Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer attached.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer that presented the Register of Significant Partnerships 2019. The format, and the review and assurance process associated with the register was outlined in the report. The report focused on partnerships which had been added to the Register during 2019 and those where the governance strength rating had changed, or where the rating remained ‘Medium’ or ‘Low’ strength following completion of the latest self-assessment. The full draft Register was included as an appendix to the report.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Directorate Lead, Corporate Planning and Governance stated that a review would be undertaken of how this register was produced to strengthen the reporting and value of the document. He stated that the review would allow for consideration to be given as to the frequency of the reporting, reflect upon and identify any improvements to the reporting process. He stated that consideration would also be given as to whether an additional metric of rating could be introduced to strengthen the document and that the Committee would be kept informed as this work developed.

In response to a Members question regarding plans for when the current Strategic Director Growth and Development left his post, the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer stated that whilst not wishing to pre-empt any final decisions, the knowledge of all the partnerships and responsibilities was distributed across a number of officers within the Council.

In response to the reported rating of Medium for Manchester Health and

Care Commissioning (MHCC), the partnership between the Council and CCG to create a single health, social care and public health commissioning function for Manchester, the Director of Policy, Performance and Reform advised that work continued to progress in regard to this activity and commented upon the existing complex systems within the different organisations and the challenge this represented. However, he reassured the Committee that progress continued to be made. The Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management stated that a governance audit of MHCC had been undertaken approximately 12 months ago and progress continued to be made against those findings that had resulted in the Medium rating being awarded. The Directorate Lead, Corporate Planning and Governance directed Members to the section of the report that described the criteria applied to the awarding of the different ratings and described that these had been applied and that those ratings were reviewed by a moderation panel to ensure they were applied consistently and correctly.

In response to a Members comment regarding the importance of transition planning from Children Services to Adult Service, the Director of Policy, Performance and Reform advised Members that this was recognised and the respective services were actively working to improve transition pathways.

In response to a Members question regarding Northwards, the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer informed the Committee that a review of ALMO (Arm's-length management organisations) governance arrangements was currently underway to ensure the existing arrangements were satisfactory, and the findings of this review would be reported at an appropriate time.

In response to a specific question regarding the Brunswick PFI, the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management advised the Committee that he would look into this and provide an update to the Committee at an appropriate time.

Decisions

The Committee note the report.