To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2023.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

This report provides an update on the current/recent performance and future plans for public transport in Manchester.

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided an update on the current/recent performance and future plans for public transport in Manchester.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The Bee Network, a fully integrated transport network for Greater Manchester;
• Bus performance;
• Bus franchising;
• Metrolink performance; and
• Rail performance and future plans.

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions in relation to buses included:

• How could Councillors be involved in shaping bus routes when bus franchising was introduced;
• The replacement and retrofitting of buses to make them compliant with clean air standards while the Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Plan was under review by the Government;
• Improving bus stops, including whether real-time information could be displayed;
• To request that the content of future reports be more explicitly related to Manchester and its wards and areas of the city and the connection to the priorities of Making Manchester Fairer;
• The Bee Network Customer Centre and app and accessing information in community languages;
• Welcoming the increase in bus passengers; and
• The safety of bus passengers and drivers.

The Ward Councillor for Chorlton Park advised that the bus network should be extended, noting that some residents were excluded from bus services due to the distance from their home to the nearest bus stop.  She also highlighted the impact on residents of Little Gem bus company ceasing operation. 

Nick Roberts from TfGM explained how Little Gem had informed TfGM that they would be ceasing operation from the following day and how TfGM had worked to communicate this to bus users and to try to find a suitable alternative bus company to provide the contracted services.  He advised that it was hoped that a suitable alternative bus operator would be in place soon.  He stated that this case demonstrated the instability of the current market and that the new model of a franchised service should lead to improvements, with greater stability and control.  He reported that the first stage of the franchised network was intended to maintain stability in the short term, with a similar network to that at present, while information was being gathered.  Once this information was gathered and analysed, it was likely that there would be a review of the network, taking into account both commerciality and social need, and that this would include an element of consultation.  He informed Members that good progress had been made in retrofitting buses and that he was not aware of any pause on this work due to review of the Clean Air Plan, although he would check on this.  He reported that real-time information was available at some locations, in particular bus stations, and that consideration could be given to introducing this at popular bus stops but that many people had smartphones which they could use to access this information.  In response to further comments on the importance of real-time information, he stated that the Bee Network app would be key in providing information.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development)

This report provides a summary of the recent Greater Manchester Trailblazer deal and its implications for Manchester. 

The Committee received a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) which provided a summary of the recent Greater Manchester Trailblazer deal and its implications for Manchester.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• The background to the Deal
• The four priority areas within the Deal which were:
  • Single Settlement;
  • Housing and Regeneration;
  • Transport; and
  • Skills;
• Considerations for Manchester in relation to these priority areas; and
• Additional announcements.

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

• To welcome the devolution of powers to the city region;
• What was being done to ensure that the city region was in the best possible position if there was a change of government, in terms of retaining the commitments in this deal;
• Was the £150m of brownfield funding intended to enable the delivery of current housing targets or to stretch them further;
• To ask for more information on what the Housing Quality Pathfinder might mean in practice; and
• To request a report on the development of a Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc).

In response to a question from the Chair, the Leader stated that more progress had been made in achieving devolved powers for areas within the control of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) than for other Government departments.  She cited as an example that Greater Manchester had asked for control in the post-16 educational sector and influence in the pre-16 sector and had not been given either of these, although the Department for Education had agreed to look at a partnership in the post-16 sector, which would give the city region more influence in post-16 education and skills.

The Leader advised that she felt there was very little in the deal that a future Government would not continue with; however, she advised that the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer had announced that a Labour Government would make major reforms to or scrap business rates so work was taking place to understand what that would mean for Greater Manchester.  She advised that a future Government would also need to consider devolution across different geographical areas and what powers cities themselves should have, informing Members that the Core Cities were leading on work in relation to this.  In response to a question about the rail partnership, she stated that this was not the devolved control and capital, that the city region had wanted and that it was still an emerging partnership, which the city region would work hard on.

The Strategic Director (Growth and Development) reported that the £150m of brownfield funding was to help deliver the existing pipeline of homes and linked to a target of 7000 new homes within 3 years and that it was important to demonstrate to Government that Greater Manchester could achieve more with greater flexibility and certainty of funding.  In response to a Member’s question, she stated that this should include affordable housing and net zero housing.  In response to a Member’s question, the Executive Member for Housing and Development  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

This report summarises the headline outputs that have been released from the 2021 Census so far, specifically describing the change in resident population, the concerns the Council has in terms of missing population, and an overview of how the Census results are generally used to support decision making.

The Committee received a report and presentation of the Assistant Chief Executive which summarised the headline outputs that had been released from the 2021 Census so far, specifically describing the change in resident population, the concerns the Council had in terms of missing population, and an overview of how the Census results were generally used to support decision making.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Key results from the 2021 Census;
• Concerns with the Census results;
• The Manchester City Council Forecasting Model (MCCFM);
• Using population statistics to inform service planning; and
• The importance of the Census and population statistics.

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

• Funding implications of the population undercount in the Census 2021;
• The Manchester City Council Forecasting Model (MCCFM); and
• Opportunities for Ward Councillors to engage with this work at a ward level, including feeding back information.

The Assistant Chief Executive reported that the Council was in discussions with Government officials and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) about the undercount and funding implications, had offered to share the MCCFM with them and was lobbying hard to get this undercount taken into account in the funding formulas.

In response to a Member’s questions about the MCCFM, the Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence reported that this was a recognised model, which had been through testing and review, and had been procured by the Council a number of years ago.  The Performance and Insight Manager reported that the Council had used a number of different data sources to ascertain the population numbers that should have been expected in the Census.  She described how the model had been developed by an eminent demographer and the methodology that Manchester was using and stated that Manchester’s approach had been peer reviewed.  The Member welcomed this work.

The Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence reported that a lot of work was taking place with Neighbourhood Teams and other agencies to understand the local context but acknowledged a suggestion that more could be done with Ward Councillors and stated that he would take this forward.   In response to a Member’s question, the Performance and Insight Manager outlined some of the data sources used including Child Benefit, Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), Council Tax, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the electoral roll.  She reported that the Council had a ward data bank and that a lot of ward-level data was available, which could be shared with Members.

In response to a question from the Chair about data in the Census such as ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, the Assistant Chief Executive reported that the detailed information within the Census was being used, albeit with the caveat that there were people missing from these figures.  The Performance and Insight Manager advised that there was a concern that a higher proportion of the people missing from the Census data were likely to be from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups.  She reported that the Council was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

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 committee received a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit.

The Chair noted that the Committee had requested that an item on the MBacc be added to the ‘to be scheduled’ list on the work programme and had also requested a report on rail, which should include HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and the Northern Hub (Platforms 15/16).

Decision:

That the committee note the report and agree the work programme, noting the above comments.