Waking Watch relief fund to help Manchester residents trapped in unsafe homes
The scale of the cladding problem in Greater Manchester has been described as "huge" - with increasing numbers of buildings being revealed as vulnerable.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will distribute a £30 million relief fund to local leaseholders living in dangerous buildings.
The money is set to cover the installation of fire alarm systems so that temporary Waking Watch measures – which have involved security patrolling corridors with air horns – can be removed.
The GMCA has taken charge of administering the fund so it can be distributed “as quickly as possible”, although some leaseholders will still be left thousands of pounds in debt.
Building safety legislation changed following the Grenfell disaster in 2017, meaning similar combustible cladding had to be removed from other tower blocks in Britain.
But leaseholders have been slapped with six-figure bills to pay for the repairs themselves – leaving people trapped in unsafe and unsellable homes.
A £1bn support fund proved to be insufficient, and it is estimated that up to 700,000 people are still living in dangerous homes in Britain, with around 1.3 million unable to sell or re-mortgage.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the cladding issue in parliament earlier this week, stating: “We’re absolutely clear that leaseholders should not have to worry about the cost of fixing historic safety defects that they didn’t cause.”
A plan to offer more support is apparently ongoing, but the delays have meant some homeowners are already thousands of pounds out of pocket.
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Leanne Kilheeney of the Manchester Cladiators said: “Sadly for us the government’s fund for the Waking Watch fees came too late. We have already paid thousands of pounds each for several months of Waking Watch and new fire alarms. This will not be covered by the fund as no retrospective cases are covered.
“We are worried that this will happen with other government funding too. A huge amount of issues are not covered by the current government funds that people are getting invoiced for now. It may be the case the the government eventually release funds for this – but for many of us it will be too late.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham acknowledged that whilst the financial support package was a “step in the right direction” to resolve the cladding scandal, far more financial support from central government was required.
“The impact on leaseholders is staggering, with residents fearing a devastating and unfair choice between bankruptcy and long-term loans,” the Mayor stated.
“This is not a party-political issue and we must all work to ensure a solution is found to the building safety crisis, and I look forward to further positive engagement with the Minister.
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“This issue which affects thousands is not about buildings but about people and I am keen to work with the Government to support all residents of Greater Manchester who are affected.”
Salford City Mayor and Chair of the High Rise Task Force Paul Dennett said the scale of the cladding problem in Greater Manchester was “huge”; with increasing numbers of buildings being revealed as vulnerable.
He stated: “Leaseholders in buildings with serious fire safety failings and those in non-high rise buildings are also burdened by the costs of waking watches because of fire safety issues that they are not responsible for and this is completely unacceptable.
“I urge the Government to commit to making further funding available, and to extend the eligibility requirement so that all affected buildings can apply, not just those over 18 metres or with cladding-related problems.”
Find out more about the Waking Watch Relief Fund here.
News
Manchester City win watershed case against Premier League over sponsorship rules
Danny Jones
Manchester City have landed an early blow in what is set to be a long and arduous series of legal proceedings over the coming months as they have won a case against the Premier League over their rules around sponsorship and related party transactions.
The current English champions, who have won a record four Premier League titles in a row, launched legal action against the division back in June after claiming that their restrictions around Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules and sponsorships were unfair and unlawful.
Now, as it turns out, an independent panel of three retired judges ultimately concluded that the rules were unlawful and, at least in part, contrary to the Competition Act 1998.
The details of the case are obviously numerous and complex but, in short, it has been found that Man City were unfairly blocked from moving forward with two huge sponsorship deals earlier this year.
BREAKING: Man City has won their legal challenge against the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction rules, which surrounds commercial deals between clubs and their related companies 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZevrXvOOhd
Although the outcome has been somewhat debated by the league itself, it was decided that the imposed regulations were unfair and “discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.”
Issuing a statement following the decision, the Premier League said they “welcome the Tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”, adding that it also “upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of City’s challenges” while reiterating that the rules are necessary for their “financial controls to be effective”.
They went on to add that “the decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the APT Rules, which ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties.”
Meanwhile, the City Football Group responded to the news in a series of bullet points, insisting that the “Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position, […] had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner” and that they will now have to “restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.”
Safe to say people have noted quite a distinct difference in tone when it comes to statements from the two parties regarding associated parties and their transactions with clubs but, nevertheless, it’s a victory for the Manc club could have a huge knock-on effect regarding how much teams can spend in the future.
Quite a contrast in wording between the statements from Man City (left) and the Premier League (right) on findings related to Associated Party Transaction rules. pic.twitter.com/H3QkHlwMGM
The Premier League have also reassured that two particular aspects of the existing rules that didn’t fully comply with the Competition Act will be rectified promptly and will be “conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to enact those specific changes quickly and effectively”.
Not only does this mean that CFG is likely to restart conversations with the two blocked parties – one being the Etihad Group and another with a bank based in Abu Dhabi – but that other clubs could now potentially look into further lucrative sponsorship deals, although ‘fair market value’ will still be assessed.
You can read page 164 of the document which summarises the full Tribunal HERE.
Meanwhile, the still outstanding case against Man City over their 115 charges regarding FFP breaches has now begun, though a decision is still a ways off.
Date set for Manchester’s move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system
Emily Sergeant
The date for Manchester’s switch to a London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system has officially been set.
With just three months to go until all buses in Greater Manchester are back under local control, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now set the date for the introduction of capped contactless payments on the Bee Network in a bid to “support multi-modal travel”, and it’s already being described as a “huge step forward”.
TfGM believes contactless pay-as-you-go systems on buses and trams will make travel easier overall, as it’ll guarantee passengers pay the right fare for their journey.
But how exactly will it work?
Coming soon, contactless Pay As You Go on #BeeNetwork buses. Travel seamlessly between bus and tram, with fares automatically worked out for you.
🟡 Pay no more than the daily or weekly cap for your journeys (adult fares) 🟡 Unlimited daily travel by bus for £5 a day pic.twitter.com/dOa8o96vqA
Well, similar to how customers currently travel on the Metrolink, passengers will be able to use their bank card or smart payment device to touch in on all Bee Network bus services, and rest assured knowing that they will only be charged the lowest fare up to the daily cap of £5, or the new weekly cap of £20.
Under the new system, people travelling by Bee Network bus will simply ‘touch on’ as they board the service.
Not only that, but passengers will also be able to travel across both Metrolink and Bee Network bus services at the same time, and only be charged a single multi-modal fare, instead of having to plan or buy tickets in advance – which is similar to travelling in London.
Passengers who use both Bee Network bus and Metrolink can use pay as you go for unlimited all-day travel across Greater Manchester, which is expected to cost a maximum of £9.50, or £7.80 if you start your journey after 9:30am or at weekends.
Journeys will be cheaper if travelling across fewer Metrolink zones.
Manchester is set to move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport payment system / Credit: TfGM
For the time being, TfGM has confirmed that pay as you go travel will operate with adult fares only, but this may be rolled-out to others in the future.
“Pay as you go will be launching across Bee Network buses to build on the system that has been in place on the Metrolink since 2019,” explained Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
“This is a massive step forward in terms of delivering a London-style transport network for the people of Greater Manchester, putting our region on par with not only the capital, but also major cities across the world that offer seamless integrated travel by public transport.”
Mr Burnham also said it’ll be “affordable and easier to pay for”, and will ultimately “take the worry out of choosing the right ticket”.
The Manc -
5th February 2021 
