A report for the joint GMCA (Greater Manchester Combined Authorities) and AGMA (Association of Greater Manchester Authorities) meeting on Friday 30th January includes the staggering £13.825million costs associated with devolution to Greater Manchester for just one year 2015-16.
The phenomenal figures are included in a section called Devolution Related Requirements, which sets out Implementation Costs of £475,000 which "will cover support from legal services including external counsel, finance and audit as well as costs in relation to recruitment, communications, research, intelligence and policy development".
Meanwhile, the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework which will give a Greater Manchester Mayor power over planning and commercial space in Salford and elsewhere in the region, and was approved by Salford Council last week (see here) will cost a further £450,000 over the next twelve months, with total costs estimated at between £1.5million and £2million. Another £500,000 will be spent to `establish and administer' the Housing Investment Fund.
The biggest outlay is £12.4million for `associated costs' of the Transformation Challenge Award (TCA) to "support the delivery of reform activity, including the scale up to meet the commitments within the reform aspects of the Devolution Agreement". The Government states it will "improve the public services people receive and reduce the cost to taxpayers".
While the cost of the TCA is being met by the Government, and £500,000 is being taken out of LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) budgets, it is unclear where the remaining £925,000 associated with the devolution is coming from.
The report merely states that £377,000 will be taken from `existing funding streams' and projects a shortfall of £548,000 which will be taken out of `reserves'.
The £13.825million public money figure is only for the first twelve months of the process and doesn't include any explicit costs associated with an elected Mayor for Greater Manchester.
Salford Council Tax payers will be contributing £982,000 to GMCA and AGMA during 2015-16.
Calls by organisations including Greater Manchester Trades Council, the Green Party, the Reality Party and TUSC, are ongoing for a referendum into the devolution (see previous Salford Star article click here
* See also previous Salford Star article - Fat Cats of Greater Manchester - click here
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