(Public Pack)Agenda Document for People and Communities
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Public Document Pack Democratic Services Section Chief Executive’s Department Belfast City Council City Hall Belfast BT1 5GS 27th March, 2019 MEETING OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE Dear Alderman/Councillor, The above-named Committee will meet in the Lavery Room - City Hall on Tuesday, 2nd April, 2019 at 4.30 pm, for the transaction of the business noted below. You are requested to attend. Yours faithfully, SUZANNE WYLIE Chief Executive AGENDA: 1. Routine Matters (a) Apologies (b) Minutes (c) Declarations of Interest 2. Restricted (a) Request for the use of Boucher Road (Pages 1 - 4) 3. Committee/Strategic Issues (a) Minutes of Strategic Cemeteries and Crematorium Development Working Group (Pages 5 - 14) (b) Draft Belfast Open Spaces Strategy (Pages 15 - 74) 4. Physical Programme/Asset Management (a) Playground Improvement Programme 2019-2020 (Pages 75 - 92) - 2 - (b) LORAG - Transfer of Land (Pages 93 - 112) (c) Wilmot House (Pages 113 - 114) 5. Finance, Procurement and Performance (a) Community Development Grants Update (Pages 115 - 122) (b) Cavehill Adventurous Playground (Pages 123 - 130) 6. Operational Issues (a) Park Run City Wide (Pages 131 - 136) (b) Boxing Strategy Quarterly Update (Pages 137 - 144) (c) All-Ireland Pollinator Plan Council Partnership (Pages 145 - 152) (d) CIWM National Conference - 12th-13th June 2019 and Consultation Responses for Packaging Waste (Pages 153 - 156) Agenda Item 2a By virtue of paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014. Document is Restricted Page 1 This page is intentionally left blank Agenda Item 3a PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE Subject: Update on Strategic Cemetery and Crematorium Development Date: 2nd April 2019 Nigel Grimshaw, Strategic Director of City and Neighbourhood Reporting Officer: Services Siobhan Toland, Director of City Services Contact Officer: Restricted Reports Is this report restricted? Yes No X If Yes, when will the report become unrestricted? After Committee Decision After Council Decision Some time in the future Never Call-in Is the decision eligible for Call-in? Yes X No 1.0 Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues 1.1 The purpose of this report is update committee on the key issues discussed at the Strategic Cemeteries and Crematorium Development Working Group meeting held on 19th March 2019. 2.0 Recommendations 2.1 The Committee is asked to :- - Approve the minutes and the recommendations from the Strategic Cemeteries and Crematorium Development Working Group meetings held on 19th March 2019. 3.0 Key Issues Presentation by Department of Health on Death Certification 3.1 Members were given a presentation on the Death Certification process in Northern Ireland and were made aware that this cuts across the areas of responsibility of DoH, DoJ, DfC DfF Page 5 as well as District Councils which provide burial and cremation services. As result of the Harold Shipman Inquiry the NI Executive made some improvements to the system in 2009. However, the recent local Inquiry into Hyponatraemia Related Deaths has made a specific recommendation that the role of an Independent Medical Examiner of Death is introduced in NI – similar to the scheme already adopted in Scotland however this needs a legislative change at the Assembly. The adoption of a future IME scheme in NI if the legislation was made would impact on how Councils and Funeral Directors carry out their burial and cremation functions. The IME recommendation offers an opportunity to update the cremation legislation and process which the Council currently comply with to provide its cremation service. Members were given assurance that the IME Working Group which DoH currently chairs includes officers from the Councils Bereavement Service to input into any discussion. Members were also advised that it would be difficult to adopt these improvements without the function of an NI Executive. 3.2 Future Burial Provision Members were advised of a report which had recently been commissioned to help the Council make a determination on the amount of burial land remaining and its future requirements. Members were advised that this is a complicated calculation based on many societal and personal preference factors and the report sets out three different scenarios. The most realistic scenario takes account of the declining burial space in all other cemeteries leaving Roselawn as the only source of new burial land with around 15.2 years of burial capacity. In addition to this, account should also be made of guidance from Central Government which indicates that the Council should retain around 3,000 graves for emergency planning contingencies. This reduces the overall capacity to around 8.4 years. Given the good practice guideline that Councils maintain ten years capacity, the adoption of this scenario means that it is appropriate that the Council now seeks to acquire 5.51 and 8.66 hectares of new land for burial. The Director recommended that this information could be used in the BCC response to a recent Planning Appeal application . The Working Group considered the information which had been provided and agreed to the recommendation associated with the acquisition of between 5.5 hectares and 8.6 hectares of burial land to meet the future requirements of the city, subject to the approval of the People and Communities Committee. Update on Plot Z1 City Cemetery 3.3 Members were given an update that the commissioned sculptor had taken possession of a very large piece of Kilkenny Limestone and has begun to shape it. This work will take approximately three months. The Focus Group has expressed their satisfaction with the progress and Members will be given an update prior to completion. Page 6 3.4 Update on New Crematorium Development The Working Group was given an update on the new crematorium development at Roselawn. Members were reminded that capital monies has been committed to a new twin chapel crematorium at the Roselawn site. The Project Sponsor advised Members progress and answered a number of queries from members. 3.5 Update on Dundonald Cemetery Gates The Working Group raised questions on to the delay to repair the gates at Dundonald Cemetery after a road traffic collision. The Bereavement Services Manager advised that it has been in part due to legal exchanges in connection with the RTC but this should be concluded soon. Financial & Resource Implications 3.6 Any associated costs will be borne within operational budgets. Equality / Good Relations Implications or Rural Needs Assessment 3.7 None 4.0 Appendices - Documents Attached Appendix 1 - Minutes of the Working Group of 19th March 2019 Page 7 This page is intentionally left blank STRATEGIC CEMETERIES AND CREMATORIUM DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP Minutes of Meeting of 19th March, 2019 Members Present: Alderman Rodgers (Chairperson); The High Sheriff of Belfast, Alderman Sandford; and Councillors Corr and O’Neill. In Attendance: Mrs. S. Toland, Director of City Services; Mr. M. Patterson, Bereavement Services Manager; Mrs. C. Sullivan, Policy and Business Development Officer; Ms. S. Kalke, Project Sponsor; and Mr. G. Graham, Democratic Services Assistant. Minutes The minutes of the meeting of 25th February, 2019 were taken as read and signed as correct. Declarations of Interest No declarations of interest were reported. Presentation by Department of Health on Death Certification Processes Dr. Julian Johnston and Mr. Davy Best, Department of Health, attended in connection with this item and were welcomed by the Chairperson. Mr. Best provided the Working Group with an update on the Death Certification Process as pertaining to Northern Ireland. Mr. Best outlined the statutory obligation specified in the Coroner’s Act 1959, including the circumstances under which certain deaths, specified with the Act, should be reported. The Working Group was provided with an outline of the sequence of events following death, including the process from the verification of death to the disposal of the body as pertains currently in Northern Ireland. Mr. Best provided the Working Group with an outline of the circumstances surrounding the Dr, Harold Shipman Inquiry and the details contained within the Dame Janet Smith report, which highlighted significant failings in the Death Certification process and which made recommendations to mitigate against a similar occurrence in the future, Mr. Best informed the Members that the report had identified significant weaknesses in the system, including the dependence on a single medical practitioner to issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) including the validity of the information contained with the Doctor’s assessment in terms of identifying the cause of death. He stated that the report had highlighted the need to subject all deaths to independent scrutiny, including verification of the deceased’s medical history as a means to form an opinion on the cause of death. The Working Group was advised that the Death Certification process involved a number of central government departments, including the Coroner’s Service and that, in 2009, an Inter-Departmental Death Certification Working Group had been established to provide a unified system in respect of the disposal of bodies including, amongst other things, the need to enable adequate and independent scrutiny of all MCCD’s to identify and deter criminal activity or malpractice. As part of that process, the Northern Ireland Page 9 Executive had agreed to the enhancement of the existing assurance arrangements for death certification, with the option of keeping them under review, should further strengthening or improvement of the Death Certification process be required. It was reported that the option chosen, included adding the GMC number and the Health and Social Care number to the existing medical Certificate in regard to cause of death, and an analysis undertaken by the Health and Social Care Trusts in regard to the MCCD process to be completed by hospital based Doctors. Mr Best provided the Working Group with an update on the recent local O’Hara Inquiry into Hyponatraemia Related Deaths.