Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0Relevant Background Information

 

1.1      At its meeting on 9 December 2011, Committee considered the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) consultation paper on the proposed Social Investment Fund and submitted its response subsequently.

 

1.2      The Executive considered all the consultation responses and published revised guidance on the implementation of the programme in June 2012.  It outlines that:

 

           “The aim of the programme is to reduce poverty, unemployment and physical deterioration through strategic areas based interventions of significant scale.  The fund will encourage communities, statutory agencies, business and local political representatives to work together in a co-ordinated way, reducing duplication, sharing best practice and enhancing existing provision for the benefits of those communities most in need.”

 

           The 4 strategic objectives of the Fund are:

 

-     Build Pathways to Employment by tackling educational under achievement and barriers to employment; tackling skills deficits and promoting jobs brokerage, widening access to the labour market, promoting business start up and increasing sustainability through social enterprise;

 

-     Tackling the systemic issues linked to deprivation including poor mental and physical health, young unsupported parents, substance abuse, children and young people at risk, and enhancing community capacity, confidence and partnership working to help reduce deprivation;

 

-     Increase community physical resources – by regenerating and refurbishing existing facilities and providing play facilities and environmental improvements.

 

-     Address dereliction – and promoting investment in the physical regeneration of deprived areas.

 

           A total funding of £80m; £40m for programmes and £40m in respect of capital programmes will be provided during the life cycle of the programme which will end in March 2015.

 

1.3      The Social Investment Fund is being delivered in partnership with communities across nine social investment zones: the 4 in the Greater Belfast area are based on Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies.

 

           It has now been agreed by OFMDFM that each investment zone will have a Steering Group with a maximum of 14 members representing the business, political, statutory and voluntary and community sectors. Their role will be to develop and manage area-based plans for each of the nine social investment zones.  The membership will be:

 

-        Political x 4 representatives (Political parties, in proportion determined by the D’Hondt method, have been invited to nominate MLAs or councillors to the steering groups.);

 

-        Statutory x 4 representatives (senior level and have the authority to make decisions. The Council has agreed to nominate a Director for each group.);

 

-        Voluntary and Community x 4 representatives (Applications were sought from the voluntary and community sector.);

 

-        Business x 2 representatives (Key business organisations have been invited to nominate representatives.);

 

           OFMDFM is in the process of finalising the membership of the Steering Groups, including the political nominees and selecting representatives from the voluntary and community sector applications.

 

1.4      The Steering Group within each zone will be tasked with managing the design, delivery and development of an Area Plan.  OFMDFM has defined the criteria for allocating resources as:

 

-        Areas within the top 10% most deprived super output areas on the Multiple Deprivation Measure 2010;

 

-        Areas within the top 20% most deprived Super Output Areas on the key domains of income, employment, education and health;

 

-        Areas with independently verified and robust evidence of objective need which can include data at Census Output Area level.

 

2.0       Key Issues

 

2.1       At its meeting on 22 June 2012, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee agreed that the Chief Executive should nominate a Director to each of 4 Steering Groups in Belfast.  In correspondence received from OFMDFM, they requested that the Council nominate representatives to the South and West Zones.  The Chief Executive made the following nominations:

 

-        Belfast West Zone : Ms Suzanne Wylie, Director of Health and Environmental Services

 

-        Belfast South Zone: Mr Andrew Hassard, Director of Parks and Leisure

            In respect of the East and North Zones, they asked that we work with Castlereagh and Newtownabbey Borough Councils respectively, to agree a nominated representative to sit on the Steering Group.

 

            Newtownabbey Borough Council has agreed that their Director of Development will work through the Belfast City Council nominee to ensure that its interests are represented at the Steering Group.  The Chief Executive nominated:

 

-        Belfast North Zone: Mr Gerry Millar, Director of Property and Projects

2.2       Discussions are ongoing with Castlereagh Borough Council on appropriate representation, initially in relation to the East Zone.  OFMDFM has now asked that we also work together on representation for the South Zone, where there is also some overlap with Castlereagh, as below:

 

 

2.3       In relation to the criteria outlined by OFMDFM, the likely eligible areas for funding are:

 

 

            The third criterion will be applied where robust evidence is available to determine objective need at a smaller output level.

 

2.4       There is an opportunity to align this work to discussions related to the Review of Public Administration, as well as ensuring that the 4 Zone area plans in Belfast are complementary to and aligned with the Council’s Investment Programme and forthcoming Masterplan.  It is suggested that it may be useful therefore to establish a sub-group of officers between Councils to enable this co-ordination, reporting to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in its role as the voluntary Transition Committee (VTC) noting that representatives of the VTC will shortly have to commence an engagement with their political colleagues in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

 

            The Chief Executive will keep Committee informed on the final nominations for the East and South Zones, and request any political direction needed.

 

3.0       Resource Implications

 

            Financial: none at present

 

            Human: staff time to participate in Steering Groups and prepare data for consideration

 

            Assets: none at present

 

4.0       Equality Implications

 

            OFMDFM is responsible for the equality screening and impact assessment to be undertaken.  There is a commitment to subject individual programmes as they emerge to equality screening.

 

5.0       Recommendations

 

            Members’ direction is sought on membership of the South and East groupings set up for the Social Investment Fund."

 

            After discussion, the Committee noted the information which had been provided and agreed that officers should work with their counterparts in Castlereagh and Newtownabbey to develop proposals to feed into the plans for the four zones and that the Chief Executive should agree arrangements to rotate officer representation between Councils on the South and East Zones.