Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report and the associated Appendix which was available on modern.gov:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       At the February 2017 meeting of the City Growth and Regeneration Committee, the City Events Programme for 2017/18 was approved.  This sets out the key events to be organised and delivered by the Council’s City Events Unit.  These include the Titanic Maritime Festival, Halloween and St Patrick’s Day.

1.2       At that meeting, Members asked for additional details on other events and festivals supported to include events and festivals supported and delivered by the Council as well as those supported financially by the Council but delivered by others.  Members also asked for performance indicators against the range of support provided by the Council. 

1.3       The purpose of this report is to present an overview of events and festivals supported through the various Council funding streams and to set out the outcomes from this investment across the different funding streams.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

-       Note the details of Council support for festivals and events through the range of funding streams set out in section 3 of the report.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Key Issues

            Members may be aware that the Council supports a range of cultural, sporting and activity-based events through a number of grant programmes and funding streams.  An overview of the grant schemes, as well as the available annual budgets is set out below:

3.2       The breadth of activity taking place under these various funding mechanisms is significant.  Each of the funding programmes has a set of agreed criteria against which applications are assessed.  Likewise, the impact measurements for each of the funds will vary, depending on the objective of the particular funding programme.  For example, while the City Events Programme run directly by the Council will measure economic impact in terms of visitor spend and bed nights, some of the smaller scale events will measure participant number (volunteers etc) as well as audience numbers.  It is also important to note that, in most cases, the Council is only making a contribution to the overall costs of an event, as opposed to fully funding the event.

3.3       A breakdown of the various events and festivals funding programmes including the measurements used to assess their impact is attached as Appendix 1.  Note – these figures are for the 2016/17 financial year.  Some of the highlights include:

-       Council-managed City Events programme generated in excess of £8million in additional economic activity for Belfast, attracting almost 330,000 visitors.

-       15 festivals and events supported through Core Multi-Annual Funding (CMAF) for the period 2016-2020.  Members should note that this funding provides core costs to the organisation to support their development work, rather than directly funding the festival activity.  The cumulative total of this investment is £424,000 annually.

-       33 festivals and events funded through the Community Festivals Fund in 2016/17.  A total of £167,031 allocated.  These events attracted a combined audience figure of almost half a million people (482,541) and almost 50,000 participants (46,140).

3.4       Members will be aware that a strategic review of City festivals and events is currently underway.  The purpose of this review is to consider how the Council, working closely with partners such as Tourism Northern Ireland, Arts Council for Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities can invest in a programme of events and festivals that can support the Belfast Agenda – which each of these organisations has also signed up to. 

3.5       In parallel, a review of Council investment in grant activities is also under way.  This review will consider – among other issues – how grant funding can contribute to supporting a vibrant programme of events in the city centre and in local communities.  The review will also cover issues such as streamlining of processes and measures to ensure consistency around grant management.

3.6       While this latter review may bring about some changes in the focus of funding to support event activity, it is important to note that a number of the grant schemes are match-funded by other partners.  As such, there is limited flexibility for the Council to make any significant changes to these grant funds without prior consent of the other partners.  Given that many of these are regional programmes, the ability to set local criteria is limited.

3.7       Financial & Resource Implications

            The funding allocations for each of the grant streams are approved annually by the relevant Committee.  The fund administration is managed by the Central Grants Unit.

3.8       Equality or Good Relations Implications

            All of the grant schemes are screened for equality issues.  A number of the grant schemes focus directly on improving good relations.”

            During discussion, a Member expressed concern that the current funding system for events and festivals was complex and confusing.  The Director of Development confirmed to the Committee that a review of funding for events and festivals was ongoing and also pointed out that a simultaneous review of the nineteen different funding streams across the Council was taking place and that they would both be aligned to the Belfast Agenda.

            The Committee noted the contents of the report.