Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Virtual, Executive - Wednesday, 6th May, 2020 9.00 am

Venue: Virtual Meeting - Webcast at https://manchester.public-i.tv/core/portal/home - To listen without needing internet access Dial: 033 3113 3058 Room number: 12174948# PIN: 9267#

Contact: Donald Connolly 

Media

Items
No. Item

56.

Tribute to former Councillor Sue Murphy

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council paid tribute to the important contribution Sue Murphy had made to the city and to the Council. Members and all those present observed a minute’s silence in remembrance of Councillor Sue Murphy.

 

 

57.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 313 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 25 March 2020.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting on 25 March 2020.

 

 

58.

COVID 19 - Update on Response Phase pdf icon PDF 441 KB

A report from the Chief Executive is now enclosed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

[Cllr Leese declared a personal interest in a part of the update as Director of Manchester Airport Group]

 

A report of the Chief Executive provided a summary of the work undertaken in response to the COVID-19 virus pandemic in Manchester.

 

The areas of work outlined in the report included:

 

·         Providing a summary of the development of COVID-19;

·         Detailing the activity undertaken by the City Council, Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (MHCC) and the Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) to establish the Community COVID-19 Testing Hub with Trafford partners;

·         Describing the work of the Manchester and Trafford mutual aid hub that had been set up to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to front-line workers as quickly as possible;

·         Information was provided on the governance arrangements to support the Council response, with reference to the Greater Manchester Resilience Forum (GMRF) which was to be represented at the Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) and Emergency Committee;

·         Information on workforce considerations;

·         Detailing the various forms of support available to help residents, including but not restricted to welfare and benefit support, support for carers, Free School Meals, emergency food provision and the Hardship Fund;

·         Direct support to businesses, including expansion of the Retail Discount and the availability of grants;

·         An update on Adult Social Care and the work with Health Partners;

·         Describing the work to assist residents experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping;

·         An update on the response of a range of different council services;

·         Describing the financial implications for the council of the virus pandemic and controls, noting that the work to identify the financial implications of the current COVID-19 crisis was ongoing and evolving, particularly as announcements were being made regarding lockdown and continuing social distancing; and

·         An overview of post lockdown planning and preparations for the next phase.

 

The Leader stated that the pandemic was unprecedented and having a profound impact and he, on behalf of all Members paid tribute to the Chief Executive, the Senior Management Team, officers and all Public Sector workers for their invaluable and effective response to the difficult and challenging circumstances. He stated that he was in daily contact with the Chief Executive to monitor the emerging situation and that each Executive Member was in regular contact with the appropriate officers within the council’s Senior Management Team. He further advised that he was contributing to the Greater Manchester Emergency Committee, chaired jointly by the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP). He told the meeting that he was in weekly contact with the Local Government Association to lobby central government over a range of issues, including the budgetary position.

 

With reference to the approval of a loan to support Manchester Airport, the Leader stated that due to the commercially sensitive nature of those arrangements it was not appropriate at that time to provide detailed information; however, he reassured the Members that the Deputy Leader, who had taken the decision, had consulted the Chief Executive, the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and relevant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

59.

COVID 19 - Forward Recovery Planning pdf icon PDF 314 KB

The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer is now enclosed.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer provided the Executive with an overview of forward planning work for the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. This included preparations which were already underway to manage the phased opening up of the city and planning for the longer term challenges.

 

The report outlined proposals to reset and reposition the Our Manchester Strategy 2016 -2025 to respond to the post COVID-19 challenges the city now faced, starting with a consultation which was rooted in the Our Manchester approach.

 

The areas of work outlined in the report included:

 

·         Economy – planning to support the economic recovery of the city, including support for businesses, supporting residents to develop skills and get back into employment, promoting residential and commercial development and transport planning;

·         Residents and communities – including addressing poverty, supporting vulnerable residents, building community resilience and relationships, supporting the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector and understanding and addressing how the crisis was impacting on different groups; and

·         Impact on the Council and Public Services – including Health and Social Care, Public Service Reform, changing ways of working and the financial impact of the crisis.

 

The report stated that this would be supported by:

 

·         Evidence base and impact for each of the above workstreams;

·         External relationships with a range of key partners; and

·         The reset of the Our Manchester Strategy

 

The proposed terms of reference for the COVID-19 Recovery Coordination Group were appended to the report.

 

The Leader introduced the item, highlighting the challenges the city would face, in particular the predicted impact of the crisis on unemployment levels.  He advised that an Executive Member would lead on each area of this work, alongside a senior responsible officer.  He reported that it was important to both keep people safe and ensure that they felt safe.

 

The Deputy Leader advised Members that the world had changed significantly since the Our Manchester Strategy was developed in 2015 and that it needed to be reviewed to take into account the COVID-19 crisis, the impact of Brexit and the increasing priority being given to addressing climate change.  He outlined the proposed approach and timeline for this review, involving consultation with stakeholders, with a revised strategy to be submitted to the Executive for approval in early 2021.

 

The Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration thanked staff in the Growth and Development service for their work.  She emphasised the importance of building and development for the city’s economic recovery and updated Members on housing building, particularly the building of affordable housing, including confirmation of £51 million in housing infrastructure funding for the Northern Gateway project and discussions with existing housing providers were ongoing to understand the challenges they were facing due to COVID-19.  She informed Members that an update on the establishment of a housing delivery vehicle would be provided to the Executive’s meeting in June 2020.  She stated that the Council was committed to supporting and working with developers who shared its vision of safe, secure,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.