Agenda and minutes
Executive - Wednesday, 17th February, 2021 2.00 pm
Venue: Virtual Meeting
Contact: Donald Connolly
Media
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To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2021. Minutes: Decision
To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting on 20 January 2021.
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COVID 19 Monthly Update Report PDF 769 KB The report of the Chief Executive was to follow and is now enclosed. Minutes: The written report from the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer took the form of three “situation reports”, one each for the work on the city’s economic recovery, work with residents and communities, and work on the future of the Council itself.
At the meeting the Executive Member for Adult Services reported that Manchester's overall prevalence rate had now fallen to 190 cases per 100,000 people. The prevalence among the over-60s had also fallen to 170 cases per 100,000. The decreases in both were welcome news for the city. However, whilst the rate of new admission to hospitals was also decreasing it remained the case that the hospitals were very busy and still under a great deal of pressure. Everyone had to keep their guard up and keep the prevalence rate in decline.
The mass testing that had been started in Moss Side and neighbouring parts of Whalley Range, Hulme and Fallowfield was continuing. That had been undertaken in response to cases being detected of the E484K mutation of the Kent Variant of the virus. So far almost 3,000 tests had been provided to the 10,000 households within that affected area, with 80% of the households contacted. This mass testing had picked up 50 otherwise asymptomatic cases. A similar mass-testing exercise was to begin in parts of Moston and Harpurhey for the same reason.
The Executive Member also reported that more than 97,000 people in the city had received their first dose of a vaccine, with the target being the delivery of 214,000 vaccines by mid-April. All care home residents who wanted to be had been vaccinated. She explained that more work was to be done to enable all members of the community to have the information they needed, and to feel confident that a vaccine was going to benefit them.
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Revenue Budget Monitoring to the end of December 2020 PDF 403 KB The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed. Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer presented a review of the 2020/21 revenue budgets. The report provided an overview of the Council’s financial position as at the end of December 2020 and the work to develop a balanced budget for 2020/21. The report continued to project a balanced budget outturn for 2020/21, reflecting what had been the situation reported in December 2020 (Minute Exe/20/134). The forecast budget shortfall from COVID-19 pressures was £58m this financial year, which was being mitigated through the Council’s share of the sales, fees and charges emergency funding. The overall impact of the pandemic was forecast as being £164.4m of which £23.6m related to additional expenditure and £140.8m to loss of income. Of that total, £58m related to 2020/21 and the rest was to have a significant impact on the 2021/22 and future budgets, as the other business of the meeting was to show.
Additional COVID-19 related funding
The report detailed the additional grants that had been announced or received from the Government since the previous report in December. These were · Adult Social Care - £1.333m Workforce Capacity Fund to enable the council to supplement and strengthen adult social care staff capacity to ensure the delivery of safe and continuous care. · Adult Social Care - £0.842m to support increased testing in care homes, with the bulk of this to be passed on to the care homes · Neighbourhood Services – £0.882m for cultural recovery to Manchester Art Gallery being severely financially impacted by COVID-19. · Neighbourhood Services - £0.621m Community Champions Fund to be used to work with community-based organisations to protect those most at risk from COVID-19. · Corporate Core - £0.379m Self Isolation Support for the administration of the Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme, which awards £500 to some individuals who are told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace or the COVID-19 App. · Corporate Core Administering Business Rates Relief New Burden - £12k for the software and administration costs of implementing the extended retail relief scheme. · Corporate Core Council Tax Hardship New Burdens - £58k for the software and administrative costs associated with implementing the Council Tax hardship fund, which deducts £150 from council tax support claimant's council tax liability. · Corporate Core Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund New Burdens - £101k for the administration of the Local Authority Discretionary Grant scheme, which has provided £5.4m of support to 957 businesses not registered for business rates bills.
The use of all those grants was supported.
The report also explained that the Government had announced that the Council was to receive an Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) top-up of £4.911m. This was in addition to the £11.698m already received, giving total ARG funding of £16.609m. The ARG could be used to facilitate a discretionary grant scheme to support those businesses that are closed but do not have a rateable value, or those who are severely impacted rather than closed and are not eligible for other forms of support. It was proposed and agreed that the support ... view the full minutes text for item 18. |
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Capital Budget Monitoring to the end of December 2020 PDF 698 KB The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer is enclosed. Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer's report informed the Executive of the revised capital budget 2020/21 to 2023/24 taking account of agreed and proposed additions to the programme, profiling changes, and the latest estimates of forecast spend and resources for the 2020/21 capital programme. The report explained the major variations to forecast spend, and any impact that variations had on the five-year Capital Programme.
The forecast of expenditure for 2020/21 for the Manchester City Council capital programme was £372.1m compared to a current revised budget of £446.7m. Spend as of 31 December was £249.1m.
Appended to the report was a schedule of projects within the overall capital programme where the allocations needed to be revised and funding allocations vired between projects. The appendix showed the virement needed for each scheme and each project. We agreed to recommend the virements of more than £500,000 to the Council for approval, and to approve those below £500,000.
The prudential indicators as at the end of December 2020 were appended to the report and were noted.
Decisions
1. To recommend that the Council approve the virements over £0.5m within the capital programme as set out in Appendix 1 of these minutes.
2. To approve virements under £0.5m within the capital programme as outlined in appendix 1 of these minutes.
3. To note that approvals of movements and transfers to the capital programme, will result in a revised budget total of £372.0m to and a latest full year forecast of £372.1m. Expenditure to the end of December 2020 is £249.1m.
4. To note the prudential indicators as set out in Appendix B of the report.
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Budget Overview and Strategy for 2021/22 PDF 609 KB The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed. Minutes: In January a report had been considered on the budget implications of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2021/22 (Minute Exe/21/5). That had given an early assessment of the Council’s financial position in the next year. The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer now presented a report on the Council’s overall financial strategy for 2021/22 which brought together the various components of the proposed 2021/22 budget: the Revenue Budget, the Capital Strategy, and the Housing Revenue Account, showing how these would jointly continue to reflect the Our Manchester Strategy and Corporate Plan priorities.
The report explained that the Council's net revenue budget is funded from five main sources: business rates, Council Tax, government grants, dividends, and use of reserves. In recent years the on-going reductions in central government funding had increased the importance of growing and maintaining local income and local funding sources, which was now integral to the Council’s financial planning. Between 2010/11 and 2021/22 the Council’s spending power (as defined by government) had reduced by £129m (21%), the average council reduction in England for the same period was 7%. For 2021/22 the situation was especially difficult: as well as the need to continue to deal with and plan for the chronic withdrawal of government funding to the Council, the Council had to address the more acute financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Council’s finances in 2021/22. The funding announced by the government in the Local Government Finance Settlement had been for a single year only, so the proposals were for the Council to adopt a one-year budget. Previously the Council had normally budgeted using a three-year financial plan.
The report presented in more detail the main elements that had been part of the Local Government Finance Settlement, which had been outlined in the January report. The assumption on the Council Tax remained as had been reported in January: that the Council would apply a 1.99% Council Tax increase in general, and a further 3% increase to provide extra funding for Adult Social Care, so a 4.99% Council Tax increase overall. In January the expected impact of the settlement on the council's 2021/22 budget was estimated at £58.87m. Since then the collection Fund position had been finalised and the estimated receipt for the Local Tax income guarantee scheme updated. The total impact on budget was now estimated at £58.7m. The summary of the being:
The report explained that in bringing forward the final proposals for the 2021/22 budget, that ... view the full minutes text for item 20. |
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The 2021/22 Revenue Budget PDF 1 MB The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed, Appendix 3 added which was omitted from the version first published. Minutes: The previous item of business had set out the financial strategy and the approach that had been taken to develop the proposed budget for 2021/22. This joint report from the Chief Executive, and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer set out the Revenue Budget proposal in more detail.
Prior to COVID-19 there had been a forecast of a £22m funding shortfall for the Council in for 2021/22. That had been forecast to rise to £80m by 2024/25. The intention had been to address those in the Medium-Term Financial Planning process. However, the significant financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic now had to be added to those original forecasts, giving an underlying gross budget pressure of £166m for 2021/22.
Prior to the spending review mitigations and corporate measures of £57m had already been identified. In addition, it was proposed that £12m of airport dividends be re-profiled from 2020/21 to support the 2021/22 budget. This had resulted in pre-Spending Review budget gap of £97m. That was to be balanced through the additional funding announced in the Finance Settlement, other budget cuts and the proposed use of the 3% Adult Social Care precept. A breakdown of the budget cuts to be made was included in the report:
The budget being put forward had a total funding requirement of £637.304m, compared to the funding requirement in 2020/21 of £661.125m. The revised budget for 2020/21 now stood at a total of £859.289. The comparison of the budgets being
This budget was based on the assumption that the Council’s element of Council Tax would increase by 1.99% along with a further 3% specifically for adult social care. When the Greater Manchester Council Tax precept increases were added to the Council’s own the total increase ... view the full minutes text for item 21. |
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Children and Education Services Budget 2021/22 PDF 623 KB The report of the Strategic Director for Children and Education Services is enclosed. Minutes: The report of the Strategic Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees over the previous months. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders.
For 2021/22 the total of identified savings was £12.359m. There was confidence that those were deliverable. The savings were detailed in the report and listed in the appendix to the report. The options developed by officers had reflected the Directorate’s budgetary approach: · Options for cost avoidance and those associated with the delivery of services to children with high/complex needs through transforming services and increasing the range and choice of placements (sufficiency) · Options to accelerate the pace and ambition of collaboration with partners · Options which aim to remove duplication and develop a shared understanding of how services could deliver tasks effectively and efficiently. These include options for service reductions which would enable the Directorate to deliver a balanced budget whilst enabling the Council to meet its statutory duties · Options for income generation
Having applied the proposed savings, and other changes needed to deal with new demands within the directorate, the net budget for the Directorate was:
It was noted that the Directorate Budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee where the committee expressed its concerns about the Council’s financial position and the impact on the Directorate budget (Minute CYP/21/08).
Decision
To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report.
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Adult Social Care and Population Health Budget 2021/22 PDF 660 KB The report of the Chief Executive Manchester Local Care Organisation and the Executive Director of Adult Social Services is enclosed. Minutes: A report by the Strategic Director explained that for 2021/22, the budget plan for Adult Social Care was to be essentially part of the Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) Operational Plan. The MCLO Operating Plan for 2021/22 was currently in development, with a final draft of the plan expected by the end of April 2021. The MLCO Operating Plan for 2021/22 would comprise: · an overarching organisation-wide Operating Plan for 2021/22; · 13 INT service plans; · service plans for the specialist community (health and social care) services provided to the residents of Manchester that would interact with, but may be delivered on a wider scale than in our neighbourhoods, such as specialist podiatry services or our citywide equipment services; and · a financial strategy and budget plan for 2021/22.
The priorities within the plan were to be: · A population health driven approach to service planning and delivery; supporting prevention programmes to improve the health of the people of Manchester · Consolidating and strengthening our neighbourhood approach; supporting our 12 Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) to make an impact on their communities and continuing to integrate the operations of our community health and social care teams · Continue to design and deliver safe, effective and efficient services to people in our communities · Mobilising primary care leadership at the heart of the MLCO; formalising the governance between primary care and MLCO to ensure joint working with the new Primary Care Networks · Playing a lead role in system resilience; helping people get the right care in the right place with a community first ethos · Deliver the agreed phased approach to the increasing scope of the MLCO as an integrated health and care organisation; delivering public service reform in the place
The report examined the elements of the Council’s own budgets that were within and outside of the pooled budget arrangements for the MLCO. The key changes and pressures that had been addressed in 2021/22 were set out, as were the savings proposals where such had been possible. The overall budget was therefore:
It was noted that the budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee and the committee had endorsed the proposals in the report (Minute HSC/21/09).
Decision
To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report.
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Neighbourhoods Directorate Budget 2021/22 PDF 423 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) was to follow and is now enclosed. Minutes: The report of the Strategic Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees over the previous few months. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders. The Neighbourhoods Directorate had identified savings of £7.376m which would require a staffing reduction of 2 FTE. Due to the lead in time involved in some of the changes that £7.376m would be phased over the period 2021/22- 2024/25, with an initial £6.683m being delivered in 2021/22. Each of the proposed savings was described in the report and a schedule of all the savings was appended to the report. Other changes and investments needed were also set out in the report. Taken together, the budget proposals were:
One of the proposals in the budget report was to avoid £110,000 of future costs by withdrawing the operating subsidy to the Wythenshawe Indoor Market. It was proposed that the indoor market be closed, and that support be offered to the traders to access alternative sites in the outdoor market or elsewhere within the City. The meeting was addressed by Councillor Newman, a Woodhouse Park Ward councillor, who spoke against this proposed saving. Councillor Newman explained the importance of the indoor market as an iconic feature of the town’s centre. Closure of the market at the end of March 2021 would be a blow to the morale of the members of the local community who, like many others in the city, have suffered many hardships and difficulties throughout the pandemic. He asked if the Executive would consider continuing the subsidy for a further six months to allow time for the local councillors and the council’s staff to work with the traders and the Wythenshawe Town Centre managers to develop a plan to ensure the financial sustainability of the market.
In response to this the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer explained that the Government had recently announced that the Council was to receive a further £50,000 of New Burdens funding that had not been anticipated, and the application of that money would release the funds from elsewhere to allow the market subsidy to continue for six months. The Executive was therefore happy to support Councillor Newman’s request and to recommend the appropriate adjustment be made to the Neighbourhoods Directorate budget.
It was noted that the Directorate Budget had also ... view the full minutes text for item 24. |
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Homelessness Directorate Budget 2021/22 PDF 595 KB The report of the Director of Homelessness is enclosed. Minutes: The report of the Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees over the previous few months. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders. the Homelessness savings proposals would deliver £2.335m in 2021/22. Each of the proposed savings was described in the report and a schedule of all the savings was appended to the report. Other changes and investments needed were also set out in the report. Taken together, the budget proposals were:
It was noted that the Directorate Budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee and the committee had endorsed the budget proposals (Minute NESC/21/10).
Decision
To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report.
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Growth and Development Directorate Budget 2021/22 PDF 529 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed. Minutes: The report of the Strategic Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed over the previous few months, and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders. The Directorate had identified proposed budget reductions of £2.314m. Those would involve a staffing reduction of 22 FTE. Due to lead in time around required investments and timing on the ability to exit some contracts and leases, the £2.314m would be phased over the period 2021/22- 2024/25, with an initial £2.024m being delivered in 2021/22. Each of the proposed savings was described in the report and a schedule of all the savings was appended to the report. Other changes and investments needed were also set out in the report. Taken together, the budget proposals were:
At the meeting it was explained that the proposed saving of £393,000 from Planning and Building Control was linked to a review and restructuring of that service. That review was underway and so the actual extent of the savings that could be achieved would depend on that outcome of that work. The budget being proposed in the report might therefore need to be amended during the year to take account of this.
It was noted that the Directorate Budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Economy Scrutiny Committee and the committee had endorsed the proposals in the report (Minute ESC/02/11).
Decision
To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report.
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Corporate Core Budget 2021/22 PDF 442 KB The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and City Solicitor is enclosed. Minutes: The report of the Strategic Director explained how the budget proposals for the Directorate had been developed over the previous few months, and subjected to analysis by Scrutiny Committees. Possible budget saving proposals had been put forward in November and refined and modified in response to the views of councillors and other stakeholders. The Core Directorate had identified proposed budget reductions of £6.281m which would involve a staffing reduction of 115.1 FTE. As part of advance preparation for the proposed budget reductions, and the need to reduce staff numbers, services had not been recruiting unless the post was considered to be essential. There were currently 54 vacancies identified as being able to contribute towards the overall staff reduction. The report described each of the proposed savings and staffing reductions in detail. It also set out the other changes that had been made as part of developing the overall budget plan for the next year. Taken together the proposed budget was:
At the meeting it was announced that a further saving was going to be sought through reductions in the allowances and expenses paid to some councillors. The desire was to suspend the expenses payments to the Deputy Lord Mayors for a period of three years, and also to suspend for three years the Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA) for two Executive Members, two Assistant Executive members, and the Deputy Chair of the Planning and Highways Committee. It was also desired that the SRA payments that applied to roles within the Opposition Group on the Council should be reduced from three to one. If those changes were made then there would be further savings to be applied to the Corporate Core budget on top of those already being proposed in the report.
It was noted that the Directorate Budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee and the committee had endorsed the proposals in the report (Minute RGSC/21/11).
Decision
To approve the Directorate budget proposals as set out in the report, and to recommend that the Council considers how to secure additional savings from councillors’ expenses and allowances.
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School Budget 2021/22 PDF 293 KB The report of the Strategic Director for Children’s and Education Services is enclosed. Minutes: Dedicated School Grant (DSG) is a ring fenced grant of which the majority is used to fund individual schools’ budgets in maintained schools and academies in the city, early-years nursery entitlement and provision for pupils with high needs, including those with Education Health & Care Plans (EHCPs) in special schools, special provision and mainstream schools in Manchester and out of city.
A report submitted by the Strategic Director for Children and Education Services explained how the allocated DSG was distributed across the schools and supported establishments in Manchester.
The report explained that for 2021/22 the DSG would be made up of four blocks: schools block, early years block, high needs block and central services schools block. It was reported that Manchester was to receive a total DSG of £602.626m The overall increase in grant compared to 2020/21 was £42.477m. The most significant elements of that increase were · £10.611m increase in the school block · £9.184m uplift in the high needs block · £19.498m for the transfer of the Teacher’s Pay Grant and Teacher’s Pension Grants into the DSG
The breakdown of the DSG in 2021/22, compared to 2020/21 would be:
It was noted that the Schools Budget report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee where the committee expressed its concerns about the Council’s financial position and the impact on the education budgets (Minute CYP/21/09).
Decision
To approve the schools’ budget proposals as set out in the report.
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Housing Revenue Account 2021/22 to 2023/24 PDF 488 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed. Minutes: Councillor Midgely declared a personal interest in this item of business, knowing an employee of Northwards Housing.
A joint report by the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer presented the proposed budget for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2021/22 and indicative budgets for 2022/23 and 2023/24.
The report set out the requirements placed on the Council with respect to the HRA budget: · the Council had to formulate proposals or income and expenditure for the financial year which sought to ensure that the HRA would not show a deficit balance; · to keep a HRA in accordance with proper practice to ensure that the HRA is in balance taking one year with another; and · the HRA must, in general, balance on a year-to-year basis so that the costs of running the Housing Service must be met from HRA income.
Under a variety of arrangements, the Council owns and manage around 15,500 properties within the HRA. The arrangements included PFI schemes and the stock managed by either Northwards Housing or other Registered Social Landlords. During 2020/21 the Council was anticipating selling around 80 properties under the Right to Buy scheme.
Included in the report was the forecast for the HRA in 2020/21 to have an in-year surplus of £5.148m, compared to the original balanced budget set in 2020 (Minute Exe/20/18). The main reasons for that variation were explained in the report. They were mainly due to underspending on the revenue contributions to capital outlay (RCCO).
In 2020/21 the Government had allowed local authorities to increase rents by a maximum of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) plus 1%. That was provision was to continue up to 2024/25. The CPI at September 2020 had been 0.5% so the report proposed that tenants’ rents for all properties should increase by 1.5% in April 2021.
Gas for the communal heating systems was sourced as part of the City Council’s overall gas contract. The existing wholesale gas contract expired shortly, and latest prices indicated that the current wholesale gas price would reduce by 10% with effect from April 2021. Therefore, in order to ensure that the costs of gas used were recovered through the tariffs charged for tenants and residents on a scheme-by-scheme basis, it would be necessary to vary the current heating charges by between +5% and -20%. Appended to the report was a complete schedule of proposed heating tariffs for pay by rent and pay by prepayment card, showing the percentage change for 2021/22. More than half the properties involved would see their gas heating charge decrease, with the average being around a 5% reduction.
Given that a change in the control of the housing stock currently being managed by Northwards Housing was being considered (Minute Exe/21/15) it was felt that the Management Fee for Northwards should continue at the level agreed in 2020/21.
In order to ensure that the increase applied to garage rents remained in line with that applied to dwelling rents, it was proposed that 2021/22 ... view the full minutes text for item 29. |
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Capital Strategy and Budget 2020/21 to 2024/25 PDF 1 MB The report of the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer is enclosed. Minutes: Councillor Midgely declared a personal interest in this item of business, knowing an employee of Northwards Housing.
Consideration was given to the report submitted by the City Treasurer. The report presented the capital budget proposals before their submission to the Council.
The capital programme 2020/21 to 2024/25 comprised the continuation of the existing programme. For continuing schemes, the position was based on that set out in the report on Capital Programme Monitoring 2020/21, also being considered at this meeting (Minute Exe/21/19 above).
Also included were those future projects which were considered likely to be brought forward, subject to the submission of a successful business case. For any project seeking capital expenditure approval a business case must be drafted, covering: · how the project links to the City Council’s strategic priorities, social value, and any statutory requirements; · what economic value the project will provide to the City, including social value; · funding model, with evidence of cost and capital and revenue implications; · timescale for delivery and identification of risks to the project, including legal issues; and · what the project will achieve, and the benefits that will be realised.
Details on the projects within the programme were set out in the report and the full list of the proposed projects was appended to the report.
If agreed, then the proposals contained in the report would create a capital programme of £479.6m in 2021/22, £331.8m in 2022/23, £135.1 in 2023/24 and £36.3m in 2024/25. A summary of the programme was:
The proposed funding for the programme in 2021/22 was:
The revenue budget proposals set out in the report on the Revenue Budget 2021/22 included provision to finance this level of borrowing (Minute Exe/21/21 above).
The report explained that a number of schemes which had been developed and were ready for inclusion in the capital programme. Support was given for five capital budget changes. Taken together these schemes would increase the capital Programme by £0.186m in 2020/21 and by £32.495m in 2021/22, funded by external ... view the full minutes text for item 30. |
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The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer was to follow and is now enclosed. Minutes: The Council’s Treasury Management policy complies with the revised CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management. The Council adopted this in March 2010.
The Local Government Act 2003 and supporting regulations require the Council to have regard to the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities and to set Prudential Indicators for the next three years to ensure that the Council’s capital investment plans are affordable, prudent and sustainable.
The proposed strategy for 2021/22 was based upon the views of Treasury officers on interest rates, informed by leading market forecasts. The Strategy covered: Prudential and Treasury Indicators Minimum Revenue Provision Strategy Treasury Management Policy Statement Treasury Management Scheme of Delegation Borrowing Requirement Borrowing Strategy Annual Investment Strategy
We noted the proposed Annual Investment and Borrowing Strategies set out in the report, and agreed to commend them to the Council.
Decisions
1. To recommend the report to Council.
2. To delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources, to approve changes to the borrowing figures as a result of changes to the Council’s Capital or Revenue budget and submit these changes to Council.
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Our Manchester Strategy - Forward to 2025 PDF 316 KB The report of the Chief Executive is enclosed. Additional documents: Minutes: The “Our Manchester” Strategy had been approved and adopted by the Council in January 2016 (Minute CC/16/10). In May 2020 the Executive had agreed for a reset of the Our Manchester Strategy 2016 - 2025 to be undertaken as part of the Council’s COVID-19 recovery planning (Minute Exe/20/59). A report now submitted by the Chief Executive put forward the outcome of the reset work, with the intention being that the Council be asked to adopt the revised and updated version of this in March 2021.
The reset work had been undertaken through the analysis of quantitative data and engagement activity with residents, businesses, organisations and partners. The majority of engagement activity had run from 3 August 2020 - 25 September 2020. Approximately 3,800 people had been directly engaged with and had their views captured during this activity. This compared favourably to the original Manchester Strategy engagement in 2015 when approximately 2,000 people had been directly engaged. The detailed findings from that work had been reported in detail to the Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee in November 2020 (minute RGSC/20/49).
The report explained that the reset of the Strategy had been overseen by the Our Manchester Forum, a partnership board of stakeholders from across the city who oversaw the creation of the original Strategy in 2015 and its subsequent implementation. The draft reset Strategy incorporated their feedback on the engagement analysis, emerging priorities and the document’s structure. This included retaining the original Strategy’s five themes (Thriving and Sustainable; Highly Skilled; Progressive and Equitable; Liveable and Low Carbon; and Connected) and streamlining the new priorities under these themes. The Our Manchester Forum had asked for the reset to be linked back to the original Strategy with the use of ‘We Wills’ to frame the priorities. Whilst advocating that the reset Strategy should continue to set the city’s vision and priorities to 2025, the Forum had also requested that the document should reflect the need for an immediate response to COVID-19.
In response to feedback from partners that the original Strategy had been too long with too many priorities, the reset Strategy had been drafted to be a concise document. A copy was appended to the report. That was endorsed for submission to the Council for approval and adoption.
Decision
To recommend that Council consider Our Manchester Strategy – Forward to 2025 with a view to adopting it as part of the Council’s formal policy framework.
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Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan - Update on Public Consultation PDF 542 KB The report of the Chief Executive and the City Solicitor is enclosed. Minutes: A joint report from the Deputy Chief Executive and the City Solicitor set out the progress that had been made on the development and implementation of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan. The report set out the outcome of the public consultation on the proposals. It explained the links within the Clean Air Plan to taxi and private hire common minimum licensing standards.
In September 2020 the Executive had agreed that the Council, along with the other nine GM local Authorities, should hold an 8-week public consultation on the GM Clean Air Plan. The Greater Manchester Minimum Licensing Standards consultation had been run in parallel to ensure that those impacted by the proposals could have a complete view of the proposed changes to vehicles and the financial support available. The report explained how the two consultations had been undertaken and the variety of research methods that had been employed.
Across all of Greater Manchester (GM) a total of 4765 responses were received: 3954 via online questionnaire; 767 via email; 43 paper questionnaires; and one telephone response. For the Minimum Licensing Standards consultation a total of 1682 responses were received: 1552 via online questionnaire; 46 via email; and 84 paper questionnaires. A full analysis of the consultation responses for Greater Manchester was to be published later in the year.
The report then set out in detail all the elements of work that were being taken forward at the GM level for the Clean Air Plan. It was explained that much of the future decision making on the development of plan now needed to be done at the GM level rather than by all the individual councils. To enable that, two new Joint Committees were being proposed to which each GM authority would appoint to the membership of the committee. These were:
The Clean Air Charging Authorities Committee to be a joint committee created by the ten Greater Manchester local authorities. The membership of the committee was to be ten, one from each council. This committee would enable decisions to be taken that are required to be taken jointly by the Constituent Authorities’ as charging authorities in relation to the Greater Manchester Clean Air Zone.
The Air Quality Administration Committee to be a joint committee created by the ten Greater Manchester local authorities. The membership of the committee was to be eleven, one from each council and one from the GMCA. This committee would enable the joint discharge of the GMCA’s and Constituent Authorities’ other functions under sections 82 to 84 of the Environment Act 1995 (Air Quality) and in relation to the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan.
These Joint Committees would therefore have powers delegated to them that would otherwise have been held within each of the individual councils. These proposals were all supported.
Decisions
1. To note the progress of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan and that the next steps for the development of the Clean Air Plan and Minimum Licensing Standards, as set out in the report.
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Northern Gateway: Progress Update & Delivery Arrangements for Collyhurst Phase 1 PDF 363 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) was to follow and is now enclosed. Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Richards declared a personal interest in this as a Director of the Joint Venture Company in the Northern Gateway.
In March 2017 the Executive had authorised the City Solicitor, City Treasurer and Strategic Director (Development) to enter into an agreement with the Council’s preferred investment partner for the regeneration of the Northern Gateway lands, Far East Consortium International Limited (FEC). We had also delegated authority to the Chief Executive to dispose of the Council’s interest in land at the Northern Gateway Site (Minute Exe/17/064).
The Council had entered into the Joint Venture (JV) with the Far East Consortium (FEC) in April 2017 for the comprehensive redevelopment of the Northern Gateway for housing and ancillary development. As part of the delivery arrangements, the Council and FEC established a JV company, Northern Gateway Operations Limited, to have strategic input into and oversight of the development of the Northern Gateway.
In February 2019 we approved the Strategic Regeneration Framework for the Northern Gateway, the 155 hectare land area made up of the adjacent neighbourhoods of New Cross, the Lower Irk Valley and Collyhurst. This Framework was to support the opportunity to deliver up to 15,000 new homes over a 15-20 year period (Minute Exe/19/25).
In June 2019 consideration was given to the preferred approach to facilitating strategic land acquisitions within the Northern Gateway SRF area, and approval given to making a loan of up to £11 million to FEC (Minutes Exe/19/52 and Exe/19/57).
In February 2020 consideration was given to an outline Strategic Business Plan for the Joint Venture, and authority was delegated to the Chief Executive to approve the full initial Development Area Business Plan (Minute Exe/20/29).
In July 2020 the Executive had approved the Council entering into a Grant Determination Agreement with Homes England for the receipt of up to £51.6m Housing Infrastructure Fund grant to deliver major infrastructure in the Northern Gateway area (Minute Exe/20/84).
This report from the Strategic Director (Growth & Development) provided details of proposals to deliver the first phase of housing development within the Collyhurst neighbourhood. It also providing an update on progress being made in the wider initiative in relation to the Housing Infrastructure Fund grant.
The Collyhurst first phase was to see 274 new residential properties. For the 244 new homes in Collyhurst Village (Harpurhey ward), 100 were to be new council homes with the remaining 144 properties being developed for open market sale. The other 30 were to be new council homes developed in South Collyhurst (Miles Platting & Newton Heath ward) on a site agreed with the local councillors. The scheme would also deliver the first phase of the new Collyhurst Village Park. To achieve all this it was going to be necessary to demolish 29 residential units (22 Council and 7 Private or Right to Buy) and 1 commercial unit. It would therefore be important that the scheme ensured the timely delivery of re-provision homes to allow residents to relocate, in a single move, from affected properties to a new property within ... view the full minutes text for item 34. |
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City Centre Transport Strategy - Outcome of Consultation PDF 607 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed. Minutes: In October 2019 a report had been considered on proposals for a revised City Centre Transport Strategy (CCTS) that would be aligned to the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040. It was felt that a new strategy was needed to take account of the ongoing and future predicted growth of the city centre and of changes in the policy context since the adoption of the 2010 strategy. The new strategy would incorporate the GM 2040 Strategy and the goal of being a zero-carbon city by 2038. The drafting of the strategy would take into account the outcomes of the City Centre Transport Strategy Conversation that had taken place in the autumn of 2018. It had been agreed than that the Council would undertake an engagement and co-design exercise with key stakeholders in the city centre and surrounding wards in order to further develop the strategy with support from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Salford City Council (Minute Exe/19/82). In February 2020 the outcomes of that exercise had been reported (Minute Exe/20/25) and the Executive had approved a wider consultation exercise. The report now submitted set out the outcomes of that further consultation.
The consultation had started on 23 September 2020 and run for 6 weeks until 4 November 2020. Overall there had been 2,426 responses to the on-line survey, although not all respondents had answered all the questions. In addition to the responses to the on-line survey, there had been 24 emails received with detailed feedback on the draft strategy. Five of those responses were from individuals and the remainder were submitted by organisations or groups.
The responses showed high levels of support for the various proposals within the draft strategy, as indicated by the breakdown of responses to the on-line survey:
These figures did not always add up to 100% as not all respondents gave a view on all questions.
The report also set out an analysis of the free-text responses that consultees had included in their replies, broken down by the main themes of the consultation.
Appended to the report was a full schedule of responses to each the areas of concerns raised through the consultation. Included on that were the proposed changes and amendments to the draft City Centre Transport Strategy in response to the issues arising from the consultation.
The intention was to now bring forward a final version of the Strategy for approval and adoption in March 2021.
Decisions
1. To note the outcome of the consultation.
2. To note the responses to the concerns and challenges raised in the consultation attached at Appendix 2 of the report, and to endorse the proposed changes to the draft Strategy as a result of the consultation.
3. To agree that a ... view the full minutes text for item 35. |
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Delegation of Executive Functions to the Executive and Council Officers PDF 223 KB The report of the City Solicitor is enclosed. Minutes: A report was submitted seeking approval for the delegation of various executive functions to officers of the Council; those functions being recorded at Part 3, Section A of the Council’s February 2021 Constitution. The report also sought approval for the delegation to officers of the Council’s various executive functions set out in Part 3, Section F of the Council’s February 2021 Constitution. This was necessary as the Council had recently approved an updated version of the Constitution.
The report explained the legal powers available to the Leader and to the Executive to arrange for the exercise of and delegation of executive functions within the Council. The proposed delegations were supported.
Decisions
1. To note the decision of the Leader of the Council to exercise his power under Section 9E(2) of the Local Government Act 2000 (as amended) to delegate the discharge of all of the Council’s executive functions to the Executive.
2. To note and endorses the decision of the Leader of the Council to delegate to officers the discharge of all of the Council’s executive functions recorded at Part 3, Sections A and F of the Council’s February 2021 Constitution as set out in the version of those sections presented to Council at its meeting on 3 February 2021.
3. In relation to the Scheme of Delegation to Officers set out in Part 3, Section F of the Council’s February 2021 Constitution, to note that such delegations of executive functions include those functions that are designated as “Executive Functions” and those functions that are designated as “General Functions” insofar as these are executive functions.
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LTE Group - Estates Strategy Delivery Update PDF 283 KB The report of the Strategic Director (Growth & Development) and the Chief Executive, LTE Group is enclosed. Minutes: A report submitted by the Strategic Director (Growth & Development) provided an update on the delivery of the LTE Estate Strategy. This outlined the Manchester College Group’s plans to improve and develop leading-edge facilities for post-16 education and skills training to serve Manchester and the wider Greater Manchester Area. The report summarised all the property related schemes the Group was undertaking and included an update on the redevelopment of the former Boddingtons Brewery site into the City Centre Campus.
It was noted that the report had also been considered at a recent meeting of the Economy Scrutiny Committee and the committee had noted it (Minute ESC/02/14).
Decision
To note the report.
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Appendix to the Minutes Minutes: Appendix 1 – Capital Project Budget Virements (for Minute Exe/21/19)
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