Greater Manchester's Devolution Trailblazer - the VCFSE sector role in the GM Single Settlement
The Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector has an important role to play in the devolution journey of Greater Manchester. In November 2023 the Mayor of Greater Manchester and GMCA signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with HM Treasury that outlined the 5 pillars of a Single Funding Settlement for GM.
As part of work around the GM VCSE Accord, we have arranged a working session for the sector's strategic thinkers to meet with GMCA Policy Teams on Monday 29th April 2024, from 10am - 12.30pm at the St Thomas Centre in Manchester and discuss the sector's aspirations from this Settlement.
The Single Funding Settlement covers:
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Local Growth and Place - including place based economic development, business support, regeneration and pride in place e.g UKSPF, Levelling Up Fund
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Housing and Regeneration - including enabling and improving local housing supply, delivery of capital investments to unlock housing, development of brownfield sites
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Adult Skills - including all non-apprenticeship adult skills funding and functions e.g Adult Education Budget, Free Courses for Jobs
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Local Transport - including Developing Local Transport Plans, managing and decarbonising the GM local public transport services, and delivering our active travel strategy
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Decarbonisation and Net Zero - including retrofitting social housing and other residential buildings at risk of fuel poverty, decarbonising public sector buildings managed by CA/districts.
This will bring a huge number of separate government funding streams and financial agreements into one Settlement, and give Greater Manchester greater flexibility to target funds in order to achieve a set of local outcomes for GM.
The changes will start from April 2025, and the final details of the Settlement are still being worked through with government. Unfortunately, the Settlement is not about 'new' money in addition to that which GM already receives, but rather changes the way that funding can be spent in GM. Furthermore, it does not cover any funding streams going direct to individual GM local authorities for the statutory functions of those local authorities.
This working session will provide you with a detailed update on progress with the discussions between GMCA and government departments about the Single Settlement, enable you to take part in discussion around the ‘interests’ that the VCFSE sector have across the 5 pillars listed above, and the ‘aspirations’ for future activity in the sector that might be funded through the Single Settlement.
GMCA officers are interested in how things could be done differently with less central Government rules/involvement. In particular, we are looking for the discussion to reveal the innovation driven by the VCFSE sector, the successful activities which could be scaled up or spread, and how GMCA might support or facilitate the sector's aspirations across the 5 pillars.
The working session will take place in 5 themed groups - one for each of the topics listed above. If you are interested in joining one of these themed discussions, please book your place and indicate your first and second preference for which group you would like to join. We will make every effort to accommodate your first preference.
This is an opportunity to inform the ongoing work around the Single Settlement, but places are limited and we are looking for a total of around 30 participants to bring ideas and suggestions into the discussion.
There will also be a much larger VCFSE Assembly later in the year which will provide information about the Single Settlement that you will be able to join if you are unable to make this working session.
Ardwick Green North
Manchester, M12 6FZ
