To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2023.

Decision

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure

This report provides an update on the role of Manchester Airport in the economy of the city; the current economic situation of the Airport following the impact of COVID-19; and the next steps in the economic future for the Airport.

The Committee received a report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure which provided an update on the role of Manchester Airport in the economy of the city; the current economic situation of the Airport following the impact of COVID-19; and the next steps in the economic future for the Airport.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Manchester Airport operational update;
• Economic impact of Manchester Airport;
• Investment in infrastructure;
• Investment in employment, education, and skills;
• Airport City update; and
• Forward look.

Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport delivered a short presentation on the Airport, including its operational performance, its economic impact, transformation work, engagement with the local community and apprenticeship opportunities.

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

• The economic impact and benefits of the Airport on Wythenshawe and to request that, when the Committee received a further report from the Airport, it include a narrative on this;
• Public transport links to the Airport, including a question about Metrolink expansion, and the impact of congestion;
• Public transport connectivity at Airport City;
• The implications of the Transformation Programme by 2025;
• Managing risk related to future changes in the aviation industry due to a move to a net zero future;
• The customer experience and perceptions of this;
• The workforce, including the areas that staff were recruited from, pathways for staff to progress their careers, restrictions on employing staff with a criminal record and whether the post-pandemic recruitment and training issues had been resolved;
• Noting that the Airport had become an accredited Real Living Wage employer, did this apply to procured services as well; and
• The Airport’s longer-term financial position.

A Member who was the Chair of the Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee informed Members that her Committee would be receiving a report on Manchester Airport and Aviation Emissions at its meeting on 11 January 2024 and she invited all Members of this Committee to attend.

Chris Woodroofe outlined some of the work taking place with the local community in Wythenshawe, including schools engagement, which prioritised Wythenshawe schools, engagement with the local community and local Ward Councillors and involvement in the multi-agency taskforce for the area.  He reported that the people assisted by the Manchester Airport Academy to return to work after a period out of work were from the local community. He offered to provide the Member with further information on the economic benefits of the Airport for Wythenshawe after the meeting.  He explained that the Transformation Programme would revolutionise the passenger experience and enable the airport to make full use of its existing runway infrastructure, highlighting the expected increase in passenger numbers, increase in GVA (Gross Value Added) and additional jobs created.  He reported that the aviation industry in the UK was committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and was confident of being on track to meet this target, advising that Manchester Airport was a founding member of the Jet Zero Council.  He informed Members about plans  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure

This report provides an update on the current position with a number of rail schemes, including high speed and conventional rail, and the resulting impact on the city.

The Committee received a report of the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure which provided an update on the current position with a number of rail schemes, including high speed and conventional rail, and the resulting impact on the city.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Network North;
• Northern Hub update;
• Manchester & North West Transformation Programme (MNTP) and Manchester Recovery Task Force (MRTF);
• The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU);
• Manchester & Salford Central Stations Prospectus;
• Current train service issues and opportunities;
• GM Rail Board update; and
• Priorities for Manchester.

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

• To express concern at the impact of the decision on HS2 on Manchester, Greater Manchester and the north;
• How much money had been spent working on HS2 over the past 10 years;
• How ‘tap-in tap-out’ pricing would work, given the complexity of the ticketing options;
• The management of land owned by Network Rail and engagement with the Council and Ward Councillors on this; and
• Concern that, after having its contract renewed, Avanti West Coast had cut its services.

In response to a Member’s question, the Director of City Centre Growth and Infrastructure reported that the Government was not required to publish the Equality Impact Assessment in relation to the decision on HS2.  She informed the Committee that the Council had spent around £3 million since 2012 on work relating to HS2.

Simon Elliot from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) advised Members that an integrated public transport system, including integrated ticketing, was key to the roll-out of the Bee Network.  He acknowledged the challenges of introducing a ‘tap-in tap-out’ contactless system due to the complexity of rail ticket pricing, informing Members of a pilot on the train route from Glossop and Stalybridge into Manchester by 2025, prior to a multi-modal roll-out across the region.  He reported that TfGM shared Members’ disappointment regarding the reduction in Avanti West Coast services in December, advising that these were due to planning issues, historical terms and conditions and a backlog in driver training and emphasising the importance of ensuring the reliability of the reduced service.  He reported that Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, had written, through the Rail North Committee, to Avanti stating that the reduced service was not acceptable and seeking assurances that there would not be further reductions in the New Year.  He informed the Committee that the Rail North Committee was the body responsible for holding rail companies in the north to account and that the Managing Director of Avanti, Andrew Mellors, had attended a meeting of the Committee and would be providing them with Avanti’s full recovery plan for the New Year.

Christopher Coleman from Network Rail advised Members that, if they informed him of the details of the issues relating to Network Rail land, he would work with colleagues to address these concerns.  The Executive Member for Environment and Transport offered to work with Network Rail on how Ward Councillors could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

Report of the Director of Inclusive Economy

This report provides an update on social value and provides examples of the social value opportunities generated as a direct result of Manchester City Council’s procurement policy.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Inclusive Economy which provided an update on social value and provided examples of the social value opportunities generated as a direct result of Manchester City Council’s procurement policy.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Background information;
• Achievements so far and economic impacts, including Social Value delivered by suppliers to the Council through different contracts; and
• Current focus and next steps.

Paul Galloway from Morgan Sindall, the construction company which built Gorton Hub, outlined the Social Value activities his organisation had undertaken, including job creation, education activities, work with local unemployed people, community initiatives and work to reduce waste and carbon emissions.

Katie Mowat from Biffa delivered a presentation about Biffa’s Social Value activities, including school engagement and community events, as well as colleague engagement and plans and priorities for 2024.

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

• To recognise the importance of Social Value and to thank the companies for fully engaging with it;
• How Councillors could support the effective use of Social Value in their wards;
• Monitoring to ensure companies met the Social Value elements of their contract;
• Whether homeless families could be added as one of the targeted priority groups;
• The variations in how well companies delivered Social Value activities and using learning to improve the use of Social Value and capturing and sharing good practice; and
• Was data available on the extent to which the targeted priority groups were being reached.

The Deputy Executive Member for Finance and Resources informed the Committee that there was support from Ward Councillors on Social Value but that this involvement could be improved and she would give further consideration to how local Members could be better communicated with and engaged in this work, advising that Ward Councillors understood local needs.  She informed Members about work taking place to gather case studies on Social Value and then communicate this work to external audiences and also to Members, so that they could see examples of best practice and use this as inspiration for identifying Social Value activities for their ward.  She informed Members that a Social Value Co-ordinator had recently been recruited who would work across all Directorates and have an overview of work taking place across the Council.

In response to a Member’s question about ensuring that the Social Value opportunities relating to Wythenshawe Civic Centre were maximised, the Director of Inclusive Growth reported that Social Value was a built-in consideration in the procurement process for the development.  She outlined some of the investment into the area and reported that the approach to Social Value in Wythenshawe would be similar to, and take learning from, the approach in north Manchester.  She informed Members that Social Value was built into contracts and monitoring this was part of the contract management arrangements.  She reported that the Social Value Policy had been refreshed by Executive in March 2021, including amending the priority groups.  She reported that some young people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

Report of the Director of Development and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides the outcomes of the evaluation of the Moss Side, Moston and Old Moat Selective Licensing pilot areas.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Development and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which provided the outcomes of the evaluation of the Moss Side, Moston and Old Moat Selective Licensing pilot areas.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Implementation of the Scheme;
• Housing Compliance and Enforcement;
• Housing-related requests;
• Waste management and fly tipping;
• Victim-based crime, antisocial behaviour and domestic noise incidents;
• Deprivation and the housing market impact;
• Feedback from Neighbourhoods Teams and case studies;
• Communication and engagement; and
• Lessons learned and issues to consider.

The Committee also received a report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which identified nine potential areas across six wards that were experiencing issues which met the criteria to justify a Selective Licensing designation in the area. Officers were seeking approval to undertake a consultation exercise to establish whether the declaration of a Selective Licensing scheme was required within the identified areas.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Process for identifying areas which would benefit from Selective Licensing;
• Neighbourhood and Enforcement Teams engagement;
• Local Member engagement;
• Proposed Phase 4 Selective Licensing Areas – Criteria; and
• Introducing Phase 4 of Selective Licensing - Consultation Plan.

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

• Noting that the evaluation of the Moss Side, Moston and Old Moat Selective Licensing areas had found that excess cold was the most common serious issue and discussing the reasons for this;
• To welcome the level of data that had been gathered and to ask whether qualitative data from tenants had been gathered; and
• How decisions were made on the final list for the next phase from the original longlist.

In response to a Member’s question, the Executive Member for Housing and Development reported that at present the Council could have 20% of the city’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) licensed and that this sector represented approximately 40% of housing stock in the city.  He informed Members that, as part of the Devolution Trailblazer deals, some of these housing decisions would be devolved from the Secretary of State to the Mayor of Greater Manchester and that discussions were taking place with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) about future implications.

The Compliance and Enforcement Specialist reported that the energy crisis and cost-of-living crisis had contributed to the increase in excess cold issues.  She reported that qualitative feedback from residents had been obtained via residents’ groups and residents’ forums.  In response to a further question about the feedback received, she reported that this had been mixed.  She advised that some residents understood what Selective Licensing was, engaged with it and found it a positive experience; however, she reported that there was a need to manage expectations of some residents and also to raise awareness of the scheme, particularly as there was a turnover of residents during the time of the scheme.  She informed Members that the Council now had an Engagement Officer to work with residents’ group and landlords and to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) and the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

The Housing Act 2004 gives Local Authorities the power to introduce the licensing of private rented homes within a designated area, with the aim of improving the management and condition of these properties.

Officers have used local data and intelligence and lessons learnt from previous selective licensing phases to identify 9 potential areas across 6 wards that are experiencing issues which meet the criteria to justify a SL designation in the area. Officers are therefore seeking approval to undertake a consultation exercise to establish whether the declaration of a selective licensing scheme, is required within these identified areas.

This item was combined with the previous item.  See the minutes above.

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.

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.

Decision:

That the Committee note the report and agree the work programme.