Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Committee on the work being taken forward through Community Planning with a specific focus on the Living Here Board and its recent meeting held on Monday 17 May 2021.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Members of the Committee are asked to recommend that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to note the:

 

                                                (i)          Key areas of work currently being progressed by the Living Here Board (LHB), as outlined below.

                                              (ii)          Alignment and synergies between the Board and the work of the Committee.

                                            (iii)           Planned process for refreshing the Belfast Agenda and the role of Elected Members in supporting this process.

 

3.0       Main report

 

3.1       Background

 

            Members will be aware that the Community Planning Partnership (Partnership) was established in February 2018, under the auspices of the Local Government (NI) Act 2015, to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing by encouraging and enabling joined up planning and collaborative delivery across partners, as well as promoting and enabling innovation and sharing good practice.  In order to ensure that the vision and ambitions set out within the Belfast Agenda (community plan for the city) are translated into action and to mobilise city partners to support delivery, four ‘delivery focused boards’ have been formed to drive collaboration (i.e. City Development, Skills, Jobs and Education, Resilience and Sustainability and Living Here Board), as illustrated below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.2       Living Here Board

 

            The LHB is co-Chaired by the Council’s Director of Neighbourhood Services and the Health and Social Care Board’s Assistant Director and Commissioning Lead for Belfast. The Board comprises Council officers and a range of its Community Planning Partners, including representation from the Statutory and VCSE sectors. The areas of collaborative focus being taken forward by the LHB, as set out below, clearly aligns with the remit of the Committee and seeks to support vulnerable people and communities as well as creating integrated approaches to improving service provision and support within the city. The LHB work programme currently focuses on the following:

 

                                             (i)          Addressing Health Inequalities with a specific focus on

 

·        Drugs, Alcohol and Mental Health

·        Avoidable winter deaths

·        Promoting Positive Emotional Wellbeing

 

                                            (ii)          Community Recovery and Area Planning (including Multi-Agency Support Hub)

                                          (iii)          Integrated, inter-agency approaches to early intervention including early years support and family programmes.

 

            As theeffects of theCovid-19pandemic havebegunto emerge,thereisa need to understand howour city economyandcommunitiesarelikelytobeimpacted,andwhatweneedtofocusontorebuild inthecomingmonthsandyears.Clearly,thepandemicisnotoverandtherewillneedtobesustainedefforts toprotectthesafetyandhealthofourcitizens,whileatthesametimebalancingtheneedtostabiliseand rebuildoureconomyandcity.Inthiscontext,andaspartofthereviewoftheBelfastAgenda,thereisa need totakestockandreassessthefocusofCommunityPlanningandtheworkoftheBoardsoverthecomingweeksandmonths.ThisisnottosaythattheambitionsandcommitmentssetoutwithintheBelfastAgendashouldnotremainatthecoreofourwork.However,inordertoaddress emerging challengesasa resultofthepandemic,wemayneedtopivotourcollectivefocusandseektoprioritiseandacceleratekeyinterventions andprogrammes.

 

            Whilst the Committee will have previously discussed some of these areas, specifically, the intention is to move to a more standard approach to updating Members on the work programme of the respective Boards aligned to their scheduled meetings. A summary draft note and slide-deck from the recent LHB meeting (virtual) held on Monday 17 May 2021 is available for Members information. Key points for Members to note from the discussion include:

 

3.3

                                            i     Review of the Belfast Agenda and Role of the Boards

 

The Board received a presentation outlining the planned co-design process and timeline for refreshing the Belfast Agenda and the development of an associated 4-year action plan. The diagram below outlines this process.

           

            It is important to note that Elected Members will be engaged at each stage of the review process through the All-Party Working Group on Community Planning. In addition, it is recommended that all Elected Members will have the opportunity to shape the priority framework and plans for the new 4-year period through Party Group briefings.  Elected Members will also be supported by our Marketing and Communications team who will provide ongoing support via a communications toolkit, to enable effective engagement with constituents, so that their voices are heard.

 

            While the specifics regarding engagement events will be finalised with partners, it is expected that there will be a series of thematic and/ or local-area virtual workshops. This will provide Elected Members with a leading role within their communities, to help shape the city’s future plans.

 

3.4

                                          ii     Reaffirming the focus of the Living Here Board in the short-term (6-18 months)

 

            Given the impact of Covid on the city, its communities and its people, the Board agreed to undertake a focused planning session to consider specific priorities which Board members could coalesce around and bring collaborative gain to, over the next 6-18 months to further support community recovery and feed into the Belfast Agenda Review process. The Board agreed to host the planning session in June 2021.

 

3.5       Addressing Health Inequalities

 

                                         iii     Complex Lives model

 

            The Board received a presentation on the developing Complex Lives model for Belfast including the agreement of a ‘route map’ for the project built, on the themes of System Leadership, Frontline Delivery and System Enablers and the pragmatic approach being taken to implement action, which utilises existing services and partnership working.  Board members noted the progress to date and timeline for the implementation of the model from 1 April 2022.

 

3.6

                                         iv     Promoting Positive Emotional Wellbeing Plan

 

            Board members were briefed on planned activity within Council to integrate best practice approaches to promote positive emotional wellbeing across a range of services. This will act as a test for other organisations, with the sharing of lessons learned by Council.

 

3.7

                                        v        Belfast Warm and Well

 

            The Board received a presentation following the completion of year 2 of the Belfast Warm and Well scheme, along with key considerations required in supporting its transition to mainstream delivery, including the opportunity to connect with and across other related work programmes including the Resilience and Sustainability Board’s ambition to eradicate fuel poverty. Board members agreed to continue supporting the promotion of the scheme with frontline staff and to consider a response to the draft Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland.

 

3.8       Area Planning and Delivery

 

                                           vi   Multi-Agency Support Hub

 

            A presentation was made to the Board on the establishment of a multi-agency support hub within south Belfast, which aims to enable collective working with statutory partners to support vulnerable individuals and reduce levels of risk and vulnerability. Members will recall approving Council’s involvement within this pilot project in the Botanic DEA at the People and Communities meeting on 12 January 2021. Board members noted progress to date and highlighted the importance of linkages and synergies with the Complex Lives model project. 

 

3.9

                                       vii     Belfast Area Outcomes Group – Combined Covid Response Approach

 

            The Board received a presentation on behalf of the Belfast Area Outcomes Group (BAOG) which examined the approach taken to responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and the focus and nature of support provided across four critical anti-poverty priorities including support for families with children under two; digital poverty; flexible funding and healthy eating.  CPP partners committed to joint planning with BAOG on the development of a specific action plan to support children and young people and their families to recover from the pandemic, with a view to adopt implementation of the plan.   

 

3.10

                                      viii     Wider University and Lower Ormeau Intervention

 

            Members will be aware that due to the significant and complex challenges in this area, in November 2019, the Council requested that Community Planning be used as a vehicle to bring key Statutory, Community and other partners together to develop an integrated and targeted approach and intervention(s) of scale for the wider university and Lower Ormeau area.

 

            History has shown that there is no straightforward or single solution to the prevalent issues in the area. However, it is incumbant upon all partners to continue to demonstrate commitment, sustained effort and leadership to find solutions to improve the qualitiy of life for those that live in the area.In support of this work, in November 2020, the Council worked closely with the Department for Communities, Department for Finance and local stakeholders to bring forward a strategic insights programme which included a series of tailored workshops with community groups, residents, student representatives, landlords and local councillors. While the process has highlighted entrenched positions and ongoing tension between the constituent stakeholder groups, there is a general consensus amongst the majority that a reconfigured and long-term vision is required with a supporting implementation plan, alongside proactively addressing the immediate challenges.

 

            Work is underway to establish a recalibrated and re-energised Inter-Agency Delivery Group with an action and outcome-based focus and supported by a strategic Ministerial Group who will consider potential policy and legislative changes which may be required. Suggested outcomes for the area include, but are not limited to:

 

·        Reduce anti-social behaviour,

·        Improve community cohesion,

·        Improve the physical and environmental appearance of the area,

·        Develop new and innovative methods of engaging citizens, to identify local priorities and solutions.

 

            Members will note the interconnectedness of the above priorities, which are being undertaken through the LHB and how these align to Council’s efforts to lead the city recovery from Covid. Opportunities to further enhance synergies between work programmes within and across the various Board’s under the Community Planning Partnership, will continue to emerge as the Board reaffirms its priorities and supports the review of the Belfast Agenda.  Regular progress updates of the LHB will be brought to the Community Planning All-Party Working Group and the People and Communities Committee going forward, providing the mechanism for informing and engaging members in relation to the Living Here work programme.

 

3.11      Financial and Resource Implications

 

            There are no direct financial implications arising from this report. Costs associated with the implementation and facilitation of the LHB are currently being met within existing council budgets.

 

3.12      Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

 

            There are no Equality or Good Relations Implications and no Rural Needs Assessment required for the recommendations outlined above.”

 

            The Members of the Committee noted:

·        the key areas of work currently being progressed by the Living Here Board (LHB),

·        the alignment and synergies between the Board and the work of the Committee; and

·        the proposed procedure for refreshing the Belfast Agenda and the role of Elected Members in supporting the process.