Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Attwood and Craig.

            The minutes of the meeting of 23rd June were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 3rd July.

            Councillor Graham declared an interest in respect of Item 3(a) Addressing Inequalities through Lifelong Learning in that she was a member of the Belfast Strategic Partnership Lifelong Learning Group.  Alderman Rodgers declared an interest in the same item insofar as he was on the Board of GEMS NI.  Both Members remained in the meeting whilst the item was under discussion.

            The Information contained in the following four reports is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014

      Resolved – That the Committee agrees to exclude the members of the Press and public from the Committee meeting during discussion of these items as, due to the nature of the items, that there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42 (4) and Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

            The Council considered a report which provided an update on the assessment of the key financial factors which would influence the development of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan for 2018/19 – 2020/21 and the timetable for the Rate Setting Process for 2018/19.

            The report highlighted the current financial position and the financial pressures arising, the main uncontrollable costs risks and other external uncontrollable costs.

            The Committee noted the update on the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan and timetable for the rates setting process for 2018/19.

            The Committee was reminded that the Fleet Management Unit was part of the Facilities Management Section, which currently formed part of the Property and Projects Department.  The Fleet Unit procured, managed, maintained, repaired and disposed of all the vehicles comprising the Council’s fleet which was currently 379 assets, valued at nearly £12 million.

            The Fleet Unit provided an in-house workforce to carry out the servicing, maintenance and repair of the Council’s fleet assets and was based in the Duncrue Complex.  All HGV and LGV maintenance was carried out in–house, although the unit made regular use of the private sector for specific types of work, most notably warranty or specialist work, and also used the private sector on an occasional basis at times of peak service demand due to pressure of work arising in respect of important and high-profile public services such as domestic refuse collection and street cleansing where work was often time-critical.

            The Director of Property and Projects submitted a report on the proposed restructuring/transfer of the new unit which had been prepared following the Update on Organisational Design paper which had been adopted by the Committee at its meeting on 19th May.  He reminded the Members that the Committee had already committed to a substantial efficiency programme in respect of rate-borne revenue expenditure for the next two financial years in order to assist in resourcing other Council priorities.  The report sought to assist in the delivery of those overall efficiency targets, while at the same time providing necessary operational and service improvements within the Fleet Unit, prior to its transfer to the City and Neighbourhood Services Department.

            Accordingly, it was recommended that the Committee

(a)        approve the transfer of the Fleet Management Unit to the City and Neighbourhood Services Department on the basis of an effective date no later than 1st April, 2018;

(b)        approve the revised Fleet staffing structure as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, together with the necessary changes as set out in paragraph 3.10 of the report, and authorise the Director of Property and Projects to proceed to implementation; and

(c)        agree to receive a further report by the Director of City and Neighbourhood Services later in the year in respect of the proposed integration of the Fleet Management Unit into the City and Neighbourhood Services Departmental structure.

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.

            The Committee was reminded that, in 2012, it had approved the erection of an Irish language Christmas sign on the East façade of the City Hall.  The original sign had been made available to the Council at no cost and had served its purpose to date.  However, it was becoming difficult to use given its overall poor condition.  The sign was in need of replacing as soon as possible and in 2015 it had been necessary to fit new rope-lights to the sign to keep it operational at a cost of over £1000.

            A new sign of this size/type would cost approximately £12,000 till £15,000 and, in addition to the associated costs of a sign, the issue of the optimal placement of any new sign had been raised.  Accordingly, officers had been asked to assess the feasibility of erecting any new sign on the front façade rather than in the East area.

            The Property Maintenance Unit had therefore reviewed the site and available options were as follows:

·        Option 1 - Procure a replacement ‘Nollaig Shona’ sign of the same dimensions as the existing one and erect it on the existing location on the East façade (using existing fixing points and power connections) – approximate cost £12,000 - £15,000);

·        Option 2 - retain the existing large ‘Happy Christmas Belfast’ sign and complement it with one sign on each end column of the front façade east and west, i.e. one ‘Happy Christmas Belfast’ sign and one ‘Nollaig Shona’ sign – cost per sign would be approximately £12,000 - £15,000 each (that is, £24K-£30K in total);

·        Option 3 - commission a completely new sign incorporating both English and Irish text on a single large sign and use it to replace the existing ‘Happy Christmas Belfast’ sign – approximate cost £25,000 - £30,000.

·        Option 4 – similar to option 2, except having Nollaig Shona on one end column and Blythe Yuletide on the other.

            The Committee agreed to adopt Option 4.

            The Committee agreed also that officers investigate for Christmas 2018 the potential of installing a screen to display “Happy Christmas” in multiple languages.

            The Committee considered a report in relation to the possible disposal of an area of green space extending to 0.715 acres at Cregagh Park, Belfast.  The land had been transferred to the Council from Castlereagh Borough Council as part of Local Government Reform in 2015.

            The Committee agreed to declare the area of land surplus to requirements and that it subsequently be placed on the open market for sale, with any such sale being subject to obtaining planning permission.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1            The purpose of this report is to:

-     Update members on work undertaken to date to support the development of Belfast as a Learning City;

-     Provide background information on the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities; and

-     Seek endorsement to submit a proposal, for Belfast to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, as part of the city’s efforts to grow the economy, reduce inequalities and create opportunities for all.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-     Note the information provided; and

-     Agree to Belfast joining the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities. An application to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities will require the signature of the Lord Mayor.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       Key Issues

Across the city health, education and economic inequalities continue to impact and restrict the potential of many people and communities.  Notably this is most evident in life expectancy levels with those who are most deprived expected to have a lower life expectancy of up to 10 years.   Action to address such inequalities requires collaborative approaches across a range of determinants including education, employment, community living and access to services and opportunities.

3.2       The Belfast Agenda recognises that ‘working and learning’ is vital to economic, social and environmental well-being by supporting the economy, building good relations, empowering people to reach their potential and developing a more inclusive society.  The principles of learning are fundamental to tackling some of Belfast’s persistent societal-inequalities such as health, educational attainment and well-being.  The inclusive growth focus of the Belfast Agenda is about improving the economy and ensuring the benefits of this are felt by everyone across the city, leaving no one behind.  To tackle inequalities and ensure individuals can reap the benefits of economic growth, a joined up approach will be required across a range of stakeholders.  Learning is one mechanism through which inequalities can be addressed and individual’s life prospects can be improved.  It can help improve well-being by developing emotional resilience, create access to more and better jobs through skills development and support educational attainment across all ages.  Reflecting the importance of learning it has a key role in the four priority themes of the Belfast Agenda: Growing the Economy, Living Here, Working and Learning and City Development.  Targets and key work streams focused upon the importance of learning have been reflected across the Belfast Agenda. 

3.3       Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) have identified Lifelong Learning as one of its five strategic priorities to address life inequalities, recognising the connection between educational attainment, learning opportunities and life inequalities, and the extent to which family, community and environmental influences impact learning opportunities, particularly within population groups facing the highest level of deprivation.

3.4       To take this strategic priority forward, BSP established a Lifelong Learning group, which includes representation from a range of statutory and community stakeholders including Council, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

            The Director of Property and Projects submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0  Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The Council’s Capital Programme is a rolling programme of investment which either improves existing Council facilities or provides new facilities. This report outlines for Members proposed movements on the programme and proposed additions.

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    Members are asked to –

Capital Programme - Project Movements

  agree that the following projects are moved to Stage 3- Committed –Schemes at tender preparation stage and agree that the necessary procurement processes (including the invitation of tenders and/or the use of appropriate ‘framework’ arrangements) be initiated as required with contracts to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tender received and full commitment to deliver –

   City Hall West Wing - Outdoor Space including the Cenotaph – Upgrade and Enhancements (see 3.4) – with a maximum budget of £200,000 to be allocated to ensure easier access for disabled and elderly veterans - the Director of Finance and Resources has confirmed that this is within the affordability limits of the Council.  Members are advised that an investment decision on this project must be taken in August 2017 in order to allow for the works to be started after the 2017 Remembrance Sunday and completed in time for the Somme Commemoration in July 2018.  Upgrading the cenotaph has special significance next year to marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I

   IT Programme - Bereavement Services System (see 3.6) - with a maximum budget of £50,000 to be allocated - the Director of Finance and Resources has confirmed that this is within the affordability limits of the Council.

 agree that the following projects are added as Stage 1 – Emerging Projects  

-   Relocation of the Dunbar Link Cleansing Depot (see 3.9) – following the decision to acquire Commission House in January 2017 this will allow the options for the wider Dunbar site to be worked up including the options for the relocation of the current cleansing depot.  Members are asked to note that this does not constitute an investment decision nor a decision to close the depot at the current time and that Members will be kept up to date on the options

-   Hammer Development Playground (see 3.11) - In May Committee approved a negotiated financial settlement of £250,000 from the NIHE in relation to the replacement of Tudor Place Playground and it is recommended that this project is now added to the Capital Programme to be funded by the ring-fenced financial settlement from the NIHE

Capital Programme – Project Updates

  note the update in respect of the Belfast Streets Ahead 3 project as outlined in 3.12 below which has implications for the Council’s Cathedral Gardens project which is currently at Stage 2- Uncommitted on the programme

3.0    Main report

         Key Issues

Proposed movements on/additions to the Capital Programme

3.3    Members have previously agreed that all capital projects must go through a 3 Stage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1            This report updates Members on the development and implementation of the £105m leisure assets capital programme.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to note the contents of this report and

•   Programme level budget – Avoniel and Templemore – note the update in respect of the current project estimates for Avoniel and Templemore as at 3.4-3.6 below and approve the reallocation of £4m from Avoniel project towards the Templemore project providing an overall budget of £12m for Templemore and £8m for Avoniel (the previous agreed budgets being Templemore £8m and Avoniel £12m). Members are asked to note that this has no implications for the overall leisure budget which remains within the overall limit of £105m

•   Templemore – approve the acquisition of the adjacent former hospital site from the Department for Communities at a nominal sum and on such other terms as agreed by the Director of Property and Projects and Town Solicitor in order to facilitate the development of the new Templemore (see 3.10 below)

•   Andersonstown – note that the planning application for Andersonstown is due to be considered at the Planning Committee on 15th August and Members will be verbally updated at the meeting on 18th August

3.0       Main report

            Programme level

            Design cost budgets – Templemore and Avoniel

3.1       Members will also be aware that an overall affordability limit of £105m has been agreed for the Leisure Transformation Programme and in April 2015 Committee agreed the notional cost design limits for each of the projects under the Programme as below. It was also agreed that these projects would be phased as laid out in below.

3.2       A set of principles underpinning the leisure transformation programme has previously been agreed by Committee (see Appendix 1). As part of this Members agreed the need to develop a city wide strategy with a USP per centre that will encourage people to travel to centres from across the city and further afield. Given this Committee, in April 2016, agreed a USP strategy for the Programme as outlined below which was designed to ensure that the city has a unique offering in terms of its leisure provision and minimises any duplication of provision ensuring both balanced investment and value for money. It was noted by Committee at this stage that further work was to be carried out in respect of the USP for Girdwood and this work is continuing.

3.3       In terms of the Phase 2 projects (Avoniel and Templemore) officers have continued to work these up since this time on the basis of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Committee considered an update report on the Area Working and:

            Area Working Group minutes

            Approved and adopted the minutes of the meetings of the Area Working Groups (AWG) as follows:

            West AWG 26th June;

            North AWG 29th June; and

            East AWG 27th June and 3rd August.

            Belfast Investment Fund

            The Committee approved the recommendations from the East Area Working Group as set out below in respect of the ring-fenced Belfast Investment Fund (BIF) allocation for Outer East (£2 million):

            The Director of Finance and Resources submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1            This report presents the Quarter 1 financial position for the Council including a forecast of the year end outturn. It includes a reporting pack which contains a summary of the financial indicators and an executive summary (Appendix 1). It also provides a more detailed explanation of each of the relevant indicators and the forecast outturn for the year.

1.2            The Departmental year end forecast is a net year end under spend of £1.15m which represents a variance of 0.8% of the annual net expenditure budget. The District Rate forecast by the Land and Property Service (LPS) is a favourable outturn of £893k. It should be noted that this forecast is provided at a very early stage in the financial year and Council Officers will be working with LPS to scrutinise the rate forecast before an updated position is presented to Committee at Quarter 2. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

   Note the report and, given that the forecast outturn is based at an early stage in the financial year, agree that no in year budget reallocations should be considered until the Quarter 2 position is presented to the Committee in November 2017.

3.0       Main report

            Current and Forecast Financial Position 2017/18

3.1       The financial position for Quarter 1 is a net departmental under-spend of £1.23m (3.4%). The forecast year-end departmental position is an under-spend of £1.15m (0.8%), which is well within the acceptable variance limit of 3%.

3.2       The departmental underspend arises mainly from below budget employee and supplies expenditure due to staff vacancies, staff turnover and additional income. This has helped offset budgetary pressures within Waste Management and Facilities Management.

            Rates Finalisation

3.3       The Quarter 1 forecast from LPS is a favourable overall outturn of £893k. As noted above this is an early stage forecast and officers will be meeting with LPS to review the income and losses and to scrutinise the drivers to the year-end forecast prior to the Quarter 2 reporting period.

            Capital Projects

3.4       Planned capital expenditure for 2017/18 approved as part of the capital programme is £36.5m with forecast expenditure for the year of £36.81m.

3.5       The Summary Dashboard on Page 2 of the attached performance report summarises forecast expenditure on other capital programme including Non-Recurring Projects (£730k), Feasibility Fund (£34k) and projects in the new boundary areas (£685k).

3.6       Committed expenditure approved by the Committee on Belfast Investment Fund projects is £17.02m, with a further £4.96m committed on LIF 1 projects and £3.90m on LIF 2 projects.

            Capital Financing

3.7       The summary dashboard has also been updated to provide analysis of the annual capital financing budget. Actual capital financing expenditure is forecast to be on budget by the year end.

            Forecast Reserves Position

3.8       The balance of general reserves is forecast to increase from £13.35m to £15.39m at the year end. This increase is based on the forecast  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which provided an update on the Efficiency Programme and agreed to include this as an agenda item as part of the Party Group Briefings in August.

            The Committee:

(1)        Approved in principle, the public advertisement and acceptance of tenders as listed in Appendix 1 – Table 1, through the Council’s electronic procurement systems and noted that the tenders would only be advertised when they had gone through the Council’s internal governance process, which included demonstrating a strategic alignment with the Belfast Agenda;

(2)        Granted delegated authority to the appropriate Director, using pre-agreed criteria, to accept the most economical advantageous tender, allow extensions where contracts were under review as per Appendix 1 – Table 2;

(3)        Approved the award of the contract outlined in Appendix 1 – Table 3, which had been carried out by Arc21 on behalf of the Council;

(4)        Noted the contracts which had been awarded in the previous quarter, as listed in Appendix 1 – Table 4; and

(5)        Approved the procurement of Executive Search via the quotation process to assist the Council in the recruitment and selection of its new Operational Director posts in the newly created Place and Economy Department.

TABLE 1 - SCHEDULE OF TENDERS FOR CONSIDERATION

 NEW TENDERS

            The Committee agreed to the holding of a workshop to discuss the City Deal.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Shared City Partnership held on 8th August, 2017, including the following recommendations:

·        noted the contents of the update on the Bonfire and Cultural Expression Programme, including the recommendation that the NIHE Shared City Partnership member should sit on the Programme Review Panel;

·        noted that the Executive Office funding for the Good Relations Programme and Planned Intervention Programme had now been received from the Executive Office and approved the recommended reallocation of £10,000 to grant aid funding;

·        approved the recommendation that support of up to £1,300 be allocated to Clifton House to assist with the delivery of the four events linked to key dates and themes in the Decade of Centenaries;

·        noted the update on the response to the Council’s 2017/18 bid for funding through T:BUC/Shared Future funds for an interfaces programme and the change to the stretch goal in the Belfast Agenda in relation to interfaces;

·        noted the proposed event to be held on 21st September to mark the 2017 International Day of Peace and approved the recommendation to provide £1,200 to install the “Everyday Objects Transformed by the Conflict” exhibition in the foyer of the Girdwood Community Hub during community relations and cultural diversity week.

            The Committee agreed also that the report on the investigation in relation to Bonfires as per the agreed Terms of Reference be submitted to the October meeting rather than the September meeting of the Committee as previously agreed.

            The Committee was reminded that European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) was an annual event held each October.  The overarching purpose of ELDW was to promote a better involvement of citizens in public life, enhance transparency of local government mechanisms and improve social cohesion, in particular among young people and disadvantaged groups.

            For the past five years, the Council had organised and delivered “EurVoice” events which had allowed pupils from secondary schools, members of the Council’s Youth Forum, representatives of the European Youth Parliament and participants from Community Groups in the City to interact with their local Councillors on issues affecting the youth of today.  Following the success of the event to date, it was felt that it would be worth organising another engagement event for 2017, where both young people and Councillors could meet to discuss the relevant issues which faced the young citizens of the City.

            The Committee was advised that if it were minded to approve the EurVoice 2017 event, it was proposed that it would take place in the Great Hall in October from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm and would target Belfast City Council schools and youth organisations.  A series of activities were planned including:

·        participating in a mock voting exercise;

·        facilitated workshop on issues affecting young people, including decision-making skills, debate preparation and presenting their ideas to the Members for feedback; and

·        finishing with a panel Question and Answer session with Members of the Council.

            The Committee agreed to the hosting of the EurVoice 2017 event as outlined.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Historic Working Group of 3rd August.

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Budget and Transformation Panel of 10th August.

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Active Belfast Board Limited of 7th August.

            The Committee approved the recommendations in relation to the requests for the use of the City Hall and the provision of hospitality as set out below

AUGUST 2017 FUNCTION APPLICATIONS

            The Committee was advised that correspondence had been received from the Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) reference group inviting the Lord Mayor to attend the unveiling of the new Belfast Rapid Transit vehicle at the “Busworld Europe” conference in Kortrjk, Belgium on 19th October, 2017.

            The conference was the biggest bus and coach exhibition in Europe and was attended by around 35,000 visitors.  The Belgian-based company Van Hool, which was awarded the BRT contract in November 2015, was using the conference to launch and showcase the new vehicle on an European platform.

            The Committee approved the attendance of the Lord Mayor and an officer at the unveiling of the new Belfast Rapid transit vehicle at the “Busworld Europe” conference and authorised the payment of the appropriate travel and subsistence allowances associated with the trip.

            The Chief Executive advised the Committee that, at its meeting on 19th August, the City Growth and Regeneration Committee had approved the attendance of the Lord Mayor and two officers at the launch of the Belfast International Arts Festival in New York on 18th September.  She advised the Members that, subsequently an invitation had been received from Irish Networks USA organisation inviting the Lord Mayor to attend the Fifth Annual INUSA National Conference 2017 in Chicago from 14th till 17th September, which was the day before the New York visit.  Accordingly, she sought authority from the Committee to approve the invitation and indicated that both visits would be combined.

            The Committee approved the attendance of the Lord Mayor and two officers at the Fifth Annual Irish Networks National Conference 2017 in Chicago from 14th till 17th September.  The Committee noted that this would be arranged in conjunction with the visit of the Lord Mayor to the launch of the Belfast International Arts Festival in New York on 18th September which had been approved by the City Growth and Regeneration Committee.

            The Committee agreed to defer consideration of this item to allow Alderman Browne who had raised the matter to be in attendance.

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 3rd July, had passed the following motion on Cladding on Flats and High Rise Buildings which had been proposed by Councillor Attwood and seconded by Councillor Lyons:

“This Council:

·        expresses its deepest sympathy to the victims and families of the Kensington fire tragedy;

·        notes with concern that the cladding used in the refurbishment contributed to the disaster; and

·        notes that it has a statutory duty to enforce the Building Regulations standards, which includes requirements on health, structural stability and fire safety.

Accordingly, the Council calls upon the Department of Finance to undertake an immediate review of all fire safety requirements and guidance issued under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 to ensure that they are based upon the most recent developments in fire safety design and construction. 

The Council will provide advice to government, NIHE, housing providers and industry on any changes to the Regulations designed to protect the safety of residents in flats or other high rise buildings and will ensure that any changes to Building Regulations to protect the safety of residents in flats or other high rise buildings are enforced on all new developments or refurbishments across the City.”

            The Committee was advised that a response had now been received from Mr. P. Wickens, Chief Executive of the Department of Finance’s Enterprise Shared Services Section, which was responsible for administering the Buildings Regulations legislation in Northern Ireland.

            Mr. Wickens had confirmed that the Department of Finance was fully aware of the issues arising from the Grenfell Tower tragedy, had highlighted the Department’s input into a number of guidance letters promoting the appropriate testing of Aluminium Composite Materials and had thanked Councils for their co-operation and support in reporting on those tests. 

            He had pointed out that the Department of Finance fully recognised its role in ensuring that all aspects of Building Regulations specified the minimum requirements which could be reasonably attained and that it had, since the introduction in 1972 of those Regulations, developed proposals to reflect research carried out on the Government’s behalf by, for example, the Building Research Establishment.  He explained that Part E (Fire Safety) of the Building Regulations, which had been updated in 2012, would, following the investigation into the Grenfell Tower tragedy, require further consideration and that the Departmental officials had, in the interim, initiated a review of the Technical Booklet which provided guidance on that element of the legislation, with a view to quickly addressing any straightforward amendments to that guidance.

            Mr. Wickens had then highlighted the extent of the support which the Department of Finance received from the Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee and concluded by pointing out that officials had met with their counterparts within the Building Control Service and by acknowledging the ongoing goodwill and the expertise which had been shared to date.

            The Committee noted the response and agreed that a report on this matter, together with evacuation procedures which had been prepared  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31a