in 2025 and beyond;
• A proposal to increase the Council Tax precept by 2.99% and the Adult Social Care precept by 2% was reflected in the base and would be alongside targeted support to residents who are most vulnerable;
• The Settlement also gave some scope for targeted investments which would put the council in a more sustainable position to face the next spending review in 2025;
• Indicative workforce reduction of 60 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) posts linked to savings proposals was anticipated to be managed through natural turnover and vacancies;
• A second phase of the budget consultation was underway and provisional results from this would be provided to the Executive on 15 February, with a full analysis to Budget Scrutiny on 27 February; and
• The next steps for the budget process.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources wished to place on record his thanks to the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and her team for all their hard work following the settlement announcements. He stated that the budget settlement needed to be considered in the context of over a decade of austerity imposed on Manchester. He further referenced the impact of inflation, population growth in the city and the cost-of-living crisis all had on budgetary pressures. He commented that the Government had failed to communicate their financial decisions for city, noting the recent experience of announcements of the Levelling Up bids.

He commented that the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement announced on 19 December 2022 provided greater financial certainty than anticipated and enabled some proposed cuts to be removed or deferred.

Members expressed their disappointment at the inaction of and lack of communication by the government referred to by the Executive Member and commended the Executive and officers for their work in identifying the budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

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 changes to the initial revenue budget options proposed by officers in November 2022.  

The committee considered a 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 this committee and detailed the changes to the initial revenue budget options proposed by officers in November 2022. It highlighted how the Provisional Local Government Financial Settlement, announced on 19 December 2022, reflected a change in government policy in relation to funding inflation and social care pressures and provided an opportunity to review the quantum and phasing of savings. It was consequently proposed that options of £36.2m were progressed, of which £2.169m was within the remit of this Scrutiny Committee.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The Growth and Development directorate was made up of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure, Strategic Development, Strategic Housing, Planning, Building Control and Licensing, Investment Estate, Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES), Work and Skills and Digital Strategy;
• The Growth and Development directorate has a gross budget of £35.5 million and generates £44.8 million in income;
• The Highways service was within the remit of this scrutiny committee and has a gross budget of £25.1 million;
• Earlier proposals presented in November 2022 suggested savings options of £3.54m over three years but the Provisions Local Government Finance Settlement provided more funding than had been forecast and enabled both the quantum and phasing of savings to be reviewed to ensure minimal impact on service delivery;
• Savings of c£2.044m over the three-year period were initially proposed for Growth and Development and savings options of £100k had been removed from this following the review;
• Savings of £354k over three years were initially proposed for the Highways service but, following review, these had been reduced by £129k to a revised total of £225k. The revised proposals were made up of a combination of increased income of £160k and deleting two vacant positions amounting to £60k;
• Other changes to the proposals suggested in November 2022 included reducing opportunities to capitalise on staffing costs with the Investment Estate service from £250k to £150k per annum and to invest £300k to provide additional resources to enable the establishment of a new team within City Centre Growth and Infrastructure, and to provide additional capacity to the Highways Development Specialist team;
• An overall reduction of 2 Full Time Employees (FTE) was anticipated as part of the savings proposals and these were both vacant posts; and
• The directorate continued to be affected by Covid-19, particularly in the Investment Estate service, and work was ongoing to assess requests for rent holidays on a case-by-case basis, and the cost-of-living crisis.

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

• How an economic recession could challenge income generation within the Growth and Development directorate and
• Welcoming the decision to remove savings from temporarily reducing gully cleansing.

The Executive Member for Housing and Development reiterated the impact of austerity over the previous 13 years on the city, council, and residents. He highlighted that the Growth and Development directorate was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12a

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.

The committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which provided details of key decisions within the committee’s remit and its work programme. It also included the Economy Dashboard for information.

Decision:

That the report be noted.