To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November 2019.

Decision

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting on 13 November 2019.

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

In November 2018, the Council’s Executive agreed to the establishment of a science-based carbon budget for Manchester. The ambition for that was to limit the city’s emissions to 15 million tonnes of CO₂ between 2018 and 2100, becoming net zero carbon by 2038 (Minute Exe/18/101). In July 2019 the Council then declared a climate emergency (Minute CC/19/52) which was considered and accepted by the Executive later that month (Minute Exe/19/59).

A report by the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer provided the update on what the Council has been doing to address climate change both before and since the climate emergency was declared. It explained the role of the Manchester Climate Change Partnership that had been established in 2018 to help drive action across the city. Partnership members were all developing bespoke plans that they hoped to have ready by the end of February 2020. Those plans would span ten key sectors and organisations who were all committed to becoming zero carbon:

·         Manchester City Council

·         Bruntwood

·         University of Manchester (UoM)

·         Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

·         Arts & culture sector / Manchester Arts Sustainability Team (MAST)

·         Electricity NW (ENW)

·         NHS Manchester

·         Manchester City Football Club

·         Faith sector / Our Faith Our Planet

·         Manchester Housing Providers Partnership

The Council was now working to expand the membership of the Partnership to include other key organisations in the city.

The report went on to examine the work done within the Council. It explained that the most recent annual data, from 2018/19, showed that the Council had almost halved its carbon emissions from a 2009/10 baseline – a drop of 48.1%. Individual members of the Executive provided progress reports on the actions being taken by the services within their own portfolio.

The meeting was addressed by Ms Chloe Jeffries of Manchester Climate Emergency. She questioned what she considered to be deficiencies in the report, referring to the original Council resolution in July and asking why some information had not been included or referred to in this report, including: the 2009 action plan, the effects of the loss of staff and buildings since 2009, the exclusion of aviation emissions, and the need for elections for membership of the climate stakeholders steering group.

Decision

To note the citywide progress and comment on and endorse the proposed approach to developing the Council’s new five-year action plan.

The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed.

A report by the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) explained that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) was undertaking a formal consultation into proposals that would change the way buses in Greater Manchester would be run in the future. These proposals were set out in a Proposed Bus Franchising Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme had been prepared by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) on behalf of GMCA.

The report examined the way that bus services are currently configured and operated in the city and how that might change were the Scheme to be introduced. The powers for the GMCA to pursue proposed Scheme had been conferred on the GMCA in the Bus Services Act 2017, which had come into law in June 2017. That enabled the introduction of a range of new delivery models for bus services by combined authorities.

To make sure the transition from the current deregulated bus system to a fully franchised bus system would be as smooth as possible, the GM Bus Franchising Scheme was proposing that a franchised system be introduced in three phases. For this, Greater Manchester would be split into sub-areas. The provisional dates currently proposed for entering into franchise contracts for these sub-areas areas being:

Sub-Area A – 2 April 2021 - North West of Greater Manchester including Manchester city centre

Sub-Area B – 25 March 2022 - North East of Greater Manchester including the northern area of the City of Manchester

Sub-Area C – 10 March 2023 - Southern area of Greater Manchester (including the Southern area of the City of Manchester

A draft of a proposed response to the consultation was appended to the report. That was endorsed and it was agreed that the sending of the final response on behalf of the Council should be delegated to the Chief Executive.

Decisions

1.         To confirm the Council’s support for the Scheme which had been proposed by the GMCA in the exercise of its powers as a “franchising authority” under the Bus Services Act 2017.

2.         To note the current GMCA consultation exercise to which the Council is a statutory consultee and to endorse the suggested outline response attached at Appendix 1 of the report.

3.         That authority to agree the final Council response to the TfGM consultation be delegated to the Chief Executive in discussion with the Deputy Leader, Councillor Nigel Murphy and the Executive Member for Planning, Environment and Transport.

The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed.

A report submitted by the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) explained the co-living concept as having no standard definition, but as including accommodation which comprised a mix of private studios and ‘cluster-style flats’ (with shared communal areas) in which bedrooms could be rented out individually or in groups. Schemes could also share many of the common characteristics of build-to-rent, such as shared amenity space, and traditional private rented sector (PRS) apartment tenure profiles of one, two and three bed units.

The report examined the issues and concerns raised by the arrival of this sort of provision in the housing market in Manchester. The report examined how the Council should respond to emerging market demand, on the basis that there was no current planning policy context at national or local level. The report also examined the possible implications of these types of properties on the size of the Council Tax base.

The report suggested that whilst an overall planning policy was being formulated, a set of considerations could be applied to any co-living schemes that came forward in the interim period. Those were:

•           Co-living should be restricted to a limited number of key areas of high employment growth within the city centre, and would only be considered as part of an employment-led, Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF), where it can be demonstrated that a co-living development will provide added value to the wider commercial offer in the area.

•           Schemes must demonstrate that they command support from recently arrived or new employers located in, or in the vicinity of, the regeneration area they form part of. The size and scale of the developments need to be underpinned by the generation of employment opportunities from those employers. Evidence will need to be provided that a scheme will attract specific employers and committed jobs if they are not already present, as well as talent retention and attractiveness for proposed new employees, as part of growth in key sectors in the city.

•           A robust justification demonstrating evidenced need should be provided to underpin each scheme. Developments should target young workers, including professionals and graduates where there is an identified need for a flexible co-living product that can attract and retain talent, supporting economic growth.

•           Safe and secure, zero carbon developments will only be considered. Schemes should be in city centre locations that are well connected, to ensure residents can access public transport, walking and cycling routes in the city.

To help develop a policy for the Council it was proposed and agreed that there should be consultation with stakeholders. The consultation would include consideration of these issues:

•               Development should provide an appropriate mix of cluster flats and private studios, with each scheme tested on its merits. Schemes will be expected to demonstrate how they comply with MCC’s adopted space standards, as part of the Manchester Residential Quality Guidance.

•               In order to ensure appropriate management, a long-term operational management platform will need to be provided for across each scheme in its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

The report of the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services (Senior Management Team Armed Forces Champion) is enclosed.

A report submitted by the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services explained that Councillor T Judge had served as Lead member for the Armed Services since 2013. In that role he had developed strong links across the armed services and veterans’ networks and provided consistent support to the Lord Mayor in respect of remembrance celebration and military events.

the Strategic Director of Children and Education Services, a member of the Senior Management Team, fulfilled the officer role of Armed Forces Champion. That officer chaired the Armed Forces Covenant Steering Group of the Council.

The role of the Steering Group was to maintain oversight and ensure delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant Action Plan. That plan brought together Armed Forces Leads from across Manchester City Council and engaged with colleagues from Manchester health commissioners and providers (MHCC, MLCO and GMMHFT)

The report described the work of the Steering Group and the planning for the VE Day celebrations that were to be held in early May 2020 to mark 75 years from the victory in Europe in World War 2. The proposed actions were all endorsed.

Decisions

1.         To agree to Manchester hosting and/or contribute to North West VE 75 commemorative event on the May Bank Holiday 2020 which has been rearranged to the Friday 8th May 2020, as part of a programme of national commemorations.

2.         To support the following in support of the outline covenant action plan:

•               to refresh and re-sign the Armed Forces Covenant, secure MHCC, MLCO Board support and in partnership with GMMHFT, the Royal Britiish and Walking With the Wounded secure a joint signing with aligned pledges and action plan;

•               Individual Executive Members to promote contribution and delivery of Manchester’s Armed Forces Covenant within their respective Portfolios and Civic duties;

•               to promote all customer-facing staff to complete Armed Forces Covenant Awareness E-Learning training reinforced by a presentation to all teams by the Royal British Legion and Walking With The Wounded in respect of the needs of the armed forces community and the resources that may be be mobilised in their support;

•               a comprehensive review of the Armed Forces Covenant Website and the Armed Forces Self-Help Toolkit to complement the Veterans Gateway at local level.

The report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and the Strategic Director – Neighbourhoods is enclosed.

As a Waste Disposal Authority (WDA), the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has a statutory duty to dispose of waste and so is responsible for the provision and maintenance of household waste and recycling centres and for compliance with recycling requirements. The individual district authorities within Greater Manchester, including Manchester City Council, are Waste Collection Authorities with the duty to collect waste and deliver it to the WDA. In 2017 individual district authorities in Manchester had agreed to support the GMCA in the discharge of its duties and so entered into a Levy Allocation Management Agreement (LAMA). Manchester had done so late in November 2017 (Minute Exe/17/143). Following the award by the GMCA in June 2019 of new disposal contracts to SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, the LAMA now needed to be revised to reflect the new payment mechanism arrangements that arose from the new contract. A copy of the proposed new Agreement was appended to the report, explaining all the proposed changes.

Decision

To approve the revisions to the Levy Apportionment Methodology Agreement which will then be applied from 2020/21 financial year onwards.

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

A report concerning requests to increase the capital programme was submitted. We agreed to recommend one change to the Council and to make a further two changes under delegated powers. These changes would increase Manchester City Council’s capital budget by £0.72m across 2019/20 and 2020/21, funded partly from borrowing, the use of HRA Reserves and an external contribution.

We also noted a further change that had been approved by the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer: £208K for the Factory Project, the allocation of an external contribution.

Decisions

1.         To recommend that the Council approve the following change to Manchester City Council’s capital programme:

(a) Public Sector Housing – Northwards – Harpurhey 200 Estate Internal Works. A capital budget virement of £0.936m is requested, funded by a transfer from Northwards Housing Programme budget.

2.         To approve the following changes to the City Council’s capital programme:

(b) Highways – Northern Gateway Cheetham Hill Road to Pollard Street – Development Costs. A capital budget increase of £0.720m is requested, funded by an External Contribution from the Mayor’s Challenge Fund.

(c) Highways Services – Highways Corridor Development. A capital budget virement of £0.437m of is requested, funded by a transfer from the Highways Investment Plan – Other Improvement Works budget.

3.         To note increases to the programme of £0.208m as a result of a decision of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

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

A report was submitted to provide a summary of the position of the 2019/20 revenue budget as at the end of October 2019. The report gave details of the projected variances to budgets and the state of the Council’s contingency funds. Projecting forward from the position at the end of October 2019 it was forecast that by the year-end in March 2020 the revenue budget would be overspent by £4.169m, an improved position on the £6.027m overspend that had been predicted at the meeting in October (Minute Exe/19/85). The report explained that the overspend was still mainly arising from service pressures on the adult social care budgets and Children’s’ Services.

Budgets to be Allocated

When setting the 2019/20 budget the Council has agreed to hold some funds for contingencies, and other money that was to be allocated throughout the year. The report proposed the use of some of these budgets to be allocated. These were agreed:

·         £71k in 2019/20 and £150k from 2020/21 for increase in Pathology Testing costs as the Manchester City Pathologist fees had now increased to £200 per examination.

·         £0.5m from corporate budgets (waste contingency) to be allocated to Neighbourhoods Directorate to reflect an adjustment to the waste income target following a decrease in the amount of Trade Waste.

·         £250k from corporate budgets (waste contingency) to be allocated to Neighbourhoods Directorate to reflect savings made on the waste levy.

·         £368k from Budgets to be Allocated, initially earmarked for increases to the Climate Change Levy rate, as the anticipated additional levy costs had been absorbed within electricity budgets so allowing this to be redirected to the cross cutting commissioning savings target.

·         £183k from Contingency to fund dilapidation works for Early Years centres for a condition survey of all Manchester owned day-care buildings.

·         £100K for the costs of provisions for school meals as they had been subject to a higher than inflationary increase of c4%.

Use of Reserves

The report also addressed the use of the Council’s reserves. A new draw-down from reserves had been requested. This was approved.

·         Highway line marking - £100k in 2019/20 and £100k in 2020/21 from the on-street parking reserve to refresh approximately 6.5km of line markings on key routes across the city.

Proposed Virements

The report proposed two funding virements which were both agreed.

·         £343k from non-pay to pay within the Highways Service to maintain Highway structures to allow patching and drainage work to be more programmed than reactive.

·         £303k from non-pay to pay within the Highways Service to help manage and co-ordinate an increasing number of highways schemes and to recruit a small number of additional Network Co-ordination Officers.

Use of Additional Grants

The report also explained that notification had been received in relation to a specific external grant, the use of which had not confirmed as part of the 2019/20 budget setting process. Approval was given to the use of these funds.

·         £325k from NHS Digital England to develop social care systems to support the discharge from hospitals into care.

Decisions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 106.

The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed.

The site of the former Oakwood Resource Centre was in the Northernden ward, approximately 1.7 miles west of Wythenshawe town centre. The 1.5 acre site comprised a single-storey former adult services building, car parking and formal garden areas. The Community Centre was no longer operational and had been declared surplus to requirements. The Council owned the freehold of the site and it had been deemed suitable for residential development to help further the Council’s ambitions for the construction of affordable homes across the city.

The report proposed the disposal of the site to Wythenshawe Community Housing Group at an undervalue, for development of affordable homes for social rent. The Group had submitted indicative plans for 20 homes on the site, all for social rent and being 14 x 2 bed semi-detached house of 83m² each, and 6 x 3 bed semi-detached house of 96 m² each.

The financial details of the proposal, including the site’s open market value and proposed disposal price, were set out in another report (Minute Exe/19/110 below).

Decisions

1.         To approve the disposal of the Subject Land at and under value for development of affordable homes for social rent to Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.

2.         To delegate authority to the Head of Development and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, to finalise the terms for the disposal of the Subject Land by agreement.

3.         To authorise the City Solicitor to enter into and complete all documents and agreements necessary to give effect to these decisions and complete the disposal.

Enclosed for information is the Decision Notice for the meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on 29 November 2019.

Decision

To note the decisions of the meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on 29 November 2019.

The officers consider that the following item contains confidential information as provided for in the Local Government Access to Information Act and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. The Employee Appeals Committee is recommended to agree the necessary resolutions excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of these items.

An appeal process exists for members of the public who wish to appeal against the officers' recommendation for confidentiality. Anyone who does wish to appeal should contact the Committee Officer as soon as possible (preferably at least 48 hours) before the meeting.

Decision

To exclude the public during consideration of the following item which involved consideration of exempt information relating to the financial or business affairs of particular persons, and on the terms to be proposed by the Council in negotiations for the acquisition or disposal of property, and public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development) is enclosed.

(Public excluded)

A report described the terms of the proposed disposal of the land known as the Former Oakwood Resource Centre site with the intention to develop new build housing, comprising 100% affordable homes for social rent.

Decision

To note this report as providing additional information that relates to the recommendations in the Part A report (Minute Exe/19/108 above).