Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1        Relevant Background Information

 

The Council have been asked to respond to the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister’s, (OFMDFM) Play & Leisure Implementation Plan. This plan supports the Play and Leisure Policy agreed in 2008. See documents attached, appendices 1-3.

 

1.1       The Play and Leisure Policy

 

OFMDFM published a Play and Leisure Policy Statement in 2008 following a two-year period of cross-sectoral consultation.  As part of that process, Belfast City Council submitted a formal response as agreed at the Community and Recreation (Community and Leisure Services) Sub?Committee meeting on 6th February 2007.

 

The Policy is targeted at all children aged 18 years and under.  It is anchored within, and supports, the delivery of the ten year strategy, 2006 – 2016, for children and young people.

 

            The Policy Vision for play is:

‘to recognise, respect and resource play is to recognise, respect and value childhood.’

 

1.2       Implementation of the Policy

 

To enable the implementation of the Policy and Leisure Statement, the OFMDFM commissioned PlayBoard NI to provide technical expertise and to chair three Implementation sub-groups comprised of representatives from across the sector.

 

1.3       The sub-groups focused on the following areas:

            0-11 years

            12 – 18 years

cross – cutting themes , for example, cultural and disability issues.

 

1.4       Derry/Londonderry and Belfast City Council represented a District Council perspective on the sub-groups. Belfast was represented on the main committee and the 12-18 sub-group by the Community Development Manager and later by the Children & Young People’s Manager. The Play Development Officer sat on the 0-11 sub-group.

 

1.5       The work of the sub-groups has been completed with the production of a draft Implementation Plan.

 

1.6       The Implementation Plan

            The Plan has been divided into 4 main aims:

 

            Aim 1: Places & Spaces

            Aim 2: Championing Play and Leisure

            Aim 3: Access to Play and Leisure

            Area 4: Workforce Development

 

1.7       The Plan considers a number of cross-cutting issues including;

            Continuous Professional and Workforce development

Meeting the particular needs of groups of children, for example, children with disabilities and children from migrant communities

            The risk benefit debate

            The active participation of children and young people.

 

1.8       Play and Leisure Partnerships

Learning from experiences within England and Wales, the plan recommends that Play and Leisure Partnerships are established to oversee the delivery of the policy. This is to enable the pooling of resources and coordination of services.

 

1.9       It is further recommended that District Councils provide the central coordinating role for the play and leisure partnerships.

 

1.10     Limited financial support has been made available to assist Councils to develop the play partnerships and strategic plans. The initial funding deadline has now closed and it is uncertain if further funding will be made available.

 

1.11     The main role of the Play and Leisure Partnerships will be to take responsibility for driving the delivery of the implementation plan within each council area.

 

Membership of the Play and Leisure Partnerships within each District Council area will include a range of local statutory, voluntary, community and private sector organizations that have a responsibility for:

 

            - Play services, parks and open spaces

            - Services for disabled children and young people

            - Public health

            - Schools

            - Service Commissioning

- Community relations

- Policing

- Children and Youth Service providers

- Housing

- Transport

- Childcare

- Planning

- Services for ethnic minority groups

 

1.12     Children and young people would be represented and supported to ensure that their voices and opinions are incorporated into the work of the partnership. Partnerships will also be required to consult with wider groups of children and young people at key junctures.

 

2          Key Issues

 

2.1       The main issues for Belfast City Council are:

 

2.2       - Resources. The plan sets out a range of desirable outcomes but makes available no additional resources, asserting that ‘These actions cannot be taken forward at departmental level but need to be progressed by Councils’.  In so doing, the final draft plan fails to reflect the concerns raised throughout the working group process in relation to the absence of additional resources being offered to Councils should they be prepared to assume 'lead responsibility'.  In a context of budgetary constraint, it is unlikely that additional financial support will now be forthcoming from central government departments. Council should therefore be very wary of accepting responsibility in the absence of appropriate additional funding being made available.

 

2.3       - Play and Leisure Partnerships - Councils are expected to take the lead role in developing and coordinating the Partnerships. Within Belfast City Council, play and leisure crosses two Departments. Should Council be minded to establish such a partnership, responsibility for leading it would need to lie within one Department and with a designated lead officer.

 

2.4       - The main focus is on the open space provision for play and leisure. Playwork and staffed play provision has little mention in the plan.

 

2.5       - The original deadline for a response was the 6 February 2011. We have managed to secure an extension until the 15 February.

 

3          Resource Implications

 

3.1       There are no immediate resource costs associated with this consultation response. There are longer term resource implications as discussed in paragraph 2.2 above. These are in respect of the potential new duties expected of Council.

 

4          Equality and Good Relations Considerations

 

There are no equality and good relations considerations associated with this response.

 

5          Recommendations

 

            The Committee is asked to :

            1. Approve the attached draft consultation response; and

2. Raise any issues about the draft response that they wish to be included.

 

6          Decision Tracking

 

            Further to approval of the draft consultation response:

 

            Timeframe:  March 2011

            Reporting Officer:    Barbary Cook

 

7          Documents Attached

 

OFMDFM ‘Play and Leisure Implementation Draft Consultation Response’

 

COUNCIL RESPONSE

 

1.1.        Overall comments

 

1.1.1      The City Council is fully committed to supporting children and young people and has this as a corporate priority. This can be seen by the substantial resources allocated to play and leisure services.  In the context of play alone, Council invests some £1m annually in the inspection, maintenance and equipment replacement in 78 playgrounds across the city.  A further £650k is planned in capital works.  Council also deploy 16 play workers in 6 dedicated play centres and other sites across the city, representing a further investment of £650k per annum. In addition we operate and maintain 10 leisure centres and all the cities parks.

 

1.1.2.     It is reasonable to assert, therefore, that in supporting the broad thrust of the policy and its underpinning principles, Council is already providing significant support to the OFMDFM’s Play and Leisure Policy. Consequently we are concerned that implementation of OFMDFM’s plan appears to require additional financial and staff resources from BCC despite the issue being raised throughout the working group process. Thus far, the only additional resources made available by central government (via PlayBoard) has been to support Councils establish play partnerships and formulate strategic plans. The initial funding deadline has now closed and it is uncertain if further funding will be made available.

 

1.1.3.     Councils are expected to take the lead role in developing and coordinating the proposed Play and Leisure Partnerships but the structural approach, as proposed, may not be appropriate to Belfast.  The adoption of a standard structure, based on the inclusion of a wide range of statutory, voluntary and community organisations, may be unnecessarily cumbersome in the particular context of Belfast City Council. In particular the plan tends to refer to ‘Play and Leisure’ as a unitary concept.  Within City Council, however, the structural organisation of 'play' and 'leisure' are as distinct functions and are already 'embedded' within existing service provision - unlike many other Councils.

 

1.1.4.     There may also be difficulties with the Play and Leisure implementation plan as Council has virtually completed its planning and financial cycle for 2011-12. As such there is a concern that corporate, departmental and service plans will have been completed with no linkages to actions contained within the OFMDFM plan.

 

1.1.5.     Finally, the form used for consultation feedback is very restrictive for feedback. Hence this covering letter and modification of the consultation response template. In seeking to encourage consultation the process should be more user-friendly.

 

1.2.        Comments on specific sections of the implementation plan

 

1.2.1.     Introduction: Barriers to Play & Leisure - The Council agree and endorse the following points contained within the introduction:

 

·         that factors such as a loss of open space and under investment in parks and playgrounds significantly increase barriers to play; and

 

·         that there are limited opportunities for children with disabilities or additional needs.

 

1.2.2.     The latter point is something the Council is specifically working towards with regards to outdoor play space.  The Council will take cognisance of these points when developing its future strategies, plans and development programmes (i.e. pitches strategy, Active Belfast and Open Spaces strategy and citywide participation plan). 

 

1.2.3.     Section 1.3: Who is the implementation plan for? - The Council agrees that partnership working is key to delivering success and we would welcome the opportunity to explore the potential for greater partnership working in the future particularly in relation to play provision and enhancement. 

 

1.2.4.     The plan also alluded to the fact that an investment of almost £9 million had been allocated to enhance existing play and leisure facilities.  Our Parks & Leisure department would be keen to establish exactly how much of this funding was invested in the Council’s sites.

 

1.2.5.     Section 2.1 - This section defines and describes play as ‘freely chosen’. Perhaps the current situation with European safety compliance for equipment/ surfacing and access can limit this ‘free’ choice. Within the Council we are considering a move towards more environmental/ natural play spaces where children can play in a more imaginative way.

 

1.2.6.     Section 2.2 - Under the principle of accessibility, the plan states there should be ‘sufficient provision’. The definition of what ‘sufficient’ means is not referred to within the plan. The department would be keen to find out what this standard is and how it is actually measured. The Parks and Leisure facilities are accessible to all but some people have the perception that it is not safe for them to use facilities in particular locations. 

 

1.2.7.     Under the principle of inclusion the department would also suggest that the views of children should be considered and incorporated into the overall consultation process when developing play facilities.  The Council uses its Youth Forum to seek young peoples input and views and to consult on a regular basis.

 

1.2.8.     Section 2.3 - Child and Young Person friendly Communities - This section has strong links with the council’s shared space agenda and would advocate that our leisure centres, parks, pitches, cemeteries and the Belfast Zoological Gardens are shared spaces for all.

 

1.2.9.     Access to Spaces & Places - The Council through the provision and programming of quality parks and open spaces and leisure environments provides perfect places and opportunities for children and young people.

 

1.2.10.   We would endorse the statement that ‘local neighbourhoods’ are to be planned and designed with children and young people. The department would like clarification on whether this will be managed through the Neighbourhood Partnership Boards, how will this actually be done and what are the implications for the council? The Council would also like to emphasise that design is complementary to the open space and environment.

 

1.2.11.   Section 2.4: Partnership Working for Play & Leisure – This section mentions that local play and leisure partnerships are to be established but the department feels that there is not enough clarity about how this would function and what our role and contribution would be. As mentioned in the introduction, we have concerns that the standard approach may not suit the Council, where play and leisure services are provided across more than one department.

 

1.2.12.   Section 2.5: Monitoring and Evaluation - The Council feels that the monitoring and evaluation section is quite weak and that monitoring and evaluation of the plan is as important as the delivery of it.  It is vital that a performance measurement framework (containing key performance measures) is developed at the outset.  The section refers to the fact that OFMDFM will develop an indicator set which will measure the delivery of the outcomes – the Council would welcome the opportunity to be consulted on this.

 

1.2.13.   The Council also queries whether an annual review of the plan will be sufficient.

 

1.3.        Responses to the specific questions

 

1.3.1.     We have used the template you provided for specific responses. Please see the following pages.

 

Question 1:    Do you agree/disagree with the 4 key action areas outlined in draft plan?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
			X

 

      Please provide details of any additional action areas which you think should be included in the plan

 

      The main focus of the plan is on ‘open space’ provision for play and leisure. Playwork and staffed play provision has little mention.

 

Question 2:    Do you agree/disagree with the key impact areas outlined in the draft plan under places and spaces for play and leisure?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	X

 

      Please provide details of any key impact areas which you think should be omitted

 

      Within the action plan there is reference to the use of child friendly, accessible evaluation tools for measuring satisfaction levels.  The Council would be keen to find out what they are and how the information will be useful for us.

 

      One of the key actions within the action plan is to take forward an audit of unused/ vacant space within a council pilot area. An audit of all open space within the city was commissioned by the Council in recent years.  There may be some transferable information within this report that could be relevant.

 

      The action plan also mentions a professional bodies working group to develop design standards – this is something that the Parks and Leisure Department would be keen to get involved in.

 

      Please provide details of any additional impact areas which you think should be included

 

      Planning and design needs to promote play and leisure – The Northern Ireland Planning Service has a statutory duty to consult the relevant Council about every planning application it receives and to consult the Council during the preparation of a development plan. Councils have the potential for major influence in ensuring there is space allocated for children to play.

 

      Public Spaces create a welcoming environment for all children and young people - BCC could support this through: Training for staff who plan playgrounds; development of partnerships with community groups; using staff to conduct consultations and evaluations with children; Play staff involved in projects in open spaces

 

      Influencing professional practice in building and design – This should form part of the main work of the Play and Leisure Partnerships.

 

      Promoting the conversion of unused land into viable play and leisure spaces - This would involve additional resources both for initial development and then for long-term maintenance. The Council would be seen as the main provider for this. Consideration would need to be made of alternative ways to use land through the Play and Leisure Partnerships.

 

      General - Reference should be made to an action which looks at promoting play across boundaries within this area.

 

Question 3:    Do you agree/disagree with the key impact areas outlined in the draft plan under championing play and leisure?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	X

 

      Please provide details of any key impact areas which you think should be omitted

 

      While Council does not necessarily disagree with the actions proposed, it should be noted that many of the activities suggested are already performed by Council and we would not be keen to drop existing proven processes for an as yet unproven approach. Areas this might affect include:

 

·         A lobbying role.

·         consultation mechanisms

·         Strategic plans to implement Play and Leisure.

·         Reviewing existing quality.

·         Reviewing service provision.

·         Working with local community groups to promote greater recognition of the benefits from play and leisure with parents.

 

      Please provide details of any additional impact areas which you think should be included in the plan

 

      One of the actions relates to providing financial support to Councils to facilitate the development of strategic plans – the Council would welcome this type of support to ensure the principles of the play and implementation plan are embedded at council level and included in any future corporate and departmental strategies and plans.

 

      The action plan makes reference to researching and promoting existing quality standards, the Council would be keen to know which standards the action is referring to and it would be clearer if this was stipulated as part of the action.

 

Question 4:    Do you agree/disagree with the key impact areas outlined in the draft plan under access to play and leisure?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	X

 

      Please provide details of any additional impact areas which you think should be included in the plan

 

      The action plan area 3 makes reference to promoting the use of play services by an assessment of inclusive play – this is something the Council would be keen to build into future independent playground inspections as it is essential to improve the opportunities for disabled users across the city.

 

      This aim will focus on undertaking an assessment of existing services to determine access and inclusion. A baseline would need to be established with agreed criteria. Accessibility will differ for children coming from different economic and cultural backgrounds; abilities; age and developmental stage; and area they live in. For children in Belfast a play facility in the next street may be inaccessible due to the political makeup of neighbourhoods or to a child’s background.

 

      There is a recommendation to establish safe and accessible travel routes through 2 pilots. This could be obtainable through developing partnerships with organizations like Sustran.

 

Question 5:    Do you agree/disagree with the key impact areas outlined in draft plan under workforce development?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	X

 

      Please provide details of any key impact areas which you think should be omitted

 

      Again, while Council does not necessarily disagree with the actions proposed, it should be noted that many of the activities suggested are already performed by Council and we would not be keen to drop existing proven processes. For example, BCC currently ensures all Playstaff are trained to NVQ level III in Playwork. Additionally, short-term courses are offered through the play service for community groups, community development staff and summer scheme workers.

 

Question 6:    Do you agree/disagree with the actions outlined in draft plan?

 

Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
	X

 

      Please provide any other comments you wish to make

 

      In general the implementation plan may need to be tightened up. Although we appreciate that this is part of the purpose of consultation, the Council recommends that each action requires allocated resources and key performance measures need to be outlined for each of areas. The Council also suggests that each action has specific delivery partners assigned to them where appropriate to ensure accountability and continuity of delivery.”

 

            After discussion, the Committee endorsed the Council’s attached response to the aforementioned consultation.