Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1      All Councils act as agents for the Drinking Water Inspectorate for Northern Ireland (DWI) by undertaking a monitoring and sampling regime of private water supplies under The Private Water Supplies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (as amended).  The purpose of this report is to ask the Committee to note the updated SLA to enable Councils to provide its services in respect of private drinking water regime.

2.0      Recommendations

2.1      The Committee is invited to:

·        Consider and endorse the updated draft Service Level Agreement and authorise the Director of City and Neighbourhood Services to sign the agreement on the Council’s behalf.

3.0      Main report

3.1      The Drinking Water Inspectorate for Northern Ireland (DWI) have reviewed and updated the current service level agreement.  This agreement outlines the arrangement between the Drinking Water Inspectorate for Northern Ireland (DWI) and the City and Neighbourhood Service Department of Belfast City Council (CNS), appointed as a competent person, for the purposes of undertaking on behalf of the DWI risk assessments and sampling of private water supplies under The Private Water Supplies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (as amended).

3.2      The objectives of the Agreement are to continue the administrative provision under which the Council provides the professional services of council staff in roles where they are acting as agents of the DWI.  This arrangement has been in place since 2015 and it enables the Council to provide sampling, risk assessment, and investigatory services, including staff and resources to DWI and to define each party’s role, responsibilities and obligations. It also enables the DWI to individually authorise the Council to carry out duties on their behalf. The agreement will be in place for 2 years and then bi-annually subject to a review process.

3.3      The DWI expect each of the 11 district Councils to have a service level agreement in place to provide this service on their behalf.

3.4      The updated service level agreement sets out the contractual arrangements for the delivery of this activity includes a new data processing contract between the Council and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

3.5      Belfast City Council staff currently sample and risk assess 11 private water supplies in Belfast on the DWI’s behalf.  An annual programme of sampling is issued by 31 December each year and the sampling programme frequency is determined risk assessment process.

            Financial & Resource Implications

3.7      The DWI have set the following fees for all District Councils:

            Schedule of fees         

            Equality or Good Relations Implications/Rural Needs Implications

3.8      There are no relevant equality considerations associated with the delivery of the service level agreement.”

            Following a query from Councillor Smyth in regard to water quality monitoring and sampling and the sharing of information the Director of City Services undertook to liaise directly with the Member in regard to his queries.

            The Committee endorsed the updated draft Service Level Agreement and granted authority to the Director of City and Neighbourhood Services to sign the agreement on the Council’s behalf.