Here is a summary of the agenda for the Salford City Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 17 September 2025. The agenda included discussion of financial monitoring reports, a funding bid for The Lowry, and motions on NHS investment and anti-social behaviour. The meeting was also scheduled to include reports from board members, and questions to the City Mayor and cabinet members.

Financial Matters

The council was scheduled to discuss several financial reports:

Capital Budget 2025/26 Quarter 1 Monitoring

The council was scheduled to review the capital expenditure programme for 2025/26. According to the report pack, the approved programme was £99.818m, with general unsupported borrowing forecasted to be £27.396m. A revision to the capital programme due to reprofiling from 2024/25 of £45.505m was reported to Cabinet within the Quarter 3 2024/25 budget monitoring report. The report pack stated that there was further reprofiling of slippage following the finalised outturn position of £8.106m, providing total reprofiling of £53.611m and a revised 2025/26 capital programme for approval of £153.429m. Actual expenditure to the end of quarter 1 was £13.563m with a forecast expenditure by end of March 2026 of £135.464m, leading to rephasing of £17.965m into the 2026/27 capital programme.

Revenue Budget 2025/26 Quarter 1 - Monitoring

The council was scheduled to review the financial position at the end of June 2025 (Quarter 1) and the forecasted revenue outturn position of £2.912m overspend for the 2025/26. The report pack stated that areas of significant pressure were being offset by underspends in other areas and the use of £9.704m from specific earmarked reserves. The report pack recommended that the council approve the additional use of specific earmarked reserves of £9.704m as set out in the report, and approve the virement of £2.836m from the corporate contingency to Children's Services towards demand and cost pressures.

Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25

The council was scheduled to consider the outturn position and performance of Treasury Management. The report pack stated that all treasury management activities undertaken during the year were in accordance with the principles in the Treasury Management Code and the Authority's approved Treasury Management Strategy. There was a favourable variance relating to interest costs for temporary borrowing due to a reduced amount of short-term loans being taken out during the year, and a favourable variance relating to investment income because of bank base rates increasing and investment balances being higher than budgeted.

Audit and Accounts Committee Annual Report 2024/25

The council was scheduled to consider the Annual Report of the Chair of the Audit & Accounts Committee for the year 2024/25. The Audit & Accounts Committee was formed in May 2008 by a merger of the existing Audit Committee and Accounts Committees. Councillor Adam Kealey, Chair of Audit and Accounts Committee, stated in the foreword to the report that:

When residents pay their council tax, they expect their bins to be collected, their roads to be fixed and their interests represented. Parks should be a place people want to play, rather a location recommended to stay away from. Schools should be a place to thrive and not one an inspector dreads a visit to. We should ensure we uphold our Council to the highest standards.

External Funding Bid for The Lowry

The council was scheduled to discuss a bid for funding for The Lowry. The report pack noted that The Lowry had been invited to make a full application for £8.5m to the Arts Council England Creative Foundations Fund, provided they meet the £1.5m match partnership funding requirement. The report pack recommended that the council note this invitation, note the request to allocate £1.5 million from earmarked reserves as match partnership funding to enable The Lowry to submit a full application to the Arts Council England Creative Foundations Fund, support The Lowry's bid, endorse investment in The Lowry's infrastructure, and approve a commitment of £1.5m match funding conditional on Lowry being successful in their application. The report pack stated that The Lowry was created 25 years ago, to be a beacon of hope and a catalyst for change in the city, and that today we see the impact of Lowry being built in the transformation of Salford Quays and creation of MediaCityUK; one of the most successful regeneration stories in the world.

Notices of Motion

Two notices of motion were scheduled to be discussed:

Protecting and Rebuilding our NHS and Supporting Local GP Investment

This motion, proposed by Councillor Mishal Saeed and seconded by Councillor Irfan Syed, welcomed the new investment in GP surgeries across Salford, and commended the Labour government's commitment to invest £102m in over 1,000 GP surgeries across the country to deliver an additional 8.3m appointments each year. The motion called on decision-makers at every level to ensure that health issues remain high on the agenda and consider Salford residents in shaping the future of our NHS. The motion also called on the Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to welcome the new investment in local GP surgeries, reaffirm that residents and elected representatives should be involved in the planning and shaping the delivery of the improvements, ensure that patients' needs are actively considered in shaping GP and primary Care improvements across Salford, invite the minister and relevant NHS colleagues to visit Salford, and emphasize that social care reform should also be prioritised. Finally, the motion called on Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health to publicly reaffirm this Council's unwavering support for a publicly funded, publicly provided NHS, continue to work closely with the GM and Salford ICBs to ensure there is a consultative approach in regards to investment spend and other key decisions impacting health services for our residents, and raise awareness of the benefits of the investment for our residents and highlight opportunities for grass roots involvement and feedback.

Tackling Anti-Social Use of Off-Road Vehicles

This motion, proposed by Councillor Paul Heilbron and seconded by Councillor Jonathan Moore, noted that the anti-social use of off-road vehicles -including motorbikes, quadbikes, scramblers, and e-bikes continues to cause serious problems across Salford, particularly in parks, green spaces, greenways and urban routes, generating noise nuisance, environmental damage, and safety risks for residents. The motion recognised that local communities are frustrated with ongoing problems and want to see visible, joined-up action, and expressed concern that despite ongoing efforts, residents in parts of the city feel that enforcement is not keeping pace with the scale of the problem, particularly in areas such as Clifton Country Park, Ordsall Park and Salford Quays. The motion resolved to request that the Lead Member for Community Safety considers strengthening the collation of wardlevel reports from councillors and residents, and that the Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety ensures that details of identified hotspots and actions taken are made publicly available in an accessible format. The motion also resolved to request that the Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety continue to work with GMP to ensure continued and targeted use of GMP specialist resources, deployable CCTV, Section 59 warning signage¹, possible use of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs)², and tenancy enforcement powers in known hotspots as a priority, and assess options for additional appropriate physical deterrents (e.g. bollards or fencing) in consultation with accessibility groups, and implement proposals that are deemed suitable. Finally, the motion resolved to request that the Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Environment and Community Safety considers promoting more widely the existing route for councillors to report addresses suspected of storing or repeatedly using off-road vehicles, and to write to the Chief Constable of GMP, Community Safety Partnership, Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, requesting a summit with councillors and Council leadership to help develop and co-design a long-term strategy.

Other Matters

The agenda also included:

• Urgent Key Decisions: A report from the Interim City Solicitor detailing recent key decisions taken in accordance with the special urgency powers.
• Governance and Administrative Arrangements: A report seeking the Council's formal approval of the appointment of all co-opted members and independent persons until the end of the 2025/26 municipal year (or for the period specified).
• Scheduled Reports from Board Members: Including reports from Councillor Bill Hinds on the Working Class Movement Library, and Councillors Adrian Brocklehurst, David Lancaster MBE, Wilson Nkurunziza and Irfan Syed on the Manchester Port Health Authority.
• General Questions: Opportunities for councillors to ask questions of the City Mayor, cabinet members, and chairs of scrutiny panels.