Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability attend were reported from Alderman Browne and Councillors Attwood, Craig, McAteer, Reynolds and Walsh.

            No declarations of interest were recorded.

            The Director of City and Organisational Strategy, the Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services and the Director of Economic Development provided a presentation on the progress of the Belfast Agenda.

            The presentation reviewed the role of the Council, the statutory partners involved, the envisioned outcomes, the ambitions and the focus over the next four years.  The Director of City and Organisational Strategy outlined the Boards which had been established to drive action, which were the Grow the Economy Board, the Living Here Board, the City Development Board and the Working and Learning Board.  He highlighted the areas for attention under each for the next three till nine months and in the next six till twelve months.

            The Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Services then provided a detailed presentation on the areas to be progressed under the Living Here Board which were Drugs, Alcohol and Mental Health; Preventing Avoidable Winter Deaths; Area Workings; and Housing.

            The Director of Economic Development then highlighted the areas which would be developed under the Working and Learning Board, including the Belfast Pathway Model; the Harnessing our Collective Recruitment powers; and Educational Inequalities.

            The Director of City and Organisational Strategy then concluded by outlining the next steps which were as follows:

1.     Continue to drive action

·        Growing the Economy

·        City Development

2.     Strengthen Partnership Working

3.     Strengthening Community Voluntary Sector and Business Representation

·        Ongoing engagement January 2019

·        Final solution workshops February 2019

4.     Embed inclusive growth

5.     Focus on outcomes

            During the presentation, the Directors answered a number of questions from the Members, following which the Committee noted the details of the presentation.

            The Director of City and Organisational Strategy submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       This report is to update Members on proposals to strengthen representation of the community and voluntary, and business sectors in community planning.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to:

a)     Agree the proposed approach to strengthen community and voluntary sector representation via the development of a CVS Forum, including upcoming engagement with stakeholders;

b)     Agree the proposed next steps for strengthening business sector representation;

c)     Note the update on work to develop a Community Planning Partnership engagement strategy to ensure wider citizen involvement/civic voice in community planning.

3.0       Main report

            Background

3.1       The Community Planning Partnership has a duty to involve the community in community planning. The Statutory Guidance for Operation of Community Planning (DoE, 2015) highlights that this can take the form of representation of community and voluntary sectors, and also more broadly in terms of seeking views of citizens in relation to community planning objectives and actions.

3.2       At the Community Planning Partnership meeting in February 2018, partners and Elected Members present highlighted the importance of ensuring the views of communities are heard via both forms of involvement referred to above, and it was agreed that the Partnership would progress work to consider how best to address these areas going forward. A background paper summarising a review of current practice and work undertaken to date was subsequently tabled at the Community Planning Partnership meeting on 9th October 2018 This highlighted the need for further work to develop:

-       Wider engagement strategy, harnessing innovative tools and methods to facilitate wider input from citizens across the Belfast Agenda;

-       Proposals for community and voluntary sector representation in community planning.

            Community and voluntary sector representation in community planning

3.3       To ensure an effective approach to CVS representation in community planning the following issues need to be considered:

-       Improving information sharing within the CVS, and between it and community planning.

-       Reflecting and taking account of the rich diversity of the CVS in the Belfast City Council area (communities of geography, interest & practice).

-       Ensure representation is reviewed and refreshed at appropriate intervals.

-       Provide transparency and accountability between the agreed reps and the wider sector.

-       Ensure sustainability.

3.4       Furthermore it is important that we consider how our approach reflects the diversity of CVS in Belfast:

-       There are over 1,600 organisations operating across communities of interest, communities of identity, and communities of geography; and

-       existing representation and participation mechanisms across other city partnerships that also feed in to the Belfast Agenda

3.5       Alongside these broad issues, a number of specific considerations are emerging from Belfast City Council’s own perspective, particularly in relation to corporate changes towards neighbourhood working within City and Neighbourhood Services Department. These include:

-       Ensuring locality based representation

-       Council funding and support for community development/capacity development

-       Future role of BAPs and relationship with Department for Communities

-       Area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       Members have expressed their desire to embed inclusive growth within the decision-making process of Council. As a result, the draft Corporate Plan 2017-21 includes a commitment to work to drive inclusive growth through the development and adoption of an inclusive growth decision making framework for the council.

1.2       This report provides Committee with a draft framework for discussion and outlines the next steps in refining and implementing the framework into the Council’s decision making processes.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Strategic Policy & Resources Committee are asked to:

·        Note the working draft Inclusive Growth Decision Making Framework;

·        Agree that in the first instance that the ongoing development of the framework will focus on the four inclusive growth cohorts outlined in para 3.13; and

·        Note the next steps in developing the framework.

3.0       Main Report

            Agreed steps to developing a framework

3.1       At SP&R Committee on 20th April 2018, members agreed to a five step approach in developing an inclusive growth framework for the city:

1.     Defining inclusive growth for Belfast.  It is vital that that there is an agreed, and Belfast specific, definition of inclusive growth. To do this we must use data and evidence to determine challenges facing the city, and its population, and collectively develop a common narrative about the vision for change. Doing this will ensure a common framework is in place for all policy and decision makers.

2.     Developing and adopting a Belfast City Council bespoke framework.  Following the agreement of a specific definition of inclusive growth for Belfast, we will develop an inclusive growth framework to ensure that inclusive growth is placed at the heart of policy, capital and programme decisions. This will ensure that the Council has a practical and simple framework to use in future decision making to quantify the inclusive growth benefits of investments and interventions.

3.     Assessing current interventions.  This step will involve an assessment of whether the Council’s and the actions of other agencies / partners are sufficient, along with the development of a plan to address deficiencies or build on strengths.

4.     Measuring our progress.  Members will be aware the Community Planning and Smart Cities teams are currently working with Community Planning Partners to pilot a City Dashboard; it is proposed that the agreed measurements of inclusive growth form part of this dashboard. This will enable Members to assess progress.

5.     Ensuring Delivery.  The Director of City and Organisational Strategy, via the Council’s newly established Strategic Hub, will oversee the successful implementation and delivery of the Council’s inclusive growth framework.

3.2       Metro Dynamics were appointed to assist with steps one and two.  Following a series of one to one interviews with Party Group Leaders, Committee Chairs, Chief Officers and an all member workshop, as well as a detailed analysis of the data available in Belfast, a definition has been drafted and noted at SP&R Committee on 17th August (see  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

            The Director of City and Organisational Strategy submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       This report provides an update for Members on requirements for the Community Planning Partnership to make arrangements for monitoring and reporting, including publication of a Statement of Progress in November 2019, and application of Outcomes Based Accountability approaches in development of the performance framework for the Partnership.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Members are asked to:

a)     note the statutory requirements for the CPP to make arrangements for monitoring and reporting, including publication of a Statement of Progress in November 2019;

b)     agree to apply a pragmatic approach that focuses application of Outcomes Based Accountability to the priority areas for attention/collaborative action as identified by the CPP and the relevant delivery boards; and

c)     note that a proposal confirming this approach will be brought to the Community Planning Partnership meeting in February 2019 for agreement.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       The Local Government Act (NI) 2014 requires the council and its community planning partners to make arrangements to monitor progress against meeting the objectives of community plans and the effectiveness of the actions taken in aiming to achieve these objectives. The legislation also requires council to publish a statement of progress on progress towards the outcomes, and actions taken every two years.

3.2       The Department for Communities will shortly issue new guidance (expected by early December 2018) focused on the practical requirements for councils and their CP Partnerships to report on progress made on community planning.  The guidance will cover two distinct aspects:

a)     The expectation that the CPP arrangements for monitoring and reporting on community planning outcomes and actions should follow an outcomes based approach (particular reference is made to use of Outcomes Based Accountability); and

b)     What should be contained within the first Statement of Progress that CP Partnership must publish by 30 November 2019.

3.3       The general move in both local and central government in NI, wider GB and beyond is to use an outcomes based approach, in particular to drive performance improvement and efficient use of resources towards the achievement of tangible outcomes and impact for citizens.

3.4       The approach taken by the NI Executive in development of the draft Programme for Government and associated monitoring has been based specifically on Mark Friedman’s Outcomes Based Accountability™ (OBA) model. As a result, NI Departments and their delivery bodies, many of which are Community Planning Partners (e.g. Public Health Agency, Education Authority) are also now using, or beginning to use, the OBA methodology to frame their corporate planning, monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness and impact of services and activity.

3.5       It is therefore unsurprising that DfC’s guidance recommends that councils and community planning partners adopt the OBA performance framework.

3.6       The use of OBA is not unfamiliar to council. The undernoted notice of motion was moved by Alderman Convery (and seconded by Councillor Attwood) at council on 03 January 2017:

            ‘Belfast City Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.