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.

Councillor Joan Davies declared a personal interest in item 5 – Factory International.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 6 September 2022.

Decision:

That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on Thursday, 6 September 2022, be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides an update on progress with the delivery of The Factory Arts Centre, progress with the redevelopment of St John’s and the preparations for the opening of the building.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and the Strategic Director of Growth and Development which provided an update on progress with the delivery of The Factory Arts Centre, progress with the redevelopment of St John’s and the preparations for the opening of the building.

Key themes and points in the report included:

·         Creative industries are the fastest growing sector in Manchester and the creation of Factory International will sustain and grow this vital sector as well as strengthening Manchester’s reputation as a nationally and internationally important centre for culture and creativity;

·         Anticipated visitor figures both in a festival year and non-festival year;

·         The number of jobs provided by the development of Factory International and St John’s Quarter;

·         The work of The Factory Academy in providing training and skills;

·         Cost pressures facing the project, despite tight management and work to preserve completion dates;

·         The total forecast outturn position for the project is a shortfall of £19.7m excluding the acceleration works, additional contingencies and risks;

·         The strategic principles underpinning a five-year campaign from 2021 to support projected income targets for commercial sponsorship and philanthropic support;

·         Contractual arrangements between the Council and Manchester International Festival;

·         Inspiring local communities is central to the vision for Factory International and a creative engagement strategy will be delivered to focus on several workstreams; and

·         How Factory International will be environmentally sustainable.

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

·         The positive benefits of the project;

·         What was meant by ‘management contracts’;

·         Requesting more information on the Kickstart scheme and whether this had started;

·         Seeking reassurance that there will be no requirement for future capital expenditure increases for the project, particularly given current price uncertainties;

·         Whether officers remained confident that the Factory International remained set to open in June 2023;

·         If a broad prediction of income generation from sharing the naming rights to Factory International was available;

·         How Factory International would be inclusive and inviting to all residents, given the current cost-of-living crisis;

·         If any further requests would be made for central government funding; and

·         Requesting clarification on the breakdown of costs that the additional £25 million would be spent on.

The Director of Capital Programmes explained that management contracts consisted of the main contractor acting as an agent for the employer and has responsibility for entering into individual supply chain contracts on the employers behalf as opposed to undertaking construction themselves. The contractor would advise on the programme and costs and manage individual contracts. In this instance, a contractor would have no input into design and the Council employs a separate design team.

The Executive Director of Factory International explained that the Kickstart programme reflected Factory International’s continued commitment to providing access for those traditionally socially and culturally excluded from the arts. It will provide hands-on experience and improve confidence needed to get jobs within the cultural sector.

Factory Academy was highlighted as being central to the work of Factory International and has ran for a number  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides Members with a further update on the progress of the refurbishment and partial restoration of the Town Hall and Albert Square under the Our Town Hall (OTH) project since the last report to Resources and GovernanceScrutiny Committee in July 2021.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided an update on the refurbishment and partial restoration of the Town Hall and Albert Square under the Our Town Hall (OTH) project.

Key themes and points in the report included:

·         Increase from 74% to 90% cost surety of the project at the end of June 2022;

·         Acknowledgement of a very challenging period for the construction industry;

·         The Date for completion (25 June 2024) is under review following a series of delay claims from contractors;

·         The project cost plan for construction is reporting within budget, but significant risk pressures have arose in the period since Notice to Proceed (NTP), such as the conflict in Ukraine, energy prices and labour and material shortages;

·         Progress made with Social Value, with a number of the project’s Social Value KPIs already over-delivered;

·         The project has been recognised as an exemplar model of construction industry best practice that is delivering first rate quality, opportunities for the people of Manchester and is respectful of the environmental impact construction can have on neighbouring businesses;

·         Work under way to develop the operating model for the building, including revenue costs and planned occupants; and

·         The Mitigation Action Plan 2021-22 and its focus and outcomes.

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

·         How baseline targets for local labour and spend were formulated;

·         How the number of apprentices who are Manchester residents could be increased;

·         Commending the social value work of the project;

·         The current volatility of the construction industry, and how confident officers were that the project could overcome these pressures;

·         Plans to showcase the heritage assets within the Town Hall and whether these would be accessible to the public;

·         Increasing publicity of the project and works;

·         Welcoming the partial reopening of Albert Square, and what the ongoing maintenance arrangements would be;

·         Whether the Sculpture Hall inside the Town Hall would be reopened to the public and whether the names of recent Lord Mayors would be incorporated;

·         How confident officers were that no further budget increases would be required;

·         Whether the project was on-track for completion in 2024;

·         Requesting an update on the nesting falcons found in the Town Hall; and

·         Clarification on what was meant by the ‘Monte Carlo simulation’.

The Project Director explained that 6-8 months of market testing and a tender engagement process with two shortlisted bidders had been undertaken to test which contractor could provide best value and meet the key performance indicators (KPIs) for local labour and spend. Members were informed that the KPIs were significantly better than anticipated prior to the procurement process.

In response to a query regarding increasing the number of apprentices who are Manchester residents, it was explained that £28 million-worth of works  were still to be procured and a social value clause is included in every contract with contractors held to account on this. This would help to increase the number of locally-based apprentices working on the Our Town Hall  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides an update on the development of the ICT & Digital Strategy, which has been developed to meet the evolving needs of ICT & Digital.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided an update on the development of the ICT and Digital Strategy.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         The ICT and Digital Strategy and technology road map are important in the delivery of council priorities to make sure that investment is prioritised and that infrastructure is robust and secure;

·         How the Strategy would enable delivery of the next phase of the Future Shape of the Council programme such as

o   Delivering an improved service to our residents and businesses through an implementation of a new Customer relationship Management (CRM) system and website through the Resident and Business Digital Experience Programme.

o   The replacement of the council’s main Finance, Procurement and Human Resources system (SAP) which will be at end of life in 2027.

o   Moving away from our current data centres to a hybrid cloud approach

o   Further embedding the systems and processes from the old Northwards Housing organisation into Housing Operations.

·         Feedback from consultation undertaken with service users, Directorates and member panels;

·         The role of the ICT and Digital Design Authority Board in the implementation of the strategy, its membership and terms of reference; and

·         The development of the ICT & Digital Future Operating Model.

The Universal Technology Programme Manager also provided a presentation on the End User Device project at the meeting, which highlighted objectives, outcomes delivered to date, the type of devices deployed and carbon savings.

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

·         Commending the comprehensive and well-written report;

·         How users are embedded into the project and whether this is stakeholder-led;

·         The Digital and ICT Design Authority Board, and whether the Council had considered a more decentralised structure to reduce risk;

·         Whether the Strategy would be ‘project management-based’ or ‘project-based’;

·         How the Strategy would reduce carbon output; and

·         Device security, and whether increased use of laptops and hybrid working practices would lead to higher risks of data breaches.

The Director of ICT informed members that stakeholder engagement would differ between projects and some would involve consulting with residents. The roll-out of Office 365, which was an internal system, was cited as a positive example of stakeholders with officers and members involved at the earliest opportunity.

The Director of ICT confirmed that the Digital and ICT Design Authority Board was a centralised group and there was no current intention to consider a decentralised approach. It was explained that a centralised approach would help to prioritise and identify areas across the Council service for investment.

In response to whether the projects within the Strategy would be ‘project management-based’ or ‘project-based’, members were advised that large-scale programmes would be run as projects with an established process for undertaking these. Product owners would also be identified to own the entire lifecycle and to manage implementation and assess benefits.

The presentation provided by the Universal Technology Programme Manager highlighted that all equipment rolled out as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides an update on the Resident and Business Digital Experience Programme (RBDxP) which sits under Future Shape: Digital by Default, Customer Access and Front Door.

Future Shape of the Council is a two-year transformation programme designed to enable Manchester City Council (MCC) to be in the best possible shape to deliver its ambitions as set out in the Our Manchester Strategy whilst meeting the external challenges the council face from budget pressures.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided an update on the Resident and Business Digital Experience Programme (RBDxP).

The key points and themes within the report included:

·         RBDxP forms part of the Future Shape transformation programme which aims to enable the Council to be in the best possible shape to deliver its ambitions whilst meeting external challenges as a result of budget pressures;

·         RBDxP will see the replacement of the existing customer relationship management system, content management system (website) and integration layer in one single integrated platform;

·         The works will allow the Council’s front-facing systems to interact to the benefit of residents and businesses;

·         3 core user groups have been devised, made up of service users, residents and businesses, to help design digital services, support implementation and ensure that solutions meet user requirements and accessibility needs;

·         Key progress of the programme to date; and

·         Next steps and an indicative implementation plan.

The Programme Manager also provided a presentation at the meeting, which highlighted objectives, examples of improvements, progress to date, the engagement approach and next steps.

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

·         Reiterating the importance of co-designing the system with users;

·         How the new system would improve usability and what benefits it will provide residents;

·         The work that core user groups would be involved in and what this would entail;

·         How the Council could reduce the number of digitally-excluded residents; and

·         Welcoming the Technology and Implementation Partner which the Council has contracted to support the programme; and

·         Whether the Council was confident that the Technology and Implementation Partner was a suitably sized organisation to work with.

The Programme Manager acknowledged that the current services were fragmented and users had to login multiple times to reach Council services.RBDxP would create a single system for data to be held in and this would allow future works to offer richer services to residents and business and to identify trends in what services customers are accessing through the Council’s website. It would also enable the Council to react quicker to changes.

The Head of Revenues, Benefits and Customer Service explained that feedback from engagement sessions with members and residents had been incorporated into the aims of RBDxP. Suggestions which the Council was looking to enable included uploading photographs when reporting issues and reporting on behalf of someone else and being informed of outcomes.

The Deputy Member for Finance and Resources also advised that the programme would enable the growth of the Council’s in-house digital expertise.

In response to a query regarding the work of the core user groups and what this would entail, members were informed that respective Neighbourhood Area Managers would advise members in their neighbourhood meetings on what this work involved.

The Digital Social Inclusion Lead informed the Committee that there was an estimated decrease in the number of digitally-excluded residents since 2019 but a widening skills gap was acknowledged. The Digital Social Inclusion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides a summary of the impact on revenue budget position following recent government announcements and the proposed budget process for the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan and Capital Strategy.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided a summary of the impact on revenue budget position following recent government announcements and the proposed budget process for the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan and Capital Strategy.

The key points and themes within the report included:

·         An overview of government’s recent budget announcements;

·         Expectations of the government’s Medium-Term Fiscal Plan, which is scheduled to be announced on or around 23 November 2022;

·         The deferral of the Spending Review (SR) and indications that the Fair Funding review of how local government funding is allocated will not happen during the current SR period;

·         The unlikeliness that there will be resources to cover the cost of the inflationary increases and pay awards which amounts to an additional £42 million to be funded for Manchester City Council;

·         The Adult Social Care Discharge Fund, which can be used flexibly by local health and care systems to improve pathways for people to leave hospital when they are ready;

·         A part year cost reduction in 2022/23 of £0.6 million as a result of no longer requiring the £1.5 million which was added to directorate budgets to fund the employer contribution to National Insurance due to reductions in this;

·         The impact of the energy price cap on the Council’s utilities contracts is being assessed but initial indications are that this will reduce the 2022/23 electricity costs by an estimated £2.4 million; and

·         A full budget update and an overview of the savings and cuts options under development will be presented to the Resources and Scrutiny Committee on 8 November 2022.

The key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·         Recognising the announcement of the government’s Medium-Term Financial Statement has been brought forward, and

·         Commending officers for their work in extremely challenging circumstances.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources commented that the Council would continue to lobby government for fair funding for local authorities. This was vital to the delivery of services and to protecting the most vulnerable members of society.

It was also stated that 1-year Government Finance Settlements did not provide certainty and prevented forward planning.

The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer stated that the Council’s budget process would continue as planned and it was likely that further options for budgetary cuts would have to be considered.

It was also anticipated that the Government Finance Settlement would be received later than usual.

In summarising, the Chair wished officers luck going forwards.

Decision:

That the report be noted.

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 considered the report by the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which provided 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 included the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

Decision:

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