Agenda item

            The City Solicitor/Director of Legal and Civic Services submitted for the Committees consideration the following report:

 

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Committee on the progress of all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance for which SP&R Committee is responsible for.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       It is recommended that the Committee:

 

·        Note the updates to all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance that SP&R Committee is responsible for and

·        Agree to the closure of Notice of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance 25, 171, 195, 225, 257, 280, 283, 300, 325, 331, 341, 359, 386 and 400 as referenced in Appendix 1 and paragraph 3.4 below.

 

3.0       Main report

 

            Background

 

3.1       At SP&R Committee on 25th October 2019, the following Notice of Motion was agreed:

 

            ‘That this Council notes that other Councils produce a monthly status report in relation to Notices of Motion; and agrees Belfast City Council adopts a similar practice and produces a monthly Notice of Motion Update which will be brought to each full Council Meeting, detailing the following:

 

1.      Date received

2.      Notice of motion title

3.      Submitted by which Councillor

4.      Council meeting date

5.      Committee motion is referred to

6.      Outcome of committee where Notice of Motion will be debated

7.      Month it will be reported back to committee

8.      Other action to be taken.’

 

3.2       Following a review exercise, a new database containing all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance at Committee was created and quarterly reporting to Committee commenced in March 2021.  Appendix 1 is the latest quarterly update showing all active Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance which SP&R Committee is responsible for.

 

            Closure of Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance

 

3.3       At SP&R Committee on 20th November 2020, it was agreed that Notices of Motion could be closed for one of two reasons:

 

·        Notices of Motion which contained an action(s) that has been completed; and

·        Notices of Motion have become Council policy.

 

3.4       SP&R Committee are asked to agree that the following Notice of Motions and Issues Raised in Advance are now closed:

 

            Category 1 Recommended Closure:

 

·        City Cemetery Bi-Lingual Signage (257) -This Issue Raised in Advance called for dual language signage to be installed at the City Cemetery and interim measures to be adopted to facilitate this for the opening. Dual language signage on the visitor centre is now complete and external dual language signs have been installed across the cemetery grounds. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Levelling Up Fund (300) – This Issue Raised in Advance called for a report to be submitted outlining the lessons learned from the unsuccessful bid to secure levelling up funding during Round 2. Since the announcement of Levelling Up Fund Round 3 and the fact that this did not apply to Northern Ireland, Ministers opted to fund one additional LUF culture project in Northern Ireland, drawing from the list of bids submitted in Round 2. The Shore Road Skills Centre was selected at a value of £2.2 million. It is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Request for Artwork to celebrate the ‘Irish Goodbye’ film (325) – This Issue Raised in Advance called for a report be submitted on the provision of artwork in the City to mark the success of this film. Belfast 2024 and Belfast Stories collaborated to deliver this and the artwork is being completed and it will be situated looking over the Belfast Stories site. There will be an official launch on Monday 30th September. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Save West Wellbeing Suicide Awareness (331) – This Notice of Motion called on the Council to explore options to fund the West Wellbeing Suicide Prevention Centre, including using reserve funds, if necessary, to source up to £50,000 so the organisation could continue to deliver its full range of services. A paper was brought to SP&R on 19th April where Committee further discussed and agreed that the request be dealt with via the discretionary payments process. The Discretionary payment process opened at the end of June and closed on 2nd August. West Wellbeing Suicide Awareness did not apply for funding. Therefore it is recommended that this Notice of Motion is now closed.

·        Childcare Provision (341) – This Notice of Motion called on the Council to carry out a review as to how they can support childcare provision in the area, including reviewing whether schemes supported by the Council during school holidays can be expanded. Whilst Council host a number of summer and play schemes, childcare is a very specific function with registration required with the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust and as such, BCC do not provide childcare schemes. In addition, support of £80,000 was agreed by SP&R Committee in February 2024 to support the enhancement of provision of summer schemes for children with additional needs for delivery in summer 2024. Therefore it is recommended that this Notice of Motion is now closed.

·        Request for BCC to act as a Sponsor for a Community Asset Transfer for West Belfast Partnership Board (359) – This Issue Raised in Advance asked for the Council to act as a sponsor for a community asset transfer for the West Belfast Partnership Board. This request has been agreed and LPS notified. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Agricultural Fines for Pollution ( 386) – This Notice of Motion requested that the Council call on the DAERA Minister to reinstate the previous more stringent penalties in relation to repeated negligent breaches to more accurately reflect the environmental harm caused. This Notice of Motion was carried at full Council. Therefore it is recommended that this Notice of Motion is now closed.

 

            Category 2 Recommended Closure:

 

·        Abortion Imagery (25) – This Issue Raised in Advance called on the Council to investigate whether the public display of graphic abortion imagery in the city centre can be regulated lawfully. The Council undertook initial engagement with the Department for Communities and obtained legal advice on the draft byelaws.  On 26 June 2023 the SP&R Committee agreed that the draft bye laws be issued for formal public consultation. Consultation commenced on 27 November 2023 and concluded on 4 March 2024. There was an extremely high level of response to this consultation and officers are currently working on analysing the responses in preparation for drafting a report on the consultation findings. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        10% Pay Increase for Council Workers (171) – This Notice of Motion called on the Council to support the pay claim submitted by Trade Unions, representing all public sector staff, for a substantial increase and to meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and consider practical ways in which the Council can support the campaign. The Pay & Grading proposal for staff on Belfast City Council Terms & Conditions was accepted by the Trade Unions on 20th June 2024 and communicated to staff. Planning for the next phase of the project has commenced. This seeks to harmonise the remaining outstanding Single Status matters where practicable. As the work to address the overall pay and grading structure is completed it is recommended that this Notice of Motion is now closed.

·        Chat Bench and Tackling Loneliness (195) – This Notice of Motion called on the Council to re-purpose two council owned benches as ‘Happy to Chat Benches’. One in the grounds of City Hall and one in the Titanic quarter. Council does not own a bench at Titanic Quarter and will consider the re-purposing of the bench at City Hall at the City Hall Working Group. In addition there are already chatty benches in Marrowbone Park, Ligoniel Park, Glencairn Park, Woodvale Park and Waterworks Park. Therefore it is recommended that this Notice of Motion is now closed.

·        City Centre Built Heritage (225) – This Issue Raised in Advance called on the Council to engage with the owner of a building of architectural and historical significance in the inner North of the City, which was currently empty, with a view to bring it into Council ownership and explore potential uses. A detailed report was presented to SP&R in April of this year on the ‘City Centre Regeneration Scheme’. A further report was presented to the Special SP&R Committee in June 2024 with regards to ‘City Centre Built Heritage’. Officers will continue to work with Elected Members as work advances, including through the City Regeneration Members Working Group. Therefore it is recommended this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Fuel Poverty Hardship Fund (280) – This Issue Raised in Advance called on the Council to allocate £500k from Council reserves to set up an Emergency Fuel Poverty Hardship Fund and write to the Department for Communities requesting match funding for this scheme. The £500k referenced evolved into the £1.1m Fuel Poverty Hardship Fund for 2022/23. Work has continued thanks to additional funding from DFC for 2023/24. An update report will be presented to SP&R. It is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Memorial to Baroness May Blood (283) – This Issue Raised in Advance called on the Council to create a permanent memorial to the late Baroness May Blood. This request was discussed at the City Hall/City Hall Grounds Installations Working Group and it was agreed that this will be considered as part of the City Hall statues project under the Capital Programme. Therefore it is recommended that Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

·        Good Relations Programme (400) – This Issue Raised in Advance called for a review of the progress of Good Relations programmes in Belfast City Council to be completed within 6 months. The Good Relations Action Plan has been reviewed and presented to the Shared City Partnership and SP&R in September 24 and delivery is underway. It was agreed at the October 24 meeting of the Shared City Partnership to review and refresh the Council’s Good Relations Strategy and develop a three year action plan for Good Relations through a co-design process. This work is anticipated for completion in the second quarter of 2025. Therefore it is recommended that this Issue Raised in Advance is now closed.

 

3.5       Financial and Resource Implications

 

            There are no additional financial implications required to implement these recommendations.

 

3.6       Equality or Good Relations Implications/

            Rural Needs Assessment

 

            There are no equality, good relations or rural needs implications contained in this report”

 

            The Committee:

 

·        Noted the updates to all Notices of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance that it was responsible for;

 

·        Agreed to the closure of Notice of Motion and Issues Raised in Advance 171, 195, 225, 257, 280, 283, 300, 325, 331, 359, 386 and 400 as referenced in Appendix 1 to the report;

 

·        Agreed that 25 – Abortion Imagery; and 341 - Childcare Provision remain opened;

 

·        Agreed that, if an update on a motion has not been provided with 12 months of its agreement, a report providing details of progress, if any, be submitted to the appropriate Committee; and

 

·        That an update report on motion 326 – Data Protection be submitted to the January meeting of the Committee.