Agenda and minutes

            An apology for inability to attend was reported from Councillor McAllister.

            The minutes of the meeting of 22nd February were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 4th March.

            No declarations of interest were recorded.

The information contained in the reports associated with the following 2 items 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, 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 authorised the outstanding account of £237,001.63 to be written off, in accordance with Section M12 of the Council’s Financial Regulations.

            The Committee considered a report which proposed the establishment of an action-oriented Commission – to be established for a period of one year - to create a step change in driving innovation and growth.  The purpose of the Commission would be to support the Council in the further development and implementation of its priorities as set out in the Belfast Agenda.  A particular focus would be given to the priorities of (1) growing the economy and (2) city development.  The Commission would seek to deliver the core objective of inclusive growth. 

            The establishment of a Commission would inform the development of the next phase of growth required to meet the city’s ambitions in the Belfast Agenda, that is, 2021 and beyond:

·        that major programmes are integrated and joined up, that is, economic growth must also be sustainable;

·        that resilience is built-in; so we are better able to withstand shocks and stresses, and by reducing risk make Belfast increasingly attractive to investment;

·        that economic growth is inclusive - the benefits are spread, facilitated through specific interventions;

·        that opportunities to fund and accelerate this growth are identified and realised;

·        that NI Civil Service / NI government / Invest NI are aligned to the plans developed; and

·        that the Commission operates in parallel to the development of a Resilience Strategy for Belfast.  That way, resources and opportunities arising from our membership of 100 Resilient Cities would be targeted towards delivery of resilient inclusive growth.

            The Council’s Chief Executive will chair the Commission and lead its work.  The Chief Executive will be accountable to both the Strategic Policy and Resources and City Growth and Regeneration Committees for ensuring the Commission meets its goals and works within its terms of reference.  The Commission will engage regularly with the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and provide substantive progress reports.

            Accountability for the day-to-day operation of the Commission (Senior Responsible Officer) will rest with the Commissioner for Resilience, who will be tasked with advising and supporting the commission, identifying resources (including from 100RC) and producing final outputs, as part of her requirement to produce a Resilience Strategy for the city. 

            The Commissioner for Resilience will work alongside the Director of City and Organisational Strategy to ensure that the effective support is in place to support the Commission and its work streams, provide research and ensure it is integrated with with Community Planning and the City Deal.

            The Committee agreed that a City Growth and Innovation Commission be established to integrate and join up major strategic projects facing the city of Belfast for the next 10-20 years. 

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, at its meeting on 4th March, had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), referred the following motion, which had been proposed by Councillor Campbell and seconded by Councillor Baker, to the Committee for consideration:

“This Council recognises and values the huge contribution our LGBTQ+ Citizens make to the city of Belfast and beyond.

As a statement of our solidarity with our LGBTQ+ citizens and community, and building on the progressive moves of the council to support Belfast Pride and illuminate the City Hall in the colours of the Pride Rainbow; the council agrees to continue this support, and, as a further demonstration of our solidarity, agrees to fly the rainbow flag over the City Hall from dawn to dusk on Saturday 3rd August 2019 to coincide with the annual Pride parade.”

Proposal

            After discussion, it was

Moved by Councillor Reynolds,

Seconded by Councillor Hutchinson,

      That the Committee agrees to defer consideration of the matter and that a report be submitted to the Committee on those dates that are included in the illuminate programme where there is a festival or celebration also held in the city and how they could receive dual recognition of a flag and illumination of the building.

Amendment

Moved by Councillor Campbell,

Seconded by Councillor Long,

      That the Committee agrees to the motion and to fly the rainbow flag over the City Hall on 3rd August, 2019, in principle, subject to an equality screening being undertaken and that a report be submitted to the Committee on those dates that are included in the illuminate programme where there is a festival or celebration also held in the city and how they could receive dual recognition of a flag and illumination of the building.

            On a vote by show of hands, ten Members voted for the amendment and eight against and it was declared carried.

            The amendment was then put to the meeting as the substantive motion and was agreed.

            The Committee was reminded that, at the meeting of the Council on 4th March, the following motion, which had been proposed by Councillor Walsh and seconded by Councillor Murphy had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), been referred to the Committee for consideration:

“This Council recognises the beneficial impact that investment strategies offered through this council such as LIF & BIF have had in communities across this city.

Many of these community projects have evolved to successful completion through initial feasibility support, and in doing so have allowed groups to present a case for capital funding to this council and other funding bodies.

The Council agrees to create a feasibility budget for each area-working group. This will allow members of each area-working group to identify community projects and recommend feasibility support to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for significant community capital schemes.”

            The Committee agreed that a report on the matter be submitted to a future meeting.

            The Committee was reminded that, at the meeting of the Council on 4th March, the following motion, which had been proposed by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor McDonough-Brown, and seconded by Councillor Long had, in accordance with Standing Order 13(f), been referred to the Committee for consideration.

“This Council undertakes to make its venues, buildings, leisure centres and other public properties dog-friendly in light of the recent badging scheme it developed.”

            The Committee agreed that a report be submitted to a future meeting.

            The Committee was reminded that, at the meeting of the Council on 4th March, the following motion had been proposed by Councillor Collins and seconded by Councillor Heading:

“This Council congratulates the Extinction Rebellion movement and other activists who have recently protested in Belfast and across the world in order to highlight the threat of catastrophic climate change.  The Council recognises this as one of the greatest threats facing citizens in Belfast, and believes that urgent action must be taken in Belfast and globally in order to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.  Accordingly, the Council agrees to immediately declare a “Climate Emergency”.

The Council also urges other local Councils to follow suit, and calls on both British and Irish governments to also declare a climate emergency.  Such a call aims to see Belfast move away from fossil fuels and fully toward renewable energy sources.  This initiative would see the Council doing everything it can to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions, including, for example, ensuring that all new buildings are ecologically friendly, that the retrofitting of homes is a priority, and that public transport is expanded.  The Council agrees to immediately establish a multi-agency team across the city, which should include various governmental departments, political parties and other relevant agencies, to ensure that tackling the causes of climate change is an immediate priority.”

            In accordance with Standing Order 13(f), the motion had been referred to the Committee for consideration.

            The Committee agreed that a report on the matter be submitted to a future meeting.

            The Democratic Services Manager reminded the Committee that the Council on 7th January had passed the following motion which had been proposed by Councillor Corr Johnston and seconded by Alderman Copeland:

 “This Council calls upon the Department for Infrastructure to extend the eligibility criteria for the Half Fare SmartPass Scheme to all Universal Credit claimants and to authorise the use of the SmartPass on all public transport services, such as the Belfast Taxis Community Interest Company and Shankill Road Taxis.”

He advised the Committee that a response had now been received from Mr. Chris McLean of the Department for Infrastucture’s Public Transport Division.

Mr. McLean had explained that the Northern Ireland Concessionary Fares Scheme (the Scheme) provided free and discounted public transport as an important means of reducing social exclusion and highlighted the fact that the Northern Ireland Executive supported over 22 million public transport journeys in 2017/18.

He pointed out that, to extend the eligibility criteria to all Universal Credit claimants, as called for within the first part of the motion, would be a major policy change and would not be a decision which a civil servant could take in the absence of a Minister. However, the request would be brought to the attention of an incoming Minister for Infrastructure and would have to be considered in light of the significant financial pressures being faced by the Scheme.

In terms of authorising the use of the SmartPass on all public transport services, such as the Belfast Taxis Community Interest Company and Shankill Road Taxis, Mr. McLean confirmed that the scheme was open to private operators delivering public transport services under a commercial bus service permit. Those operators applying to participate in the Scheme were required to meet the necessary application and audit requirements set by the Department for Infrastructure. He pointed out that the Belfast Taxis Community Interest Company had submitted an application to join the Scheme and that it was being considered currently. He added that, once an operator could demonstrate that they met the criteria to join the Scheme, Ministerial approval would normally be sought. However, in the absence of a Minister, this issue would have to be considered in the context of the Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions Act 2018.

The Committee noted the response.

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0    Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1      To consider the governance arrangements to apply for the new Council term commencing in 2019.

2.0      Recommendations

2.1      Committee is requested to;

·        Consider the issues and to give an initial view on the preferred governance arrangements for the new Council.

3.0      Main report

3.1       Background

At the meeting of the new Council following the local government elections in May, it will be necessary to agree the new council’s governance arrangements for the period 2019-23. In order to allow officers to prepare, Members are asked to consider the following issues and a full report will be brought to Strategic Policy and Resources in April.

Key issues

 3.2      1.   Council governance arrangements

            The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 provides for a number of types of governance arrangements, namely:

·        Traditional committee arrangements (default position)

·    Executive model

In 2014, the Council adopted a Constitution which, amongst other things, agreed the default governance arrangements prescribed in the 2014 Act namely:

·        Traditional Committee system

·        Positions of responsibility selected using the D’hondt model

·        Committee places allocated using the quota greatest remainder model

It would have required a qualified majority vote (80%) in order to choose any of the alternatives.

            Looking forward to the new Council term, should the Council agree to continue with the existing arrangements as set out in the Council Constitution, then the decision making process requires a simple majority vote to do so.

Issue to consider:

·       Do members wish to continue with existing governance arrangements ie traditional committee system?

3.3       2.   Standing Committees

The council currently has established seven Standing Committees which promote cross-departmental and thematic working across the organisation supporting the delivery of the Belfast Agenda and the developing process of Outcomes Based Accountability:

Issues to consider:

·       Do we wish to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 19th October 2018, it had considered a report on amendments to the Scheme of Allowances. The Committee had agreed to defer consideration of the report and agreed also that a letter be forwarded to the Local Government Commissioner for Standards to ascertain clarification on the imposing of sanctions on Councillors who had been found to have breached the Northern Ireland Local Government Code of Conduct for Councillors, following the response to which, a briefing on the matter be held for all Members of the Council.  A letter was sent to the Commissioner and in her response she confirmed that the Commissioner had no power to give any direction to the Council in respect of measures to be implemented by it in relation to any penalty imposed other than to notify the Chief Executive in respect of a suspension or disqualification or other sanction.

            The City Solicitor explained that the Council was required, under the Local Government (Payments to Councillors) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, to publish a Scheme of Allowances, which sets out the allowances and support services that apply to a Councillor.

            The Council’s current Scheme did not cover what should happen if a Councillor was disqualified, suspended or partially suspended following an adjudication by the Local Government Commissioner for Standards in relation to a breach of the Northern Ireland Local Government Code of Conduct for Councillors.  The issue of most concern to Members last October, in light of the Commissioner’s interim ruling against Councillor Bunting, was that the Council was being left to determine what penalty should be imposed on a Member who was found to be in breach of the Code and who had a partial suspension imposed upon them.

            It would seem that it should be relatively clear that a Member who is either disqualified or who is fully suspended for a period should have the payment of any allowances and the access to other facilities such as equipment and rooms in City Hall removed.

            The Committee would be aware that Alderman Ruth Patterson had been suspended from acting as a Councillor for a period of six months with effect from 11th March, 2019.  Therefore, it seemed incumbent upon the Council to stop her allowances from that date, require the return of any equipment on loan from the Council and prevent her use of the Members’ Common Room, Party Room and Car Park.

            The following amendment to the Scheme of Allowances was recommended for approval by the Committee in order to give effect to this:

“Disqualification or Suspension of a Councillor

The Local Government Commissioner for Standards may impose sanctions on a Councillor who is found to have breached the Northern Ireland Code of Conduct for Councillors.  Such sanction may be imposed at the conclusion of the Commissioner’s adjudication process of the alleged breach or at the conclusion of an interim adjudication by the Commissioner.

For the purpose of this Scheme of Allowances, the following action will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4b

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0    Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1      To present to Committee the Heads of Term document which sets out the funding commitment for the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) £850M investment Programme which was announced by the Chancellor in his budget statement on 29th October 2018. 

2.0      Recommendations

2.1      The Committee is asked:

·    To approve the Heads of Term document

·        To note the next steps in developing an implementation plan and funding agreement for the delivery of the BRCD programme and associated projects

·        To approve the commissioning of further work to take forward the BRCD Digital pillar including the development of specific projects, identification of additional funding and delivery mechanisms and engagement with key partners at a cost of £250,000 from within existing budgets

Committee should note that the costs for this digital work will be allocated across the partners in the BRCD.

3.0      Main report

3.1       Members will be aware that in his budget on 29th October 2018 the Chancellor announced a commitment of £350m from UK government to the (BRCD), levering at least £350m from NI regional government, £100m from the BRCD councils and £50m from the two universities.  This provides a starting funding package of £850m which will be further enhanced by at least £150m private sector investment, providing the BRCD with a 10 year £1billion Programme of Investment. 

Heads of Term

3.2       The next stage in the process was the production of a Heads of Term document which has been drawn up by MHCLG and NIO and outlines at a high level the funding commitments from both UK and Regional governments and the partners.  Once approved this document will then be signed by both governments, the six councils and the two universities. 

3.3       The BRCD Heads of Term reflects the programme of investment presented in the BRCD proposition document and the format and level of content reflects HoT documents drawn up for other city deals.  As anticipated there are caveats contained within the document relating to the absence of the NI Executive and its impact on funding allocations, and the BRCD partners will continue to work closely with colleagues in NICS to ensure the programme aligns with regional priorities and projects are focussed on key growth sectors. Also given the scale and complexity of the overall programme and associated projects it will be at least a year before full business cases can be developed and money can begin to be allocated.

Programme Development

3.4       The BRCD partners have already started work on the next phase of the programme which involves the development of:

·     A Financial Plan and Agreement

·     A Deal Document- detailed document covering all elements included within Heads of terms, including Governance Framework

·     An Implementation Plan- summarising milestones for key deliverables, outputs, resources and risk mitigation for each project

·     Outline Business Cases (OBCs) for the individual BRCD projects

3.5       As outlined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5a

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

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1       Following the completion of an Outline Business Case (OBC) and Customer Focus Discovery phase the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee agreed a blueprint for Customer Focus and the design principles that are required to deliver this major transformation programme.

1.2       The Strategic Policy and Resources Committee also agreed the recruitment of the post of Strategic Programme Director which has now been successfully filled on a three year interim basis.

1.3       Governance for the Customer Focus programme of work has been established to oversee the implementation of this key programme of work through the creation of a Customer Focus Programme board reporting to CMT and SP&R.  Members of the board include:

·       Director of Finance and Resources (Chair and SRO),

·       Director of City and Neighbourhood Services,

·       Director of City and Organisational Strategy,

·       Customer Focus Programme Director,

·       Head of Marketing and Communications,

·       Head of Digital Services,

·       Continuous Improvement Manager

·       Business representation as required.

1.4       It was agreed that a detailed plan would be created and presented to committee. This report outlines the implementation approach, key milestones of the detailed plan, the programme workstreams and the resource requirements that will be necessary to successfully take forward the Customer Focus programme of work.

1.5       One of the products of the Customer Focus Programme will be a redesigned website. To ensure its effectiveness, a set of principles for a new domain name strategy has been defined.

1.6       Finally, Communication and engagement will be critical to delivering service improvement effectively. A communications plan for the programme has been drawn up.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to approve:

1.     The Customer Focus Programme approach to implementation, programme plan and workstreams outlined in the report.

2.     The alignment of the Continuous Improvement Programme review of Business Support and continuing engagement with Trade Unions.

3.     The procurement of a ‘Strategic Delivery Partner’.

4.     Recruitment of a new Customer Hub Manager.

5.     Recruitment of a new Operational Director for CNS on a permanent basis.

6.     Agree the principles for a new Domain Name Strategy (Appendix 8 – Domain Name Policy)and to put on hold development of new websites until completion of the Web workstream.

7.     That a pilot implementation of a Video Relay Service for sign language will be undertaken for a period of one year from April 2019.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Detailed Planning Phase

The Customer Focus programme has been broken down into a number of key workstreams. The key milestones for the programme can be found in (Appendix 5) and the detailed scope of each workstream can be found in (Appendix 6). The workstreams are:

1       Customer Hub workstream– Design and operation of a corporate ‘Customer Hub’ which will deal with customer contact for all departments and services, across all channels (online, mobile, telephone, face-to-face, email…) and which will oversee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1      The purpose of this report is to update Members on the progress of the draft Belfast Open Spaces Strategy (BOSS) and to seek agreement to the publication of the draft strategy for public consultation. 

1.2       The People and Communities Committee agreed the proposed approach to the development of the BOSS at its meeting in October 2016 and since then Belfast City Council appointed external consultants AECOM to support this work.  The draft BOSS is a city level strategy and is the product of a collaborative working relationship with officers from the planning department and numerous engagement sessions with a range of internal and external partners and stakeholders at each stage of the strategy development process.  

1.3       The BOSS and the audit of open spaces will be important for planning purposes and will help inform the Local Development Plan (LDP), deliver the outcomes of the Belfast Agenda, align to the Green and Blue Infrastructure plan (GBIP), inform area working and future area/ neighbourhood based plans and approaches and secure development contributions for investment in open spaces.

2.0      Recommendations

2.1      The Committee is asked to agree:

·       the draft BOSS attached to this report.

·       to publish the draft BOSS for a period of 12 weeks public consultation from May – July 2019.

3.0      Main report

          Key Issues

3.1       The Belfast Open Spaces Strategy (BOSS) is an update of the previous Open Spaces Strategy – ‘Your City, Your Space’ completed in 2005, which led to many improvements and successes; through this strategy we:

·          invested £150m in our open spaces network;

·          achieved 19 Green Flag Awards;

·          attracted funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and European streams;

·          increased numbers and participation levels at local events and outreach programmes;

·          constructed and developed the Connswater Community Greenway;

·          increased the number of friend’s groups within our open spaces; and

·          delivered a range of physical improvements across our open spaces network in partnership with the statutory, community and voluntary sector.

3.2       Belfast City Council appointed AECOM to help prepare a new BOSS for the Council Area.  The new Belfast Local Development Plan (LDP) requires an updated open spaces strategy as part of its evidence base.  The draft BOSS has evolved as a strategic document pitched at a city level.  To help us produce this strategy we established a Strategy Advisory Group which was made up of external partners and stakeholders (statutory, community and voluntary organisations).  We also set up an internal Strategy Oversight Steering group made up of officers from across the council to provide oversight and guidance.  These groups created a long-term vision for the future of Belfast’s open spaces in line with the aspirations of the Belfast Agenda and the LDP.  Our vision, is that by 2035.

Belfast will have a well-connected network of high-quality open spaces recognised for the value and benefits they provide to everyone who lives in, works in and visits our city.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5c

            (Mr. J. Greer, Director of Economic Development, attended in connection with this item.)

            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 the work being undertaken to review the Council’s approach to social value and to set out a proposed timeframe for the work, in the context of the recent Notice of Motion presented at the January 2019 meeting of Council. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-     Note the content of the social clauses notice of motion submitted by Councillor Beattie to the Council meeting on 7th January 2019 and subsequently presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources meeting on 25th January;

-     Note the ongoing work to develop the Inclusive Growth Strategy as the Council’s all-encompassing approach to social value;

-     Note the work being undertaken to develop an Inclusive Growth Procurement Framework aligned to overarching strategy and agree to the next steps proposed for its development.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       As Members will be aware, a notice of motion was presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee at its 25th January meeting by Councillor Ciaran Beattie (see Appendix 1).  The motion calls on the Council to develop and adopt a social value strategy specifically aimed at adopting a more progressive approach to social clauses, with inbuilt mechanisms for social needs assessments and the establishment of monitoring and evaluation frameworks. An outcome-based approach to social value is endorsed by the motion as well as a recognition that the strategy should be used to tackle poverty, particularly within areas of deprivation.

3.2       Members will also be aware that, for some time, the Council has been engaged in a range of activities to support “social value”.  Social value means measuring investment by using more than just commercial metrics and considering other impacts that have a more “social” focus.  The ethos of social value aligns with the commitments set out in the Belfast Agenda to support inclusive growth.

3.3       Officers are currently developing an Inclusive Growth Strategy which will articulate the Council’s statement of intent on inclusive growth, clearly outlining our ambitions and the mechanisms to be utilised to achieve our overarching ambitions.  The strategy will also be clear on how we will monitor and report on the impact of our measures.  The scope and focus of this strategy will incorporate the ethos of social value, effectively becoming the Council’s approach to delivering social value.

3.4       The scope of the Inclusive Growth Strategy will be far-reaching, challenging Officers to consider how inclusive growth is integrated across its functions, interventions and initiatives.  One of the most effective levers at the Council’s disposal to achieve our inclusive growth ambitions is through procurement.  This is not a new area of work for the Council.  Our existing Social Clause Policy currently provides a mechanism to integrate social clauses within the commissioning process, primarily geared towards leveraging employment and work placement opportunities for the unemployed and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5d

            (Ms. G. Long, Commissioner for Resilience, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was advised that the UK Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Claire Perry, had launched an initiative in January to create a network of new and extended city climate commissions in Edinburgh, Belfast and Leeds. The project aimed to help the UK meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change and the UK Climate Change Act by building local capacities and stimulating the flow of green finance into cities across the UK.

            Known as the Place-based Climate Action Network (P-CAN), the project would help the local delivery of the UK’s climate change objectives by supporting action in UK cities through a partnership made up of the private, public and third sectors.

            The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) was investing £3.5 million in P-CAN over the course of five years. It would be hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of Leeds, the University of Edinburgh and Queen’s University, Belfast. It would seek to increase engagement between university researchers and the public, private and third sectors in building environmental resilience in the context of a changing climate. 

            Belfast City Council had been asked to join the Climate Commission for Belfast, which sought to accelerate and sustain the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient society through the creation of local climate commissions, following the Leeds model developed in 2017, as well as other broader measures focused on increasing investment in low-carbon, climate-resilient development.

            Given the Council’s membership of the 100 Resilient Cities programme, and its work to develop a resilience strategy for Belfast, which would seek to build our environmental resilience as a city, the Commission was a timely opportunity to work with other cities and key strategic partners in this area.

            It was reported that the Council’s participation would involve contributing to discussion with public and private sector partners on improving Belfast’s environmental resilience, contributing ideas on optimum ways to build a climate resilient society and practical ways to deliver transition to a low-carbon city. 

            The Lord Mayor had previously wrote a letter of support for the application from QUB to join the programme.  Should the Committee agree to this proposal, the Lord Mayor would be asked to participate in the launch of the Commission on the 9 April, in Belfast.

            The Committee agreed:

·        That Belfast City Council accepts the invitation from Queen’s University Belfast to join the ESRC-funded ‘Climate Commission’ for Belfast;

·        That the Commissioner for Resilience, Grainia Long, joins the Commission as part of her broader work to develop a resilience strategy for Belfast; and

·        To note that the work would also inform our broader sustainable development goals as led by the Council’s Sustainable Development Manager, and would help to inform how we meet our obligations under the UK Climate Change Act.

            The Committee considered 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 the existing Council facilities or provides new Council assets. This report highlights the status of projects under the Programme along with projects recommended to be moved Stages.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1      The Committee is asked to –

            Projects

·        IT Programme - Replacement of the NI Planning Portal – agree the recommendation that the Council supports the DfI-led regional project to replace the current Northern Ireland Planning Portal with another shared regional IT system.  Members are asked to note that this is subject to

·        the capital cost to Local Government being split evenly between the 11 councils with the operating costs to be determined in the context of the contract awarded (as agreed by SOLACE);

·        the regional project demonstrating clear and robust progress – this includes commitment from all Council by April 2019;

·        BCC being part of the first wave of councils to implement the new IT system; and

·        BCC taking a lead role in the project, including representation on the Project Governance Board and providing staff resources to the core project team.  The resources required for this are 2 x Grade PO4 posts for a temporary period of 3 years.  Members are asked to agree this resource support and to note this will be part of the Council’s capital contribution towards the project

·        IT Programme – Customer Focus Programme – Members have agreed an ambitious Customer Focus Strategy for the Council which has been designed to significantly improve the quality of the services that the Council provide while substantially reducing the costs of service delivery.  Work is already underway on the delivery of the strategy however the effective implementation of the strategy will require an associated IT Programme to underpin it and to ensure the Customer Focus strategy can be successfully delivered

Movements

·        In light of the timescales required (Planning Portal – commitment from all local councils by April 2019 and Customer Focus - to deliver on the agreed customer focus strategy) it is recommended that both projects are moved to Stage 3 – Committed on the Capital Programme.  It is however recommended that both projects are held at Tier 0 – Schemes at Risk pending satisfactory tender returns.  An update will be brought back to Committee at this stage along with the final budget allocation and confirmation that this is within the affordability limits of the Council.

·        In addition Members are asked to agree that the necessary procurement processes be initiated with contracts to be awarded on the basis of most economically advantageous tenders received and full commitment to deliver for the above projects as required.

3.0       Main report

            Key Issues

3.1       IT Programme- NI Planning Portal Replacement  

Members will be aware that the Northern Ireland Planning Portal (NIPP  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

Area Working Group Minutes

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the East Belfast Area Working Group of 7th March 2019.

            Ballymacarrett Walkway –

             ‘Belfast City Council Options site’

            The  Committee agreed the recommended proposal from the East Area Working Group on 7th March that Option 2 be progressed for the Belfast City Council ‘Options Site’, namely a high level ‘masterplan’ reflecting all existing/new interests, and proposing the most appropriate location for each land-use zoning (that is, play-park/recreational space, private development, community and young people services provision).

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1       The Local Government Finance Act (NI) 2011 and the supporting Prudential and Treasury Codes produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), require the council to consider the affordability and sustainability of capital expenditure decisions through the reporting of prudential and treasury management indicators.

1.2       An update to the Prudential Code now requires the Council to produce a Capital Strategy for 2019/20, This report provides information for Members on the Capital Strategy, incorporating the prudential indicators for Belfast City Council for the period 2019/20 to 2021/22, and the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for 2019/20.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

·        note the contents of this report and the prudential and treasury management indicators included within the appendices to the report.

And agree:

·        The Authorised Borrowing Limit for the Council of £165m for 2019/20

·        The Treasury Management Strategy for 2019/20, which has been included as Appendix B to this report

3.0       Main Report 

3.1       The Local Government Finance Act (NI) 2011 requires the Council to adopt the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities.  In doing so, the Council is required to agree a minimum revenue provision policy annually and set and monitor a series of Prudential Indicators, the key objectives of which are to ensure that, within a clear framework, the capital investment plans of the council are affordable, prudent and sustainable.

3.2       At the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the 9 December 2011, Members approved the Council’s Treasury Management Policy which is based on the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice.  The Treasury Management Policy requires that a Treasury Management Strategy be presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on an annual basis and that it is supported by a mid-year and year end treasury management reports.

3.3       The Capital Strategy, incorporating the prudential indicators, is included as Appendix A, while the treasury management strategy and treasury management indicators have been included as Appendix B.

3.4       The comparison of “Gross Borrowing” to “Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) is the main indicator of prudence when considering the proposed capital investment plans of the Council.  Estimated gross borrowing should not exceed the CFR for the current year plus two years.  The Council’s estimated gross borrowing position, illustrated in Table 6, Appendix A, is comfortably within the CFR in the medium term.  The Director of Finance and Resources therefore considers the estimated levels of gross borrowing as being prudent.

3.5       Table 9 (Appendix A) shows the estimated financing costs for capital expenditure as a percentage of the estimated net revenue stream for the Council, based on the medium financial plan.  These illustrate that in the medium term, capital financing costs will represent 12.06% of the Council’s net running costs.  On this basis the Director of Finance and Resources is satisfied that the level of capital expenditure is affordable.

3.6       The Finance Act requires the Council to set an affordable borrowing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

     The Committee:

·        approved the public advertisement and acceptance of tenders as listed in Appendix 1, Table 1through the Council’s electronic procurement system; 

·        grant delegated authority to the appropriate Director using pre-agreed criteria to accept the most economically advantageous tender; and

·        agreed to accede to Standing order 55(a) exceptions in relation to contracts by direction of the council acting on recommendations of a Chief Officer that the exception is justified in special circumstances for the contracts set out in Appendix 1 Table 3

Appendix 1 – Schedule of tenders for consideration

Table 1 - New tenders

 Table 2 - Contracts for extension of contract period

Table 3 - Direct Award Contracts (Single Tender Action)

In accordance with the decision of the Council of 4th March, the Director of Finance and Resources submitted a report providing an update on the basis on which the Council awards contracts.

He reported that all procurement exercises carried out by officers on behalf of the Council are subject to, and must comply with, all the statutory requirements of public procurement legislation and with corporate governance.  The legal framework in relation to procurement was made up of a number of different elements, including EU legislation (EU Public Contract Directive 2014 implemented in the UK by the Public Procurement Regulations 2015 (‘The Regulations’)), Northern Ireland legislation and the general law of contract. The Council’s corporate procurement processes and governance was compliant with the legislation and followed best practice.

 The Evaluation or Award criteria are the criteria used to assess procurement submissions to decide which supplier best meets the Council’s needs and thus which supplier was awarded the contract. Officers ensure that Council need is clearly and concisely detailed on the specification, which, in line with Council governance must also include award criteria.  This criteria, and only this criteria, is used to then assess and award the contract. 

As per The Regulations, and the Department of Finance (NI) procurement guidance, the Council had adopted, and embedded in corporate governancethat contract award criteria was based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT).   The application of MEAT enables the Council to take account of quality criteria , that is, those that reflect qualitative, technical and sustainable aspects of the bid as well as cost, and is done using a Price: Quality Ratio, where ‘weighting’ is applied to each element.  The weighting was influenced by a number of factors, including the complexity of the procurement exercise, the state of the market place, the importance of the supplies/ service, and the degree of creativity or flexibility that was required in its execution.   For example the more complex the project, the more difficult the project would be to manage and control; the more unusual the project the harder it would be to make predictions about resource levels and the skill required of the supplier. Experience, technical competence, management skill and management systems would take on a far more significant level of importance for complex projects. For the price/quality mechanisms to reflect this, quality should carry a heavier weight than price.

Because of the individual nature of procurements there was no hard and fast rule in relation to ratios. However, appendix 1 to the report provided examples based on best practice and HM treasury guidance and should be applied based on specific contract requirements.

The Committee noted the information which had been provided.

The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Shared City Partnership Meeting held on 11th March 2019, including:

·        authorising the rescope of BPR5 Supporting Communities – Roma element;

·        agreeing the areas selected for the BPR3 Transform for Change project on the basis of the Belfast Interface Project and approve the selection criteria for the remaining areas;

·        agreeing that officers would submit a report to a future meeting of the Partnership regarding potential programmes which supported the research findings of the research into the experiences of the Muslim community in Belfast in relation to the recommendation regarding civic leadership, a subgroup  comprising of Elected Members, Independent Members of the Partnership, the Lord Mayor, the Council’s Corporate Communications and a representative from the Executive Office should be established to consider how this aspect could be strengthened;

·        that the matter on the Motion on anti-Semitism would be deferred to enable officers to obtain advice from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland as to whether it would be appropriate for the Council to specifically adopt a definition in respect of one particular group and not other  minority groups living in Northern Ireland;

·        that a letter be sent to the PSNI from the Chairperson of the Shared City outlining the importance of its representation on the Partnership and seeking a nominee to fill the current vacancy;

·        that correspondence be sent to Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce to establish if it was still wishing for representation on the Partnership and, if so, seeking a nomination;

·        that letters be sent to each of the four main church leaders relating to Belfast requesting confirmation that each was content with the arrangement, as previously agreed by the Council, and seeking views on the sequence in which each church should be represented. The leaders would be advised that nominees should be aware of and involved in good relations work which would be relatable to Belfast. This approach would enable the four-year cycle to commence in June to be aligned with the beginning of the new four-year term for Council;

·        to  commence work on the good relations audit 2019 using the approach outlined in the report;

·        to note that initial work will commence prior to receiving a Letter of Offer from The Executive Office in respect of the District Council Good Relations Programme 19/20 to allow for timescales to be met developing estimates for next year’s plans;

·        to adopt the proposed model for a 2019 Bonfire and Cultural Expression Programme and the Review Panel’s recommendation in respect of the 2018 programme;

·        that consideration be given to adopting a protocol in relation to the appointment of  the individual assessor on the review panel;

·        to officers submitting an update in respect of the Council’s current governance arrangements around the Bonfire and Cultural Expression Programme to a future meeting;

·        that officers engage in discussions with the Council’s Corporate Communications Section, with a view to formulating a communications plan around the positive outcomes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8a

            The Committee noted the contents of a report which provided members with a summary of equality screenings and rural needs impact assessments for Quarter 3 (October to December 2018).

            The Committee was reminded that requests for the use of the City Hall grounds were normally dealt with under the authority delegated by the Committee to the Director of Legal and Civic Services, using criteria agreed for this purpose. Occasionally, however, it was necessary to place such requests directly before the Committee, and the request set out below falls into this category.

            The Members will recall that in 2015 approval was given to the Grand Orange Lodge to have an Orangefest event in the City Hall Grounds on the 12th July for a three year period up to 2018.

            A request has now been received for a similar event to take place on Friday 12th July 2019 from 11 am to 7 pm. The proposed event would be similar to previous years and would involve “a mini-market, catering demonstrations in marquees, and a small open-air children’s entertainments programme”. The organisers’ estimate of attendance was 3,000 to 5,000 people. The event would take place on the front lawns only and consequently areas such as the Titanic garden and Cenotaph would remain open to the public.

            The Committee approved the request for this event in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

            The Director of Legal and Civic Services reported that the following request set out below also fell into this category of those which should be considered by the Committee.

            A request has recently been received from the organiser of the Belfast Photo Festival (BPF) to have a photographic exhibition in the grounds of the City Hall from 1st to 23rd June, 2019. The BPF was the visual arts festival of Northern Ireland and one of the leading photography festivals in the UK. Launched in 2011, the festival attracted 85,000 visitors across 24 city centre venues and was one of the city’s major art events.

            The key issues in respect of this request was whether or not the Committee wished to grant permission for the exhibition to take place over a 3 week period in the City Hall grounds.

            Each year the city wide festival includes the grounds of Belfast City Hall as a primary location for both photographic exhibitions and other events. Previous exhibits have included the DeLorean Print Project in 2015 which proved to be very successful and brought a real spectacle to the City Hall lawns. In 2018 the exhibition looked at music and photography and ‘the camera’s role in capturing individuality within the music industry and the industry’s influence on the formation of identity’.  For the 2019 exhibition the theme is “Truth” which reflects on the question if the camera never lies.

            Good Relations staff have reviewed the exhibition images and confirmed that although the exhibition includes a range of images, some of which relate to sensitive events such as the 9/11 Twin Towers attack. These images may challenge the perceptions of the audience but Good Relations cannot see any negative good relations implications that should stop the exhibition being hosted at City Hall.

            The Committee agreed to accede to the request.

            The Committee considered the following applications for the use of the City Hall

and the provision of hospitality which had been received up to 11th March, 2019:

            The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Risk Panel of 4th March, 2019.

            The Committee noted the minutes of the meeting of the Active Belfast Ltd. Board of 11th March, 2019.