Agenda and minutes

            Apologies for inability to attend were reported from Councillors Flynn, Kyle and Mulholland.

            The minutes of the meeting of 2nd August 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 September.

            No declarations of interest were recorded.

            The Committee agreed to hold meetings, at 5.15pm, on the following dates in 2022:

·        Monday, 24th January;

·        Monday, 21st February;

·        Monday, 20th June;

·        Monday, 19th September; and

·        Monday, 14th November.

            The information contained in the reports associated with the following four items is restricted in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

The Chief Executive of ICC Belfast/BWUH Ltd. provided the Members with an update on Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd.’s (BWUH Ltd.) performance for Quarter 1 Year to Date (YTD) covering the period 1st April to 30th June 2021.

The Members were provided with the challenges and the opportunities which the business faced.

She explained that, as the venues had been mandated to close from 16th March 2020, and remained closed throughout the current financial year, there continued to be a major impact on sales revenue, overall financial results, and the majority of Key Performance Indicators.

She advised the Committee that the team was continuing to focus on ensuring that as many conferences as possible, which had been scheduled to take place between April 2020 and September 2021, were moved to future years rather than cancelled.

            The Committee was advised that members of the permanent team would complete comprehensive National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) training to ensure that the level of Health and Safety knowledge within the company was enhanced. In addition, and to ensure the seamless restart of events, the Chief Executive added that all of the events team had attended training covering health and safety, Covid-19 risk assessments and safe operating in a Covid-19 environment.

The Director of Finance and Systems presented the Committee with a review of the business performance and an analysis of actual performance against the budget for the year to date 2021/22.

            A number of Members congratulated the team on having adapted their business in such a challenging environment.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.

The Head of Audit, Governance and Risk Services (AGRS) presented the Committee with an update on the outcome of an internal audit which had been undertaken at the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall (BWUH) Ltd. in January and February 2021.

            She explained that a three-year Internal Audit Plan for 2018/2019 – 2020/2021 had been agreed by the BWUH Ltd. Audit and Risk Committee in June 2018. She outlined that, for 2020/2021, they had revised their plan to take account of the impact of Covid-19, with their audit having focused on core financials, payroll, information technology, risk management, performance management and procurement.

            The Committee was advised that the audit had found that there was “some improvement required”.  The Head of AGRS explained that the management had agreed all the recommendations and had put in place an action plan to implement them all by the end of July 2021.  She explained that the implementation of the actions would be followed up as part of their new Audit Plan.  She added that AGRS was in the process of agreeing a new three-year plan with BWUH management to cover 2021/2022 –2023/2024.

            The Committee noted the information which had been provided.

The Chief Executive of ICC Belfast/BWUH Ltd. provided the Members with an update on the actions arising from the internal audit which had been undertaken in Quarter 4 of 2021.

The Committee was advised of the issues which the Senior Management Team had then reviewed and committed to actioning.  She explained that 29 out of the 33 actions which had been identified had been completed and she welcomed the thorough audit from AGRS.

The Committee noted the information which had been provided.

            The Committee noted a verbal update on the operation of the Box Office.