To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2025.

Decision

To approve the minutes of the Environment, Climate Change and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 16 January 2025 as a correct record.

Report of Manchester City Council, Manchester Airports Group and Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership

This report provides an update to the Committee on the decarbonisation of the operations at Manchester Airport, flights from the Airport and the wider UK policy position on aviation emissions. The report also includes data on flights and emissions attributable to Manchester residents and businesses.

Two separate updates are also appended to the report. The first is from Manchester Airports Group, the second is from the Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership.

The Committee considered the joint report of Manchester City Council, Manchester Airports Group and Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership that provided an update on the decarbonisation of the operations at Manchester Airport, flights from the Airport and the wider UK policy position on aviation emissions.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background including a description of the economic benefits of the Airport;

·         Data on flights and emissions that were attributable to Manchester residents and businesses;

·         Discussion of the Council’s role in relation to reducing aviation emissions via its shareholder relationship to Manchester Airports Group (MAG) who own and operate three UK airports including Manchester Airport;

·         Aviation emissions from Council staff travel with specific reference to the Council’s Staff Travel Policy that had been approved in December 2021;

·         A report from MAG providing an update on their work to decarbonise their ground operations and flights to and from Manchester Airport; and

·         A report from the Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership which sought to estimate the CO2 emissions from flights at Manchester Airport, alongside an analysis of the proportion of flights and emissions taken by Manchester citizens.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Acknowledging the significant economic benefit the airport brought to the city and the wider city region;

·         Was Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and current technology viable to reduce emissions associated with flying;

·         Public transport to the site and connectivity;

·         Noise pollution; and

·         Noting that Manchester Airport directly employed more than 22,000 people what was being done to encourage and support those staff to reduce their own carbon emissions.

The Chief Sustainability Officer, Manchester Airports Group addressed the Committee and said that this was his third year presenting to the Committee and that during this period significant progress had been made with regard to reducing emissions associated with the aviation industry. He explained that kerosine used to fuel aircrafts was traditionally produced using fossil fuel, however SAF was produced using waste vegetable oil and could be used by blending this fuel in existing aircrafts. He said that there was an industry mandate regarding the use of SAF that he welcomed, noting that the SAF Mandate started in 2025 at 2% of total UK jet fuel demand, increasing linearly to 10% in 2030 and then to 22% in 2040.

The Chief Sustainability Officer, Manchester Airports Group commented that there was a strong economic and environmental case for the production of SAF and made reference to Fulcrum Bioenergy, who planned a SAF production facility at Stanlow.  The plant had attracted investment and could supply around 10% of the fuel used at Manchester Airport through an existing pipeline. He said that research for using other forms of residual waste to generate SAF, such as agricultural waste were being explored, adding that the use of residual waste to generate SAF was proven technology and was subject to independent research and analysis. He commented that it was anticipated that in the next  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Report of the City Treasurer

This report provides a high-level overview of the updated budget position. Each scrutiny committee is invited to consider the proposed changes which are within its remit and to make recommendations to the Executive before it agrees the final budget proposals on 19 February 2025. 

The Committee considered the report of the City Treasurer that provided a high-level overview of the updated budget position.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background;

·         Reporting that when the Council set its 2024/25 budget in February 2024, it was forecasting a budget shortfall of £29m in 2025/26 increasing to £41m in 2026/27 and £77m by 2027/28;

·         It was now expected that, subject to the outcome of the budget consultation a balanced budget could be set for 2025/26 after the application of savings approved in previous budget rounds of £10.6m, new proposed savings of £18.2m, and the use of c£18m smoothing reserves, alongside grant increases announced in the provisional settlement on 18 December 2024; and

·         At the time of writing the report the final settlement had not yet been released, any changes between the provisional and final settlement would be reported to the Executive alongside any changes to the proposals outlined as a consequence.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources addressed the Committee and said the Council was now expected to deliver a balanced budget for 2025/26 after the application of savings approved in the previous budget, new proposed efficiency savings of £18.2m that had been considered at the December meeting, the use of c£18m smoothing reserves, alongside grant increases announced in the provisional settlement on 18 December 2024 and an increase in Council Tax of 4.99%. He commented that whilst there would be a requirement to replenish an appropriate level of general reserves for the city and pressures still existed, particularly in relation to demand across Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, Manchester was in a much more financially stable position when compared to many other local authorities. He stated that Manchester had used the financial reserves prudently over the previous years of austerity and had adopted an invest to save model, referring to the Better Outcome Better Lives transformation programme in Adult Social Care and the financial benefits realised from this. He also commented that it was anticipated that the planned government Spending Review would result in multiple year settlements for local authorities which he welcomed as this would provide financial stability and allow for improved financial planning.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources also stated that since the report had been produced Manchester had received a £5.4m rebate from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s waste reserve. He said that £4.6m of this would be invested to clean streets, tackle fly tipping and improve green spaces. He further commented that £400,000 would be used to reverse the previous decision taken to start charging for replacement recycling bins, which would have applied from April 2025. The remaining £338,000 would be spent on improved enforcement to address mould and damp in the Private Rented Sector. He commented that this spending reflected the views of residents.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources reiterated that the savings proposed were to be achieved through efficiency savings and increased income generation and not through cuts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides a further update to members on the priorities for the services in the remit of this committee and details the proposed changes to the budget. Each scrutiny committee is invited to consider the proposed budget changes that are within its remit and to make recommendations to the Executive before it agrees to the final budget proposals on 19 February 2025.

The Committee considered the report of Strategic Director (Neighbourhood Services) that set out an overview of the services and key priorities for the services under the remit of this scrutiny committee, it also included details of the already approved savings and investments, along with details of further savings proposals for consideration as part of the budget process to help ensure an overall balanced budget.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background;

·         Service overview and priorities;

·         Information on the service budget and proposed changes;

·         Reporting the gross 2024/25 budget was £91.355m and the net budget of £82.064m, with 447 fte for the services within the remit of this scrutiny committee;

·         Information relating to the savings plan 2025-26, noting that there were already savings of £400k included within future years budgets and these had been approved as part of the 2024/25 budget process;

·         As part of identifying further savings options the initial priority had been to protect service delivery wherever possible, and this had included looking to increase income generation opportunities where possible;

·         Describing that work had been done to review all long term (over 12 months) vacant posts, noting an exercise had been undertaken across all council services to review all long-term vacant posts and delete any that were not already under recruitment;

·         Neighbourhoods Directorate team structures were being reviewed to ensure that services continued to deliver services in the most efficient way;

·         Parks had identified savings of £100k to be achieved through increased income generation; 

·         The Compliance and Enforcement Service had identified saving options of c£107k in 2025/26, this included c£87k through increased receipts from fixed penalty notice charges for fly tipping, fly posting and littering.

·         In relation to waste and recycling it was noted that the service currently funded costs of disposal for one of the housing providers, going forward the provider would be required to fund the annual £47k disposal costs;

·         Noting that as part of the 2024/25 budget process, approval had been provided for c£1.5m phased additional investment in waste collection and street cleansing to recognise the growth in demand because of the increase in households across the city;

·         Reporting that the services under the remit of this scrutiny committee currently received no Government Grants;

·         Commissioning and procurement priorities;

·         Workforce implications, and

·         Future opportunities, risks and Policy/Strategy considerations.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Welcoming the decision to remove the proposal to charge residents for replacement recycling bins;

·         Welcoming the investment to deliver a cleaner, greener city;

·         Thanking the Executive Member for Finance and Resources and officers for their diligent work in delivering the budget;

·         Welcoming the recognition and factoring of need in the city and the decision by Ministers to direct resources towards the high deprivation, low-taxbase authorities like Manchester;

·         Information was requested in relation to the extended producer responsibility levy;

·         Following an anticipated positive comprehensive spending review all opportunities for increasing capacity within Neighbourhood Teams should be considered;

·         How was climate change addressed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report provides an update on the progress of delivering Manchester’s Park Strategy through the new delivery plan, “Our Parks, Our Plan” and an update on the implementation and delivery of the Parks Climate Change Action Plan since the last report to the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee on 8 February 2024.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) that provided an update on the progress of delivering Manchester’s Park Strategy through the new delivery plan, “Our Parks, Our Plan” and an update on the implementation and delivery of the Parks Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) since the last report to the Environment and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee on 8 February 2024.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting that the new plan, “Our Parks, Our Plan” was developed through engagement with key stakeholders and partners;

·         Consideration of new challenges and opportunities;

·         Narrative and examples to describe progress against the themes of the Strategy;

·         Income generation through improved commercial contractual agreements and event performance;

·         Parks investment update; and

·         Next steps.

The Committee also received an accompanying video presentation that highlighted and celebrated key achievements and milestones during 2024.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Acknowledging the significant and positive impact the Parks Team had, noting the very positive attitude from staff to support local community groups;

·         Was the 226k additional income generated from commercial activities considered to be sustainable;

·         Noting that income generation from commercial activities was not possible from all parks, and that funding had been sought from other sources such as the Heritage Lottery to support community group activities in parks;

·         What support could be provided to community groups in parks;

·         The need to increase the diversity amongst both parks staff and voluntary groups in parks to encourage all residents to access and benefit from parks;

·         What were the standards applied across parks in relation to activities such as grass cutting and littering;

·         What was the approach to waste and recycling during events held in parks;

·         Access to mains water should be available to all people attending parks;

·         How was data in relation to park use collected; and

·         Discussion on the issue of the safety of women and girls in parks.

The Strategy Manager, Parks stated the additional income generated from commercial activities was considered to be sustainable. He said this would be achieved through improved commercial contract arrangements. He said that the Events Team and the Environment Team worked closely with organisers of events in parks to offer support, advice and guidance on a range of issues such as waste and recycling, noting that all events in parks now would be Single Use Plastic free. In regard to access to water the Parks Lead stated that all cafes in parks would offer free water bottle refills and consideration was being given to the best options for the installation of stand-alone water fountains.

The Parks Lead said that there was a challenge relating to capturing and reporting data in relation to parks due to the nature of the operation. She acknowledged the comments made by Members in relation to the diversity of staff and volunteers in parks and said work needed to be done to address this. She said that support for voluntary groups  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods)

This report describes the work of the Student Strategy Partnership focusing on issues of flytipping and poor waste management arrangements associated with student accommodation.

The Committee considered the report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) that described the work of the Student Strategy Partnership focusing on issues of fly tipping and poor waste management arrangements associated with student accommodation.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background;

·         Providing a list of current members of the Student Strategy Partnership;

·         Noting that the full partnership group met on a quarterly schedule throughout the year to share information, review progress, identify risks, respond to issues of concern and work collaboratively to commit resources at key points in the student calendar and throughout the year;

·         The approach to off campus student accommodation and waste issues, noting the work of the Student Strategy Partnership and Housing and Environment Sub-Group;

·         The Student Strategy Partnership also supported three local member briefings through the year in September, April and June to provide members representing those areas with high student populations with updates on the work of the partnership and the opportunity to raise issues; and  

·         Case studies.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Recognising the important and valued work undertaken by the Partnership;

·         Stating that communal bins were not always the correct option for residents;

·         Was a list of all Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) and landlords maintained;

·         Welcoming the provision on street donation stations to support recycling that had resulted in items diverted from landfill and considerable funding raised for charities; and

·         Was relevant information regarding waste and recycling provided to students throughout the year.

The Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods commented that the Clean and Green Board did consider HMOs as a specific activity. She said that in addition to Licensing conditions resources could be deployed to address specific problematic properties when required. She further commented on the positive support from the Universities and voluntary groups, many of which involved local students.

With regard to the letter that had been submitted to the Chair from a collection of residents groups, the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods said that she would consider and reflect on their recommendations.

The Committee were informed that the Council maintained a register of all HMOs. In response to a question asked about cost, the Strategic Lead said that this would be provided outside of the meeting.

The Neighbourhood Manager addressed the comments expressed in relation to the suitability of communal bins. He said that the case study presented in the report had been included to demonstrate the flexible approach taken to resolving problems experienced by local residents. He said that the service was committed to understanding barriers to waste and recycling and sought to resolve these in consultation with residents using tailored solutions. In response to a question asked about recycling of electrical equipment and devices, he said that that they worked closely with the British Heart Foundation who would accept such items.

The Off Campus Student Affairs Manager, Manchester Student Homes said that key information and messaging to students was provided throughout the year, particularly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive

This report provides information on the progress being made towards embedding a zero-carbon culture within the Council (as part of the Carbon Literacy journey) and wider work on Manchester becoming a Carbon Literate City.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive that provided information on the progress being made towards embedding a zero-carbon culture within the Council (as part of the Carbon Literacy journey) and wider work on Manchester becoming a Carbon Literate City.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         Providing an introduction and background, noting that Carbon Literacy Training had been developed with The Carbon Literacy Project and launched in 2019;

·         Embedding zero-carbon in the workforce formed part of the Council’s Climate Chage Action Plan, in particular Workstream 5: Catalysing Change and Behaviour Change;

·         Progress update and action to deliver this workstream, including examples across a range of actions and initiatives with consideration given as to how impact would be measured;

·         Describing that in line with delivering the councils corporate priorities, services were expected to set out how they would embed zero-carbon into service delivery as part of their Service Plans; and

·         Summary.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         Recognising and welcoming the significant progress reported to date;

·         A Member stated that she has recently undertaken the training and had found this to be very informative and she thanked the officers concerned;

·         Requesting that future update reports include percentage of staff trained in addition to the actual numbers;

·         What was the approach to recruiting trainers from Council staff to continue to deliver the training;

·         How was the impact and outcomes of the training captured and evaluated; and

·         What was the approach to providing refresher training to Councillors.

The Strategic Head of Organisational Development & Transformation informed the Committee that the submission to the Carbon Literacy Project for gold status accreditation had been made, however the outcome of this was not yet know. The Committee would be informed of the outcome of this submission. She further acknowledged the comment and request made regarding future reporting of metrics.

The Strategic Head of Organisational Development & Transformation said that all new starters in the organisation were required to undertake carbon literacy training as part of their induction to the Council. She commented that in recognition of the challenges and barriers experienced by some staff to attend training, delivery of the course had been adapted to meet these specific needs. She commented that sessions had also been delivered at team away days, commenting that this demonstrated the adaptability and flexibility of the training offer to best meet the needs and support staff.

The Zero Carbon Workforce Development Manager said that the number of volunteers to deliver the carbon literacy from amongst Council staff was increasing, and the opportunity to do this was promoted both at the training and in ongoing internal communications to all staff. She commented that this was an opportunity for staff to develop new skills and would provide a foundation for delivering future ambitions in relation to extending carbon literacy training.

The Zero Carbon Workforce Development Manager said that in line with the upcoming Climate Change Action Plan 2025-2030, an additional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report includes details of the key decisions due to be taken that are relevant to the Committee’s remit as well as 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 agree.

The report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which contained key decisions within the Committee’s remit and responses to previous recommendations was submitted for comment. Members were also invited to agree the Committee’s future work programme.

The Chair informed the Committee that following discussion with the Executive Member for Housing and Development she had agreed to remove the Housing Retrofit item from the 6 March 2025 meeting.

Decision

The Committee notes the report and agrees the work programme, noting the above amendment.