Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Hanna and McCann.

            The minutes of the meeting of 18th April were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st May, subject to:

(i)   the decision under the heading “Growing the Rates Base – Future Importance of Tall Buildings in Belfast” being amended to provide that the Council will seek to preserve the City’s built heritage, improve the quality of new build to provide iconic and distinctive buildings and that such buildings should be clustered within the City centre in order to promote economic growth; and

(ii)  the amendment of the decision under the heading “Post Office Consultation” to provide that a letter be forwarded to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister expressing the Council’s concern at and seeking the support of the Assembly for its opposition to the proposed Post Office closures.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Relevant Background Information

1.1        As Members will recall, on 31st March, 2008 the Environment Minister, Arlene Foster MLA made a statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly on the final recommendations of the Review of Public Administration (RPA) and the future shape of Local Government within Northern Ireland. In her speech, the Minister stated that the current 26 District Councils would be reduced to 11 and a range of additional functions would transfer to Councils.

2.0         Key Issues

2.1         Members will accept that we are rapidly approaching a critical stage in the RPA process and in defining the future shape and role of local government in Northern Ireland. There are a number of issues which need to be considered in moving the RPA process forward.

2.2         Critical Path

2.2.1      It is important to recognise that the key driver over the next 6 months will be the need to meet the necessary legislative timetable.  The critical path works back from the Local Government Bill which will give affect to the new local government structures.  The key milestones in the RPA process are outlined below:

·         Boundaries Commissioner appointment released - April 2008

·         Boundaries Commissioner appointed - July 2008

·         Establishment of Transitional Committees – July 2008

·         Instructions to legislative Counsel – August 2008

·         Report of Boundaries Commissioner - June 2009

·         Local Government Miscellaneous Bill – Mid 2009

·         Report of District Electoral Area Commissioner - July 2010

·         Local Government Legislative Bill in place - January 2011

·         Local Government Elections - May 2011

2.2.2      DoE has indicated that there is an immediate requirement for policy development in the areas of governance, community planning, central/local government relations, HR and estates as instructions to Legislative Counsel are required by August 2008.

2.3         Delivery Structures

2.3.1      In terms of delivery structures, Members will be aware that it is intended that a two-tier model will be developed consisting of a Strategic Leadership Board and three Policy Development Panels.  It is proposed that the Strategic Leadership Board should fulfil the role of Council providing overall direction to the process and the Policy Development Panels should fulfil the role of Council Committees.  A series of task and finish working groups will be established principally comprising of officers from both central and local government. The working groups would be tasked with undertaking the detailed work programmes and reporting back to the Strategic Leadership Board and Policy Development Panels (PDP).

2.3.2      Members will accept that the current level of capacity within the Local Government sector to engage appropriately within these structures is limited.  Therefore, there is an opportunity for the Council, if deemed appropriate, to nominate relevant officers onto the respective work streams of the PDPs.  Initial officer suggestions are outlined in Appendix 2 and are based on the Council’s engagement in the original RPA Working Groups.

2.3.3     In terms of making political nominations to the PDPs, it is intended that the NILGA nominating officers, through discussions within their respective Party Groups, will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2a

            The Committee was reminded that the Council, in March, 2007, had submitted a formal response to the Northern Ireland Executive’s consultation exercise on the Guiding Principles for the Location of Public Sector Jobs in Northern Ireland.  Having considered the responses to the initial consultation, the Executive had approved the following two-pronged approach to take the issue forward:

·         the establishment of a framework to provide a robust process for decision-making on the location of Review of Public Administration-related bodies; and

·         the undertaking of a time-bound review of policy on the location of public sector jobs in Northern Ireland.

            In November, 2007, the Department of Finance and Personnel had published a document entitled “Framework to Underpin Decisions on the Location of Public Sector Jobs Resulting from the Review of Public Administration”.  A Review Team had been established and requested to put forward a set of practical recommendations for the longer term approach to the location of public sector jobs and an agenda for action.  In order to inform that process, a draft Council response had been prepared for the Committee’s consideration.  A copy of the response is set out hereunder:

“1.0     Background

1.1       The Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the ongoing work in Reviewing the Policy on the Location of Public Sector Jobs in Northern Ireland and supports, in principle, Central Government’s intention to create a coherent and integrated Policy which will inform future decisions on the (re)location of public sector jobs within Northern Ireland. Such key decisions will inevitably have a long-term impact upon the future competitiveness and sustainability of both Belfast and Northern Ireland generally.

1.2       The outworking of the Review of Public Administration process will result in a number of public bodies which presently have headquarter premises situated throughout Northern Ireland will ceasing to exist.  In relation to, for example, the Health sector, the four Health and Social Services Boards to be replaced by a Regional Public Health Authority and the previous 18 Health Trusts reduced to 5 Health and Social Care Trusts.  In education, the four Education and Library authorities will be reduced to a single Education Authority.  In addition, the decision to reduce the current twenty-six Councils to eleven will also result in a further rationalisation of the public sector estate.

1.3       The cumulative effects of potential headquarter closures could have a significant detrimental impact on many market towns and cities across Northern Ireland.  Therefore, it is vital that a robust and transparent policy framework is put in place to ensure that future location decisions are properly informed.

1.4       Whilst the designation of employment locations will inevitably remain a territorial issue of contention between District Council areas, with each seeking to improve employment and economic opportunities for citizens, due consideration must be given to the strategic impact and sustainability of (re)location decisions for Northern Ireland plc.

1.5       Whilst the Council recognises the need to strengthen regional cohesion, all efforts should be taken to ensure that the strategic significance of Belfast, as both  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2b

            The Committee considered the undernoted report which provided details in relation to ongoing discussions with representatives of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association regarding its relationship with the Council:

“1.0        Relevant background information

1.1          Members will be aware of the ongoing discussions over recent months with regard to the Council’s relationship with and engagement within the Northern Ireland Local Government Association and the concerns of Members in terms of the level of capacity within the Association, the subscription contributions sought from the Council, the value for money received and the lack of representation on NILGA’s Executive.

1.2          Members will recall that the Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, at its meeting on 1st September, had agreed to pay the Council’s annual subscription to the Northern Ireland Local Government Association for the period of 2007/2008 to the value of £86,219 – which was based on the previous year’s fee plus the rate of inflation (3%) – pro-rata for the period April till September, 2007, with the remaining payment only being made on the basis of NILGA clearly demonstrating that it had taken adequate actions to address the concerns previously documented by the Council.

1.3          The Council is currently withholding 50% (£42,110) of its annual subscription to NILGA for the period 2007/2008 with payment only being made on the basis of NILGA clearly demonstrating that it has taken adequate actions to address the concerns previously raised by the Council.

1.4          NILGA has recently submitted an invoice for £104,324 for the Council’s subscription for the period 2008/2009.  This equates to 25% of NILGA’s total subscription income and an 11% increase on the Council’s subscription charge from the previous year. 

2.0          Key Issues

2.1          On 3rd April 2008, an all-party deputation consisting of the Chairman of the Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and Party Group Leaders meet with NILGA representatives to discuss the Council’s concerns in more detail.

2.2          Whilst it was generally agreed that NILGA had made some progress in addressing the majority of issues identified by the Council, there were two areas for which further clarification was sought.  Firstly, the Value for Money received by the Council from NILGA and secondly the level of Council representation on NILGA’s Executive.

2.3          Subsequently, NILGA submitted a formal response, dated 17th April 2008, to the Council outlining proposals on how the Council’s representation of NILGA’s Executive could be improved and indicating the value added by NILGA to the Local Government Sector generally and not Belfast specifically.  This paper also includes an analysis undertaken by NILGA of the Pros and Cons of the Council’s continued participation on the Association.

2.4          In order to inform Members consideration of this paper and the proposals contained therein, cross-departmental comments where sought, on the basis of officer engagement on NILGA’s RPA working group, and are summarised below.

2.5          Added Value provided by NILGA

2.5.1       Whilst there was a clear recognition of the need for a strong Local Government Association which is highly attuned, responsive and accountable to its  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2c

            The Committee noted the contents of a report providing an update in respect of the work which had been undertaken by the Northern Ireland Assembly.  The Committee noted also that the new Corporate Plan which was currently being developed would identify a number of issues which would require the Council to seek to have closer liaison with the Departments of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the introduction of a performance management framework for the Council:

“Context

      At a special meeting in June 2008 Members will consider the Council’s corporate plan 2008 – 2011.  A number of key frameworks have been developed to support the implementation and management of the plan.  The Financial Framework and HR Framework have already been presented to Committee, the Information Management and Assurance Frameworks are being presented at this meeting as separate reports.  The purpose of this report is to present the organisation’s Performance Management Framework which is another key process for aligning the organisation to deliver agreed council priorities.

      The remainder of this paper outlines the Performance Framework and highlights the key pieces of work carried out within each element.

Background

      Performance management is one of the fundamental building blocks of any organisation. It matters to Belfast City Council as a whole, because it helps to ensure we are achieving what we set out to do, giving value for money to the ratepayer and making the lives of the people of Belfast better. Basically, it is about politicians making decisions on how to make things better based on information about how things are today; officers acting on these decisions and Members making sure that the desired outcomes are achieved. This is the essence of evidence based scrutiny in terms of Members making sure that their agreed priorities are delivered by officers.

      The Council’s adoption of the Value Creation Map planning process, which has now been rolled out across the organisation, was based on its commitment to place performance management at the heart of planning and to begin to develop capacity and processes to support an overall performance management framework.  The recent planning process led by the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee has built further on this process and has identified emerging priorities and activities for the organisation which need to be translated into specific actions, which are properly resourced, with clear accountability and measurable indicators.  These will then be collated, analysed and reported on at regular intervals to Committee, Chief Officers and Senior Managers to ensure the organisation is on target to meet its objectives.  The information will also be used to assist in future planning, allocate resources and target areas for improvement.  The mechanism for facilitating this is the Council’s Performance Management Framework.

Step 1 – Systematically deciding and Communicating what needs to be done - Developing Objectives and Priorities

      Members and officers have been engaged in the development of objectives and priorities for the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      Strategic information management is central to the Council’s improvement agenda because it:

·         is an essential element of good corporate governance

·         provides Elected Members with the right information to support effective decision making

·         challenges our thinking on how we deliver services and supports innovation in service design

·         sets direction in terms of investment in technology assuring alignment to corporate objectives

·         provides the basis of accountability to Elected Members and the citizens of Belfast for the stewardship and use of IT resources.

      The purposes of this report are:

·         To outline for Elected Members the proposed strategic information management framework for the organisation

·         To agree governance arrangements for the development of strategy and delivery of services

·         To agree to seek external assistance in the development of strategy within agreed budgets.

Key Issues

      Key elements of the Council’s strategic information management framework are outlined below:

      Strategy and Business Alignment

      It is important that the Council invests in the right technology to meet the business objectives of the Council both corporately and at service level. This becomes more important in the context of modernising public services and the drive to deliver efficiency and value for money. It is essential that planning for the use of IT is fully integrated with the financial, capital, human resources and business planning processes of the Council.

      Management and Governance

      The Council needs to direct and control IT resources to achieve the objectives of the Corporate Plan as well as employing good practices for managing the business operation of IT.  Figure 1 outlines the context of the information management strategy in relation to the corporate plan. It is proposed that an information panel of officers is established, chaired by a Chief Officer and reporting to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, to oversee delivery of the strategic plan and the work of the sub groups. Assurance that risks and issues are managed and quality outcomes delivered will fall within the remit of Audit, Governance and Risk service whose staff will fulfil a scrutiny role alongside project teams.

      Technology and Architecture

      A critical element of the framework is the underlying technology infrastructure e.g. communications, and the processes for developing, deploying, enhancing and supporting the business capabilities using technology solutions. It is equally critical that these solutions are measured in terms of their fitness for purpose and return on investment. Reporting on performance of KPIs against targets will form part of the routine reporting on corporate performance to the Strategic Policy and Resources committee.

      Organisation and skills

      An essential element is the capacity of the Council in terms of its IT skills as well as management ability to deliver change effectively and create and promote an environment of productivity, learning and employee satisfaction.

            The Committee was advised that considerable effort had been put into developing and implementing the key elements of an assurance framework within the Council.  Significant progress had been made in terms of:

·         implementing a process whereby managers were required to sign an annual assurance statement;

·         implementing risk management;

·         developing business planning and related performance reporting arrangements;

·         reconstituting the Audit Panel;

·         developing the professionalism of the internal audit function, including the commissioning of an external review of the service and the planned implementation of risk-based audits; and

·         the development of a Code of Governance.

            It was now possible to begin to map the key elements of the Council’s proposed Assurance Framework as set out hereunder:

            The proposed framework showed:

·         the main sources of assurance, such as financial control, performance management, internal and external audit;

·         how the Code of Governance related to those assurances; and

·         the key role played by Audit Panel and the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee in reviewing and approving the Annual Governance Statement and overseeing the assurance framework as a whole.

            As the elements within the proposed assurance framework were developed further, it would be important to provide assurance to the Audit Panel and the Committee that each source of assurance was reliable, that the framework as a whole was adequate and that there were no significant gaps.  Much of the detailed work of Audit, Governance and Risk Services was related to reviewing the various sources of assurance and the key elements of the Council’s internal control framework and the Service would continue to report to the Audit Panel on those areas.  It was planned also to report on the adequacy of the assurance framework as part of the process of completing the 2008/09 Annual Governance Statement.

            The Committee noted the Council’s proposed Assurance Framework.

            Review of Governance Arrangements

            Arising of discussion of the previous item, the Committee agreed that a review be undertaken of new Governance arrangements which had been introduced in June, 2007.  The review would take into consideration issues such as the themes contained in the Corporate Plan, the work of the Audit Panel and the policy and performance management frameworks.

            Review of Remit of Licensing Committee

            The Committee agreed also that a review be undertaken of the remit of the Licensing Committee in relation to its delegated authority and that a report thereon be submitted to its meeting scheduled to be held on 20th June.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to a Code of Governance:

“Relevant Background Information

      At the Audit Panel meeting of 2nd April 2008, the Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services presented a paper entitled ‘Annual Governance Statement 2007/08.’  The paper dealt with the implications for the Council of DoE Circular No LG/04/08.  The Circular provides guidance to local authorities on how to implement the Local Government (Accounts and Audit) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2006.  To recap, one of the key requirements of the Regulations is that the Council must conduct a review each year of the effectiveness of its system of internal control and prepare a ‘governance statement’ to this effect in accordance with ‘proper practices.’  This statement will be signed off as part of the annual accounts.  The Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services submitted a separate report to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee meeting of 18th April 2008 drawing attention to the reporting and ‘sign-off’ arrangements. 

      The DoE Circular refers councils to the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government’ as guidance containing ‘proper practices’ with regard to an effective system of internal control / governance.  The Framework is recommended as best practice for developing and maintaining a local code of governance and for discharging accountability for the proper conduct of public business, through the publication of an annual governance statement that will make the adopted practice open and explicit.

      The purpose of this report is to apprise members as to:

1.      The content of the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government’

2.      The specific actions that the Council has taken/ proposes to take to meet the requirements of the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework, in particular, the adoption of a local Code of Governance.  Members are asked to approve this Code.

Key Issues

1.   CIPFA / SOLACE Framework ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government’

      Governance, in the context of local government, is about how a council ensures that it is doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people, in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner.  It comprises the systems and processes, culture and values, by which the Council is directed and controlled and through which it accounts to, engages with and, where appropriate, leads its community.

      The CIPFA / SOLACE `Good Governance in Local Government: A Framework’ was published in July 2007 and represents best practice for developing and maintaining a local code of governance and making adopted practice open and explicit.  It sets out 6 principles of good governance:

1.      Focusing on the purpose of the authority and on outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area.

2.      Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles.

3.      Promoting values for the authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour.

4.      Taking informed transparent decisions which are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3d

            The Committee was reminded that the annual Somme Ceremony took place at the Cenotaph in the grounds of the City Hall in July of each year.  A special meeting of the Council preceded the Ceremony and it had been customary for the City Hall to be used as a mustering point for all those involved in the formal proceedings.  Although the City Hall would be closed for the Ceremony, access was permitted to the Garden of Remembrance.  The closure of the City Hall would, however, necessitate arrangements being made to provide an alternate venue which would act as a mustering point for those involved and prove suitable also for the provision of the required level of hospitality.

            Following consideration of potential venues within the vicinity of the Cenotaph, the Assembly Buildings at Church House, Fisherwick Place, had proved to be the most suitable.  There would be no cost for the use of the buildings, it contained individual function rooms which would be appropriate to the needs of the participants, it had been used previously as a mustering point for similar processions in the City centre and car parking was available in the grounds of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution, situated directly across the road from Church House.

            The route would be slightly longer than the normal one from the Council Chamber in the City Hall to the Cenotaph but not significantly so and provided an opportunity for the Associations taking part, the Band and Guard to process the short distance through the City.

            Discussions had taken place with representatives of the Royal British Legion who had advised that all those participating in the Ceremony would be able-bodied and should not experience difficulty in making the short journey.  Following the Ceremony, the procession would return to Church House where tea/coffee and light refreshments would be provided.  The proposal met with the approval of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which had confirmed that there would be no difficulty associated with implementing the appropriate traffic and security measures.  Church House would be suitable also in that it could accommodate the holding of the Special Meeting of the Council which preceded the Somme Ceremony, thus removing the need to hold a meeting in the current Civic Headquarters at Adelaide Exchange and thereafter merging the Councillors’ group with the other participants and moving to the City Hall.

            The Committee approved the use of the Assembly Buildings, Church House, to act as a venue for the holding of the Special Meeting of the Council prior to the Somme Ceremony on 1st July, 2008 and to be used to provide tea/coffee and light refreshments following the formal proceedings.

            The Committee was advised that the undernoted requests for the provision of hospitality had been received:

            The Committee agreed to defer consideration of a report seeking authority to invite tenders for the replacement of the Lord Mayor’s vehicle to enable a further report providing details on the cost efficiency of renewing the vehicle after three years, five years and ten years to be submitted to the meeting scheduled to be held on 20th June.

            The Committee was advised that the Council had submitted an entry for the Business in the Community – Women in Local Councils Award and had reached the final shortlist.  A formal presentation had been made to a judging panel on 16th May and that panel would determine the winner on the basis of the written submission and a presentation.  In addition, the Women in Non-Traditional Sectors (WINS) project had submitted an entry in the Diversity category and a presentation had been made also as part of a final selection stage for that award.  The winners of both awards would be announced at a Gala Awards Ceremony on 29th May in the Belfast Waterfront Hall.

            In recognition of the Council being shortlisted for those prestigious awards, it was recommended that the Council be represented at the awards ceremony by the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman (or their nominees), a representative of each of the other Party Groupings on the Council, the Chief Executive (or his nominee) and two officers from each of the projects which had been shortlisted for the awards.  The cost of attending would be £885 plus VAT.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            In considering the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Panel held on 13th May, the Committee’s attention was drawn to the recommendations of the Panel in relation to the following issues:

            Freedom of Information Requests regarding

            Gifts and Hospitality Registers

            A Member referred to the decision under the heading “Freedom of Information Requests regarding Gifts and Hospitality Registers” whereby the Audit Panel had agreed in principle that a Voluntary Register for Members be established to record offers of gifts and hospitality which were either accepted or declined, subject to the matter being discussed further by the various Party Groupings represented on the Council.  He requested that the Committee amend the minute to provide that a Compulsory Register for Members be established.

            The Committee agreed to accede to the request.

            Analysis of Travel

            A Member referred to the minute under the heading “Analysis of Travel” and requested that the full Audit Report on the Analysis of Staff Travel be included on the agenda for the meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to be held on 20th June.

            The Committee agreed to this course of action.

            Adoption of Minutes

            Subject to the foregoing amendments, the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Panel of 13th May were thereupon approved and adopted.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the Financial Planning Cycle:

“Relevant Background Information

      Members will recall that the Council’s strategic financial management framework was presented to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 14 March 2008. As can be seen from figure one below, a key element of this framework is financial planning.

      The key outputs of the financial planning processes in the Council are the Medium Term Financial Plan and the Annual Budget which concludes with the setting of the rate. These financial plans are simply a monetary expression of what the Council wants to deliver and therefore they need to reflect our key priorities and objectives.  In June 2008 Members will agree a new corporate plan. One of the key delivery determinants of this plan will be the Council’s ability to align money to the agreed priorities within the context of an agreed district rate. The most successful organisations have achieved this by ensuring that their business planning and financial planning are very closely aligned. The purpose of this report is to propose a revised planning cycle for the organisation which starts to merge the financial and business planning cycles.

Key Issues

      The following paragraphs outline chronologically the key elements of a revised planning cycle.

      June 2008

      Members will be requested to agree:

·         Corporate Plan 2008 – 2011

·         Capital Programme 2008/09

      Members will receive the following:

·         An assessment of the financial performance and standing of the council for 2007/08.

·         Notification of the district rates finalisation figure for 2007/08.

·         An assessment of key financial external pressures such as inflation.

·         Draft efficiency programme

      Members will also be requested to provide a range of indicative acceptable rate levels for 2009/10. This information will be needed so that a comparison can be made of draft budgets and plans against affordability.

      September / October 2008

      Members will receive the following:

·         Costed options for taking forward corporate priorities for 2009/10

·         Draft core budgets for delivering business as usual activities

·         A first indication of the level of income the rates will yield in 2009/10

·         An assessment of mid year financial position for 2008/09

      October / November 2008

      Members will receive the following:

·         A comparison of proposed summary budgets for corporate priorities and business as usual against affordability levels and rate yield indication.

·         An analysis of funding gaps and trade-off options

·         A second indication of the level of income the rates will yield in 2009/10

      Members will be requested to:

·         Provide direction on trade off between budget and priorities

      November / December

      Members will receive the following:

·         Notification of the level of income the rates will yield in 2009/10

·         An assessment of the impact of rate yield on plans and budgets

·         Revised summary budgets aligned to plans  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5b

            The Committee was advised that in November, 2007 a new tender had been advertised for the provision of Travel Services.  In response to that advertisement, seven companies had submitted tenders.  The estimated value of the contract was £200,000 per annum.  The Improvement Manager reported that an extensive evaluation of tenders had been undertaken.  However, because of the complex nature of the travel industry, the varying pricing mechanisms which contractors had presented in their tender submissions and the difficulty in making a like-for-like comparison had meant that the Procurement Unit had been unable to make a recommendation.  In addition, it had been become apparent, in view of the changes within the travel industry as well the Council’s own emphasis towards greater efficiency, that the tender should not be awarded at this stage but rather that further research should be carried out into the most cost-effective approach to contracting the Council’s travel arrangements.  The Audit Panel had also been conducting an investigation into Council travel which could result in further recommendations which might affect any further travel contracts.

            Accordingly, it was recommended that the Committee approve the extension of the existing contract with Neill Menary for a period of six months, with the option to extend on a monthly basis thereafter as required, to enable further research to be undertaken.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation and agreed that the research include a value-for-money exercise to ascertain whether the work could be undertaken in-house by Council staff.

            (Mrs. J. Minn, Acting Head of Human Resources, attended in connection with these items.)

            The Committee was reminded that a robust and corporate approach to the consistent management of absence had been put in place and resources had been prioritised to ensure that every effort was made to minimise absence.  This had included the development and negotiated agreement of a new Attendance policy, the identification and monitoring of “hot spots”, weekly identification and monitoring of priority cases across the Council, monthly central monitoring of Departmental compliance with absence procedures, the implementation of a case review mechanism and the delivery of a training programme on effective absence management.  This had provided a good example of how a central support service could work in conjunction with Departments to deliver a corporate priority.  The Acting Head of Human Resources reported that the work had resulted in the reduction in sickness absence of almost two days during the past two years as shown below:

            The Acting Head of Human Resources then made the following points:

·         at the end of the financial year 2007/08 the average number of days of sickness absence per full-time employee had been 13.91 days;

·         that had been the lowest figure for absence which the Council had had since 1999/00;

·         the Council had reduced its absence by 2,708 days, or 7.75 % for the year;

·         over the two-year period the figure had reduced by nearly two average days per person (1.84 days or 11.6%);

·         35% of staff had no absence during 2007/08;

·         65% of staff had less than the Confederation of British Industry norm for the private sector, that is, six days;

·         7.5% of staff had been absent from work on a long-term basis (more than twenty consecutive working days);

·         long-term sickness had accounted for nearly 70% of the Council’s sickness absence;

·         Departmental sizes had a significant impact on the overall sickness figures;

·         three Departments had met their annual absence targets – those Departments which had not achieved their targets had either reduced or maintained their 2006/07 figure; and

·         all Departments would develop action plans to improve absence rates to achieve their targets as part of the Departmental Planning Process and it would be a performance requirement for all senior managers to develop and implement those action plans in accordance with Council policy.

            The Acting Head of Human Resources explained that best practice had indicated that longer term targets for the reduction of absence rates should be set by organisations.  Also, the introduction of the new Attendance Policy would take time to imbed.  It was therefore proposed that the Council’s target should be to reduce its average absence rate to 12 days by 2011.  That was a reduction of a further two days and would represent a 14% reduction in the period from 2008/09 to 2010/11.  In order to assist the Council in achieving the target, absence management would continue to be a key priority within the Council’s Human Resources framework.  Work was continuing in order to maintain and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Purpose of report:

      The purpose of this report is to:

·         provide an update on the council’s community outreach activities;

·         provide information in respect of council funding to the Citywide Employability Consortium (CEC) to develop pre?employment training programmes for the long-term unemployed.

Relevant background information:

      Committee agreed in February to engage with the Citywide Employability Consortium to develop pre-employment training programmes for the long-term unemployed. 

      The decision as to whether or not the council should part fund this initiative (a proposed contribution of £10,000 per annum, for three years from the corporate workforce development budget) was however deferred.

      Members requested a further report on the current council funding to the CEC and an update on the council’s community outreach activities.

Key Issues:

      Update on community outreach activities:

·         The council’s community outreach programme was launched in 1998 to promote Belfast City Council as an attractive, equal opportunities employer with wide and varied job opportunities. 

·         We operate an extensive work experience placement scheme which deals with, on average each year, 200 unpaid work experience placement opportunities for students from schools and further education / university establishments and 40 unpaid disability work experience placements from a range of disability organisations.

·         We attend jobs and careers fairs; conduct ‘site visits’ to promote the council as an attractive employer; provide training and development opportunities for young people on interview awareness skills using mock interview sessions; and deliver presentations to students, teachers and representatives from other organisations e.g. ethnic minority and disability groups to advise them of job opportunities and the council’s recruitment and selection procedures.

·         The programme has created eight basic grade posts specifically ‘ring-fenced’ to disabled applicants; operates a ‘guaranteed interview’ scheme for people with disabilities; has a confidential care-line for applicants whose first language isn’t English; has skilled up to 50 front-line council officers on sign language techniques; and issues details of all council vacancies to under?represented groups within the ethnic minority and disabled communities.

·         The programme holds the NIACRO award for the fair recruitment of people with criminal convictions; has engaged in an extensive partnership project to encourage women into non-traditional roles; and has attained the ‘Gold’ Opportunity Now benchmarking award for gender equality.   More recently, it has agreed to engage with the CEC to develop pre-employment training programmes for the long-term unemployed.

      Council funding to the CEC to develop pre-employment training programme for the long term unemployed:

·         The council currently co-finances, along with the European Social Fund (ESF), projects which are currently run by two of the organisations which comprise the CEC. These two organisations, LEAP (North Belfast) and Stepping Stones (East Belfast), are financed as local employment initiatives to bring together the supply and demand ends of the labour market for private sector development:

·         LEAP (North Belfast) receives £48,864 per annum from the council to assist with a project to enhance employer and client engagement in North Belfast with a view to increasing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6b

            It was reported that, in accordance with Standing Order 55 and the authority delegated to him, the Director of Corporate Services had authorised the appointment of a number of members of staff who were related to existing officers of the Council.

            The Committee noted the appointments.

            The Committee was advised that the Parks and Leisure Committee, at its meeting on 13th March, had agreed to the appropriation of approximately 0.84 acres of land at Shore Road Playing Fields to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to be managed as part of the Corporate Land Bank.  The land was currently let on Licence to the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle and was used as an overflow car parking area.  The current financial receipt from the Licence was £10,000 per annum.  The site would now be managed by the Estates Management Unit, with an appropriate budgetary allocation to facilitate, among other things, any physical works to secure the site and the marketing of the site as required.  A further report on the longer term utilisation of the site would be submitted to the Committee in due course.

Noted.

            The Committee was advised that the Parks and Leisure Committee, at its meeting on 14th February, had acceded to a request to transfer an additional piece of land within the McCrory Park complex to facilitate landscaping and run-off areas as part of the development of a multi-user games and play area.  At its meeting on 15th May, that Committee had been informed that the costs of the additional work would be required to be incorporated into the existing contract as a variation.  Consequently, the contract sum would be increased from £293,000 to £380,029.60, which represented an increase of £87,029.60, an amount which would be funded fully by the Belfast Regeneration Office.  The Committee had agreed to the variation of the contract sum, subject to the matter being reported to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, which was a requirement under the Council’s financial regulations since the variation was more than 10% to the approved capital budget.

            The Committee approved the variation of the contract sum.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      At its meeting on 14th February 2008 the Parks and Leisure Committee agreed to disposal of an area of land at Dundonald Cemetery to the Hanwood Trust and agreed in principle to the preparation of a legal agreement which would enable early commencement of work at the site prior to completion of a formal land transfer.  The Committee also noted and supported the Hanwood Trust’s requested to transfer the land at a notional cost subject to compliance with the Council’s obligations to obtain the approval of the Department of the Environment to any disposal at less than best price (in accordance with Section 96 of the Local Government Act 1972).  Approval was also subject to notification to the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

      The land in question lies on the opposite side of the former Comber Railway line from the main portion of Dundonald Cemetery and lies within Castlereagh Borough Council local government area. The Belfast City Council land is required as part of an area required for development of a third generation pitch and associated run-off area.  In the short term the land was required to accommodate soil shifting from other parts of the development taking place in the immediate vicinity.

      The report to the Parks and Leisure Committee gave brief information on the proposed development which is being carried forward by the Hanwood Trust on behalf of Castlereagh Borough Council and information on the potential use of the developed facilities by residents from Belfast City Council area.

Key Issues

      There are three main issues and several sub-ordinate issues associated with these:

1.   The views of Committee are sought in relation to retrospective approval to the grant of a temporary Licence Agreement to the Hanwood Trust to allow storage of soil on approximately 0.43 acres of Belfast City Council lands.  This land forms part of the lands referred to at ‘2’ below.

-     The terms of this Licence to provide protection to the Council particularly in relation to provision of suitable indemnities and insurances plus compliance with all statutory requirements in relation to control of pollution and waste disposal.

-     Although Hanwood Trust are understood to have made considerable savings from use of the Council lands it has been requested by the Hanwood Trust, in view of the nature of the scheme, that the Licence should be granted at no financial cost to Hanwood Trust.

2.   The views of Committee are sought in relation to disposal of the area of land.

-     Disposal is proposed by way of a 125 year lease (or such longer period as considered appropriate) to be prepared by the Director of Legal Services and subject to conditions which include protecting the Council’s interests in relation to any future land contamination issues.

-     Hanwood Trust have requested the land for nil consideration.  In accordance with Section 96 of the Local Government Act 1972 the approval of the Department of the Environment is likely to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7c

            (Mr. G. Wright, Head of Facilities Management, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 18th April, it had deferred consideration of a report in relation to the City Hall Grounds Tours Pilot Scheme to enable further information to be provided in relation to the appropriateness of the proposal – including the imposition of charges – whether such a scheme could be suitability managed and indeed its whole viability, the proposed script, staffing issues and the impact on private tour operators.

            The Head of Facilities Management reported that a revised proposal had now been developed in light of the issues which had been raised by the Members.  He pointed out that the original proposal had been based on using dedicated staff to provide a bespoke City Hall grounds tour product twice per day, five days per week.  The revised proposal would take a different approach in so far as it would build on an existing relationship between the Council’s Development Department, the Belfast Visitor and Convention Centre and the blue-badge guides who delivered the existing Historic Belfast walking tour of the City. 

            It was now proposed that the existing Historic Belfast tour would be enhanced by including the script which had been prepared for the City Hall grounds and extending the tour by approximately thirty minutes in order to make the City Hall the centrepiece.  The tour operated currently at 2.00 p.m. each Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and was booked through the Belfast Visitor and Convention Centre at a cost of £6 per person, with no concessionary rates applied.  The tours would be available from June till September, 2008 only and would be reviewed thereafter. 

            The Head of Facilities Management pointed out that the net cost of the Historic Belfast tour was already being met by the Tourism Development Unit and it would therefore only be the marginal cost of the blue-badge guides which would require to be funded by the Facilities Unit.  Following discussions with the blue-badge guides, the additional cost had been estimated to be £1,870 in total, in contrast to the £8,500 costs of the original proposal.  That amount could be funded from existing budgets and would not therefore be required to be passed onto tourists in increased tour prices.  There might also be some modest additional costs to amend existing publicity material in order to promote the enhanced tour.

            Accordingly, he recommended that the Committee approve the enhancement of the existing Historic Belfast tour by incorporating the City Hall Grounds script and points of interest and that the existing blue-badge guides be used to provide the tours as outlined for the period 1st June till 30th September, 2008, following which the matter would be reviewed.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            (Mrs. H. Francey, Good Relations Manager, attended in connection with these items.)

            The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting of the Good Relations Steering Panel held on 4th April.

            Interfaces/Peace Walls

            In response to a Member’s question, the Chairman of the Good Relations Steering Panel (Councillor Long) informed the Committee that, although work on the initial data collection phase of the interfaces/peace walls project involved only statutory agencies, the Working Group which had been established for this purpose had already agreed that full consultation with local community groups, residents and community representatives living close to peace lines and interfaces would be essential in order to ensure the effectiveness of the project.

Noted.

            The Committee was reminded that several years previously Sir Kenneth Bloomfield, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Book of Honour, had proposed that each District Council in Northern Ireland should publish a book which recorded the names of those people from their Council area who had died in the Great War of 1914?1918.  In August, 2004 the former Policy and Resources Committee had considered a report outlining that suggestion.  The Committee had supported the proposal in principle but queried whether additional external funding could be secured for such a project.

            In 2005, Sir Kenneth had informed the Council that the Ad Hoc Committee had been successful in obtaining a grant of £20,000 from the Ulster Garden Village Trust and had engaged Mr Derek Smyth, a retired history teacher, to undertake the necessary research and prepare a Book of Honour for Belfast, using the City Council district as a pilot area.  Mr Smyth had made a presentation to the former Commemorations Working Group in February, 2006, referring to the books which had already been produced by Donegal and Newry and Mourne and outlining the various phases of his research.  The Council had included an article on the project in the winter 2006 edition of the City Matters magazine in order to seek the public’s assistance in the compilation of the list of people from Belfast who had given their lives during the Great War.

            It was pointed out that the Belfast Book of Honour was almost complete and it was expected to be published in November, which would mark the 90th Anniversary of the ending of the First World War.  The Ad Hoc Committee had had discussions with representatives of the Belfast Telegraph, the Irish News and the News Letter, who were keen to be involved with the project.  Each newspaper would be prepared to contribute £5,000 towards the costs of producing the Book of Honour, on the understanding that the Council provided a sum of £5,000, which it was anticipated would cover the likely publication costs. The Ad Hoc Committee was planning to establish itself as a Company Limited by Guarantee and to pursue charitable status in order to make the best possible use of any profits which might be generated by the sale of the book.

            The Good Relations Manger indicated that the book was an excellent example of a cross-community historical initiative which illustrated Belfast’s shared history and which was funded by a combination of public and private finance.  In addition, the proposal was in keeping with the aims of the Council’s Good Relations Strategy. Accordingly, the Good Relations Steering Panel, at its meeting on 9th May, had agreed to request the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee to provide funding in the sum of £5,000 towards the cost of the publication of the Belfast Book of Honour and to approve the provision of small scale hospitality at its launch.

            The Committee approved the funding and the provision of hospitality.

            (Ms. R. Crozier, Head of ISB, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee noted a report which provided an update on performance and the resilience of the Council’s IT infrastructure.  A copy of the report is set out hereunder:

“Relevant Background Information

      At April’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee Elected Members raised the issue of performance and resilience of the Council’s internet service. This was raised in the context of the Council’s website development and the proposed addition of on-line transactions enabling the public to use Council services via the internet.

      In the past two years ISB has worked with the Council’s Audit, Governance and Risk services and undergone a series of risk assessments for business continuity and information security.  Recommendations from these assessments have been incorporated into the business plan of the service and delivery monitored through periodic reviews of the risk registers.

      This report outlines the current infrastructure in place and developments to assure performance. Access to internet is dealt with specifically at point 3 but it is important to note that all components of the infrastructure are important and each has an impact on the other.

Key Issues

      The key issues in providing infrastructure services are:

1.   Availability and accuracy of information

2.   Internal network connectivity

3.   External connectivity and information security.

      As demand for internet services increases and the Council changes ways of working and ways of delivering services, it is critical that we have a robust infrastructure to support these needs.

      The following points summarise the position in relation to infrastructure services.

      1. Information Availability

      The Council’s PCs and servers are connected to the council’s network enabling access to documents, email and information held on databases.

Fig.1

      The above diagram show servers that hold information connected to the council network thus allowing access from PCs connected to the same council network. Access to the network is controlled by username and password.

      Servers storing data

      Most servers are hosted at ISB’s site in Gloucester St, but servers that hold critical information to users such as documents and email are duplicated at the council’s Duncrue Complex site. ISB commissioned a 2^nd server room at Duncrue in 2007 and both rooms have their own emergency power supply, are secure, and  have air-conditioning and fire protection systems. All data held on those servers in ISB deemed critical is automatically duplicated in real time at the 2^nd site in Duncrue. These servers currently include those that store data for the following services:

Documents in secure file shares,

Email

      There is currently an active project implementing data duplication for Financial systems.

      All of the data on all servers is backed up every night onto magnetic tape, held temporarily at ISB in a fire-proof cabinet, and periodically moved to an off-site location.

      Servers delivering data

      Modern technology and industry best practice requires the separation of servers that store data, called data servers and servers that actually deliver that data to users, called application servers.

      At present, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9a