Greater Manchester Combined Authority | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Unicameral |
Term limits | None |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 2011 |
Preceded by | AGMA |
Leadership | |
Eamonn Boylan since 27 January 2017 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 11 constituent members |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First-past-the-post voting [1] | |
First election | 4 May 2017 |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 4 May 2028 |
Meeting place | |
Tootal Buildings, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6EU [2] | |
Website | |
www |
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is a combined authority for Greater Manchester, England. It was established on 1 April 2011 and consists of 11 members; 10 indirectly elected members, each a directly elected councillor from one of the ten metropolitan boroughs that comprise Greater Manchester, together with the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester. The authority derives most of its powers from the Local Government Act 2000 and Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, [3] and replaced a range of single-purpose joint boards and quangos to provide a formal administrative authority for Greater Manchester for the first time since the abolition of Greater Manchester County Council in 1986.
The planning policies of the GMCA were developed in the 2000s by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities in the Greater Manchester Strategy. It is a strategic authority with powers over public transport, skills, housing, regeneration, waste management, carbon neutrality and planning permission. Functional executive bodies, such as Transport for Greater Manchester, are responsible for delivery of services in these areas. [3] The GMCA appoints a Chair and Vice-Chairs, from among its ten executive members.
The costs of the GMCA that are reasonably attributable to the exercise of its functions relating to public transport, economic development and regeneration (and any start up costs) are met by its constituent councils. Such costs are funded by direct government grant and, as a precepting authority, with some money collected with local Council Tax apportioned between the constituent councils. [3]
Greater Manchester was created as a metropolitan county composed of ten metropolitan boroughs on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972. From its investiture through to 31 March 1986, the county had a two-tier system of local government; district councils shared power with Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 as a result of the Local Government Act 1985, effectively making the 10 metropolitan boroughs unitary authority areas. The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) was established in 1986 as a voluntary association to make representations and bids on behalf of Greater Manchester and continue to manage strategic public services that were delegated to it by the councils, such as public transport and waste management. In the late-2000s, AGMA began actively seeking a formal government structure for Greater Manchester under the appellation "Manchester City Region". [4]
Following a bid from AGMA highlighting the potential benefits in combatting the financial crisis of 2007–2008, it was announced in the 2009 United Kingdom Budget that Greater Manchester and the Leeds City Region would be awarded Statutory City Region Pilot status, allowing (if they desired) for their constituent district councils to pool resources and become statutory combined authorities with powers comparable to the Greater London Authority. [5] The aim of the pilot was to evaluate the contributions to economic growth and sustainable development by combined authorities. [6] The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, passed with reference to the 2009 United Kingdom Budget, enabled the creation of a combined authority for Greater Manchester with devolved powers on public transport, skills, housing, regeneration, waste management, carbon neutrality and planning permission, pending approval from the 10 councils. [5] [7]
Between late-2009 and February 2010, AGMA debated the constitution and functions of the new combined authority, including matters such as name, voting system and remit. [4] From February 2010 through to April 2010, the 10 metropolitan district councils were consulted for their recommendations before submission of their constitution to central government; changes included extra powers for controlling further education, additional provisions for scrutinising the authority, and swapping the draft name 'Manchester City Region Authority' (MCRA) for the 'Greater Manchester Combined Authority' (GMCA), a name approved by the Executive Board of AGMA. [4]
Consultations made with district councils in March 2010 recommended that all GMCA matters requiring a vote would be decided on via a majority rule system involving 10 members appointed from among the councillors of the 10 metropolitan boroughs (one representing each borough of Greater Manchester with each council also nominating one substitute) without the input of the UK's central government. The Transport for Greater Manchester Committee would be formed from a pool of 33 councillors allocated by council population, roughly one councillor for every 75,000 residents to scrutinise the running of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (Manchester has five councillors, Wigan and Stockport four, Bury two and all other Boroughs three). [5] The 10 district councils of Greater Manchester approved the creation of the GMCA on 29 March 2010, and submitted its final recommendations for its constitution to the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Transport. On 31 March 2010, the then Communities Secretary John Denham approved the constitution and launched a 15-week public consultation on the draft bill together with the approved constitution. [8] The replacement of AGMA by the GMCA, was requested to take place from 1 April 2011. [9] [10] [11]
On 16 November 2010, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced that it had accepted the combined authority proposal and that an order to establish the GMCA would be laid before Parliament. [12] The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011, which formally established the combined authority, was made on 22 March 2011 and came into force on 1 April 2011. [13]
Following the passage of the Localism Act 2011 on 15 November 2011, the Department for Communities and Local Government began negotiating with groups of local councils for tailored deals to be included in the 2012 United Kingdom budget. [14] The GMCA sought provision for a further transfer of powers that would result in an additional delegation of authority from the UK's central government. This step-change would mean that, instead of the GMCA bidding for government funding on a project-by-project basis, it will receive a sum of money from government ministers and would be able to determine, locally, how it is used. [15] The UK Government is considering a further plan to allow passenger transport executives to raise local rail fares in their areas, and directly invest the money raised in infrastructure and rolling stock alongside the specification of additional or improved rail services. [16]
A "City Deal" for Greater Manchester was announced in March 2012 by the then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Cities Minister Greg Clark. [17] [18] The deal included:
In November 2012, the then Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey MP, signed an agreement between the GMCA and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, in recognition of its deliverance of low carbon initiatives (such as bulk-buying energy from suppliers for consumers in Greater Manchester), [19] and committing the Government to design and deliver new green initiatives in Greater Manchester releasing millions in funding to pioneer new low carbon technologies. [20]
The GMCA was praised in November 2012 as a model for other city regions by Sir Howard Bernstein [21] and Michael Heseltine, [22] for its economic benefits.
The GMCA has produced a joint strategic plan for Greater Manchester (excluding Stockport) called Places for Everyone, which includes land allocation for housing, infrastructure and other development. It is the first joint plan of its kind by a city region outside of London. [23]
The original scheme, called the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, was published in 2016 following public consultations in 2014 and 2015. [24] After Andy Burnham's election as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017 the plan underwent a "radical rewrite" [25] with a revised plan being published in 2019. [26] In December 2020 Stockport withdrew from the scheme and the plan was re-scoped and renamed as Places for Everyone. [27] [28]
The plans were submitted to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in 2022, and were the subject of an examination by the Planning Inspectorate during 2022 and 2023. Following the examination, Places for Everyone came in to effect on 21 March 2024 after it was formally adopted by all nine participating districts. [23]
The GMCA also established a housebuilder, Hive Homes, [29] with local housing associations.
In May 2012, the GMCA proposed to set up a franchisor body with neighbouring metropolitan authorities in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire, to take over the Northern and TransPennine Express rail franchises, and, from 2014/15, operate their routes under a single franchise, sharing financial risk and operational responsibilities. [30] [31]
The GMCA lobbied the government for two stations in Manchester on the proposed High Speed 2 railway from London; at Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. [32]
In November 2014, it was announced that Greater Manchester, along with several other city regions, would elect a 'metro-mayor' with similar powers to the Mayor of London. [33] In May 2015 an interim mayor was appointed by GMCA: there were two candidates for this post; [34] Peter Smith, leader of Wigan Borough Council and incumbent chairman of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Tony Lloyd, the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner. [35] Tony Lloyd was selected to be interim mayor on 29 May 2015. The first Greater Manchester mayoral election was held on 4 May 2017. [36] Andy Burnham was elected as the inaugural Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The GMCA is made up of 11 constituent members - the Mayor of Greater Manchester together with one councillor appointed by each of Greater Manchester's 10 local authorities. Each member has one vote and each council also appoints one substitute member in the case of absence. The appointing council may at any time terminate the membership of its appointee, and the appointee will also cease to be a member if they cease to be an elected representative. The Mayor is the GMCA's chairperson, and a member of the second and third largest political groups on the authority, if applicable, are automatically appointed as vice-chairs.
Most questions arising before the GMCA are decided by a simple majority vote, and if a vote is tied it is considered to be lost. The chairperson does not have a casting vote. However, several subjects require an enhanced majority of eight votes in favour. These are: [37]
Any question relating to road user charging require a unanimous vote in favour by all 11 members. [37]
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) [3] is the executive body of the GMCA for the execution of transport functions and is the executive agency responsible for the running of Greater Manchester's transport services and infrastructure such as Metrolink, subsidised bus and rail services as well as carrying out transport and environmental planning. The organisation carries out the previous functions of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE). The organisation absorbed the previously separate ITA Policy Unit, the GM Joint Transport Unit, the GMTU and GMUTC. It is supervised by the members of the Bee Network Committee.
The Bee Network Committee is a joint committee of the GMCA, Mayor of Greater Manchester and the ten Greater Manchester local authorities established to provide oversight of TfGM and create transport policy on behalf of the combined authority. It is named after Greater Manchester's integrated transport network, the Bee Network.
The committee has four key responsibilities: Decision-making over significant operational matters across the network, monitoring the performance and financial stability of the network, developing policy to support the local transport plan, and facilitating coordination between the ten local authorities around highways maintenance and infrastructure delivery.
Each local authority appoints one of its executive members with responsibility for transport matters to sit alongside the mayor, a member of the GMCA, and up to four other councillors appointed by the mayor. These additional mayoral appointees allow the committee's political make-up to reflect the political make-up of Greater Manchester's councils as a whole.
A Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) [3] provides scrutiny of the combined authority, Bee Network Committee, TfGM and CNE, each constituent council appoints three of its elected members to JOSC and sub committees can be formed to examine specific issues.
This article needs to be updated.(January 2022) |
In anticipation of the combined authority, seven commissions were set up to handle the new responsibilities, six commenced operation between May and August 2009 [3] they are:
The current intention is that each of the Commissions (except Improvement and Efficiency which consist entirely of local authority members) are formed of a mixture of elected members and representatives from other partners, including the private sector, other public sector agencies and the voluntary sector. Seats are shared out amongst all the local authorities as equally as possible, with no local authority having more than one seat on each Commission with the exception of the Improvement and Efficiency Commission which will have all authorities represented. [38] Each Commission's decisions require approval by the members of the GMCA.
The GMCA is made up of 11 constituent members: the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester and 10 members who are elected councillors, nominated by each of Greater Manchester's constituent authorities. The mayor is also supported by a non-constituent Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime – the only salaried portfolio holder. Between 2018 and 2020, Lord Smith of Leigh continued in his lead role for Health after retiring from his leadership of Wigan Council. In most cases, the council's nominee is the leader of the authority, although there is no requirement for them to be so. [39] [40] [41]
Nominating authority | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | May 2021 | Jul 2021 | Aug 2021 | Dec 2021 | 2022 | Jan 2023 | May 2023 | Position within nominating authority | Portfolio within combined authority | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greater Manchester Combined Authority | Office not yet established | Tony Lloyd (Interim) | Andy Burnham | Mayor of Greater Manchester | Policy & Reform and Transport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Office not yet established | Beverley Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford | Kate Green | Deputy Mayor | Safer and Stronger Communities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council | Clifford Morris | Linda Thomas | David Greenhalgh | vacant | Martyn Cox | Nick Peel | Leader | Digital City-Region | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council | Mike Connolly | Rishi Shori | Eamonn O'Brien | Leader | Technical Education & Skills | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manchester City Council | Sir Richard Leese | Bev Craig | Leader | Economy, Business & Inclusive Growth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council | Jim McMahon | Jean Stretton | Sean Fielding | Arooj Shah | Amanda Chadderton | Arooj Shah | Leader | Equalities and Communities | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council | Colin Lambert | Richard Farnell | Allen Brett | Neil Emmott | Leader | Culture | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Salford City Council | John Merry | Ian Stewart | Paul Dennett | Mayor | Deputy Mayor; Healthy Lives & Homelessness | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council | Dave Goddard | Sue Derbyshire | Alex Ganotis | Elise Wilson | Mark Hunter | Leader | Children & Young People | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council | Kieran Quinn | Brenda Warrington | Gerald Cooney | Leader | Housing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council | Matthew Colledge | Sean Anstee | Andrew Western | Tom Ross | Leader | Green City-Region | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council | Peter Smith, Baron Smith of Leigh | David Molyneux | Leader | Resources & Investment |
Colour key (for political parties): Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Current office holders are highlighted in bold.
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester.
Metropolitan counties are a subdivision of England which were originally used for local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: civil parishes, local authorities, and regional authorities. Every part of England is governed by at least one local authority, but parish councils and regional authorities do not exist everywhere. In addition, there are 31 police and crime commissioners, four police, fire and crime commissioners, and ten national park authorities with local government responsibilities. Local government is not standardised across the country, with the last comprehensive reform taking place in 1974.
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest town, Wigan but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Atherton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh and Tyldesley. The borough also covers the villages and suburbs of Abram, Aspull, Astley, Bryn, Hindley Green, Lowton, Mosley Common, Orrell, Pemberton, Shevington, Standish, Winstanley and Worsley Mesnes. The borough is also the second-most populous district in Greater Manchester.
The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in England. It is named after its largest town, Oldham. The borough had a population of 243,912 in 2022, making it the sixth-largest district by population in Greater Manchester. The borough spans 142 square kilometres (55 sq mi).
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the city region's administrative authority. The strategies and policies of Transport for Greater Manchester are set by the GMCA and its Greater Manchester Transport Committee (GMTC). The committee is made up of 33 councillors appointed from the ten Greater Manchester boroughs, as well as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The Greater Manchester County Council (GMCC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater Manchester from 1974 to 1986. A strategic authority, with responsibilities for roads, public transport, planning, emergency services and waste disposal, it was composed of 106 directly elected members drawn from the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester. The Greater Manchester County Council shared power with ten lower-tier district councils, each of which directed local matters. It was also known as the Greater Manchester Council (GMC) and the Greater Manchester Metropolitan County Council (GMMCC).
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Leeds. It has the second-largest population of any council in the United Kingdom with approximately 800,000 inhabitants living within its area; only Birmingham City Council has more. Since 1 April 2014, it has been a constituent council of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Local authority areas in England typically have an executive leader and a cabinet selected from the local council, similar to how the national prime minister and cabinet are selected from Parliament. In contrast, residents of some areas, or groups of areas known as combined authorities or combined county authorities, directly elect the executive mayors of their local government.
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) is the local government association for Greater Manchester, a metropolitan county in North West England. It was established in 1986 as a voluntary organisation to represent the ten district councils of Greater Manchester after the Greater Manchester County Council was abolished. AGMA develops policy, lobbies government and others, and runs a range of services designed to make strategic and tangible advances in the standard of living across Greater Manchester. Its Policy and Research Unit is based in Wigan,
A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain devolved functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area. In areas where local government is two-tier, both must participate in the combined authority.
The Mayor of Salford is a directly elected politician responsible for the executive functions of Salford City Council, created in 2012 for the City of Salford in Greater Manchester. The position is different from the long-existing and largely ceremonial, annually appointed ceremonial mayor of Salford.
Wakefield Council, formally the City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, is the local authority of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield is a metropolitan borough with city status. The council and provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, town planning, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. Wakefield is divided into 21 wards, electing 63 councillors. A third of the council is elected for three of every four years.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, branded and commonly referred to as Oldham Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Oldham. It is composed of 60 councillors, three for each of the 20 electoral wards of the borough.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), officially the Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority, is the combined authority of the Liverpool City Region in England. Its area includes the City of Liverpool local authority area, the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, and Wirral, and the Borough of Halton. It was established on 1 April 2014 by statutory instrument under the provisions of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Composition of the combined authority is made up of the leaders of the six principal membership authorities, plus several non-voting members with various vested interests in the activities of the combined authority.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and skills. The creation of the Mayor of Greater Manchester was agreed between the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Greater Manchester's 10 district council leaders. As well as having specific powers, the mayor chairs the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, also assuming the powers of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner.
The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows for the introduction of directly elected mayors to combined authorities in England and Wales and the devolution of housing, transport, planning and policing powers to them. The bill was introduced to the House of Lords by Baroness Williams of Trafford, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on 28 May 2015.
The 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral election was held on 6 May 2021 to elect the mayor of Greater Manchester. This election, alongside other local and mayoral elections across England and Wales, was originally scheduled to take place on 7 May 2020, but was delayed by the UK Government on 13 March 2020, due to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic. The election took place on the same day as council elections within the city-region, including the election for the mayor of Salford, as well as elections across England and Wales. It was the second election to the position of mayor. It used the supplementary vote as its electoral system.
The Mayor of West Yorkshire is a directly elected mayor responsible for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in England. The Mayor chairs and leads the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and assumes the office and powers of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.
The 2022 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third—20 out of 60—of councillors on Oldham Council was elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
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