Agenda and minutes
Economy and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday, 21st May, 2024 10.00 am
Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions
Contact: Rachel McKeon
Media
No. | Item |
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2024. Minutes: The Chair thanked previous Committee Members, Councillors Hussain, Iqbal and Richards, who had not returned to the Committee this year, for their contribution over the previous municipal year and welcomed new Committee Members, Councillors Bano and Wills.
Decision
That the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2024 be approved as a correct record. |
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Economy Dashboard - Introduction to New Members PDF 100 KB Report of the Head of Performance, Research & Intelligence
This report introduces new Members to the most up-to-date Quarterly Economy Dashboard. The design of the dashboard product is reviewed annually so there is also the opportunity for Members to comment and suggest changes. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report of the Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence which introduced new Members to the most up-to-date Quarterly Economy Dashboard.
Key points and themes within the report included:
· The background to and purpose of the Economy Dashboard; and · The current metrics within the Dashboard, including how these related to the priority areas within the new Economic Strategy.
Key points and queries that arose from the Committee’s discussions included:
· That longer-term trends and progress towards the objectives in the Council’s strategies, for example opportunities being available to all residents, should be reflected in the Dashboard; · That comparative data was useful and to want to see data comparisons with other cities across the UK and with other countries; · That it would be useful to have data on people between 50 and 64 who were out of work, with a breakdown of the reasons for this as well as a breakdown by gender and ethnicity; · Why had there been a reduction in business rates collection; · Why were buses not included in the transport section; · How the Housing Strategy was progressing to meet the needs of people in bands one to three; · Was it possible to provide data in relation to wealth, not just income; · How much work was still being done to follow up on the impact of the pandemic; · Whether 35 data points was still a manageable number or too much information; and · To welcome that the Dashboard had been aligned around the new Economic Strategy.
The Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence welcomed Members’ feedback. In relation to tracking longer-term trends, he drew Members’ attention to the State of the City report, while advising that his team would also look at what data could be included in the Dashboard to show the longer-term picture. He reported that they currently used data from comparator cities in the UK but would look into expanding this, including looking at what data was available for international comparators. The Director of Inclusive Growth advised that information on levels of poverty was largely based on information from the benefits system and the number of people who were out of work and that this could not be directly compared to data from other countries. The Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence informed Members that his service could undertake bespoke research on particular topics.
The Executive Member for Housing and Development informed Members that the Committee would be receiving an update on the Housing Strategy at a future meeting. He informed the Committee that approximately 700 affordable homes had been built, including hundreds that were available for social rent. He reported that there was a serious national housing crisis and that Manchester needed to build a lot more social, Council and affordable homes; however, he advised that the Council also needed to consider rightsizing and ensure that Council and social housing was used effectively, noting that of approximately 70,000 social rent homes, around 21,000 were under-occupied.
The Head of Performance, Research and Intelligence reported that ... view the full minutes text for item 20. |
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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. Minutes: 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. |