Agenda and minutes

An apology was reported on behalf of Alderman Ekin.

The minutes of the meetings of 6th and 20th November 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 December, subject to the omission of the minute of the meeting of 20th November under the heading “St. Patrick’s Day 2013” which had been referred back to the Committee by the Council for further consideration

No declarations of interest were reported.

The Committee was advised that correspondence had been received from representatives of the University of Ulster requesting permission to provide a presentation on the University’s plans to relocate its main campus to York Street.

The Committee agreed to receive a presentation in this regard at its meeting on 15th January.

            Moved by Councillor Webb,

            Seconded by Councillor Hussey,

      That the decision of the Committee of 20th November under the heading “St. Patrick’s Day 2013” be amended to provide that the Committee agrees to adopt the recommendations within the report, subject to the to the removal of that element within the programme relating to the proposed ‘Street Dressing and City Hall Lighting’ at a cost of £20,000.

            On a vote by show of hands ten members voted for the proposal and nine against and it was accordingly declared carried

The Committee endorsed a schedule of meetings for 2013, details of which would be available on the Modern.gov website.

The Committee noted the contents of the Department’s Quarterly Financial Report for the period 1st July till 30th September, 2012.

The Director provided an overview of the performance figures for both the Waterfront and Ulster Halls for the period 1st April till 30th September, 2012 and the Committee noted the information which had been provided.

            After discussion, it was

            Moved by Councillor Reynolds,

            Seconded by Councillor McKee, and

      Resolved - That the Committee agrees to provide, in principle, financial assistance in the sum of £25,000 for the staging of the Circuit of Ireland Rally in Belfast in 2013, subject to further consideration.

The Committee was informed that Charter NI had sought the Council’s support for its application for financial assistance for a project under the Department for Employment and Learning's Collaboration and Innovation Fund. The Director reported that the project, which was known as FIT4LIFE, would seek to provide assistance to upwards of 550 young people who were currently not in education, employment or training and provide them with an opportunity to develop their skills and assist them to return to the workplace. He reported that Charter NI had requested that a letter of support be endorsed by the Committee to assist in its application.

            The Committee agreed that a letter of support be drafted on its behalf and noted that the letter would contain a stipulation that the project should benefit all areas of the City.  

            Moved by Councillor Ó Muilleoir,

            Seconded by Councillor Keenan,

      That the Committee agrees to note the progress achieved to date in the implementation of the Council’s Bursaries Scheme and agrees that the Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, at its meeting on 14th December, be requested to approve that the £70,000, which had been set aside within the current financial year for allocation by the Belfast Metropolitan College, to be carried forward for redistribution by that organisation in the 2013/2014 financial year.

            The Committee noted the contents of an itinerary which had been drawn-up to coincide with the visit by the Council’s deputation to the South by Southwest Annual Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas, from 11th to 17th March 2013. 

The Committee noted and approved the contents of a report which outlined a programme of activities which would oversee the work of the Council-supported Employers’ Forum for the period from 1st November, 2012 till 31st March, 2015, a copy of which was available on the Council’s Modern.gov website.

The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 17th April, it had agreed that the Council would register an interest in becoming an observer in a European Union-supported INTERREG project which sought to explore the benefits which co-operative societies provided as catalysts for economic growth.  It was reported that, whilst the original application for funding had been unsuccessful, the funding secretariat had considered the concept to be worthy of further development and had recommended that the application be revised with a view to it being re-submitted for consideration within the next funding round in 2013.

            The Committee agreed to this course of action.

            Moved by Councillor Ó Muilleoir,

Seconded by Councillor Webb, and

      Resolved - That the Committee agrees to commence a tendering exercise to appoint a suitably-qualified organisation to provide City centre accessibility services for the Council in the financial year 2013/2014 to a maximum value of £25,000.

The Committee considered the contents of a report which outlined the administrative arrangements which had been put in place to oversee the implementation of the Arts and Heritage Project Fund and the Community Festivals’ Fund, both of which had been established as part of the Council’s Cultural Framework for Belfast for 2012/2015.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided and agreed to delegate authority to the Director to award grants under the Arts and Heritage Project Fund and Community Festivals Fund.

The Committee approve a sum of £25,000 towards the delivery of the order to deliver an Attracting Audiences baseline, scoping exercise and action plan.