Council size submission May 2018 Electoral review of Salford City Council Submission on council size, to be submitted to the local Government Boundary Commission for England Council size submission May 2018 Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 4 2 Salford: A Modern Global City ....................................................................................... 6 3 Salford Today ................................................................................................................ 9 Population Growth..................................................................................................... 9 Continuing Population Growth ................................................................................ 10 An Increasingly Diverse City ................................................................................... 11 A City of Contrasts .................................................................................................. 14 4 Governance and Decision Making ............................................................................... 17 Context .................................................................................................................... 17 A Directly Elected City Mayor .................................................................................. 17 The Council ............................................................................................................. 18 Leadership - Cabinet ............................................................................................... 19 Leadership - Role of Lead Members ....................................................................... 19 The Role of a Councillor .......................................................................................... 25 Regulatory Panels and Other Committees .............................................................. 27 Greater Manchester and City Partnerships ............................................................. 28 Council size submission May 2018 Other partnership working ....................................................................................... 30 Community Decision Making ................................................................................... 32 5 Scrutiny Functions ....................................................................................................... 34 6 Representational Role of Councillors .......................................................................... 38 7 The Future – Changing Role for Council and Councillors ............................................ 40 Greater Manchester ................................................................................................ 40 Growth and Working with Business......................................................................... 41 Health and Social Care Integrated Commissioning ................................................. 42 21st Century Councillor ........................................................................................... 42 8 Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................. 44 Appendices Appendix 1 Member Survey Questionnaire Appendix 2 Forecasting Technical report 2 Council size submission May 2018 3 Council size submission May 2018 1 Introduction 1.1 The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) review of Salford’s council size started in 2018, with all out elections due to take place in 2020. 1.2 The review was triggered due to the number of wards with electoral imbalances across the city, and therefore an unfair representation at local government elections. In five of the 20 wards, the size of electorate has a variance greater than +/- 10% compared to the average; in Ordsall the variance is 33%. 1.3 This document is Salford City Co uncil’s council size submission, which provides the LGBCE with the Council’s view on the appropriate council size and supporting evidence across the following three broad areas (as stated in the LGBCE guidance on council size for local authority elected members and staff): · Governance and decision making – determining the role of councillors in decision making, and how work and responsibilities are distributed across the Council. · Scrutiny functions – the role of councillors in holding decision makers to account and to ensure that the Council can discharge its responsibilities to outside bodies. · Representative role of councillors – assessing how councillors represent and provide leadership in their communities and how this affects workload and responsibilities. 1.4 The document concludes that the size of the Council should remain at 60 councillors across 20 wards (3 members per ward). Methodology 1.5 The development of this submission was led by a political steering group, chaired by the Statutory Deputy Mayor. 1.6 The submission draws on information from documentary sources such as the Council’s constitution, and from discussion with elected members and senior officers. 1.7 During March 2018, councillors were asked to complete a survey to better understand their workloads relating to governance and decision making, scrutiny, and the representative duties of councillors. The survey also sought to understand the way councillors work with the public and with partner organisations across the city. A copy of the survey is attached at Appendix 1. 1.8 The survey also asked councillors for their views on how their role had developed and changed over time. 1.9 Forty eight councillors responded to the survey, an overall response rate of 80%. 90% of Labour Councillors responded to the survey. 4 Council size submission May 2018 1.10 Additionally, six councillors drawn from different roles also completed a more detailed journal that documented the demands on their time during a specific week in March 2018. 1.11 The findings from both the survey and completed journals are reported throughout this submission. 5 Council size submission May 2018 2 Salford: A Modern Global City 2.1 Salford is a rejuvenated city. The decision in 1983 to invest in the transformation of the city’s industrial Docks began an extensive, long running and expansive programme of reimagining the canal side, creating what is now the Salford Quays – an international and national home for the arts, culture, waterside living and a new economy. The physical transformation of the Quays is not the only change in the city. Over the past decade other areas of the city have also undergone a physical transformation and the city’s economy has strengthened, suppo rted by the growth in key sectors. The population has continued to grow, and the quality of the arts, cultural, sporting and community offers is now world class. 2.2 The city now boasts a world class hospital, a leading university, and strong housing, cultural and leisure offers. All of these continue to attract a growing number of people to Salford. 2.3 There is more that can be done. There are ambitious plans to create a ‘Better and Fairer Salford’. The current exceptional levels of growth are supported by three of the strongest investment opportunities in the Greater Manchester region: · City Centre Salford: the level of ambition in City Centre Salford is already evidenced by a strong development pipeline. Over the next 25 years there is the potential to grow significantly with up to 12,500 new jobs, 120,000 m 2 of employment floor space, 14,000 new homes and 20,000 new residents. · The Quays and Media City UK: one of the UKs most successful regeneration projects, northern home to the BBC and ITV. Media City is one of the leading digital, creative and technology clusters in Europe. Future phases between now and 2030 will see further investment of up to £1bn, doubling the current size of Media City UK. · Greater Manchester Western Gateway: exploiting the opportunity to create a tri-modal interchange that will transform the way goods are transported not just in the North West but across the Northern Powerhouse. Port Salford will be the UKs first tri-modal port facility with the potential to create up to 10,000 jobs as the major distribution hub comes on stream. 2.4 This unprecedented private and public investment over the last ten years is transforming Salford from its industrial roots. The population of Salford Quays, where MediaCityUK is based, has increased from 6,000 to 7,800 in just five years (2011 – 2016). Employment in Salford Quays has increased from 19,000 jobs in 2003 to 26,000 in 2016. As a result, more people than ever are choosing Salford as a place to live, work, invest and visit. Salford’s eco nomy is growing well above regional and national averages and is outperforming both London and Manchester to become the UK’s hot spot for starting a new business. With a strong cultural and tourism offer, a renowned heritage and huge swathes of beautiful green spaces, the city has something for everyone. 6 Council size submission May 2018 2.5 In addition to investment opportunities listed above, there are other significant developments such as – · Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Garden Bridgewater – due to open in 2019 as the RHS’s fifth gar den in the country and with the potential to become the largest visitor attraction in Greater Manchester · The Landing – in partnership with