Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014

The Executive

Minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2014

Present: Councillor R Leese – in the Chair Councillors Andrews, R Battle, Chappell, N Murphy, S Murphy, S Newman, Priest and Smith

Also present as Members of the Standing Consultative Panel: Councillors Akbar, Craig, Di Mauro, Hyde, Lone, Rahman and Wheale

Exe/14/001 Paul Goggins MP

The Leader of the Council paid respect to the former MP for and Sale East, Paul Goggins, who had tragically died on 7 January 2014. The Members and those present at the meeting observed a period of silence in respect and remembrance.

Exe/14/002 Minutes

Decisions

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 18 December 2013 as a correct record.

Exe/14/003 School Places and Capital Investment Planning (Councillors Akbar, Andrews, Battle, Chappell, Craig, Hyde, N Murphy, S Murphy, S Newman, Rahman, Smith and Wheale each declared a personal interest in this item of business as members of school governing bodies)

In May 2013 we had examined and approved an investment strategy to secure sufficient high quality school places for ’s children and young people (Minute Exe/13/073). The Director of Education and Skills now submitted a report to provide an update on those previous proposals to increase school capacity. The report also made further proposals for increasing future capacity, examined the revenue and capital consequences of the proposals, and sought delegated authority to progress proposals and determine capital investment priorities.

The Government had recognised the scale of the challenge facing Local Authorities in meeting the demand for school places. Manchester had been allocated £37m Basic Need capital funding to cover the cost of creating the additional accommodation needed to create extra capacity in the period 2015-2017. This followed an allocation of £41m to cover the two-year period 2013-2015.

The RC Diocesan Authority had also contributed some of its Locally Coordinated Voluntary Aided Programme (LCVAP) funding towards the costs of expanding RC primary schools within the Diocese.

Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014

The cost of building three primary free schools was being met by the government (New Islington, Longsight and Cringle Brook). Manchester had also gained from the Priority School Building Programme funding, enabling three primary schools to be rebuilt (Plymouth Grove, Stanley Grove and Camberwell Park Specialist Support School), all at increased capacity. In addition, Manchester had been allocated funding (£4.5m) under the Targeted Basic Needs Programme to build a new, two- form entry primary school in Harpurhey.

However, meeting the cost of creating further, extra primary, secondary and special school capacity would continue to be challenging and the report set out proposals for how the available funding could be optimised to provide the capacity required.

For each of the Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) areas of the city the report examined the demand for additional primary school places, in particular places in reception classes for children starting at school. For each SRF area it considered the possible solutions to meet that demand and create a 5% surplus of places overall. In the North Manchester SRF area there were 250 more reception places needed, 168 in East Manchester, 267 in Central Manchester, and 262 in South Manchester. It was not forecast that extra reception places were needed in the Wythenshawe SRF area. The solutions to provide this extra capacity included new schools, expanding existing schools and creating temporary provision. We agreed that the statutory process to formally expand the capacity of 11 primary schools should therefore begin, and that the Director should continue to finalise and implement a schedule of firm actions to further increase mainstream primary school capacity in the period 2014-2016.

For secondary schools the projections in the report showed that there was likely to be an absolute shortfall of Year 7 places in Central and South Manchester from 2015, and in North and East Manchester and Wythenshawe from 2017. To meet this shortfall a staged approach had been developed:

Stage 1 - expand existing secondary schools and academies on their existing sites, where there is already sufficient 11-16 accommodation to facilitate expansion or where sixth form provision is not sustainable and the accommodation can be used to create extra 11-16 places;

Stage 2 - expand existing secondary schools and academies on their existing sites, through Basic Need capital investment in extra accommodation;

Stage 3 - expand existing secondary schools and academies on second sites, using Basic Need capital to provide the necessary accommodation; then

Stage 4 - create new schools or academies.

The preferred approach across the Central and South areas was to create 180 extra Year 7 places from September 2015 by expanding up to six existing schools. From September 2016 a new 6 form-entry high school would need to be opened, and possible sites for this were being considered. Work was underway to assess how to provide more capacity in other parts of the city where that was forecast to be needed from 2017.

Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014

Given the urgency of this work we agreed that the Director for Education and Skills and the City Treasurer (in consultation with the Executive Members) be given delegated authority to finalise a schedule of firm proposals, working with partner organisations and schools in the city.

Similarly, for special educational needs (SEN) provision, the most recent projections suggested that there was a need to create additional SEN primary and secondary places in specialist support schools and in resourced mainstream schools. A joint strategic needs assessment was being undertaken to identify gaps in provision or services and areas where there was most need. In addition, a review of specialist social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) provision was being carried out to assess the need for specialist places and how best to provide them. Also, a funding bid had been submitted for post-16 specialist places, based on predicted growth. An allocation in excess of £1.6 million had been approved to develop and extend provision at North Ridge Specialist Support School and Xaverian Sixth Form College.

As with the secondary provision, given the urgency of the work on expanding SEN provision we agreed to delegate authority to finalise and implement a schedule of firm proposals, including capital investment needs.

We noted that the Young People and Children Scrutiny Committee had also considered the report at a recent meeting and the committee had endorsed its recommendations.

Decisions

1. To note the views of the Young People and Children Scrutiny Committee as set out in minute YPC/14/04.

2. To note the report of the Director for Education and Skills.

3. To endorse the actions being taken to increase capacity in the primary, secondary and special school sectors in response to a major and ongoing increase in pupil numbers.

4. To endorse the action being taken to secure mainstream primary school places for primary age children who arrive in the City mid-year and who cannot access a school place immediately.

5. To delegate responsibility to the Director for Education and Skills and the City Treasurer in consultation with the Executive Members for Children’s Services and for Finance and Human Resources for:

• finalising and implementing a schedule of firm actions to further increase mainstream primary school capacity in the period 2014-2016;

• finalising and implementing a schedule of firm proposals to increase Y7 capacity from 2015;

Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014

• finalising and implementing a schedule of firm actions to create further, additionally resourced mainstream SEN provision and special school places; and

• determining how the uncommitted balance of existing Basic Need capital funding and the new allocation for 15-17, should be invested.

6. That the Director for Education and Skills should now initiate the statutory change processes to formalise the increase in Admission Numbers at Crosslee, Higher Openshaw, St Chrysostom’s CE, Claremont, Broad Oak, Park View, Crab Lane, Ashbury Meadow, Mauldeth Road, Chapel Street and Cavendish primary schools.

Exe/14/004 The Manchester Metropolitan University Didsbury Campus Estate Regeneration Framework

In September 2013 we had endorsed the draft Didsbury Campus Regeneration Framework as a basis for consultation with local stakeholders (Minute Exe/13/124). The Chief Executive submitted a report to inform us of the outcome of the public consultation, and to propose that the Council now adopt the Framework.

The consultation, undertaken in October and November 2013, had sought to engage a wide range of stakeholders in the Didsbury area. Local Members, residents, businesses and interest groups were contacted and a range of web based and traditional engagement tools were used to raise awareness of the consultation process and to engage stakeholders on the content of the draft Framework. Drop-in events were the most popular element of the consultation and attracted around 240 visitors.

The response to the draft Framework was overwhelmingly positive. A number of specific issues had been raised in the consultation process and the report examined each of those in turn, explaining the issue raised and the response to it. These included the proposals for a primary school, the existing sports facilities at the site, and traffic and congestion. However, it was felt that the comments received did not require substantial amendments to be made to the proposed draft of the Framework. A copy of the proposed final version of the Framework was appended to the report.

We noted the views expressed in the consultation and agreed to the adoption of the Framework document as appended to the report.

Decisions

1. To note the comments received from local businesses, residents and other stakeholders, and the Council’s response as summarised in the report.

2. To approve the concept, vision and regeneration principles set out in the MMU Didsbury Campus Estate Regeneration Framework, with the intention that it is taken into account by the Planning and Highways Committee when determining future planning applications relating to this area. Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014

Exe/14/005 HS2 Consultation - A City Council Response (Councillor Hyde declared a personal interest in this item of business)

In September 2013 we considered a report a report that outlined the Government’s consultation on the HS2 high speed rail link from the West Midlands to Manchester and Leeds. At that time we asked the Chief Executive to report to us on a substantive response to that consultation (Minute Exe/13/117). The Chief Executive now submitted a report that set out the proposed response to the consultation.

In considering the transport capacity case for HS2, the report summarised the analysis by the Department for Transport on other possible investments and solutions to projected demand for freight and passenger transport, including air, road and other rail investments. That analysis had concluded that all of the other options would incur significant costs, but would not secure the capacity needed to support growth over the longer term; and that only a new high capacity railway could provide the level of capacity needed from the mid-late 2020s onwards. A new high-capacity railway would also release capacity for other passenger and freight services on the existing West Coast, East Coast and Midland Main Lines. The significant uplift in intercity passenger capacity provided by HS2, and the capacity so released on other lines for more commuter and freight trains, were clearly set out in the report.

The report explained that a HS2 Growth Task Force had been established nationally to examine how to maximise economic growth and job opportunities from HS2. The Council’s Chief Executive was Deputy Chair of the Task Force. The Task Force intended to publish a final report in March 2014 setting out its recommendations to Government. The Task Force had already published an initial report that identified the key themes for its on-going work. Those three key themes demonstrated how the economic growth potential of HS2 could be harnessed through enhanced economic connectivity, development and regeneration, and the creation of employment, skills and business opportunities. In this third theme the Task Force was to identify what was required to ensure that British businesses and employees were ready to maximise the opportunities that HS2 would present which could be secured through coordinated investment and activity.

The potential economic benefits of HS2 to the national economy had been examined in KPMG’s report for HS2 Ltd, produced in September 2013. The report of the Chief Executive explained the economic and regeneration potential of the development of both the Piccadilly and the Manchester Airport HS2 stations, the significant employment opportunities arising from the design and construction of the line and the rolling stock, and the wider economic benefits to the city and the region as a whole. We were already very mindful of these opportunities and addressing some of them through the Strategic Regeneration Frameworks for the Piccadilly and Mayfield areas of the city (Minute Exe 13/175). The report explained that a strategic masterplan was also under development for the wider developments that would relate to the station proposed for Manchester Airport.

To achieve the maximum economic benefits from HS2 there was also a requirement to develop skills forecasts for the short, medium and long-term to underpin a labour market programme involving the Combined Authority, the LEP, further and higher Manchester City Council The Executive Minutes 15 January 2014 education institutions, and employers. The goal would be to create a pipeline of talent to meet the demands of HS2. This could be done in Greater Manchester as well as in coordination with other LEP areas along the route of the line. Resources now controlled in Greater Manchester, such as European Social Funds, could also be deployed to address gaps in provision where the mainstream was unable to respond.

The report set out the proposed responses to the four key issues set out in the Government’s consultation: the proposed route between the West Midlands and Manchester; the proposals for Stations at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport and whether other stations were needed; the appraisal of sustainability including alternatives to HS2; and how best to use capacity freed up on the existing rail network. We endorsed those responses.

Decisions

1. To welcome the Government’s intention to progress with the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 2 extension from the West Midlands to Manchester, which will include new stations at both Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.

2. To note the quantum uplift in national rail connectivity that HS2 will secure for Greater Manchester, and endorse the Government’s conclusion that none of the other options would provide the equivalent levels of capacity and national connectivity, or deliver the best balance between economic benefit and cost.

3. To welcome the initial report of the HS2 Growth Task Force, confirming the unique growth potential of HS2 and the focus of its on-going work to ensure that the right connectivity, regeneration/development and industry/workforce conditions are put into place to maximise the local and national impacts of HS2.

4. To note the significant potential that HS2 offers for economic growth in Greater Manchester, and the arrangements being put into place to allow this potential to be maximised by: • ensuring that the optimum regional connectivity investment is identified to complement HS2; • seeking opportunities to accelerate the delivery of Phase 2 with a particular focus on the early delivery of the required station facilities in Manchester; and • by ensuring that the skills and business support arrangements are put into place to maximise the employment and supply chain opportunities for local residents and businesses across the City Region.

5. That a full consultation response should be prepared by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader, on the basis set out in the report, so as to demonstrate Manchester’s strong support for the HS2 project and to set a clear framework for on-going engagement between Council officers, TfGM, DfT and HS2 officials on the project and its delivery.