Agenda and minutes

An apology for an inability to attend was reported from Councillor Jones.

The minutes of the meeting of 14th December were taken as read and signed as correct. It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 7th January, subject to the rejection of the minute under the heading “Minutes of Good Relations Partnership” in so far as it related to the Bonfire Management Programme – Participant Criteria 2013; accordingly the Council agreed to approve the Criteria for participants in the 2013 programme.

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1      Relevant Background Information

1.1    Members will recall that the following process has been agreed for the setting of the district rate and agreeing the estimates for 2013/14.

1.2       At the meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 14 December 2012, Members approved the following recommendations in relation to the 2013/14 revenue estimates:

1.    That Officers should prepare the departmental cash limits report based on a zero district rate and

2.    That the calculations should be based on a zero growth in the Estimated Penny Product.

1.3       The purpose of this report is to present the cash limits for Departmental committees and the estimates for the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee for 2013/14. An outline of the key priority actions for 2013/14 for each committee has also been included as appendices to the report.

1.4       At the meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on 14 December 2012 Members also agreed that a briefing note on possible scenarios to deliver a district rate below zero should be prepared. This note will be tabled at the meeting on 11 January 2013.

2    Key Issues

            Cash Limits for Departmental Committees and the Estimates for SP&R Committee

2.1       One of the key tasks for Members is to agree the estimates for the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and to set the cash limits for the departmental committees.

2.2       The table below summarises the revenue estimates for Belfast City Council for 2013/14 based on a zero district rate increase.

            Local Government Finance Act (NI) 2011

2.3       Under the Local Government Finance Act (NI) 2011, the Director of Finance and Resources is required to provide assurance to Members on the robustness of the revenue estimates and the adequacy of the council’s reserve position as part of the rate setting process.

2.4       The departmental estimates have been subject to scrutiny and challenge by the Finance and Performance Section to ensure that they have been developed in compliance with the corporate guidelines issued in August 2012, taking into account the key financial risks and confirming that the planned efficiencies of £2.1m have been identified and removed from the estimates for 2013/14.

2.5       On this basis the Director of Finance and Resources is satisfied that the estimates presented should provide adequate financial resources to support service delivery and the council’s key actions for 2013/14 and that reasonable consideration of the financial risks to the council have been made in the preparation of the estimates.

2.6       The council’s general reserves position is forecast to be at least £13.6m by the end of 2012/13. This is above the minimum requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2a

            The Chief Executive tabled for the information of the Members a report which provided an update in relation to the impact of the flag demonstrations related to the Council’s previous decision to fly the Union flag on designated days.  He outlined the economic impact and the Council’s response thereto and the impact on Members and staff.

            After discussion, the Committee:

(i)      noted the contents of the report and the continued concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing demonstrations and unrest related to the Council’s decision on flying the Union Flag;

(ii)     agreed that the Lord Mayor, the Chairman of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and Party Group Leaders (or their nominees) convene a number of engagement events with key stakeholders to explore further ways in which the Council could provide support, particularly for the retail and hospitably industries, including working with relevant bodies to manage any issues relating to the image and reputation of the city; and

(iii)    noted also that the security of Members and staff remained a primary concern at all times and all possible steps were being taken to provide a safe and secure working environment.

(Mrs. S. Wylie, Director of Health and Environmental Services, attended in connection with this item.)

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 9th June, 2012, it had received a briefing from the Chief Executive of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust outlining the content of the “Transforming Your Care: A Review of Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland” document which had been published by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.  Subsequently, the Minister for Health, Edwin Poots, MLA, had launched a consultation document entitled “Transforming Your Care: Vision to Action” which summarised the changes which had been proposed to Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care System.  At its meeting on 23rd October, the Committee had agreed to receive a further briefing, with a view to informing any response that it might wish to make regarding the proposal.

            The Director of Health and Environmental Services reported that it had not been possibly to arrange a suitable date for a further formal briefing before the consultation closing date of 15th January.  However, given the significance of the Transforming Your Care Proposals, Mr. Ian Deboys from the Belfast Local Commission Group was in attendance to make a short presentation on the proposals and answer any questions which the Members might have.

            She explained that the document set out far reaching proposals for change across a range of Health and Social Care Services, including mental health services, statutory residential homes, acute services and primary care.  It explored how a focus on prevention, early interventions, integrated care and promotion of personalised care could enable more services to be provided in the community, closer to people’s  homes where possible.  It contained ninety-nine recommendations for improvements in the quality of care and required a shift of resources of £83 million across Northern Ireland from hospital to community-based services.  It was estimated that it would take an investment of £70million in transitional funding to enable a new model of care to be implemented and recognised that quality must be improved within a fixed budget.

            The recommendations in the document concerned the following ten areas of care:

(1)      Population health and well being;

(2)      Older People;

(3)      Long-term conditions;

(4)      Physical disability;

(5)      Maternity and Child health;

(6)      Family and Child care;

(7)      Mental Health;

(8)      Learning disability;

(9)      Acute care; and

(10)    Palliative and end of life care.

            She explained that, while political parties would have an interest as to how all of the above services would be provided for local residents, recommendations regarding public health and well being were directly significant to the role and functions of local government.  Although the Committee had not had the opportunity to discuss the recommendations in detail with the Trust, it was suggested that it might be appropriate to make a short response with regard to the contribution Councils made in improving the health and well being of the population generally and hence contribute to the prevention of ill health and a reduction in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a