Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The Belfast Agenda sets a challenging ambition for the city to be home to an additional 70,000 new residents and an economy that supports 50,000 more jobs by 2035. Growing the economy and driving inclusive growth to ensure that all people benefit from economic success is at the core of this ambition. 

 

1.2       To deliver on this, the Council is increasing its ambition around positioning the city to attract international investment from developers, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and institutional investment.  Last month the Committee agreed the direction of travel for Council’s support to accelerate new businesses to start, support existing businesses to grow and export as well as encouraging increased investment into Belfast.  It is also supportive of work being undertaken by partner organisations to increase the number of international students in the city, grow tourism investment and support more FDI as well as helping local businesses to become more active in international export markets

 

1.3       Central to delivery on these plans is the provision of a sound, accessible and consistent evidence base that positions Belfast as a city to do business in, to invest in and to visit or study. Based on the presentations and economic briefings the Committee has received, requests have also been made by Members for more accessible information on Belfast’s economy, its growth sectors, accolades and the opportunities the city presents globally to raise awareness of the key messages, strengths and opportunities to grow the economy.   This will help ensure that Members and Officers have succinct, up-to-date and compelling information when engaging with potential stakeholders about the city to enhance Belfast’s image and reputation as a successful and dynamic city in the international environment. 

 

1.4       Documents such as ‘Belfast: A Fantastic Time to Invest’ (available on modern.gov) have been produced to support recent city-to-city engagements with Boston and London highlighting the key reasons to invest in Belfast as well as the major development opportunities that the city offers.  This information has been well received by external audiences and is a useful example of the type of information currently being produced to support efforts to pitch Belfast as a place to do business and invest in.  This is critical to realise the plans for city centre development and recognition for Belfast’s role as the regional economic driver.

 

1.5       Council officers are currently compiling concise infographic-style materials on key statistics and information to support the ambitions to grow the economy and city development, in line with the Belfast Agenda.  This includes:

-        Key statistics on the Belfast economy and its growth sectors and accolades;

-        Options for the development of a ‘Belfast Economic Monitor’, as discussed by Committee in January 2017

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to

·        consider and note the proposed content for the documents

·        provide suggestions and requests for content that they would like to see

·        note that infographic materials will be brought to the next meeting of the Committee for its input and consideration.

 

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       Key Issues

            Elected Members currently receive a range of statistical information on Belfast, such as the Profile of Belfast in the Elected Members Handbook, Area Working Group Profiles etc.  The Committee has also received a series of economic briefings as well as updates and presentations on key strategic developments such as the recent presentation on the growth of the cyber sector in Belfast, the retail sector, updates on the Council’s international relations commitments, city centre developments and progress in taking forward a City-Region Growth Deal. 

 

3.2       Some examples of the information the Committee has already received that is informing the production of the facts & figures document is available on modern.gov.  This includes

-        A Belfast Profile produced by the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (December 2016);

-        Competitiveness scorecard performance from the assessment of the Competitiveness of the Northern Ireland Economy, produced by the NI Economic Advisory Group (July 2016).

 

3.3       To support the international relations activity and city-to-city engagements raising Belfast’s profile and reputation as a place to do business and invest in, concise publications such as ‘Belfast: A fantastic time to invest’ have been produced.  This highlights the reasons to invest in Belfast, outlines the key economic growth sectors and provides a snapshot of major development opportunities in the city.  This document has been used to support the recent engagements with Boston and London and has been positively received by external audiences.

 

3.4       As the demand for this information grows and the volume of information provided also increases, along with the commitment to monitor and deliver on the commitments contained in the Belfast Agenda it is accepted that a more concise and visual representation of this information is required.  This will provide a more user-friendly and accessible addition to the resources produced to support Members, in line with the Belfast Agenda ambition to grow the economy and develop the city by positioning Belfast as a place to invest, study and visit. 

 

3.5       Based on the current economic performance which indicates the strengths of the economy as labour costs, improving infrastructure and a strong stock of graduate labour (Oxford Economic, 2016; UUEPC 2016) it is suggested a ‘Facts and Figures Guide to Belfast’ is built around the following key data and information.

 

3.6       Belfast’s Population and Workforce

-        Belfast population stands at 338,907; with over 670,000 in the wider metropolitan area.  The city has one of the youngest populations in Europe and two thirds of the population are working age (NISRA 2016).

-        Belfast is the employment hub of the region, with around one third of the region’s jobs based in the city (over 220,000 jobs), the majority of which are in the services sector (NISRA 2016).  58% of people working in Belfast live outside the Belfast City Council area.

-        Belfast contributes to 29% of the region’s productivity (GVA) (UUEPC 2016).

-        Almost a third of Belfast’s population aged 16-24 is qualified to NVQ level 4 (degree level) or above (32.5%, NISRA 2015).

            Accolades:

-        Belfast has ranked eighth in a list of the top 19 cities to live and work in the UK, according to a survey by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (Good Growth for Cities 2015).

 

3.7       Business in Belfast

-        Belfast is a compact and connected city and has a strong business support eco-system.

-        Belfast is home to over 9,000 businesses, with the vast majority (96%) being micro and small businesses (IDBR).

-        Key Growth Sectors – NI’s Knowledge Economy employs over 37,500 people (2015).  Much of this growing sector centres around Belfast given its role as a skills and infrastructure hub (UUEPC/Oxford Economics 2015).  Growing specialisms are emerging in the fields of Cyber Security, Financial Technology, Financial & Legal Services, Creative & Digital Industries, Green Tech and Life & Health Sciences.

 

            Accolades:

-        Small European City of the Future – Business Friendliness (fDi magazine 2015 and 2016)

-        Belfast is in the top 20 cities in the world for FDI Strategy (fDi 2016).

-        Second fastest growing Knowledge Economy in the UK.

-        Belfast is number one in the world for US FDI in cyber security (FT FDI Index 2016).

 

3.8       Attracting investment

-        Belfast has developed a successful track-record in attracting FDI to the city in recent years, securing over 20,000 inward investment jobs in the past decade. 

-        Over 70% of university research is world leading or internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework, 2014).  Belfast is home to several globally recognised research centres across a range of fields such as secure information technologies, cognitive robotics, renewable technologies and cancer research.

-        Tourism is an important sector in terms of employment (particularly in terms of the hotels and hospitality sector) as well as attracting visitors and increasing spend in the local economy – with around 1.4m overnight trips in Belfast in 2015 and three of the region’s top five tourist attractions are in Belfast (2015).

            Accolades:

-        Belfast is Europe’s top destination for software development projects (fDi).

-        Number one destination in the world for financial technology investment (fDi 2015).

-        NI is the leading region in the UK for inward investment (Invest NI).

-        Titanic Belfast was the ‘World’s Leading Tourist Attraction’ (World Travel Awards 2016).

 

3.9       In addition, there is scope to include reference to key facts and assets relating to city development such as the pipeline of development planned for the city and its high speed telecoms activity that will support such developments. 

 

3.10     The factors that influence economic growth do not solely lie within the local government’s control therefore strengthening business relationships and local-central government relationships is a central tenet of the Belfast Agenda as well as being critical to build the city’s role as the regional driver.  Therefore, these materials will evolve over time in line with the ongoing work on Place Positioning and will support existing material used by our city partners when promoting Belfast as a place to do business, visit, study or invest in.

 

3.11     The Committee should note these materials will be made available on the Members Portal, and that regular updates will be brought back to Committee.

 

3.12     Financial & Resource Implications

            The publications will be produced internally and within existing departmental budgets.

 

3.13     Equality & Good Relations Implications

            There are no equality or good relations implications.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.