Agenda and draft minutes

To note apologies and confirm the quorum of 11 members is met.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Paul Wray, Rahat Khan, Jo Lawson, Susan Lee- Richards, Samantha Harvey, Ralph Berry and Moses Crook.

Councillors Tony Hames and Aneela Ahmed substituted for Councillors Samantha Harvey and Ralphy Berry respectively.

The meeting was confirmed as quorate with 11 members present (out of 11 needed for quorum).

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

There were no items requiring the exclusion of the press and public.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2023 be approved.

The Chair confirmed that Mayor’s Questions was postponed from this meeting until 8 March due to the Mayor’s availability and an additional meeting on the 1 March will now take place to cover the original agenda items planned for the 8 March meeting.

Resolved: That the Chair’s verbal update be noted.

The Director for Strategy, Communications and Intelligence presented a report summarising the additional powers, flexibilities and functions available to the CA through the Level 4 Devolution Framework, alongside timescales for the CA to submit an application and the process for implementing the Government’s Scrutiny Protocol.

Questions and discussion centred around the following main headings: 

Funding and autonomy

·       A single settlement “Trailblazer” deal, with additional funding and greater spending autonomy which Greater Manchester and West Midlands have secured, was not offered to any new authorities in this round and the government is still reviewing how elements of the deal will works in those two areas.

·       The Level 4 Devolution offer is a stepping stone to a Trailblazer deal and whilst not providing any additional funding it does give the CA the ability to consolidate funding into two pots, based on source to allow for flexibility in moving funding between previously ‘ringfenced’ funds from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and Department of Transport (DfT).

·       Level 4 Devolution also removes the current requirement for “Gateway Reviews” by the government for Gainshare funding for those authorities which have already been through them.

·       Many local authorities are currently in financial difficulty and the Mayor intends to mention this within the letter to government noting that local authorities’ capacity to deliver directly impacts the CA’s ability to deliver, as many of its schemes and programmes are delivered by local authority partners.

·       The government has recently published a Funding Simplification Doctrine, covering all local authorities, which intends to simplify – similarly to combined authorities – how local authorities can spend capital funding. E.g. future funding will be added to existing funding streams rather than a new one which would usually be ringfenced and governed and monitored differently.

·       As Level 4 Devolution comes with no additional funding, any additional powers or functions the CA would receive would need to be delivered through existing resources and budgets – which would need to be reviewed when the new devolution deal is finalised.

·       The consolidation of different funding streams into pots however would allow for greater efficiency in deploying funds, including to support delivery and administration, which would be a significant benefit to the area. 

Timeline, approvals and consultation

·       The Mayor and Leaders agreed at the Finance, Resources and Corporate Committee held on 18 January 2024 to submit a letter expressing interested in Level 4 Devolution to the government, by the 31 January 2024 deadline. The letter would be circulated to scrutiny members in due course.

·       Subject to approval by the Secretary of State, the CA would then enter into negotiations with government  on the details of the deal.

·       The CA and all constituent councils would then need to discuss and approve the deal before it is formally approved – as was the case in 2020/21.

·       If any particular council does not agree with any particular element of the new powers, then the CA would proceed without that element as part of the final agreement.

·       It is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Resolved:

i)               That the work programme be noted. 

ii)              That the new date and time for the next meeting on 1 March at 9.00 am – 11.00 am be noted.