Agenda item

            (Ms. N. Lane, Good Relations Manager, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that the Council submitted an annual Action Plan to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister in order to draw down funding for the Good Relations work of the Council.  Accordingly, the Good Relations Manager submitted for the Committee’s consideration the undernoted report:

“1     Relevant Background Information

1.1    Members may be aware that the Council submits an annual Action Plan to OFMDFM every year in order to draw down funding for the Good Relations work of the Council. Correspondence has been received from OFMDFM advising that Action Plans must be submitted by 27th February 2015 in order to be scored and assessed.

1.2    The purpose of this report is to seek approval for the content within the draft Action Plan for forwarding to OFMDFM for approval as this Action Plan will be delivered under the new Belfast Council after April 1st 2015. The draft Action Plan is attached as appendix 1.

1.3    The Good Relations Partnership endorsed the Action Plan at its meeting on 9th February2015.

2       Key Issues

2.1    District Councils are identified within the Together; Building a United Community strategy as a key delivery agent. This delivery is through the District Council’s Good Relations Programme which is 75% funded by OFMDFM.

2.2    Action Plans are to be based on an audit of Good Relations issues and need within the Council area. To that end, the Good Relations Unit have updated the audit that was carried out in January and February 2014, in order to incorporate those issues that have been identified in those areas coming into Belfast in April. The updated audit is attached as appendix 2.

2.3    Action Plans must be aligned with the Government strategy Together; Building a United Community, under the 4 key priority areas of:

·        Children and Young People

·        Our Shared Community

·        Our Safe Community

·        Our Cultural Expression

2.4    It should be noted that the above themes are also reflected in the EU Peace IV programme. While the attached Action Plan only covers the 15/16 financial year and Peace IV covers 2014-2020, it is anticipated that information regarding the Good Relations audit and action plan will feed into the process of developing the Peace IV Action Plan thus providing complementarity.

2.5    The headline actions contained within the Plan include the Good Relations and St Patrick’s Grant Aid Schemes, work on Decade of Centenaries, Interfaces, support for the Black Minority Ethnic Communities and development of an approach regarding bonfire management.

2.6    The attached Plan has been drawn up in accordance with the Council’s estimates for 15/16. However, given the experience last year when Council was informed late in the year that the budget had been significantly reduced and that OFMDFM have advised that the initial indications of the Department’s 15/16 budget suggest an opening position that is lower than their opening position last year, the Action Plan may have to be prioritised which may particularly impact on grant aid provision. Members will be aware that in the context of the current funding climate and the new areas being added to the Council, there is likely to be significant increase in requests for funding in 15/16.

3       Resource Implications

3.1    Financial: The Action Plan will be 75% funded by OFMDFM with the remaining 25% included in the Council’s 2015/16 budget. The bid to OFMDFM totals £918,000 and an amount of £688,500 is being requested from OFMDFM – this has been included within the 2015/16 estimates. However, as outlined in point 2.6, last year the Council was only awarded £466,000 as a 75% contribution from OFMDFM and thus the programme had to be reprioritised and reduced accordingly.

         It should also be noted that funding for Sumer Intervention monies form part of a separate bid to OFMDFM and is paid at 100% from the Department.

3.2    Human Resources: Funding to support the delivery of the Action Plan supports a portion of some of the salaries within the Good Relations Unit.

4       Recommendation and decision

4.1    To approve for submission to OFMDFM, the attached Action Plan to be delivered during 2015 – 2016. Members are also requested to note that this Action Plan submission is subject to alteration and amendment during the assessing and scoring process that will be undertaken by OFMDFM. The Council  will be notified of any changes in the final approved Action Plan.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations, subject to the amendment of Action 1 in 4.2 Cultural Diversity Celebrated to include the following: “To support communities with unwanted bonfires and to help transform them into positive community events”.

            The Committee noted that a full copy of the Action Plan was available on the Council’s website.