Annual Delivery Plan 2024 - 2025

As a compassionate city, we recognise the diversity and complexity of our people, and we are determined to make life better for everyone. We will proactively support the most vulnerable people in our society and work with partners to address key social and economic challenges that exist. We will work collaboratively, through specific actions and through our overall approach to ensure that no one is left behind and that people across Belfast can enjoy a better quality of life.

To create a compassionate city in 2024-25 we will:

Inclusive growth and anti-poverty

Actions

1. Embed the inclusive growth framework (including index) and test the toolkit to explore how investment decisions can be focussed more on achieving inclusive growth outcomes.
2. Develop a Corporate Social Responsibility Framework which will support the alignment of available funding to priorities identified for the city.
3. Deliver grant funding and support to alleviate impact of cost of living on those most in need.
4. Develop a funding commissioning framework to support the implementation of a Hardship Programme for 2024-25, to ensure that support is available for those most impacted by poverty and the cost-of-living crisis**
5. Provide funding and support to the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector to enable them to deliver capacity support and local services across the city**
6. In partnership, promote support and advice services across the city to help with the high cost of living and anti-poverty**
7. Deliver cost of living and anti-poverty interventions for example Social Supermarkets, to provide support for those most in need**
8. Progress the delivery of capital projects in collaboration with community groups which provide inclusive spaces for people and help tackle homelessness such as the Hosford Community Homes project under the Urban Villages.
9. Support our inclusive growth ambitions through recruitment of suitable entry level posts, e.g., apprenticeships, and through volunteering and placement opportunities.
10. Provide ring fenced job opportunities to the long term unemployed, providing pre-recruitment employment academies and increased employability outreach in communities to support our inclusive growth ambitions.

Older people

Actions

11. Support and deliver the Belfast Age Friendly Plan 2023-27 to help enhance the quality of life for people as they age. Key themes for action include:

• Infrastructure -  ensuring amenities and services are accessible
• Social Inclusion – supporting older people to meet up with others through events and activities such as walking groups
• Health and wellbeing – organising health fairs and physical activity programmes to help older people keep active
• Financial security – supporting people to manage the increasing costs of living, sharing employment opportunities

Children and young people

Actions

12. Facilitate, an active and engaged Belfast City Youth Council who work with relevant fora and elected members to ensure that the needs of children and young people are reflected within the Belfast Agenda and council priorities.
13. Develop the Play Development Action Plan and undertake a review of selection criteria for the capital programme. (Implement the programme of development of playgrounds across the city to further improve accessibility).
14. Delivery of a programme of activities and events in our parks, summer schemes, community centre programmes and city events and festivals.
15. Delivery of a significant programme of play opportunities and projects for children and young people through our network of play centres across the city. 

Community safety, good relations, and shared future

Actions

16. Continue to implement the Good Relations Action Plan to support the delivery of locally identified good relations priorities.
17. Deliver the Peace PLUS Local Action Plan to support projects which are aligned to local community regeneration and transformation; thriving and peaceful communities and celebrating cultures and diversity.
18. Deliver the capital element of the Peace PLUS Local Action Plan which includes 6 projects across the city.
19. Continue the delivery and completion of the Peace IV projects namely Black Mountain Shared Space and Shankill Shared Women’s Centre.
20. Continue to liaise with SEUPB to secure funding for the proposed Reconnecting Waterworks and Alexandra Park project under Peace PLUS.
21. Support new communities’ delivery of interventions to enable improved integration and cultural acceptance.
22. Continue to explore funding opportunities for the proposed Migrant/ Intercultural Hub(s)
23. Continue to work in partnership with TEO to deliver the Urban Villages Programme which is a good relations programme and aims to develop thriving communities in areas with a history of deprivation and social tension.
24. Deliver the Language Strategy Action Plan and our indigenous Language Policies to meet the needs of our diverse city.
25. Deliver the Dual Language Street Signs – Gaeltacht Quarter project

Community Safety

Actions

26. Deliver the Police and Community Safety Action Plan to make people feel safer and increase confidence in Policing.
27. Continue to facilitate the five multi-agency (D) PCSP’s which work to make communities safer, making sure that the voices of local people are heard.

We will know we are successful if:

*Statutory performance indicators.
**Performance Improvement Plan actions and performance indicators.