About

Ambition

Greater Manchester’s ambition is to become a financially self-sustaining city with the size, the assets, the skilled population and political and economic influence to rival any global city.

With a growing economy, a population of 2.7 million people and over 100,000 businesses, Greater Manchester already competes on a global scale.

The Greater Manchester Business Board sits at the heart of Greater Manchester’s governance arrangements, ensuring that business leaders are empowered to set the strategic course, determine local priorities and drive growth and job creation within the city region. It is central to the wider partnerships established between local government, businesses and educational institutes, and the public, private, voluntary and community sectors.

Our strategic ambitions for the city region and our key priorities are set out in the Greater Manchester Strategy. We have also set out where people can see how we are delivering on that vision.

Recent Devolution Agreements have provided Greater Manchester with powers and flexibilities to shape the decisions which affect the city region so we can work together to develop a truly place based approach.

Assurance

The GM Local Growth Assurance Framework outlines the assurance arrangements for both the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Greater Manchester Business Board for funding paid as part of Greater Manchester’s integrated ‘Single Pot’.

The Board publishes an Annual Delivery Plan which sets out the key priorities and activities planned for the forthcoming year. The Annual Delivery Plan contains a breakdown of the projects funded by the Board and we will publish regular updates on these projects. For further information on eligibility please contact us. We also publish an Annual Delivery Report highlighting our progress in achieving these priorities.

The Board Chair and Chief Executive also publish an annual Governance Assurance Statement setting out the status of governance and transparency

Alongside the Board’s Terms of Reference, the Assurance Framework outlines the key practices and standards which are necessary to provide Government and local partners with assurance that decisions over funding are proper, transparent, and that they deliver value for money.

In particular, the Assurance Framework sets out:

• How we make sure the way we make and record decisions remains transparent and accountable including publishing our Board meetings, reports and minutes. All papers are published at least 5 working days before each meeting with minutes available 5 working days after the meeting. The Board also follows GMCA’s established approach to handling confidential and exempt information as set out in the GMCA constitution
• The arrangements for funding received from the Government including the publication of financial information
• How projects and programmes are commissioned, appraised and prioritised.
• How our Board’s SME representative will engage with the SME community, acting as the voice for SMEs on the Board and championing those issues which affect small businesses.
• Our commitment to diversity and our understanding that different people bring different ideas, knowledge and perspectives. As part of this commitment, the Board refreshes its board membership every two years to ensure it reflects the breadth of industrial sectors on its Board as well as represents the diversity of Greater Manchester’s people.
• Our Conflicts of Interest Policy and Complaints Policy and how Board members must register their interests. Currently all Board members must declare any interests at each meeting as set out in our Terms of Reference and we compile a full Register of Interests to be refreshed and published every six months.
• The registers of any gifts and hospitality or expenses claimed by members of the Board in accordance with the Greater Manchester Business Board policy
• All our Board members sign up to the Code of Conduct and commit to carry out their Business Board duties in line with Nolan Principles for standards in public life. In addition, GMCA officers have their own Code of Conduct as detailed out in the GMCA constitution which sets out both expectations and standards of professional and personal behaviour from its officers which are in line with Nolan Principles.
• The Greater Manchester Business Board is also covered by the GM Whistleblowing Policy which supports people in raising any serious concerns they have about suspected illegal or illegitimate practices within the Board or GMCA.