Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

1.1            To update the Committee on the progress of the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD). 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

                                            i.        note the progress of the advisory boards in the development of the BRCD;

                                           ii.        agree that the four Members representing Belfast City Council on the re formatted Joint Members Forum be one each from the four largest Political Parties; and

                                         iii.        note that the Joint Member Forum has no decision making powers and all investment decisions relating to BCC BRCD projects will be brought to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

3.0       Main Report

3.1       At its meeting in June, the Committee received details of the resources and frameworks being put in place to deliver Phase 2 of the BRCD, which includes:

·        A Financial Plan and Agreement

·        A Deal Document- detailed document covering all elements included within Heads of terms, including Governance Framework

·        An Implementation Plan- summarising milestones for key deliverables, outputs, resources and risk mitigation for each project

·        Outline Business Cases (OBCs) for the individual BRCD projects

3.2       Members also approved the resources and governance arrangements to develop and deliver the Destination Hub – Belfast City Council’s key city deal project.

Programme Update

3.3       In order to support the development of the overall BRCD Programme a number of advisory boards have been set up and they have been working over the summer months to progress the development of the Outline Business Case for the 22 projects.  The Innovation strand, being led by the two universities are well advanced with the development of the OBCs underway.  They have held a number of consultative workshops with partners, industry and government departments and are now engaging with the UK government as part of this process.

3.4       The Employability and Skills workstream has been focussing in the first instance on developing guidance for all other BRCD projects to ensure they maximise inclusive job creation and training opportunities as they are designing their projects and developing OBCs.  The Board has also developed a programme of work and are recruiting a dedicated Programme Manager, funded by the regional colleges, to take this forward.

3.5       The Tourism and Regeneration Board are also guiding councils through the development of their OBCs and all projects have begun this process or are about to procure specialist advice to assist in their development.  Given the nature of these projects this Board has also been engaging with DfE and DfC as well as seeking specific guidance from DoF on business case development. 

3.6       The Fraunhofer Institute which is leading the way in digital innovation and smart districts / testbeds, have undertaken an initial piece of work to develop proposals on how the digital strand of the BRCD can be taken forward.  We are now working with them to develop governance structures and an implementation plan to support the development of the digital OBCs. 

3.7       The final Investment pillar of Infrastructure is being led by DfI, given they will be solely responsible for the delivery of the projects.  They have developed proposals for the role and membership of an infrastructure Advisory Board which includes representation from both Belfast City Council and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council given the two key projects are BRT 2 and the Southern Relief Road. This Board will report through the current BRCD governance structures.

Programme Structures

3.8       The BRCD programme office continues to support the overall management and delivery of the programme as well as developing internal frameworks in areas including;

·        Governance and Decision Making

·        Financial Planning and Management

·        Programme and Project Management

·        Performance Monitoring and Assurance

·        Communication and Engagement

3.9       A key element of the Governance Structure is the Joint Member Forum which during phase 1 of the development of the BRCD provided an opportunity for members from all six partner councils to jointly discuss the emerging programme before formal approval through each individual council.

3.10     As with phase 1 of the Programme individual councils will be responsible for all decisions relating to investment in their individual projects and in Belfast SP&R will continue to receive regular updates on the both the council’s projects and the overall programme.  However it is important the members from all six councils continue to meet through a Joint Members’ Forum to provide overall political leadership for the programme and jointly discuss issues, progress and benefits.  

3.11     In order to allow more discussion and debate at the Forum it has been proposed by the BRCD Executive Board that each council nominates four members to the Forum, a member from each of the four largest parties.  As well as championing the opportunity created by the BRCD and building support from key stakeholders the role of the Forum will be to support wider political engagement across the councils and at a regional and national level.  This will include engagement events with a larger number of elected members. 

Financial and Resource Implications

3.12     All costs associated with the BRCD are within existing budgets.

Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Assessment

3.12     The Approach taken to develop the City Deal has been subject to independent equality screening and rural proofing and states that:

BRCD is inherently inclusive, affording an opportunity for the region to grow in a way that will benefit the economy of Northern Ireland as a whole, thereby enhancing the lives and well-being of its citizens. If during further development of the programme it becomes apparent that there may be an adverse impact on certain groups or communities then the partnership commits to carrying out further Section 75 work and including screening and EQIAs as and when appropriate.’”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.