Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Crozier and Rodway.

            The minutes of the meetings of 4th, 8th and 23rd September 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 October, subject to:

(i)       the amendment of the minute of the meeting of 18th September under the heading “Minutes of Memorabilia Working Group – Memorabilia in the City Hall” to provide that the matter be not referred back to the Memorabilia Working Group but rather that the summary of recommendations submitted to the Committee be approved and adopted; and

(ii)      the omission of the minute of the meeting of 18th September under the heading “Peace III Priority 2.1 Creating Shared Public Spaces” which, at the request of Councillor McCann, had been taken back to the Committee for further consideration.

(To consider further the minute of the meeting of 18^th September which, at the request of Councillor McCann, was taken back to the Committee for further consideration by the Council at its meeting on 1^st October.)

            The Committee considered further the minute of the meeting of 18th September under the heading Peace III Priority 2.1 Creating Shared Public Spaces.  A copy of the minute in that regard is set out hereunder:

   “Peace III Priority 2.1

Creating Shared Public Spaces

      The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the funding of projects under Priority 2.1 of the Peace III Programme:

‘Relevant Background Information

      Members will be aware that Belfast City Council has been participating in the Peace III programme through the Good Relations and EU unit officers.  The Good Relations unit has managed the process to date to develop and secured funding under priority 1.1 of the Peace III programme to provide a multi annual programme of Peace initiatives 2008-2011. 

      The purpose of this report is to provide Members with an update regarding priority 2.1 of the Peace III programme and seek agreement with regard to current opportunities.

      The framework of the Peace III programme 2007-2013 is represented as follows;

      Members may be aware that in August 2007, the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) opened a call under the Creating Shared Public Spaces Call of the Peace III programme.  From the period August to October 2007 the European unit coordinated a process of identifying and submitting eight council proposals under this call.  Following feedback from SEUPB the council later refined this submission and in December 2007 agreed to the re-submission of the North ForeshoreBridge proposal as well as the Skatepark project.

      Members will be aware that since this time, the Skatepark project consequently succeeded in securing £375,000 and is underway and the North ForeshoreBridge project was rejected.

Current Situation

      In line with the Good Relations Plan and the objective of ‘BuildingShared City Spaces’ in the current Peace Plan, the 2.1 capital bids present real opportunities to realise this ambition.  The Good Relations partnership recognises that high quality shared public spaces will be an economic benefit to the city, in terms of reputation, city attractiveness, reducing the costs of duplication and increased sharing across a range of facilities.

      It is important the economic and social value of sharing is more explicitly promoted and ‘designed in’ when planning, delivering and managing shared spaces in the city.  The SEUPB will rigorously test the ‘shared’ aspect of any bid.  Based on initial discussions and relevant research, the Good Relations Partnership recently recommended to Council that a working definition for shared space is:

·         Welcoming – where people fee secure to take part in unfamiliar interactions, and increase an overall sense of shared experience and community.

·         Accessible – well-connected in terms of transport and pedestrian links within a network of similar spaces across  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1c

            The Committee was reminded that on 1st July Mr. Edwin Poots, MLA, had been appointed as Minister for the Environment and had been given responsibility for taking forward the Local Government Reform Programme aspect of the Review of Public Administration upon taking up his new post, Minister Poots had stated that he was fully aware that the Local Government Reform Programme was now moving into the critical implementation phase and had acknowledged the central role of Transition Committees in driving the process forward.  He had given a commitment to engage with all 11 Transition Committees and had written to the Chief Executive with a request to meet with the Council’s Transition Committee at its meeting scheduled to be held on 6th November at 12.30 p.m. in order to discuss the Review of Public Administration Programme.

            The Chief Executive explained that the Environment Minister intended to provide an update on the overall Review of Public Administration Programme and to provide an opportunity for questions to be raised by the Members.  Given the importance of such a Ministerial meeting, it was recommended that the Committee meeting on 6th November be a single agenda item meeting around the Review of Public Administration with a pre-meeting of the Committee scheduled for 11.30 a.m. to discuss relevant Review of Public Administration?related issues.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0    Relevant Background Information

1.1    Members will be aware that an RPA Transfer of Functions (ToF) Working Group was established to examine the package of functions proposed to transfer from central to local government and provide greater clarity in terms of the scope of the transferring functions; the resources (or otherwise) attached to the functions; and to identify those issues which needed to be addressed or required further clarification prior to transfer. The ToF Working Group was chaired by the Chief Executive of Belfast City Council, with senior officials from both central and local government.

1.4    As part of the discussions of the ToF Working Group consideration was given to potential proposals in regard to marginal changes to the transferring functions where this was justified on a service delivery basis and taking into account the principles of strong local government; the role of local government in supporting place shaping; the need for single point accountability at the local level; ensuring improved customer centric services; and value for money considerations.

1.5    The work of the ToF Working Group culminated in a series of recommendations on proposed marginal changes being put forward for consideration by the Environment Minister and Ministers represented on the Local Government Reform Executive Sub-Committee.

2.0    Key Issues

2.1    The Executive Sub-Committee met on 15th September to discuss the recommendations put forward by the ToF Working Group and had agreed to the final suite of functions to transfer from central to local government as part of the RPA reform process.

2.2    Correspondence issued by the Environment Minister, Edwin Poots to the President of NILGA, Councillor John Mathews, setting out a brief summary of what had been agreed at the Executive Sub-Committee on 15^th September in regards to the transfer of functions and the associated issues around transfer of staff, securing funding and taking forward community planning has been circulated. 

2.3    Transfer of Functions

         In terms of the transfer of functions to local government, the Environment Minister has confirmed that:

·         Minister Connor Murphy has accepted local government’s proposal that the following public realm functions should transfer:-pedestrian permits, alley gating, permitting local events on roads, off street car parking and on street car parking enforcement.   

·         Minister Connor Murphy has confirmed also that he is content for his Department to retain the following functions which local government advocated should not transfer:- maintenance of amenity areas, salting of footways, grass cutting/weed spraying, gully emptying and street lighting)

·         Minister Margaret Ritchie has accepted the local government proposal that ‘Living Over the Shop’ grant scheme should transfer; and

·         Minister Margaret Ritchie has not accepted the sector’s recommendations that Travellers’ Transit Sites function should remain with the NIHE and will transfer to local government.

Further detail on the final decisions in regard to the transfer of functions is set out at Appendix 1.

2.4    It has been agreed that the ToF Working Group would to be reconstituted and chaired by the Chief Executive.  It will be tasked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2b

            (Mrs. J. Minne, Head of Human Resources, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      This report: outlines the main provisions of the Vacancy Control Procedures which have been agreed by the Local Government Reform Joint Forum (LGRJF) and issued under the authority of the Local Government Staff Commission (LGSC) under Section 40(4) (f) of the Local Government Act (NI) 1972. 

      The procedure has been issued by the LGSC as a statutory recommendation for adoption by councils from 1st October 2009 and a copy has been circulated to the Members.

      All 26 councils (including Environmental Health and Building Control Group Committees), arc21 and SWaMP 2008 will implement the Vacancy Control System uniformly across local government, on a phased basis, with effect from 1st October 2009

Key Issues

1.      The scheme seeks to safeguard the employment of existing council staff and mitigate against possible redundancies within local government sector and the RPA ‘at risk groups’.

2.      Essentially, the scheme means that where a Council has a vacancy it must seek to fill this from an appropriate ‘at risk’ group in the first instance.

3.      Councils must consider trawling vacancies to the appropriate at risk’ pools in the following order

a.    ‘At risk’ staff in the individual council

b.   ‘At risk’ staff in the amalgamated council cluster

c.    ‘At risk’ staff across the 26 councils

d.   ‘At risk’ staff across all the sectors in the RPA Affected Group.

4.      The scheme is being phased in and from 01 October 2009 will apply to the posts of:

·         Chief Executive

·         Directors

·         Heads of Service

·         PAs to the above

·         Member Services

5.      This means that if councils have a vacancy in any of the above areas they must seek to fill it from either their own council; the cluster; the 26 councils; or the RPA affected Group. This will therefore affect the filling of the Director of Property and Projects, the Director of Parks and Leisure, the Director of Health and Environmental Services; any vacancies that are heads of service or PA posts and any posts within the Member Services Section.

6.      Members should note that the practical implications of implementing this scheme within Belfast City Council are the subject of ongoing consideration and discussion with the Local Government Staff Commission (as Belfast will not have the same degree of risk as a direct result of RPA as the other councils). A report will be brought to committee in the very near future on the filling of these posts and the consequences for BCC following receipt of advice from the Local Government Staff Commission.

7.      It should also be noted that if BCC has to trawl affected posts in the first instance to an ‘at risk’ pool this will still be the subject of a merit based robust selection process in accordance with the LGSC Code on Recruitment and Selection. Should no candidate be deemed suitable to fill the vacancy as a result of the trawl  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2c

            The Director of Improvement reminded the Committee that ongoing discussions had taken place over the previous years in regards to the strengthening of the relationship between the Council and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association.  The necessity for this had been reinforced further due to the fact that the Association was viewed as the voice of Local Government within the Review of Public Administration process.  The Director pointed out that Members would accept that the future role and remit of the Association, post-Review of Public Administration, was somewhat uncertain at this stage.  The Council had documented previously the need for a remodelled Local Government Association which was highly attuned, responsive and accountable to its constituent Councils and which provided a coherent single voice for the Local Government Sector within Northern Ireland.

            Within the context of a smaller number of constituent Councils post 2011, there was a real opportunity to develop a more focused and effective role for the Association as a representative voice of Local Government.  The Association themselves had indicated that it would be subject to review in the lead up to the new Local Government structures to be put in place in 2011.

            The Committee was advised that the Association had submitted a request for a meeting between its Office Bearers and a delegation from the Council to take place on 16th November to discuss the Review of Public Administration and the ongoing work of the Association, with a view to ensuring that the Association could respond to the needs of the Council and add value to the overall Review of Public Administration process.

            Accordingly, it was recommended that a Cross-Party delegation consisting of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council’s Transition Committee and the Party Group Leaders (or their nominees) meet with the Association’s Office Bearers.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            The Committee was advised that the National Association of Councillors was holding its Annual Conference in Glasgow from Friday, 13th until Sunday, 15th November.  The theme of this year’s Conference was “Local Government – The Recession and Beyond”.  The Conference would consider the vast array of challenges which Local Government had faced and continued to face as a result of the current economic climate.  Consideration would be given also to the key role which Local Government had to play to ensure that local people, communities and businesses were in a position to benefit when the economy began to recover.

            The Council had been represented at the Conference in previous years and those Members who had attended had found that the event had provided a valuable opportunity to increase their awareness of Best Practice in Local Government and to discuss with other Councils issues of mutual interest and concern.  The estimated cost of attendance at the Conference was £580 per delegate.

            The Committee agreed to authorise the attendance at the National Association of Councillors Annual Conference of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman, the Council’s representatives on the National Association of Councillors (Northern Ireland Region), the Head of Committee and Members’ Services (or their nominees) and a representative of each of the Party Groupings on the Council not represented by the aforementioned Members.

            The Committee was advised that the United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, would be paying a visit to Belfast on Monday, 12th October.  Mrs. Clinton had fond memories of her previous visits to the City and had expressed a desire to once again visit the City Hall.  Detailed arrangements for the visit were ongoing.  However, it was felt that it might be appropriate, given the re-opening of the City Hall after a two-year closure period, to have Mrs. Clinton perform a simple ribbon?cutting opening ceremony on her arrival.

            The Committee approved the use of the City Hall on Monday, 12th October for the hosting of a VIP visit by the United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, for the provision of hospitality in the form of a finger buffet reception and for the holding of a simple ceremony to mark the re-opening of the City Hall after closure for refurbishment.

            The Committee was reminded that, during the current difficult financial times, it was vital for the Council to ensure that its rates income was maximised within the context of rating policy.  Over the previous number of years, the Council had suffered significant losses from vacant properties.  Under the current rating policy, vacant domestic properties were not charged rates and non-domestic vacant properties were charged only 50% rates.  In order to manage the losses arising from vacant properties, the Council had used its Building Control Service to verify the actual status of all vacant properties included on the Land and Property Services Agency’s databases. To date, that work had resulted in additional rates bills being issued totally £7.8 million.

            Since the last vacant property exercise, 3,000 vacant properties had been added onto the Agency’s database and a large number of rates bills had been returned to Land and Property Services by the Royal Mail as unopened.  The Members were therefore requested to agree to use the Building Control Service to verify the status of the new vacant properties and to investigate the returned rates bills.  The exercise would need to start immediately so that the information on the properties could be passed on to the Agency in time for inclusion in the calculation of the Estimated Penny Product which was used to set the rate.  The exercise would cost approximately £40,000 and would be paid for using existing budgets.

            During discussion, the Director of Improvement confirmed that the Land and Property Services had paid for the Council to undertake the previous exercise.  However, it had indicated that it was not in a position to provide funding for the current exercise but he suggested that, if the Committee was minded to agree to commence the investigation of vacant properties, the Council could attempt to seek retrospective payment from the Agency.

            After further discussion, the Committee agreed:

(i)    to use the Building Control Service to verify the status of the new vacant properties and to investigate the returned rates bills and that the exercise commence immediately upon Committee approval;

(ii)    to invite Mr. John Wilkinson, Chief Executive, Land and Property Services to a future meeting to discuss various concerns which the Council had in relation to rates issues; and

(iii)   that a letter be forwarded to the Minister of Finance and Personnel expressing concern that the Council had to pay for an exercise which should be undertaken by Land and Property Services.

            The Committee agreed to the holding of a special meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, to which the Members of the Development Committee would be invited, to consider the effect of the economic downturn on the City.

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 18th September, some Members had raised general concerns regarding procurement policy.  Recent reports relating to public procurement had prompted Members to raise questions also about the Council’s Procurement Process.  The scope and scale of the City Hall refurbishment specification had also been questioned by some Members.  To ensure that Members were fully apprised of the Council’s Procurement Process, it was intended that the Procurement Manager would facilitate a workshop for Members.  Areas to be covered would include:

·         Background;

·         Control mechanisms in place to ensure accountability;

·         Legislative requirements;

·         Strategic Procurement;

·         Procurement Process;

·         Potential risks/safeguards;

·         Ease of access/development and suppliers;

·         Green Procurement; and

·         the Role of Members.

            The Committee approved the holding of the aforementioned Procurement Workshop.

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

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      Members will recall that, at its meeting of 21st August 2009, the Committee approved a package of operational changes and an associated financial settlement in respect of both Security Officer and Control Room staff within the Security Unit, and authorised the making of a formal offer to the various trades unions having members in the unit.  The total one-off buyout cost associated with this offer is £248,686 and it was agreed that the Committee be updated on the ballot outcomes.

      Following the Committee’s decision the offer was set out in a letter to all trades unions dated 28th August 2009 together with a request that they seek their members’ views by way of secret ballot after full Council ratification on 1st September 2009. Each of the trades unions involved agreed to this request and the ballots were duly carried out. Notification has now been received that, with regard to the ballots conducted in respect of 29 Security Officer staff by the UNITE(AT&GWU), NIPSA and GMB trades unions, a very significant majority voted in favour of the proposals.

      On foot of the authority granted by the Committee the new shift rostering arrangements, job descriptions, 37-hour working week, revised staffing establishment, rotation requirements and ‘pool’ cover will therefore commence with effect from 4th October 2009, and the long-standing contractual and ‘compulsory’ overtime arrangements will cease. The new rates and the agreed buyout amounts have also now been processed for this group of staff, and all of this represents a comprehensive and agreed solution to a whole range of long-standing and difficult issues for the unit.

      However, NIPSA has also informed us that the separate ballot conducted in respect of the group of 8 Control Room Operatives has resulted in this group of staff rejecting the offer. This is a surprising result, but it was made clear to all staff and their trades union representatives throughout the consultative and negotiating discussions that there could be no ‘cherry-picking’ of the package nor any partial acceptance of individual elements of it: the proposals formed an integrated package of measures which must be addressed in the round.

      This being so, the obvious consequence of the ‘no’ vote is that the package is removed from the table in its entirety while alternatives are considered.

      The Head of Facilities Management informed the Branch Chair of NIPSA of this position in writing on 18th September 2009 and also asked that he liaise with the various staff in the Control Room (all of whom are NIPSA members) in order to ‘try to summarise for me what elements of the overall package of proposals caused them to reject it in the ballot, as this will help inform our next steps’. To date no acknowledgement or response has been received, and consequently the offer has not been modified.

      The overall effect of the two differing ballot results  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6a

            (Mr. W. Francey, Director of Health and Environmental Services, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“Relevant Background Information

      In July 2009, government published the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, which describes how the UK can fulfil its climate change obligations, secure its energy supply and achieve economic growth by moving towards a low carbon economy. The plan identifies a number of priority action areas including changing how we generate our energy, how we use energy in workplaces, in our homes and in our communities and how we use energy for transportation.

      In developing the national plan, government has recognised that actions to address energy and climate change need to take place in all regions of the UK. The plan highlights therefore that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have consented to extension of the Climate Change Act 2008 to Northern Ireland and have agreed to contribute towards UK carbon budgets and targets. In addressing these obligations, the Executive has committed initially to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% on 1990 baseline levels by 2025 through the Programme for Government 2008-2011.

      The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan also highlights the important convening and leadership role that local government has to play in achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets. Government has stated that people should be able increasingly to look to their local authority to co-ordinate, tailor and drive the development of a low carbon economy in a way that addresses local priorities whilst deriving maximum benefit.

      Within Northern Ireland, carbon dioxide accounts for around 75% of all greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon dioxide sectoral analysis indicates that around 34% of CO₂ emissions come from energy generation, a further 33% from transportation, 18% from residential sources and the remainder from the commercial, public and agricultural sectors. If the Council chose to lead the transition towards a low carbon economy within Belfast therefore, it would have to foster partner working with government departments, including the Department for Regional Development, the Department for Finance and Personnel and the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the general public, within a recognised climate change performance management framework.

      One such performance framework is provided by the Eurocities Declaration on Climate Change, launched in October 2008. Eurocities was founded in 1986 and is the network of major European cities. The network presently brings together local governments of more than 140 large cities in over 30 European countries by providing a platform for member cities to share knowledge and address pressing European and global issues. The Eurocities Declaration on Climate Change was developed with support and input from a range of member cities including Belfast and has already been subscribed to by around 62 cities. 

      Within the 2008-2011 Corporate Plan under Strategic Theme 3 - Better care for Belfast’s environment - a clean, green city now and for the future, Council has already committed to reducing the city’s impact on climate change and improving air quality. Moreover, a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a