Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0   Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1    In January 2016, Committee emphasised the importance of enhancing the Council’s ongoing analysis of the city economy to support the underpinning evidence base for the Belfast Agenda and propositions around investments in the city as the economic driver for the region.

1.2    With Local Government Reform, Invest NI has prepared 11 sub-regional briefings, based on the new Council boundaries, to align with its Regional Office areas.  These annual briefings have been designed to inform and support the development of emerging Community Plans and future economic development strategies that Council’s develop. 

1.3    The Belfast Regional Briefing and Summary is available on modern.gov for the Committee’s information.  It provides a range of statistical data, Invest NI data as well as an overview of regional economic assets for Belfast.  This briefing has informed the development of the Belfast Agenda and as Invest NI intends to update the profiles annually it can act as a baseline from which progress can be assessed over time.

2.0    Recommendations

2.1    As the Committee is responsible for ‘the development and implementation of strategies, policies, programmes and projects directed towards regeneration and growth of the city’ the Committee is asked to:

-       note the Invest NI Belfast Regional Briefing  which will form part of the evidence base when developing future strategies and programmes of work in its efforts to grow the Belfast economy. 

3.0    Main report

         Key Issues

3.1    Invest NI has produced an annual profile for each of the 11 Council areas to help inform the evidence base for the development of the emerging community plans and future sub-regional economic development strategies. 

3.2    The Belfast Regional Briefing and Summary provides an overview of the key metrics from a range of data sources, including Invest NI corporate intelligence.  Within the annexes (pages 15-27), comparative information is provided for each Council area and a summary of UK regional comparisons is also available for a number of key measures.  In addition, Invest NI intends to make available an interactive database to allow easy access to the data and enable trend and comparative analysis.

3.3    The Belfast Regional Briefing contains information related to the following areas:

-       Demographic and labour market structure;

-       Business base, productivity, jobs, skills and earnings;

-       Commuting patterns, tourism impact and property availability;

-       Support and investment data;

-       Performance indicators and sectoral trends for Invest NI supported businesses; and

-       An overview of regional assets, economic development partners and local supported businesses.

3.4    The following provides a brief snapshot of the type of information contained in the briefing:

-       The population in Belfast stands at 336,830 (18% of NI population). 

-       The level of economic inactivity is higher in Belfast than for NI as a whole (31% compared to 28%).

-       Belfast has 210,424 employee jobs; 34% of which are in the public sector.

-       There are 9,005 businesses in Belfast representing 13% of the total business population.  The vast majority of these are micro-businesses (7,265 employing less than 9 people).

-       Productivity, based on Gross Value Added approximate (GVAa) per head is higher in Belfast (£41,535) than for Northern Ireland as a whole (£36,618).

-       44% of people in NI travel to work outside the area they live in; 58% of people working in Belfast travel to it from other areas.

-       Invest NI has secured total inward investment of £984.67m over the last 5 years (2010/11-2014/15).  During that period, the highest levels of investment have been from GB (£407m), US (£394m) and Canada (£143m).

3.5    The Belfast Regional Briefing is being used to inform the Belfast Agenda which sets out the city’s vision for 2030 and the outcomes for citizens.  It will also inform the development of future strategies and a range of programmes of work that aim to grow the economy, build on the city’s competitiveness and ensure that all citizens can benefit from city growth and regeneration e.g. international relations, employability & skills, tourism, inclusive economic growth proposals etc.

3.6    Working with city partners by sharing information and intelligence helps to create a shared understanding of the strengths and challenges of growing the Belfast economy.  It therefore provides the basis to collaboratively prioritise programmes of work that will address some of the key challenges associated with supporting inclusive economic growth. 

3.7    Financial & Resource Implications

         There are no resource implications attached to this report.

3.8    Equality or Good Relations Implications

         There are no equality or good relations implications attached to this report.”

            The Director of Development pointed out to the Committee that a pocketsize list of key facts and figures on why investors should consider Belfast was being compiled for all Members.

            After discussion, the Committee adopted the recommendations.