Agenda item

            The Chief Executive Designate reminded the Committee that an important element and benefit of local government reform would be the transfer of a number of new place-shaping functions and powers from central government departments to local government in April, 2015.  The new Councils would be given operational responsibility for spatial planning, regeneration and community development, off-street car parks, additional regulatory housing functions, including Houses of Multiple Occupations (HMOs) and housing unfitness, as well as an enhanced role in supporting local economic development and tourism.

            The transfer of such functions, coupled with the new statutory community planning powers, would further enhance the ability of councils and local elected members to respond to the needs of local communities and shape, in partnership with others, the future development of their city.  In agreeing the package of functions to transfer from central to local government, the Northern Ireland Executive had agreed also the following guiding principles which would underpin the transfer of functions/powers to councils:

            (1) would be sufficiently funded at point of transfer;

            (2) would be rates neutral at point of transfer; and

            (3) would be fit-for-purpose at point of transfer.

            In order to establish a clear understanding of what it was transferring, Deloitte had been commissioned by the regional Transfer of Functions Working Group to undertake a detailed due diligence assessment of the baseline resources, for example, the budget, staffing, assets and liabilities attached to those functions and powers transferring to local government.  The objective of the due diligence work was to provide the local government sector with details and assurances regarding transferring budgets and to highlight issues which needed further work.  It was pointed out that some of the actual figures, including specified notional costs, were under review with the Department for Finance and Personnel and other government departments and should not be taken as final definitive figures.

            The Chief Executive Designate explained that the Due Diligence assessment provided a regional overview of the resources to transfer and did not set out the proposed resource allocations across the 11 new councils, including Belfast.  The allocation of resources by individual central government departments would be a decision for each Minister.  To date, the Department for Social Development had been the only department which had issued specific proposals in regards to the allocation of resources which had been considered earlier in the meeting by the Committee. 

            The Department of the Environment had confirmed that each of the other transferring departments would present in early summer 2014 proposals regarding budget allocations, with final allocations late in autumn 2014 in line with the Council’s rate setting process. 

            The Chief Executive Designate submitted for the information of the Members a draft critical decision route map which had been prepared by the Department of the Environment and which outlined how a number of outstanding transfer issues, highlighted in the Due Diligence Report, would be progressed.  She explained that Council officers were already in intensive engagement with the respective transferring functions departments to carry out its own due diligence around the potential resources to transfer to the Council.  An update report on the Transfer of Functions was on the agenda for the meeting of the Transition Committee which would be held later in the week and more detailed updates would be submitted to the Committee in August.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.