To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2023.

Decision: That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 7 November 2023, be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Public Health and the Age Friendly Manchester Programme Lead.

This report outlines Manchester’s new age friendly strategy Manchester: a city for life 2023–2028 and associated draft delivery plan, which builds on previous progress and looks to a vision for Manchester over the next five years, while proposing a series of immediate and preventative responses to address the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis on the over 50s.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health and the Age Friendly Manchester Programme Lead which outlined Manchester’s new age friendly strategy Manchester: a city for life 2023–2028 and associated draft delivery plan, which built on previous progress and provided a vision for Manchester over the next five years. This included a series of immediate and preventative responses to address the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis on the over 50s.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Providing an introduction to the new ageing strategy;
• The development of the new strategy;
• Governance arrangements for the Age Friendly Programme
• A summary of the strategy, including its themes; and
• The draft delivery plan, which set out the activities and collaborative work to be delivered across the city by the Council, its partners and with local communities.

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

• Welcoming the draft delivery plan and requesting that the committee receives progress updates every 6 months;
• How the Council working with social housing providers to encourage and ensure adaptations are made to existing properties to enable residents to age in their homes;
• If the Age Friendly Manchester Older People’s Board included a representative from the LGBTQIA+ community;
• Highlighting that the experience of turning 50 years old is different for everybody;
• How the city’s neighbourhoods can be made Age Friendly;
• How many attended Assembly meetings and how geographically representative this was;
• The rationale behind choosing Cheetham Hill, Crumpsall and Gorton to test the Age Friendly Neighbourhood Manchester model;
• Expressing ongoing concerns about undertaking the Age Friendly Neighbourhood Manchester model pilot in areas with existing infrastructure, and querying the fairness of this;
• Recognising the need for greater funding for VCSE organisations that support older people;
• Why only the development of the North Manchester Healthy Neighbourhood was mentioned under theme 2;
• What specific analysis had been undertaken into the health and care needs of different demographics;
• Whether there was a helpline for residents to contact to discuss housing adaptations;
• What consideration had been given to older people seeking undergraduate and postgraduate education opportunities; and
• Recognising that residents in North Manchester were likely to suffer ill-health for longer than those in South Manchester.

The Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care stated that the Age Friendly Manchester Strategy was launched in the previous week and endorsed by Full Council at its meeting in November. He explained that the delivery plan for the strategy aimed to ensure that older people in Manchester felt heard and could see changes enacted as a result of using their voice and that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis were considered throughout the strategy and delivery plan. He confirmed that the delivery plan would be launched in January following consideration by the Older People’s Board.

The Director of Public Health stated that there was a strong corporate ownership of the strategy across the Council with the Executive Director  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive.

This report provides the committee with an overview of the current Our Manchester Funds programme, activities and priorities, bringing together new information, and information previously considered by the committee about individual aspects of the programme.

The committee considered a report of the Assistant Chief Executive which provided an overview of the current Our Manchester Funds programme, activities and priorities and brought together new information and information previously considered by the committee about individual aspects of the programme.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Providing an introduction and background to the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector and the Our Manchester Voluntary and Community Sector (OMVCS) fund;
• The main priorities of the programme;
• The Supporting Communities Fund;
• The VCFSE Infrastructure Support Contract;
• Other targeted support, including the Cost of Living Fund;
• The Household Support Fund;
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic VCSFE Organisations Support Fund;
• Covid Recovery Fund;
• Other partnerships and forums;
• The OMVCS Programme Board and governance arrangements; and
• How the Council’s wider priorities, such as Zero Carbon and the Real Living Wage, were reflected in the Programme.

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

• Welcoming the officer presentation;
• Whether voluntary organisations had direct access to Household Support Funding (HSF) or if this had to be requested from Macc at the point of need;
• How many community leaders attended Zero Carbon training sessions;
• How due diligence was undertaken with regards to the distribution of HSF;
• How equality, diversity and inclusivity were embedded in the programme to ensure funding helps marginalised communities;
• Why the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic VCFSE Organisations Support Fund had been reduced to £95k;
• When an impact assessment on the programme would be undertaken and whether this would include data on the number of people supported;
• Whether the Council had any influence over funding priorities, such as the cost-of-living crisis; and
• Requesting more detail on the support provided by Conversation 2 Cash (C2C).

In introducing the item, the Deputy Leader placed on record her appreciation for the work of the VCFSE sector given the challenging circumstances they operate in and the high levels of demand they face.

The committee received a presentation which highlighted the Council’s substantial investment into the VCFSE sector, despite having limited funds available, and provided an overview of the different funds that had been awarded to community groups as well as feedback from service users and funded organisations.

In response to members’ queries, the Policy and Programmes Manager (Communities and VCSE) explained that the objective of Macc’s distribution of HSF was to provide support directly to residents in need. He stated that Macc had referral partners across the VCFSE sector who could present to Macc with their support needs. A support request was then reviewed against specific criteria and the referring organisation would provide the support if approved, with Macc reimbursing the organisation within a fortnight. The committee was advised that this process had been in place previously to great success.

In response to a question from the Chair, it was stated that Macc undertook due diligence on all prospective referral partners and produced monthly reports on the support provided by each organisation in receipt of HSF. This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

Report of the Crime and Antisocial Behaviour Task and Finish Group.

This report presents the findings of the detailed investigation undertaken by the Task and Finish Group for endorsement by the Committee.

The committee considered a report of the Crime and Antisocial Behaviour Task and Finish Group which presented the findings of the detailed investigation undertaken by the Task and Finish Group for endorsement by the Committee.

Key points and themes within the report included:

• Providing an introduction and background to antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Manchester and the work of the Task and Finish Group;
• Membership of the Task and Finish Group;
• Objectives and key lines of enquiry;
• Methodology and evidence base;
• Findings of the Task and Finish Group; and
• Recommendations of the Task and Finish Group.

The Statutory Deputy Leader thanked members involved in the Task and Finish Group for their work and comprehensive recommendations.

An amendment was requested to recommendation 1 of the Task and Finish Group to include reference to antisocial behaviour occurring in Air BnBs and other short-term let properties.

The committee was also informed that a report on responses to and progress on the recommendations would be considered by the committee in May 2024.

On behalf of the Task and Finish Group, the Chair expressed thanks to the officers and partners who were involved in the review.

Decision:

That the committee endorses the recommendations made by the Crime and Antisocial Behaviour Task and Finish Group, subject to an amendment to recommendation 1.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit.

The monthly report includes the recommendations monitor, relevant key decisions, the Committee’s work programme and any items for information.

The committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained a list of key decisions yet to be taken within the Committee’s remit, responses to previous recommendations and the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to approve.

Decision:

That the report be noted, and the work programme agreed.