Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Aldermen Browne and Spence and Councillor Craig.

Restricted Item                    No declarations of interest were reported.

The information contained in the following report 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 discussions of this item as, due to the nature of the item, there would be a disclosure of exempt information as described in Section 42(4) and Section 6 of the Local Government Act (NI) 2014.

            The Committee considered a report which provided an update on the development of the revenue estimates for 2018/19 and the key issues which Members needed to consider as part of the rates settlement process.  The Committee agreed that it be considered in conjunction with the next item on the agenda, that is, the Boxing Strategy, as the proposals contained therein could have an impact on the revenue estimates.

            After discussion, it was

Moved by Councillor McVeigh,

Seconded by Councillor Beattie,

      That the Committee agrees that £200,000 be included within the revenue estimates to support the Boxing Strategy for the next three financial years.

            On a vote by show of hands eight members voted for the proposal and nine against and it was declared lost.

            Accordingly, the Committee agreed that the following proposals should be included in the 2018/19 revenue estimates:

1)     Equality / Diversity Officer: £56,000 (Strategic Policy and Resources Committee);

2)     Regeneration Support Assistants. (2 posts): £68,986 (Strategic Policy and Resources Committee);

3)     Capital Financing: £1,000,000 (Strategic Policy and Resources Committee); and

4)     Boxing Strategy: £200,000 (People and Communities Committee).

In addition, the Committee agreed the following cash limits for 2018/19:

(a)   Strategic Policy and Resources Committee - £42,392,169

(b)   Capital Financing Budget - £20,706,901

(c)   Belfast Investment Fund - £3,270,000

(d)   People and Communities Committee - £76,027,990

(e)   City Growth and Regeneration - £16,036,980

(f)     Planning Committee - £1,551,099

            The Committee agreed further that the decisions in relation to the revenue estimates and district rates 2018/19 should not be subject to call–in because it could cause an unreasonable delay which would be prejudicial to the Council’s and the public’s interest in striking the district rate by the legislative deadline of 15th February, 2018.

            The Committee considered also the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1                            The purpose of this report is to provide further detail on the request for funding to support the implementation of the Belfast Boxing Strategy through the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA). The report is being presented in the context of the rate setting process for 2018/19.

                                 The report also requests permission to produce of a Belfast City Council Sports Development Strategy which would, among other things, steer future decisions on directly supporting National Governing Bodies of Sport.

2.0                            Recommendations

2.1                            The Committee is asked to:

·        Consider the funding request in the amount of £200,000 per annum for the next three years.

·        Approve the development of a Belfast City Council Sports Development Strategy and an associated funding strategy.

·        Consider any future funding requests from sporting bodies including IABA in the context of this strategy.

3.0                            Main report

3.1                            Background

                                 Belfast’s Amateur Boxing Strategy has been funded by Belfast City Council for four years with an actual spend of approximately £140k per annum from a total fund of £600k. The original allocation was £200k per annum for 3 years.

                                 Representatives from Antrim Boxing and IABA attended the People and Communities committee in November 2017 seeking support for funding of £200k per annum to sustain the Belfast Amateur Boxing Strategy to 2020.  The Committee recommended to SP&R that the request for £200k be supported and considered through the rating process.

3.2                            £200,000 Council Support for Boxing Strategy

                                 The Antrim Boxing/IABA proposal recommends the Belfast Boxing Strategy Steering Group (representative of BCC, Sport NI and Antrim Boxing) will continue to have oversight of delivery of the strategy outcomes and action plans, ensuring that all resources are used in Belfast for the benefit of Belfast clubs and boxers. Specific performance indicators and targets are in place. The action plan submitted by Antrim Boxing/IABA for the next phase of the Strategy has been developed using the existing themes and budget headings, namely;

                                 Detailed action plans and performance indicators are provided in Appendix One.

3.3                            Sport NI Support for Belfast Boxing Strategy

                                 Sport NI provide direct financial support to IABA for delivery of programmes across Northern Ireland through their Sporting Clubs and Sporting Winners programmes – in total £311k to support Ulster Boxing. The Sporting Clubs indicative awards is £548,676 for the term 17/18 to 20/21, with a confirmed amount of £118,750 for year 1 awarded to IABA to support Ulster Boxing. The Sporting Winners indicative award is £861,882 for the term 17/18 to 20/21, with a confirmed amount of £192,863 for year 1 allocated to IABA to support Ulster Boxing. 

                                 Sport NI view their investment through their Sporting Clubs programme as complementary to the Belfast Boxing strategy through increased capacity within the IABA. Sport NI is confident that the sport of boxing has the capacity to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 15th December, it had agreed to a request to receive a deputation from representatives of the Ulster Council of the GAA in relation to the development of Casement Park.

            The Democratic Services Manager advised the Members that, subsequently, a request to address the Committee had also been received from the Chairperson of the Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents’ Association in relation to concerns and issues it had with the development.  He suggested that, given that the GAA was scheduled to attend the meeting on 19th January, if the Committee was minded to accede to the request it would be appropriate for the representatives of the Residents’ Association to attend that meeting also and he recommended accordingly.

            A Member pointed out that he was aware of a number of other groups which were in favour of the proposals for the development of Casement Park, such as Gaels for Casement, Faite Feirste Thiar and other resident’s groups who would also like to address the Committee.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed to accede to the request from Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents’ Association and to invite those other aforementioned groups to its meeting on 19th January, with the meeting commencing at the earlier time of 9.00 a.m. in order to accommodate the deputations.  The Committee agreed also that the groups be requested to submit, if possible, in advance of the meeting any prepared statements or presentations.

            The Committee was reminded that, as part of its global 100 cities work, the Rockefeller Foundation had lodged a proposal for Belfast to participate in the International Urban Co-operation (IUC) Programme for sustainable urban development.  The Chief Executive explained that IUC membership would provide national support for an 18-month exchange programme at a senior level between Belfast and the Columbian cities of Cali and Medellin which would focus on post–conflict urban development, on themes of social inclusion, regional/urban innovation and competitiveness; and inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

            The outline proposal was to build on the existing links that Belfast had with Columbia, including the increasing trade links being fostered by Invest NI and the work of the British Council in Northern Ireland which was planning a major Belfast initiative with Columbia in 2018.  The Rockefeller Foundation funded Resilience Commissioners in both Columbian cities and had indicated that its resilience work to date could inform aspects of the new Belfast Commissioner.

            European Commission officials had accepted the proposal and had now asked the Council to confirm by 10th January, 2018 if it wished to proceed with membership of the programme.  Following confirmation, IUC officials would work with partners to agree a joint programme of work and these draft proposals would be presented to the Members.

            The Committee approved the Council’s participation, with the Rockefeller Foundation, Invest NI, the British Council NI and other city partners, in the International Urban Co-operation Programme.