Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report or Summary of Main Issues

 

1.1            Members will be aware that officers are currently drafting an inclusive growth strategy to outline the council’s commitment to creating an inclusive city.

 

1.2             This report provides the Committee with a high level overview of the commitments contained within the strategy and outlines the next steps that will be undertaken to ensure that a final strategy is presented to committee in September and a public consultation commences in October.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is requested to:

 

i.          note the wide range of commitments included within the inclusive growth strategy and that it will be accompanied with a one year action / delivery plan;

 

ii.        note that a full version of the document will be sent to parties week in the commencing 26th August for review and comment and that officers will engage with political parties to receive comments;

 

iii.    note that a final document will be brought before the Committee in September; and

 

iv.    agree to an all-party launch of the strategy for consultation in October 2019.

 

Main Report

 

3.1       At the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee meeting on 20th April 2018, Members agreed to a five step approach to developing an inclusive growth framework for the city, and following a series of one to one interviews with Party Group Leaders, Committee Chairs, Chief Officers and an all member workshop, as well as a detailed analysis of the data available in Belfast, an Inclusive Growth statement and definition was agreed.

 

3.2       Subsequently, at the meeting on 7th December 2018, a draft bespoke Belfast City Council inclusive growth decision-making framework was presented and agreed. This framework is designed to ensure that inclusive growth is placed at the heart of policy, capital and programme decisions. Furthermore, members also agreed, that in the first instance, our efforts would be focused on the following four target inclusive growth groups:

 

1.      Workless residents;

2.      Residents with low skill levels;

3.      In work, low earning individuals; and

4.      Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).

 

3.3       These inclusive growth groups have been determined based on a review of the evidence and the consultation carried out with Members. Furthermore, these groups align to the ambitions and priorities set out in the Belfast Agenda.

 

3.4       During the one to one interviews and at the workshop, Members consistently highlighted a number of actions they felt needed taken forward as part of inclusive growth. Whilst these are not specifically part of the Inclusive Growth Decision Making Framework, they were felt necessary in moving forward the inclusive growth agenda. Since then officers from within the Strategy, Policy and Partnerships team have been working with departments to develop the Inclusive Growth Strategy.

 

The focus of the Strategy

 

3.5       The Inclusive Growth Strategy sits within the overarching framework of the Belfast Agenda and is closely aligned to its economic growth ambitions.

 

3.6       The Belfast Agenda is an ambitious plan for the city, with a strong economic focus and farreaching targets for population and jobs growth. In order to address the long term challenges facing people in Belfast such as health and educational inequalities, the need for good relations, ensuring people feel safe and have good living conditions, we need to focus on growing our economy and ensure the benefits are felt by everyone.

 

 

3.7       The Council has, therefore, rightly set out an ambitious economic growth agenda – this is highlighted by our success and commitment to securing the Belfast Region City Deal, the creation of a range of investment funds and interventions designed to make Belfast a great place to locate and start a business. We are also committed to creating a strong and vibrant city centre – its development is vital for attracting private sector investment, creating revenue and enabling the sustainability of council expenditure and service delivery.

 

3.8       Of course, economic and population growth on its own is not enough. These are a means to an end to help us reduce inequalities and create opportunities for all. Not everyone in Belfast has benefited in the past and unless there is a paradigm shift in our policy framework this will continue. While Belfast currently displays great economic optimism, it is imperative the benefits of this growth are inclusive, where everyone has the opportunity and aspiration to succeed.

 

3.9       The Strategy is one aspect of the work that is underway with partners to ensure that the ambitions of the Belfast Agenda are met. Members are asked to note that further detail on core strands of work being implemented with Community Planning Partners will also be brought to Committee in September.

 

3.10     The document focuses strongly on our role as an inclusive corporate body looking at what we do in areas of:

 

·        procurement – social value and sustainability

·        employment – recruitment, fair work and employability and skills

·        investment - decision making framework

·        service design/provision – inclusive

 

3.11     It also focuses on our influencing and civic leadership role, acting as a call to action to others across the City.

 

3.12     It has been designed to be a living document – therefore, as our expertise and evidence base develops we will strengthen commitments and set targets. To support this a first year action plan will be published alongside the consultation document and an updated action plan will be produced for each subsequent year thereafter. Members are asked to note that development of the policies and initiatives required to create an ‘Inclusive Belfast’ will continue alongside the public consultation.

 

3.13     It is important to note that implementation will require ongoing policy development and operational decisions e.g., procurement, City Charter, ring-fencing of budget for apprenticeships etc.

 

Key Commitments

 

3.14     The table below summaries key commitments:

 

Chapter	High Level Commitments
Our Inclusive Growth Statement and Cohorts	This defines what inclusive growth means for us as a council and where, over the next few years, we will focus our efforts. It reiterates our inclusive growth cohorts.
Our Corporate Commitments	This details how, as a corporate body, we will contribute toward inclusive growth and provide civic leadership for the city.   Harnessing procurement to social value   Develop Social Value Procurement Framework and Toolkit; Ensure environmental and sustainability considerations will be a key aspect of our social value framework; Develop local supply base, remove barriers and increase capacity of underrepresented suppliers; Support development of cooperatives or new business to meet demand; Develop capacity building programme for local businesses; and Pilot social value through two council procurement contracts and identify two Belfast based anchor institutions willing to develop their own social value procurement framework.   Promoting inclusive growth through our role as an employer   Promotion of fair work and good quality jobs   Pay Real Living Wage and create a Real Living Wage City; Mainstream equality, diversity and inclusion; Work with employee networks to improve employee voice; and Only endorse the use of casual contracts when both parties enjoy flexibility.   Improving participation in employment   Offer apprenticeships and commit to a target number of recruitment campaigns; Ring-fence 25% of suitable entry level posts for inclusive growth groups and provide pre-recruitment programme support; Review employability support and design targeted workplan with partners; and Develop a city wide Volunteering Strategy and Staff Volunteering Policy.   Embedding an Inclusive Growth Decision Making Framework   Ensure that our major decisions are aligned to our inclusive growth ambitions; Test and implement Inclusive Growth Decision Making Framework; and ·        Encourage our city partners to use the decision making framework.
Creating an Inclusive City	City Inclusive Growth City Charter and growth sectors   Co-design Inclusive Growth City Charter and assessment tools with key anchor institutions and partner organisations; Work with organisations to seek alignment with CSR activity; Develop a strategy to access private /philanthropic funding; and Work with stakeholders to establish digital innovation and tech inclusion group – addressing barriers to participation and setting employment targets.   Prioritising employability and skills /Belfast Region CityDeal   Develop and deliver a Belfast Employability Pathway – working with partners to combine our collective requirement power, ring fencing entry level opportunities; Deliver suite of sectoral employment academies; Development and launch of citywide GCSE revision programme; Deliver schools based employment academies supporting young people in year 12 at greatest risk of not achieving/dropping out; and Improve connectivity of neighbourhoods to opportunity by maximising the opportunity of BRCD to deliver BRT II.   Promoting inclusive growth through planning powers   Develop and adopt Developers Contribution Framework; and Continue to pursue the Councils ambitions in relation to affordable housing.   Inclusive Civic Voice   Test a range of innovative approaches to harness civic voice; and Develop and test new models of engagement with the CVSE sector.
Holding Ourselves to Account	Develop an Inclusive Growth Monitor and Dashboard; Establish Inclusive Growth Oversight Board; Continue to learn from best practice; and Publish a yearly action plan.

 

Next Steps

 

3.15     The following steps are recommended:

 

·        A detailed document will be circulated to all parties week commencing 26thAugust;

·        Strategic Policy and Resources Committee 20th September 2019 – bring draft strategy to Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for approval.  Final draft strategy to be agreed and ratified at 1st October 2019 Council;

·        September 2019 – Early testing/engagement of draft strategy with key anchor institutions, businesses and trade unions;

·        October 2019 – Public Launch of Inclusive Growth Strategy; and

·        October – December 2019 – Undertake public consultation on draft strategy and associated comprehensive equality screening to further inform final strategy.

 

Financial and Resource Implications

 

3.16     While the Strategy Policy and Partnership team will continue to prioritise the work on Inclusive Growth, it is anticipated that additional developmental resource will be required to both mainstream the strategy within council and embed and develop the approach externally with partners.

 

Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Assessment

 

3.17     The Inclusive Growth Strategy is inherently inclusive and is aimed at bringing about inclusive economic growth to all residents, irrespective of identity. A draft comprehensive screening has been completed and will be consulted on alongside the draft strategy.”

 

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.