Agenda and minutes

            An apology for inability to attend was received from Councillor Spence.

            The minutes of the meeting of 24th October were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Shadow Council at its meeting on 4th November. 

            In respect of item 3(g), ‘Request for Funding - City of Belfast Youth Orchestra’, Councillor Rodgers declared an interest in that he was a member of the Belfast Education and Library Board, which was associated with the Youth Orchestra.

            The Chairman welcomed Councillor McAteer to her first meeting of the Committee.

            The Committee agreed to receive, at its meeting in January, a deputation from representatives of the Forum for an Alternative Belfast (FAB) to discuss issues associated with the community planning process and the creation of a Local Development Plan.

            The Committee was reminded that Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, at its meeting on 21st November, in response to a request for financial assistance from the Ulster Orchestra, had agreed, in principle, to contribute a sum of £100,000, subject to that body securing additional funding to meet its operating deficit for 2014/2015. That decision had been subject also to the Council being satisfied with the longer-term financial viability of the Orchestra and to the receipt of assurances from its auditors that the Orchestra was considered a going concern.

            The Chief Executive reminded the Committee that there had been two elements to the Ulster Orchestra’s request, the second being that the Council would consider providing the Orchestra with a rent-free period of five years for the use of the Belfast Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall. It was noted, particularly, that the potential loss of income to the Council, should it grant the free use of the Ulster Hall to the Orchestra, would be in the region of £170,000 per annum. Given that such a decision would affect the Council post-2015, it had been considered appropriate to invite representatives of the Orchestra to make a presentation to the Shadow Strategic Policy and Resources Committee. 

            Accordingly, the Chairman welcomed to the meeting Professor G. Bain, Executive Chairman of the Board of the Ulster Orchestra, together with Ms. A. Sands, Ms. B. McKinley and Mr. T. Green, representing the senior management team of the Orchestra.

            Professor Bain outlined the extent of the Orchestra’s operating deficit and the factors which had contributed to it. He requested that the Council consider providing, for a period of five years, that is, from 1st April, 2015 till 31st March, 2020 the free use of the Belfast Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall by the Orchestra.  The savings which the Orchestra would make, should the Council accede to the request, would assist it to lever additional funding to offset its operating costs throughout that period.  He concluded by stressing that the Orchestra had established a five-year plan to enhance its future viability and sustainability and appealed to the Committee to look favourably upon the request. The deputation then retired from the meeting.

            The Chief Executive pointed out that the request for the free use of the Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall could only be considered within the context of the rate?setting process for the new Council in 2015/2016 and in future years. She reported that officers within the Finance and Resources Department were formulating the revenue estimates for 2015/2016 and that the request would be considered as part of that process. She referred also to the forthcoming capital scheme at the Waterfront Hall which would oversee the establishment of conference and exhibition facilities.  Given that the business and operating model for the Waterfront Hall could change significantly, she suggested that the ability of the Council to meet the Orchestra’s request, insofar as it related to the Waterfront Hall, would need to be considered further.

            After discussion,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.1  Purpose

         The purpose of this report is to seek approval from the Shadow Strategic Policy and Resources Committee upon a formal Council response to the DOE’s Consultation on draft Regulations dealing with the Charters and Status of the new councils – the Local Government (Transitional, Incidental, Consequential and Supplemental Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014.  

1.2    Background

         The Department has issued a consultation document along with the proposed draft Regulations and have asked councils to respond by 12 December 2014. In summary, the proposed legislation will provide for the new Council to continue the County Borough and City status of the existing Council with effect from 1 April 2015 without the new council being required to take any action.  By virtue of separate legislation (Local Government Act 2014 and Local Government Act 1972), the name of the new council will automatically revert back to ‘Belfast City Council’ on the 1 April 2015. 

2.0    Key Issues

2.1    Council Charter and City Status

         The 11 new councils have been established, by way of legislation, as district councils. The proposed Regulations offers the new councils the following options:

(a)   take no action and remain a district council;

(b)   petition the Secretary of State for the grant of a new charter; or

(c)   continue a charter which currently exists within its local government district.

         Option (c) above is the only option which allows for the retention of Belfast’s city status post-2015. As such, the Department have indicated that the Regulations have been drafted so as to continue the existing charter of Belfast (and other cities where city status is linked to a charter) without the new council being required to take any action.

         This is similar to the approach taken during the last period of local government reform in the 1970s where the continuation of city status was automatically provided for in legislation (in relation to Northern Ireland’s two cities at that time, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry). The Department have indicated that this course of action would maintain the current situation and avoid the potential loss of Belfast’s city status (there has been an occurrence of this in England). 

2.2    Honorary Freemen

         The roll of honorary freemen attached to the existing Belfast City Council Charter will be automatically continued into the new Belfast City Council – therefore all persons admitted to the freedom of the borough will remain on the roll post April 2015. Regulation 5 will provide for the admittance of persons to the freedom of the borough.  This is a direct replacement of the provisions of the Local Government (Modification of Borough Charters) Order (NI) 1973 and there are no proposed changes to the current process.

2.3    Council Name

         The issue of council names is not dealt with in the proposed regulations as legislative provision to allow councils to make decisions on their names is already in place. Members are advised however that the continuation of the existing County Borough (and City) status as proposed in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0       Background Information

1.1       Section 2(1) of the Local Government Act (NI) 2014 places a duty on Councils to prepare and keep up to date a Constitution.  The Act places a statutory duty on councils to include within the constitution:

a)     a copy of the Council’s Standing Orders

b)     a copy of the NI Local Government Code of Conduct for Councillors

c)     such information as the Department may direct

d)     such other information (if any) as the Council considers appropriate

            With regards to paragraph (c) above, the Department (DoE) is now consulting with councils on the specific information which the Department will by Direction require each council to include within their constitution.  In addition, the Department has also provided a draft Constitution Framework which can be used as a guide by councils when drafting their own bespoke constitution.

            A final copy of the Constitution must be available on the Council’s website by 30th April 2015.  However to ensure that all the component parts are in place to support the development of new governance arrangements it is intended that the final Constitution for Belfast will be submitted to the Council AGM in March for approval.

2.0       Consultation on Direction and Draft Framework Constitution

            The DoE has now issued for consultation, a document containing:

(i)     A Draft ‘Council Constitution Direction’

(ii)   A Draft Framework Constitution

            Responses to the consultation are required by 19th December after which time a final Direction and Framework are likely to be issued.  However given the tight timeframes involved, and the likelihood that the final versions of each document will not differ vastly from the draft versions, work to compile the Constitution is now beginning.

3.0       Draft Council Constitution Direction

3.1      Section 2(1)(c) of the Act requires Councils to incorporate into their Constitutions any information required by the Department in the form of a Direction.  The draft Direction issued for consultation outlines requirements under six separate sections:

1)  The Council – requirements under this section include an obligation to incorporate within the Constitution details of: the purpose of the document; the composition of the Council; a ‘scheme of ordinary elections’ for Members; residents’ rights and responsibilities; roles and functions of the Lord Mayor; the Scheme of Allowances for Members; rules and procedures for the management of financial, contractual and legal affairs and; rules and procedures for review of the Constitution.

There does not appear to be anything controversial or unusual in this section.  Details of arrangements for the ongoing review and revision of the Council’s Constitution will be developed in order that we fulfil our requirement to include the information.

2)  Functions – requirements under this section include: details of the roles, membership and function of Committees and rules governing the conduct and proceedings of Committee meetings; description of functions discharged by identified officers and; descriptions of joint arrangements and their rules and terms.

A copy of the Council’s Standing Orders together with a refreshed Scheme of Delegation will fulfil the requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4b

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0         Background

1.1         As Members will be aware, the initial one year ‘shadow period’ of the new Council will come to an end on 31 March 2015 with the new Council assuming full powers and responsibilities from 1 April 2015 onwards. 

1.2          It will therefore be necessary for the new Council to agree upon a preferred set of governance arrangements (including a suitable form of governance and a new committee structure) for the four year term beginning in April 2015 and ending with the local government elections in May 2019.  In order for this to be operational by 1 April Members will need to decide on the following:

·        the committee structure (including the number, size and role of committees);

·        the method for filling positions of responsibility;

·        the method for appointing Councillors to committees;

·        the remuneration of Councillors (including the allocation of Special Responsibility Allowances);

·        the Council’s Standing Orders and;

·        A Council Constitution.

1.3          At its meeting on 26th September the Committee agreed that officers should begin, as a first step, to develop options on new political management arrangements based on a traditional committee system, for discussions with party groups. 

1.4          This report sets out initial recommendations relating to new committee structures taking account of the feedback from the party group briefings held in November and the work which has commenced with Members to develop the future strategic direction of the organisation and its organisational design

2.0          Context

2.1          Belfast’s Strategic Direction

2.2          We have begun Member, Chief Officer and other stakeholder engagement to help establish a strategic direction for the Council, and already a number of general recommendations on the way forward have emerged.

2.3          Much of the work carried out to date has revealed that the organisation of the future will need to be more outward facing.  Members are keen for the Council to operate at a city-wide and neighbourhood level with opportunities to deliver services appropriately within neighbourhoods while working in a coherent way with other agencies in the city.  Ultimately this would involve more efficient use of both resources and ratepayers’ money.

2.4          In addition, as the planning and future regeneration authority for the city, and with the new convening power of Community Planning, the Council and elected Members will play a more strategic leadership role within the city within a more outward facing organisation, working in partnership to deliver against identified city outcomes. 

2.5          Developing strategic relationships with key stakeholders at a city, thematic and area-level will be the cornerstone of the Council’s approach to community and strategic planning and will be a key lever to stimulating continued investment and supporting the social, economic, environmental and physical renewal of the city and its neighbourhoods.

2.6          Agreed governance arrangements for 2015 forward will therefore need to reflect the new organisation that Belfast City Council will become.  Any model must be considered in the context of the extended city boundary and reflect the additional responsibilities that the Council will acquire.  

3.0  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4c

            The Committee was advised that the Minister for the Environment, Mr. Mark H. Durkan, MLA, had written to the Council to confirm his intention to establish a Partnership Panel, which would act as a formal liaison body between the Northern Ireland Executive and Local Government. 

            The Chief Executive informed the Committee that the Panel would comprise of all of the Executive Ministers and that Local Government representation would include a nominated representative from each of the eleven councils, together with five additional Elected Members to be nominated, subject to approval, by the Northern Ireland Local Government Association.  She reminded the Committee that the Shadow Council, at its meeting on 11th June, had agreed to nominate Councillor Paula Bradshaw as its representative on the Partnership Panel.

            The Committee noted the contents of the report and the Minister’s letter and noted further that Councillor Bradshaw would be the Council’s representative on the Partnership Panel. In addition, the Committee agreed that the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) would nominate the additional five elected representatives to the Partnership Panel, subject to a review being undertaken subsequent to the establishment of the new councils.  

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1            Relevant Background Information

1.1         The Shadow Council, at its meeting in October, referred the undernoted Notice of Motion, proposed by Councillor Long, to the Shadow Strategic Policy & Resources Committee for consideration.

1.2         ‘In order to increase openness and transparency, so far as is reasonably practicable, this Council will make an audio and potentially video recording of so much of any Committee meeting of the Council as is open to the public and the recordings will be made available to the public at the City Hall and published on the Council’s website.’

2             Key Issues

2.1         Background

2.1.1       The existing Belfast City Council decided in 2011 to tender for the provision of a webcasting service to allow for the live webcasting of meetings of the full Council.

2.1.2       The Council received only one expression of interest, from Public-I, for the provision of the service.  The contract was agreed for the provision of up to 60 hours of broadcasting per year at a monthly cost of £1,500.

2.1.3       The Committee meetings of the existing Council are not held in the Council Chamber but rather are held in private session in the Committee Room.

2.2         Venue for Committee Meetings from April 2015

2.2.1       The first decision that the Committee is required to take is regarding the venue in which Committee meetings should take place.

2.2.2       As all Committee meetings in the new Council will be required to be open to the public to attend, consideration as to the appropriateness of the meeting venue needs careful consideration.  Essentially, the options are to continue to hold Committee meetings in the Committee Room and the full Council meeting in the Council Chamber or to hold all meetings in the Council Chamber.

2.2.3       There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.  The advantages of holding all meetings in the Council Chamber are that the attendance of the public would  be more easily managed with the public attending in the public gallery and more space would be available in that venue for public attendance.  If the Committee decides that it wishes to provide for the webcasting of future Committee meetings then the equipment for that is already in place in the Council Chamber.

2.2.4       The disadvantages are that the Council Chamber is not set up to allow for the efficient transaction of business for a Committee.  There is not any area in the Chamber which would allow for the necessary interaction between Members and Officers and the seating arrangements are such that parties are separated across the Chamber which could lead to a more difficult situation in which to come to agreement on the many issues discussed at Committee meetings.

2.3         Costs for Webcasting Committee meetings

2.3.1       If the existing contract with Public-I were to be extended on the same terms as the existing contract to cover 5 Committee meetings each month (with the exception of the recess month of July) then the number of total hours contracted for would need  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4e

            (Councillor O’ Hara attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that the Shadow Council, at its meeting on 4th November, had referred the following Motion, which had been proposed by Councillor O’Hara and seconded by Councillor J. A. Corr, to it for further consideration:

      “Belfast District Council recognises that gender inequality is not simply an issue for women, but equally an issue for men.  In recognition of this, the Council agrees to endorse the United Nation’s Women’s solidarity campaign ‘He for She’ and to put this campaign into action in our policy- making. 

      The Council commends Belfast City Council for the great work that it has carried out to promote gender equality through the Women’s Steering Group and commits itself to pushing this agenda further by opening up membership of the Group to include senior male officers and Members of Council.  The Council recognises the positive contribution they could make as advocates and stakeholders to fully achieve gender equality within our organisation.”

            Councillor O’Hara outlined the principal aspects of her motion and gave an overview of the “He for She” initiative.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and noted further that a report in the matter would be submitted in due course.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0   Background Information

1.1   This report provides summary of the District Rates Convergence Scheme announced by the Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton MLA on the 20 November 2014. Rates Convergence Impact on the New Boundary Area

1.2    Domestic and non-domestic rate bills are made up of two parts.

·        The District Rate, which is set by the Council and represents 44% of the rates bill.

·        The Regional Rate, which is set by the Executive and represents 56% of the rates bill.

1.3    Table 1 below illustrates the effect of rates convergence on a domestic rate payer with a property capital value of £150,000 transferring into the new Belfast area from Castlereagh and Lisburn, based on 2014/15 district and regional rates and prior to the application of any rates convergence relief.

Domestic Property: Capital value £150,000

         Castlereagh Increase: £137.70 (14.90%)

         Lisburn Increase: £63.75 (6.39%)

1.3    Table 2 below illustrates the effect of rates convergence on a non domestic rate payer with an NAV of £15,000 transferring into the new Belfast area from Castlereagh and Lisburn, based on 2014/15 district and regional rates and prior to the application of rates convergence relief or any other applicable relief.

Non-Domestic Property: NAV £15,000

         Castlereagh Increase: £1,339.45 (17.17%)

         Lisburn Increase: £998.04 (12.26%)

1.4    The Executive has set aside £30m to fund a transitional relief scheme for those ratepayers who incur an increase in the district rate element of their rate bill as a result of local government reform. The transitional relief will be applied directly to the rates bill before any other existing reliefs are applied.

1.5    In August 2014, the Committee considered a consultation document issued by the Department of Finance and Personnel outlining potential options for a transitional relief scheme and the Council submitted its views a preferred option for the scheme. 

1.6    The scheme announced by the Finance Minister on the 20 November 2014 matches the preferred option of the council and the detail of this is outlined below.

2.0    Key Issues

2.1    The scheme will come into effect on 1 April 2015 to coincide with the creation of the new larger councils. The scheme is an outworking of the Executive’s decision to provide up to £30 million of support for the effects of District Rate Convergence on ratepayers (i.e. the result of district councils coming together or boundary changes). The subsidy will be applied automatically by the Land and property Service (LPS) and therefore ratepayers do not need to claim this support.

2.3    The scheme consists of phased relief on the increase over a four  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0    Relevant Background Information

1.1    This report provides an update for the Committee on the Non Domestic Property Revaluation referred to as ‘Reval 2015 NI’.

         Reval 2015 NI is the process by which Land & Property Services (LPS) re-valued all non-domestic properties in Northern Ireland for rating purposes. Currently business rates are based on 2001 values, however following the revaluation, the rateable value of all non-domestic properties will be in line with property values as at 1 April 2013.

         Belfast City Council currently receives 66% of its rates income from non domestic properties. The rateable values of non domestic properties in the City are used to calculate the share of the rates burden which each non domestic property is liable for, although this will also affected by the level of rates exemption and any rates relief allowance.

         The total amount of money to be raised through the rates will not change as a result of revaluation; however individual ratepayers may see an increase or decrease in their rates bills as a result of the revaluation.

2.0    Key Issues

         Draft Schedule of New Values

2.1    The draft schedule of new values was published by LPS on the 17 November 2014.

2.2    Rate bills based on the published Valuation List will be issued in April 2015. However ratepayers will be able to calculate their new rates bill in February 2015, when the District rate is struck by the Council and the Regional rate is struck by the Executive.

         Preliminary Outcomes of the Draft Schedule

2.3    Some of the overall preliminary outcomes of the revaluation by type of are highlighted below.

·        The total of Belfast NAV’s increased by 4.6% as a result of the revaluation.

·        The total NAVs for Belfast Offices have reduced by 4%.

·        The total NAVs of Belfast Retail have reduced by 13%.

·        The total NAVs of Belfast Warehouses and Stores have reduced by 5%.

·        The total NAVs of Belfast Industrials have reduced by 10%.

·        The total NAVs for Supermarkets has increased by 24%.

·        The Power transmission and distribution NAV (which is calculated at NI level) has increased by 40%.

·        The Gas NAV (which is calculated at NI level) has increased by 40%.

2.4    It should be noted that the above changes show the net position of properties within the property category. Within each type there can be major decreases and increases, especially depending on location of the property, which make up the overall percentage movement. For example the revaluation of Pubs in Belfast has resulted in a range of changes from a reduction of 40% to an increase of over 500%.

2.5    Some of the overall preliminary outcomes of the revaluation by location are highlighted below.

·        Excluding large shops and department stores, the total NAVs for Victoria Square have reduced by 17%.

·        Excluding large shops and department stores, the total NAVs for Castle Court have reduced by 45%.

·        Excluding large shops department stores, the total NAVs for Donegall Place have reduced by 48%.

·        The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1        Relevant Background Information

1.1       This report provides Members with an update on the progress being made to develop the revenue estimates and to set a district rate for 2015/16.

2          Key Issues

2.1       The following paragraphs outline the key issues for each of the factors which Members are required to consider as part of the rate setting process.

            Department Estimates

2.2       The key driver of growth in the revenue estimates is the impact of the boundary changes. All departments have completed first draft budgets based on service delivery plans incorporating the new areas. After a detailed challenge process approximately £9.3m of uncontrollable costs have been identified. These mainly relate to staff costs, waste management and Members’ Allowances. 

2.3       Further work is now being carried out to test the remainder of the departments’ funding requests. The details of each department’s estimates will be reported to the Committee in December 2014.

2.4       The estimates do not include the financial impact of any organisational restructuring arising from the organisational design of the new Council as these are unknown at this stage. At a later stage in the process the estimates will be realigned to reflect the new governance and organisational structure.

            Capital Programme

2.5       The capital programme is used to pay for enhancements to existing Council assets or for the provision of new assets owned by the Council. The capital programme is financed through a core annual capital financing budget which is currently £10.14m. 

2.6       A separate half year capital programme report will be presented to both Strategic Policy and Resources Committees in December 2014. This will provide an update on the capital programme, Belfast Investment Fund and Local Investment Fund together with the capital financing position associated with these streams and the impact on the 2015/16 rate setting process, including the level of non recurrent financing available and the transfer of outstanding loans from Lisburn and Castlereagh.

2.7       Members should note that the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee agreed in June 2013 that £2.0m from the transferring rate base should allocated as part of the capital financing of the leisure transformation programme.

            Transferring Functions

2.8       A separate report on the due diligence work being carried out at a regional level to assess the level of funding being proposed by central government to support the delivery of transferring functions is included on the Committee’s agenda.

2.9       Officers are currently drafting a first cut of the revenue estimates for the Planning and Car Parking Functions and they are also assessing the impact of the transfer of community planning powers. This will enable any funding gaps to be identified.

2.10     Members are asked to note that there are a number of key issues with the financing of the transferring functions. These include:

1.     It is likely that the final financial settlement with central government including the potential impact of government cut backs will not be known until the middle of January 2015. This gives very little  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5c

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1     Relevant Background Information

1.1    Members will be aware that over recent months there have been ongoing discussions within the NI Executive and transferring function departments to identify and quantify the proposed resources (budgets, staff, assets and liabilities) which would be attached to the functions transferring to local government as a result of the local government reform programme. 

1.2    It had been initially anticipated that on 1 April 2015, local government would be given operational responsibility for spatial planning, regeneration and community development, off-street car parks, additional regulatory housing functions including Houses of Multiple Occupations (HMOs) and housing unfitness, as well as an enhanced role in supporting local economic development and tourism. 

1.3    The Minister for Social Development, Mervyn Storey MLA, recently submitted a Written Ministerial Statement to the NI Assembly confirming the deferral of the transfer of DSD’s regeneration and community development responsibilities to councils to 1 April 2016. The Statement also confirms that the regulatory housing related functions (i.e. registration of housing of multiple occupancy and the ability to issue repair and demolition notices) will remain the responsibility of the NIHE until a new transfer date is agreed. N.B - a separate report is on the Committee’s agenda.

1.4    The transfer of such functions, coupled with new statutory community planning powers, will further enhance the ability of councils and local elected members to respond to the needs of local communities and shape, in partnership with others, the future development of their city.

2       Key Issues

2.1    Members will be aware that Deloitte had previously been commissioned by the Regional Transfer of Functions Working Group to undertake a detailed due diligence review of the resources to accompany the transfer of functions from Central to Local Government as part of LGR. A Due Diligence Findings Report (May 2014) had been submitted to the Council’s Shadow Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in June 2014.

2.2    Subsequently, in August 2014, the DOE submitted a further report to the Regional Transitional Operational Board (RTOB) outlining revised budget allocations for transferring functions. The report also included proposals in relation to notional cost budgets (e.g. accommodation, ICT, HR support costs) attached to the transferring functions. In some areas, the revised budget proposals differed  from the May 2014 Due Diligence Report.

2.3    In order to ensure that proper assurances could be provided to elected Members of the Shadow Councils on the robustness and adequacy of the proposed revised budgets, the Local Government Chief Executive’s Group (comprising of the Chief Executives of the 11 new Councils) commissioned Deloitte to undertake further due diligence on the revised budget allocations proposals.  The objective of the due diligence work was to critically examine the budget proposals, reconcile with previous figures presented and importantly identify any specific issues and/or areas of concern.

2.4    Deloitte Reconciliation Report Attached at Appendix 1 is a copy of the Deloitte Reconciliation report recently received.  It should be noted that the this report provides a regional overview of the resources  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5d

            The Director of Finance and Resources was granted authority to undertake tendering exercises for the following Information and Computer Technology contracts which would assist the Council to meet its service convergence requirements as part of the implementation of Local Government Reform. The Committee agreed also to delegate authority to the Director to award the contacts at the conclusion of the tendering process.

            The Committee endorsed a recommendation of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and agreed to make a contribution of £5,000 to the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra to enable it to undertake a tour of the United States in 2015/2016. It was noted that that expenditure would be authorised under the specialised expenditure powers which the Council possessed under Section 37 of the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1        Relevant Background Information

            The purpose of this report is to:

1.     Update Members on work to ensure the organisation is fit for purpose for its new roles and responsibilities, in particular, the processes and timeframes for the previously agreed Peer Review and Decision Making and Accountability processes.

2.     Agree to delete the Director of Parks and Leisure post from the organisation structure and release the postholder by reason of redundancy.

3.     Seek Members’ permission to instigate an expression of interest in VR exercise across the council with the exception of front line staff.

2          Key Issues

2.1       Approach to organisation development and design

            Members previously agreed that the Local Government Association (LGA) would help with two key strands of our work to redesign the organisation (the corporate peer challenge process and an analysis of decision making and accountability (DMA).  

            An update on each of these processes is set out below.

2.2       Corporate Peer Challenge

            The LGA corporate peer challenge involves a team of external peers who will draw on their experience of local government to provide observations and feedback on our plans and proposals for the future. The review will consider core components and areas that are fundamental to councils’ future performance and improvement; exploring them will give an indication of the organisation’s ability and capacity to deliver on our plans, proposals and ambitions.

2.3       Peer team make-up and roles

            The peer team will comprise two elected members, (still to be confirmed) and the following senior local government officers:

            Nicola Yates OBE – City Director, Bristol City Council: Ms Yates was appointed City Director in May 2013 and was previously Chief Executive at Hull City Council between 2009-2012.   Prior to that, she held the roles of Deputy Chief Executive (2008-09) at Hull and Chief Executive of North Shropshire Council (2005-08).  Ms Yates’ professional background is within the housing sector and she has contributed both operationally and academically to the landscape of social housing today. 

            Sarah Reed – Assistant Chief Executive, Sunderland City Council:  Ms Reed’s background is in organisation development and management services. She has been Assistant Chief Executive since 2010, and prior to that she was Head of Strategy, Policy and Performance Improvement. In these roles Ms Reed has led on developing the new operating model for the council and helped to make this happen by re-designing the focus of the council as a community leadership council. 

2.4       Neil Hanratty - Director for Economic Development, City of Cardiff Council:

            Mr Hanratty has worked in the regeneration and inward investment fields for over 20 years, mainly in local government and with public private partnerships throughout the UK.  He is currently responsible for Economic Development, Regeneration, Major Projects and Property at City of Cardiff.  He has a strong interest in sustainable urban development and economic growth, particularly the opportunities to develop smart cities to attract sustainable inward investment. 

2.5       Dates of the peer challenge

            The peer challenge team will be onsite at Belfast City  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

            The Committee agreed to defer, until its meeting in December, consideration of the Council’s Draft Equality Scheme and Disability Action Plan.

            The Committee was advised that Mrs. J. Minne, Director of Organisational Development, had been appointed to the Board of the Labour Relations Agency. 

            The Committee endorsed Mrs. Minne’s appointment.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1     Relevant Background Information

1.1    In September 2013, the Development Committee gave approval for the development of a new tourism strategy for Belfast. The strategy was commissioned by the Council in partnership with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and has been developed through extensive consultation with partners and stakeholders.

1.2    Tourism is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world today accounting for 9% of global GDP and employing 8% of the working population. In 2013 the visitor economy of Belfast was valued at £438.4m generated by approximately 9.4m visitors. On some nights during peak tourism periods there can be in excess of 4,000 temporary overnight residents in the city centre. This expenditure supports over 9,300 jobs across the city.

1.3    Tourism can also help to promote a positive image of the city, support local businesses, stimulate civic pride and help to sustain services, events and facilities that are highly valued by the local community.

1.4    The Belfast Integrated Tourism Strategy sets out the main priorities and major activities for the city to improve tourism over the next five years. The aim of the strategy is to double tourism numbers, spend and jobs by the year 2020.

1.5    The vision of the strategy is to ‘Build prosperity for our community by becoming a world leader in innovative, dynamic tourism development and marketing supported by an unrivalled desire to give all our guests unique Belfast experiences.’

1.6    It is very much a strategy for the city and will help focus everyone’s efforts around the priority issues. The improvements that it suggests will be delivered in partnership with all those organisations that have an interest in increasing tourism into the city.

1.7    The main improvement areas in the strategy are:

-       Enhancing the city’s reputation by better marketing, increasing access to the city, improving the services for visitors, and improving our events and festivals offer.

-       Strengthening the sector through quality assurance, training and developing new products and experiences for tourists.

2       Key Issues

2.1    The international consultancy firm (Stevens and Associates) commissioned to develop the strategy has undertaken extensive consultation with approximately 120 tourism sector stakeholders as well as 70 people through workshop discussions. This was in addition to thorough desk based research, business surveys and a benchmarking exercise against other European destinations. Initial ideas were discussed with city stakeholders at the Future City Conference in June 2014.

2.2    The strategy contains one overarching strategic goal, namely to double the value of tourism by 2020. This will result in tourism being worth £870m per annum in five years, based upon current metrics.  The strategy has taken into consideration the wider context, including alignment with the city centre regeneration strategy and investment plan.  This identified the need to grow the tourism industry in the city and to invest in additional infrastructure to attract visitors to the city and to ensure that they could increase their levels of spend on facilities and activities through new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9a

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which provided an overview of the steps which had been taken to manage, from a Council perspective, the implementation of the Reform of Local Government and the transfer of rate-payers from those areas of the former Lisburn City Council and Castlereagh Borough Council into the new Council boundary on 1st April, 2015.

            The Committee considered the following report, together with the associated response:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1       To present for approval a draft response to the draft Local Government (Community Planning Partners) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 issued for consultation by the Department of the Environment (DoE). 

2.0       Relevant Background Information

2.1       The Local Government Act (NI) 2014 requires councils to make arrangements for community planning in their areas with effect from 1st April 2015.  The Act introduces the new duty of community planning and sets out the high level framework for its operation within Northern Ireland. It defines community planning as “a process by which the council and its community planning partners identify long-term objectives [and agreed actions] for improving the social, economic and environmental well-being of the district”. 

2.2       The Act does not specify who the community planning partners must or should be but instead enables the DoE, following a formal consultation process, to specify by Order in the Assembly, the bodies or persons which are to be community planning partners.  Similar to the approaches in Scotland and Wales, the DoE has decided to specify the community planning partners, and as required, is now seeking views on its proposals. The closing date for responses is 4.00pm on 12th December 2014.

3.0       Summary of the Consultation

3.1       The DoE has now issued for consultation a list of organisations that it proposes to name by Order as statutory community planning partners.  Specifically, the DoE is asking:  

1.     Do you agree with the list of bodies to be named as community planning partners?

2.     Do you think that other organisations should be named as community planning partners, and if so, why?

3.2       The organisations that are proposed as statutory partners are:

            *Note: The Department of Education has recently introduced legislation to establish a new education authority; should this obtain Royal Assent by January 2015 the Order will be amended to reflect any change that may occur.

3.1       This list was developed following preliminary engagement with the councils, via NILGA, discussions with other central government departments and agencies and research into community planning systems operating in the rest of the UK.  The DoE’s rationale for selecting statutory partners was to name those organisations that:

a)     Deliver significant services that promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of a district; and

b)     Provide services across the whole region which are likely to be of equal importance across all 11 new council areas.

3.4       To add or remove a body to the statutory partners list (other than as a result of a name change or because it no longer exists), the DoE must firstly consult and then amend by Order through the Assembly.  The DoE will keep the list of statutory partners under annual review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9c

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1     Relevant Background Information

1.1    Members will be aware that over the past number of months the Department for Social Development has sought to introduce the draft Regeneration and Housing Bill into the NI Assembly. This legislation intended to bring affect the transfer of regeneration, community development (and associated assets including the Lagan Weir) and regulatory housing powers to the Council on the 1 April 2015.

2       Key Issues

2.1    On 11 November the Minister for Social Development, Mervyn Storey MLA submitted a Written Ministerial Statement to the NI Assembly confirming the following:

·        Defer  the transfer of regeneration and community development responsibilities (including the associated transfer of budgets and assets) to Councils for one year until 1 April 2016 and;

·        Remove the specific provisions from the draft Bill relating to statutory housing functions to create a standalone ‘Regeneration Bill’. Whilst the Ministerial Statement refers to the Housing functions being considered separately from the Regeneration Bill, there is no timescales currently specified around this. 

2.2    Whilst the transfer of regeneration and community development functions has now been delayed for a year, it still remains critical that the council continue to engage at both a political and senior officer level with DSD to implement the necessary programme of work to facilitate transfer. It will also be important that the Council seeks to maximise all opportunities for joint working with DSD in the lead up to 1 April 2016, particularly in relation to the development and implementation of community development programmes, the city centre regeneration and investment plan and physical capital schemes within the city.

2.3    Members have previously stated their strong concerns in relation to the significant shortfall in the proposed budget allocation to accompany the DSD powers transferring to the Council.  Given the growing budgetary pressures on the NI Executive and central government Departments, it will be essential that the council continue to engage and negotiate with the DSD and NI Executive to ensure that an adequate budget transfers on 1 April 2016 and argue against any further significant reductions.

3       Resources

3.1    There are no financial or human resource implications contained within this report.

4       Equality and Good Relations Implications

4.1    There are no equality implications from this report.  The deferral of transferring powers to the council means that DSD will continue to have responsibility for the delivery of the powers up until 1 April 2016.

5       Call-in

5.1    This decision is subject to call-in

6       Recommendations

6.1    The Committee is asked to note the contents of this report.”

            The Committee noted the contents of the report.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1       Purpose of Report

1.1    Following securing £236,000 from the DOE’s Rethink Waste Capital Grant scheme, to seek approval from the Committee to introduce a food waste collection service for around 5,000 households in the west of the City and change the existing dry recyclables scheme in order to:

·        capture additional recycling tonnage,

·        deliver an improved environmental solution and

·        afford residents in the proposed area the opportunity to recycle food waste and on the basis of no additional costs to the council going forward.

2       Background

2.1    The Council has successfully secured £236,000 from the DOE Rethink Waste Capital Grant scheme to fund the provision of new wheeled stacker collection units. 

2.2    In Belfast, Waste Management has been actively seeking to simplify waste collection options for a number of years in order to reduce confusion and to make recycling as easy as possible for householders.  With this aim, the City is now primarily on two schemes, a weekly recycling/food waste box service for the denser-housing stock in the inner city and an alternate weekly, three-bin service (organic and residual wastes collected one week, recyclables the next) for the outer city. 

2.3    There is however one small area of the city which almost a decade ago, due to the house size, was considered appropriate to be issued with a dry recyclable (blue) bin yet, as they did not have gardens, they did not receive an organic bin.  This means that this area does not have a food waste collection service as these materials would be collected in an organics bin. 

2.4    As stated above, these households were omitted from the original roll-out of organic (brown) bins as most did not have gardens.  Recently, the Department of the Environment (DOE) published its ‘Synopsis of Responses on the Restrictions on Landfilling Food Waste’ which will introduce the requirement for councils to provide a food waste service for all households within their jurisdiction. 

2.5    With a renewed emphasis on diverting food waste from landfill, the Service has considered how to tailor a cost-effective solution for these households in order to provide a commensurate service to that received by the other 96% of households in the city, boosting recycling/composting tonnages and complying with impending legislation. 

2.6    In advance of the DOE paper, the Service had been working for some time to consider how to introduce a food and glass waste service to these households – it looked like a weekly service using a kitchen caddy with a larger, external caddy was the most suitable option with a supplementary box for collecting glass.  Last year, however, considerable effort went into providing tailored solutions for many of the inner-city apartment blocks and flats and during this programme a new waste receptacle was launched – a wheeled stacker collection unit (a stacker box).  Where these units have been introduced, they have worked well.

2.7    Earlier this year, Waste Management submitted an application to the DOE’s Rethink Waste Capital Grant scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9e

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the Budget and Transformation Panel of 20th November.