Peter Cheney weighs up whether the Titanic centenary had the correct focus or sense of dignity.

By any measure, the construction of the Titanic was a considerable achievement for the workers of Harland and Wolff: 46,328 tons in weight, 269m long, 32m and 28m wide.

Opening the Titanic Belfast building, Peter Robinson said that it “marks not just a commemoration of the internationally recognised story, but a new beginning for Northern Ireland on the world stage.”  Martin McGuinness added: “Just as the shipyard workers and the people of Belfast were proud of the Titanic 100 years ago, they and indeed all the people of the North can be proud of this wonderful signature building.”

Several critics, though, have claimed that celebration has overtaken commemoration in the way that Belfast has chosen to mark the centenary.

The exact number of fatalities is unclear due to aliases, stowaways and cancelled bookings.  The official British investigation recorded 1,514 deaths: 821 passengers and 693 crew.  The highest mortality rates were among second class men (92 per cent) and third class men (84 per cent).

Historian Greg Ward sees the disaster as the “the ultimate news story, when it had only just become possible for news to race around the world.”  Poignantly, he adds that a fully trained crew with sufficient lifeboats could have saved all lives on board.  There is also no single factual account of the night, due to the contradictory evidence given by the 710 survivors.
Former Queen’s University history lecturer John Lynch has recorded the history of all 1,589 ships built in Belfast in his book ‘Belfast Built Ships’.  He ventures that the Titanic centre could be “a £95 million white elephant” as people are unlikely to make repeat visits and the city’s wider maritime history may go untold.

The wreck’s discoverer, Robert Ballard, has spoken of some regrets about finding the Titanic because of its subsequent exploitation.  “That’s my father’s grave,” one survivor told him.  “Don’t disturb it.”  Ballard has, though, built up a rapport with Belfast and is pleased that the city is “finally proud” of having built “an amazing ship”.  He valued being in its home city for the centenary weekend.

News Letter journalist Billy Kennedy recognised the centenary’s importance in attracting visitors but criticised its “commercial opportunism” and “slick pamphlet propaganda.”  Instead, he called for quiet and sombre reflection.  The sinking was a “a tragic happening that should be quietly dispatched to the archives for historians and nautical anoraks to digest.”

Likewise, William Neill, a Belfast-born spatial planning professor at Aberdeen University, has questioned why the legacy should be linked to financial gain.  Neill contrasted the rundown drawing offices with the shiny new attraction nearby.  The MTV Titanic Sounds concert, taking place on the slipway just before the sinking’s centenary, “begs some questions of taste, respect and dignity no matter what the promotional hype.”

A Belfast City Council spokesman said that this particular event was designed to mark the building’s opening as a major tourist attraction, and was part of the “celebration strand”.  He claimed that the festival was being “more than respectful” (e.g. the opening of the memorial garden) and was “satisfied that we have struck the right balance.”

Managed services, data centre hosting  and  strategic partnerships are  becoming increasingly compelling propositions for many enterprise  organisations – both in the public and private sectors, particularly in the area of IT and communications technology.  It seems a reasonably straightforward principle that government and corporate organisations are much better able to focus on their core areas of service delivery, if a trusted third party is working with them to deliver reliable and efficient ‘back end’ ICT services.

It’s a simple model that can cause real problems if you pick the wrong partner. Experience tells us that customers need to choose a service provider that not only has the right technical capabilities but who also understands the customers’ business challenges and has a proven track record in being able to deliver successfully in a similar environment.

Understanding client needs and market trends has been key to BT’s success over the past three years. Putting customer experience at the heart of what we do has really focused our investment and transformation agenda and enabled us to drive some very positive changes in our business. This is something that has been recognised by Deep-Insight, a research company that analyses business relationships to improve customer retention and increase employee performance. “The journey to becoming a truly customer-centric organisation is not easy,” John O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer at Deep-Insight has said. “BT has made remarkable progress towards this goal, and is a role model for other companies.”

Time spent really listening to customers and understanding their challenges has been instrumental in helping win a wide range of contracts.  Whether it’s rolling out Account NI, the financial shared service centre to the Northern Ireland Civil Service, running the ICT function for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, or working in a strategic telecoms partnership with the Belfast Trust, BT’s approach is characterised by being relevant, delivering value and working in true collaborative partnership with its customers. John Crosby, Chief Executive of Account NI, has said: “BT has helped us achieve something quite unique. We’ve built a very strong partnership in the delivery of shared services and have a joint vision and agenda for the future.”
In the current climate, one of BT’s key strengths as a successful and growing business is its ability to continue to invest, either in the recruitment of key people or in making capital investments such as the best in class Remedy Enterprise managed service platform. We recognise the importance of collaborating with smaller organisations and have a track record of partnering with many indigenous organisations such as Asidua and Kana (formerly Lagan). This collaborative approach, coupled with our significant local investments, means we are uniquely placed to help our customers solve their business challenges.

BT has a thriving global business that gives customers the reassurances they need when embarking on a managed service partnership. With a presence in 170 countries and 100,000 employees worldwide, there is plenty of knowledge and experience to leverage, but  one of BT’s key differentiators in Northern Ireland is the ability to provide a global capability matched with significant local expertise.

We have been working with enterprise customers in Northern Ireland for many years and are one of the few local companies that have continued to make significant investment in Northern Ireland during the economic downturn. We are also one of the few that has the end-to-end capability – network, data centre, IT services – to make the most of a new wave of technological innovation.

This innovation includes BT’s new cloud computing delivery model – BT Compute – that is transforming the way organisations use and consume IT i.e. ‘Infrastructure as a Service’. For many years, BT has been building on its leadership in communications technologies, moving into the IT epicentre of organisations as voice and data networks converged. Providing BT Compute nodes in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is a natural next step in this evolutionary process.

For us, BT Compute is about building on our unrivalled network capability by layering on top a full suite of communication and IT services, all blended into a utility model where customers only pay for what they use. This model is currently deployed by Amey in the provision of disaster recovery services to the Northern Ireland education sector.

Perfect host

With two data centres in Ireland, BT has the facilities to deliver the full range of managed services, including BT Compute solutions. BT’s ability to host  resilient communications and IT  services with full disaster recovery capabilities, and to provide 24/7 helpdesk support to agreed customer  service level agreements, whilst adhering to international ISO and ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) standards is a unique differentiator in the Northern Ireland market  place.  We know how important it is for customers, particularly in the public sector, to be able to measure and assess service performance. This is one of the reasons why BT has a single best practice process framework for all our customers and managed service teams.

The objective is to give the best service and the best value, which means navigating the fine line between meeting a customer’s specific need and leveraging the economies of scale that make managed services possible. BT’s vision is all about ‘service without boundaries’, tailoring solutions to meet the needs of every customer, anytime, anywhere.  A big part of what we do is also about thought leadership and innovation, and we apply these principles to every customer engagement. We have access to all of BT’s considerable R&D capability including our significant innovation centre in Adastral Park, where many of our customers have already visited and provided extremely positive feedback. 

BT also has a long list of chosen partners that it will engage with to overcome any technical or service challenge. These include Cisco, Microsoft, HP and Avaya. We will find the best way of doing things through our comprehensive partner ecosystem and deliver back to customers as effectively and as affordably as possible.

Results focused

Outcomes from BT managed services are wide ranging. With Account NI, BT rationalised ordering and payment processes across government departments, transforming the way they work. The focus is now on decision support and improved financial management rather than rudimentary administration.

In the West Midlands, BT transformed the way that Sandwell Council interacts with its citizens by deploying a virtual contact centre and CRM (customer relationship management) platform. It has helped the council deliver significant cost savings and regularly achieve customer satisfaction ratings of between 95 and 97 per cent.

When BT took over responsibility for the entire ICT estate in the New Downe Hospital in Downpatrick, the ability to share lab results quickly over a secure network has improved patient care.

With the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, managed operations across 40 sites have made the service more cost-effective and efficient. Migration to a unified BT telephony platform has saved £1 million in call charges and line rental alone.

In conclusion  a BT managed service is about delivering real value and exceeding customer expectations.  We listen to our customers and then share our experience, understanding and wide range of capabilities to deliver outstanding service and real value for money.

There are very tangible benefits to a partnership with BT. We will reduce downtime, deliver services more efficiently and also provide very significant cost savings.  In difficult times, when everyone is having to do more with less, it’s a compelling set of reasons to talk to BT.

A “huge debate” is needed in order to “redefine Irishness” and create the concept of a ‘real republic’ that is “built on ethics and intergenerational solidarity,” President Michael D Higgins tells eolas.

Following an address to the ICTU women’s biennial conference in Belfast, where he hit out at those who caused the economic crash through their “dangerous obsession” with personal wealth and material possessions, the President insists that “acquisitive individualism” must be replaced by a communal society which is built on ethics.

He points to the Thomas Davis lecture series (first broadcast in 1994 and re-broadcast in 2009 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the first Dáil) which examined the development of the idea of an Irish republic. “The word ‘republic’ has to be something that is inclusive, that is in fact built on ethics and inter-generational solidarity because it isn’t about the Ireland you want for one generation, but the responsibilities that are sustainable [for many generations],” he tells eolas.

Asked about his vision for a real republic by 2016 and whether it might be a more socialist republic, the President responds: “I think it is the language that will matter.” Referring to the fact that his father fought for the republican anti-treaty side in the War of Independence while his uncle who raised him took the pro-treaty side, he adds: “I take a contextual view of it.”

The President contends that while Ireland in the 1890s was “full of idealism”, it became a very conservative society after the 1916 uprising. “For example, the idea of the Proclamation itself [and] the ideals in the democratic programme for the first Dáil [were conservative],” he believes.

During his address to trade unionists, Mr Higgins called for a change to the shape of the economy so that “sustainability and social cohesion are given as much priority as efficiency and competitiveness.”

Irish people have the right to “curse” this “dark period in our economic history” but they also need to “light the candles of hope that will help us to navigate a path towards a better and fairer future,” he told delegates.

Rather than viewing the individual as “being no more than a passive consumer of goods and services, and living in disaggregated isolation,” a “far more liberating and life-enhancing vision” would be one whereby the citizen “actively participates in a society in which he or she enjoys personal rights and discharges responsibilities in a shared community.”

That vociferous speech came on the back of a hard-hitting address to the National University of Ireland at Dublin Castle in January. On that occasion, the former university lecturer in sociology and politics derided the “culture of individualism” that led to the economic downturn in Ireland. The traditional “warmth of a community of learning” has been “put under threat from the underestimated aggression” that comes from “extreme individualism,” he said.

Universities were encouraged to challenge the failed paradigms of “the connection between economy and society, ethics and morality, democratic discourse and authoritarian imposition.” The President told the gathering that now is the time for intellectuals to “offer alternatives that offer a stable present and a democratic, liberating and sustainable future.”

In recognition of the fact that many graduates now face uncertain futures, the President tells eolas that his priorities include holding a seminar called ‘Being young and Irish’. It was initially to be called ‘Being young in Ireland’ but was changed because “many Irish have left abroad.” The second seminar is “very important” as is will focus on ethics in every aspect of life.

“There is a very fine response. People are very supportive of real ideas,” the President reflects.

When pressed about his other priorities, Higgins answers: “What has been very interesting is the way in which [my] idea of having a radically inclusive citizenship in a creative society has gone past inauguration day and has made its way into a number of other people’s discourse.”

He continues: “That radically inclusive citizenship means that I have given priority in the first years of the presidency to those groups to which a visit from the presidency would be of most value. In relation to the creative society I have stressed that this isn’t just creative at the aesthetic end of things: the arts and culture area I would know very well, but in every aspect of life from child rearing to international diplomacy.”

The President wants to “create an Irishness that we might be proud of.”

“I would argue our reputation abroad has been affirmed by peace keepers, by international artists, by cultural workers and so forth,” he says. “The Irishness that transpired in the last decade was one that moved a certain kind of personalism or individualism into an acquisitive individualism and there was a downside to that.”

The President ultimately hopes to stimulate a nation-wide debate that could help create “an Irishness appropriate for a real republic.”

The Department of the Environment is an economic department with a radical reform agenda, Alex Attwood contends, but Northern Ireland can do much more to protect its habitats and historic buildings.  The Environment Minister oversees one of the Executive’s widest briefs, ranging from road safety to nature reserves.

“When I came in, my initial strategy was to do a lot of churn, to turn every stone, to try to bring external organisations and the community and voluntary sector into the life of the department, to move issues on positively,” he remarks.

That has been rolled out across taxi licensing, the department’s enforcement powers, clean beaches, crimes against listed buildings, the environment’s economic relevance, and his ministerial decisions under Article 31 of the Planning Order 1991.
“My strategy was to do churn and change, and do it very intensely and very quickly,” Attwood states. “And consequently, I’d like to think that over the last three months and certainly the next three months, you will see the roll-out and the maturing of that strategy in order to demonstrate that this department is clearly the leading environmental department but it is also a leading economy department.”

Asked to define his ambitions for the Assembly term, he expands on that “twin-track purpose”. Passing national parks legislation will demonstrate that Northern Ireland wants to “protect” and also “positively develop” its natural environment for its own benefit, and also for tourist numbers and spend.

The power to create national parks already exists in the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands Order 1985 but with no detail on how they would be run in practice.

Northern Ireland, in Attwood’s view, can be “a world leader in carbon reduction” with policy backed up by a regional climate change Bill: “We have a clean and green island, and north of the island.  The more that we advertise that, including by being a world leader in carbon reduction, the better we will be.”

The UK Climate Change Act was passed in 2008 (aiming for an 80 per cent reduction over 1990-2050), but Scotland went ahead with its own Climate Change Act in 2009 (setting an interim 42 per cent target by 2020).

On a related note, Attwood sees renewable energy as “arguably our single biggest economic opportunity,” specifically on energy self-sufficiency, export potential and job creation.

“The quality of our wind, our wave and our tide, is the best in Europe.  We should be recognising that that creates enormous opportunities for renewable energy going forward,” he asserts, adding that DoE planning policy and decisions must support that sector.

In addition, he wants to put in place “one of the most radical driver testing regimes in Europe,” incorporating the Executive’s approved cut in the blood alcohol levels but also more “novel and contentious” interventions.

“Should newly qualified drivers be allowed to drive at 70mph?” he continues. “I think they should because I think that’s a safer way to drive in motorway conditions.”  Responding to the point that those drivers are inexperienced, he accepts that but “going on a motorway at 45mph the day you qualify, with a heavy goods vehicle coming thundering down the back of you is not very safe driving conditions.”

The driving test experience, he states, can be shaped to produce a “newly qualified novice driver who is more capable of driving.”  He also suggests allowing learner drivers to obtain a licence when aged 16½ rather than 17 on the condition that they cannot take their test until at least one year later.  At present, someone can get their licence at 17 and do the test a week later “but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve learnt very much.”

Attwood maintains that his “radical view” will work itself through into government policy and will reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the roads, and also reduce insurance premiums for young and rural drivers.

State of environment

Tourism, in his opinion, is one of the best ways to assess the state of Northern Ireland’s environment.  Six out of its 10 most popular visitor attractions draw from its built and natural heritage.  Visitors come to this part of Ireland because of their “experience of the people and the experience of the built, natural, the Christian and archaeological heritage”.

The department has done a “good enough job” in protecting that heritage but has to demonstrate that protection “more and in better ways going forward”.  He cites investment to repair derelict buildings in Portrush and Portstewart, before the Irish Open, and the issuing of more urgent works notices in the last six months than in the previous 20 years.

In March, the European Commission warned Northern Ireland that it was at risk of breaking EU law by failing to protect horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) reefs in Strangford Lough, from damage by fishing gear.  Senior DARD and DoE officials have since met with Commission staff to discuss that warning.

“The fact that we were in a vulnerable place doesn’t speak positively about what we were doing to protect the environment,” he acknowledges.  “Here was an acute issue that we’ve known [about] for years and yet we weren’t able to satisfy that we had been doing enough over recent years, and I made it very clear to everybody, including DARD, that we needed to be decisive to manage that issue.”

It still frustrates him that the problem came up in the first place.  The Marine Bill, which he brought to the House on
21 February, envisages a marine planning system but not a single marine management organisation “although I hope to win that argument.”  The Executive has agreed to “look at all the options” but a vote has not yet been taken.  “The door is not closed but I accept that the door is not very wide open,” he says.

The Modiolus modiolus case, in his view, shows the risk of dispersing the functions of government and allowing various interests to look for protection from government departments (e.g. fishermen and DARD).  His responsibility for the marine environment and DARD’s responsibility for fishing creates “inevitable tensions” and “potential conflicts” but also “potential for agreement as well”.

National parks

Strangford Lough, he suggests, could become a marine national park, the first of its kind in the UK and Ireland.

“We have, in my view, more concentration of natural wonder in this part of this island than any part of these islands,” he summarises.  “It is critical that we protect it because of the need to protect the environment and to positively develop it.”  National parks, the Marine Bill, and his summits “all demonstrate that there was further ways to stretch the department”.

Pressed on how to persuade farmers, who have opposed park status in the Mournes, the Minister predicts that the Executive will approve the legislation and that two parks will initially be designated, to ‘advertise’ the province’s scenery.  People will then realise that they are “going to miss out” on the opportunities.

He also expects that Northern Ireland will develop a different form of national park from that used elsewhere in the British Isles, to reflect “local conditions and sensitivities”.  However, he warns opponents against deploying “worst fear arguments”.  For example, at one meeting, he was told that the national park management authority would control planning in the Mournes.  That was a clear falsehood as the Review of Public Administration will transfer power over planning to the new council covering the whole mountain range.

“And people need to look at the truth of the argument,” he adds. “If they don’t want it, there’s plenty of other places who’ll grab it with enthusiasm.”

“One of the key issues that were very apparent in the early days,” Tim Godwin tells agendaNi about last August’s riots, “was the fact that a lot of people felt that they could get away with it: that crime didn’t have any consequences, the criminal justice system [was] too slow, too bloated, too bureaucratic.”

But over a number of years, Godwin had been working with the judiciary, the courts and the public prosecutors, “to actually put in place an understanding of each other’s needs.” This paid off as the criminal justice agencies were able to establish courts “very quickly” during the riots, with the processing of cases of “hundreds of offenders within hours of being charged.” The result was “a significant impact on the continuing violence, because very quickly it was shown through the media that crime does in fact have a consequence.” 

Swift justice was not without its demands, admits Godwin, who was acting Commissioner at the time of the riots. He and his colleagues had to “prey on the goodwill of a lot people” at the Courts Service and the Crown Prosecution Service, who “worked long hours putting cases together.” In the areas of evidence and first hearings, this involved implementation of “all the streamlined bureaucracy debates that we’d been having,” whilst ensuring that defence lawyers were willing to represent offenders as they went through the court process.

“One of the things that we learned from that was actually there were a lot of people with a common objective here,” the former Association of Chief Police Officers lead for criminal justice recalls. “Justice had to be done, had to be seen to be done, but at the same time, it had to be done fairly and in the interests of justice actually being served.”

More than 4,000 people have been arrested since the London riots.

Reform

Justice is, of course, not usually known for its speed. Godwin believes that this can be tackled by building relationships between the different criminal justice agencies. “One of the ones that often gets forgotten is defence,” he states. “You got to look at what the bureaucracy is, what requirements and evidence do you need for first hearings? You have to streamline that bureaucracy,” he explains. This needs to be supported, however, by senior judiciary and magistracy.

The virtual court, he believes, has immense potential. First piloted in Camberwell, London, and Medway, Kent, in May 2009, defendants have been able appear in first court appearances via video-conferencing, “and actually be dealt with direct from the police station where they’ve just been charged for the offence.”  The initiative has now been extended to Cheshire and Hertfordshire.

The first case in Camberwell involved a domestic violence offender, who “within four or five hours of being arrested, found himself in Brixton prison having been convicted of assaulting his partner.” Godwin says that this speedy process “had a dramatic impact on the victim in the sense of the sheer relief” of knowing that the threat was lifted.  Through a ‘Live Links’ pilot project, police witnesses have also been able to give evidence remotely.

Benefits from virtual courts are multiple, according to Godwin. Substantial time can be saved through fewer wasted police hours waiting for witnesses to be called and defendants being held in custody for significantly less time. Guilty pleas at first appearances will increase, he believes. Costs can be saved through reduced facilities requirements, transport costs and a higher percentage of on-the-spot fines. Magistrates’ time can also be used more efficiently.

Victims and witnesses can also give evidence remotely, he states. “It is being rolled out, but it’s very very slow,” he explains. This involves people going to a victim or witness centre “where they’re properly looked after, where they’re not disrupted.” In not having to go to court, they don’t have to be confronted by an offender or their friends.

“In terms of actually making that happen, you actually have to have agreement between the key strategic leads,” Godwin states. “And it’s always the middle tier that sort of slows it down, and it’s that bureaucracy.”

Other technological innovations are needed, he believes. “We don’t maximise the opportunities that we’ve got. You need single case files that are digital. Why have we got loads of bits of paper in the system? This day and age, it’s rather silly,” Godwin states, contrasting it with the effectively paper-free banking system. Single digital case filing is due to be implemented in England and Wales’ criminal justice system by the end of the spring.

Procurement is central to this. “It requires different skills. It requires technology,” says Godwin, but it is being impeded when different agencies such as the Court Service and the police have different procurement contracts.

This difficulty is the private sector’s opportunity, believes Godwin, who now works for Accenture. The capital investment in public services is not presently available, he believes.

“How do we actually charge in a way,” he he asks, “which actually means that you’re giving the savings first?” This requires innovation in which the private sector only gets paid “when the benefits have really been found by the public services.” He concludes: “Different mentality, different way of doing it.”

Justice Conference 2012: Tim Godwin interview with Owen McQuade

“We’re starting to see business opportunities open up, we have seen local community groups come together in order to develop community projects and we are starting to see people take ownership of that,” Naomi Long tells agendaNi.  Those are “glimpses” of the area at its full potential.

Ballymacarrett is the eighteenth most deprived ward in Northern Ireland, the sixth most deprived in education listings.  Forty-nine per cent of pupils leave school with five or more GCSEs, compared to 71.9 per cent across Northern Ireland.

The Titanic Quarter sits beside the Short Strand interfaces, where intense rioting flared up last June.  Sectarian division and paramilitary influence are still major drawbacks.

Yet anyone walking along the Lower Newtownards Road can see tentative signs of hope.  The East Belfast Mission’s Skainos project (putting a large social enterprise work under one roof) is taking shape.  The Titanic Yardmen sculpture at Pitt Park (pictured) was the last stage in a project which removed sectarian symbols from that interface area.

Long is hopeful that new manufacturing jobs will follow in the former shipyard and having  the Belfast Metropolitan College within walking distance of the inner east helps local young people get those skills.

Forum for Alternative Belfast architect Mark Hackett has, though, warned that the Titanic Quarter could turn into a rich “parallel city” cut off from the city’s poorer residents.

Asked whether the benefits have been fairly shared, Long remarks that these are early days.  She recalls that at the outset of the project, there was “a fear that the Titanic Quarter would become sealed off and almost a separate part of the city”.   However, she thinks that this perception has now gone and people have “embraced it much more.”

The Titanic Yardmen Walk and Cycle, for example, brought 1,000 walkers and cyclists to the Sydenham Road through the re-opened Fraser Pass.

“One of the very positive things about the Titanic Quarter is that it is very much a model of what a shared future can be like,” Long remarks.  “It’s built on heritage so it still has colour and flavour but at the same time it’s open and welcoming to everyone throughout the community.”

She adds: “For me, it’s not about making spaces neutral.  It’s about trying to express the diversity within our city in a way that draws people in rather than pushes people away.”

Investment and job creation will depend on bringing about a genuinely shared future, the MP affirms. Existing businesses have pointed out that interface riots (as far back as 2001) have deterred customers from coming to East Belfast.  “So it’s really important,” Long concludes, “that we recognise that creating a stable Northern Ireland but also creating a shared and integrated Northern Ireland is hugely important for economic development.”

Case study: Templemore Avenue Six families and 1,092 volunteers (to date) have built new six homes in the heart of the inner east.  Construction on Habitat for Humanity’s Templemore Avenue project started last August and finishes in May.  The charity ensured that cross-community teams took part, including 202 pupils from various schools.  “Helping build community as well as building homes is very important,” Chief Executive Jenny Williams says, “and obviously we are just a part of that.”

]]> http://www.agendani.com/the-titanic-quarter-and-east-belfast/feed 0 http://www.agendani.com/reform-and-political-donations http://www.agendani.com/reform-and-political-donations#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:26:53 +0000 agendaNi http://www.agendani.com/reform-and-political-donations Opening up the files on political donations is essential for a transparent planning system, campaigners claim.  Peter Cheney and Stephen Dineen examine Friends of the Earth’s case for change.

Disclosing political donations is a key step to opening the planning system up to proper scrutiny, according to a Friends of the Earth-commissioned survey.  Planners, developers, politicians and the public suspect that corruption in planning is commonplace.

Geraint Ellis, a senior lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast’s Institute of Spatial and Environmental Planning, undertook the survey between May and August 2011.  A total of 544 responses were received and its aim was to gather the views of the policy community.

Citizens did make up the largest group (48.3 per cent of responses) but the sample also represents developers and agents (79 responses), politicians

(79 responses) and the DoE’s own planners (34 responses).

Key findings included:

•    75.6 per cent believe that the relationship between developers and planners is too close;

•    67.3 per cent believe that the planning system rarely or never serves the people of Northern Ireland; and

•    tackling corruption is seen as one of the most important factors in planning reform.

Written comments indicated “very low morale” among planners, “interference from politicians” and developers’

“disproportionate influence” over planning decisions.  Many of these concerns, it claimed, “have largely been by-passed in [the] policy and legislative reform of the last 20 years”.

The survey concluded that there was an “imperative need for a full investigation” into the conduct of politicians in planning “if only to dismiss such perceptions and help rebuild confidence in the planning system.”

Speaking to agendaNi, Ellis noted that “more than actual planning reforms, [the survey] gives an insight into political funding in Northern Ireland.”  While donor information is still confidential, he considered it likely that developers were the main funders of political parties, as that sector drove economic development over the last 10 years.

“Of all decisions that politicians can make, planning decisions are very vulnerable to accusations of corruption,” Ellis notes.  Planners reported that politicians were overriding their professional advice, to make sure that developers’ plans were passed.  Clientelism obviously turns into corruption when money changes hands.

Part of the solution, in his view, lay in allowing third party appeals and requiring decision-makers to explain why an approved development is in the public interest (reasons are always given for refusals).

Safeguards

“I think we have a culture where planning was not accepted by the political establishment in Northern Ireland,” Friends of the Earth’s Northern Ireland Director James Orr comments.  “Planning was seen as a bureaucratic obstacle to be overcome rather than a defining principle of how society should organise.”

This goes back to the formation of a centralised Planning Service in 1972, with no democratic control under direct rule.  Now, Northern Ireland has a “very immature political democracy” and he thinks that it will take 10 years for the system to mature and for the right checks and balances to be put in place.

Planning also requires regulation “and a lot of people don’t like the word regulation.”  It is seen as getting in the way of business, even though a planning system “creates consistency for business to flourish.”

In principle, Friends of the Earth backs the transfer of planning powers to councillors as “the best decisions will happen when policy is formulated and implemented at the most local level.”  However, it will only support that move when two safeguards are put in place: a statutory code of conduct for councillors and disclosure of political party donors.

The DoE plans to introduce a statutory code when the planning powers transfer to councils.  A voluntary code, issued in 1992 and revised in 2003, suggests that councillors declare gifts, hospitality and any financial interests, but has no penalties for breaches.  In contrast, Scottish, English and Welsh councillors can be censured, suspended or even disqualified from office if they break their codes.

Political party finance is a Northern Ireland Office responsibility.  “Until that anonymity is removed, people will have this perception that it’s a loaded game in favour of the wealthy,” Orr states.  Politicians need to say: “‘Look, this is who is funding us’ and once we know that then we can move on.”

The DoE’s own customer service survey for 2010-2011 found 61 per cent satisfaction in the planning system, based on 1,032 returns (out of 3,324 customers).

When this finding is put to him, he points out that this was solely a survey of applicants, using a “very liberalised planning system”.  In 2010-2011, 89.3 per cent of all applications in Northern Ireland were approved, and people will inevitably support the process when a favourable decision goes through.

The Electoral Commission has called for donor disclosure “as soon as is practical”.  The DUP and UUP are currently opposed, citing security reasons.  Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Alliance, TUV and the Greens support disclosure, pointing out that the Executive consistently promotes Northern Ireland as a safe location to visit and invest in.  Alliance and the Greens have also voluntarily published their donors.

While Friends of the Earth often objects to planning decisions, he explains that it has a vision for a better, plan-led planning system and believes “passionately” in planning.

“There’s a massive perception of corruption, by this survey, amongst not just developers but amongst politicians themselves and most notably the planners,” Orr remarks.  “There’s a very significant response from planners and they were saying the same thing.  They want the relationship between politics and planning and power to be cleaned up in Northern Ireland.”

Report corruption: Attwood

Whistle-blowing planning officers will be protected, Environment Minister Alex Attwood has stressed.  The Minister wants to know “of any allegation of corruption or other attempts to irregularly or unreasonably influence planning decisions,” a DoE spokesman confirmed to agendaNi.

The Planning Service was subsumed into the DoE last April and renamed as DoE Planning.  Responding to the perception of corruption, the spokesman said that the DoE “welcomes” the Friends of Earth survey and “is committed to the highest possible standards of openness, probity and accountability in the delivery of its services.”  All allegations of fraud, he continued, are investigated in line with the department’s anti-fraud policies and reported to the Northern Ireland Audit Office.

Planners are looking forward to seeing this strategy deliver, and are especially keen to see Belfast’s population grow.  A more populated city, as Dublin and other European examples show, is more vibrant, potentially safer (with more people congregating in the evenings) and less congested.

An aim of 300,000 residents is set for 2021.  That population figure was last attained in 1987 (300,746) before falling to 267,374 in 2006 and rising marginally to 268,745 in 2010.

High density residential development is proposed for the city centre gateway sites and inner- and middle-city communities can be regenerated by promoting commercial development along arterial routes.

Eight aims are stated:

•    supporting “strong, sustainable growth” for the benefit of all parts of Northern Ireland;

•    strengthening Belfast as the “regional economic driver” and Derry as the “principal city” of the north west (see page 91);

•    supporting the region’s towns, villages and rural communities “to maximise their potential”;

•    promoting development which improves the health and well-being of communities;

•    improving connectivity to enhance the movement of people, goods, energy and information between places;

•    protecting and enhancing the environment for its own sake;

•    taking action to reduce the carbon footprint and “facilitate adaptation” to climate change; and

•    strengthening links between North and South, east and west, with (continental) Europe and the rest of the world.

Asked to explain why all aims are equal, a DRD spokeswoman said that the strategy “recognises that policies for physical development have far reaching implications”.  It is not limited to land use and is recognised as a building block for the Programme for Government. The previous strategy was published in 2001 with a timescale running to 2025.  The draft was released for consultation between January and March 2011, and taken forward by new Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy after the Assembly election.  The final version was approved by the Executive on 26 January this year.

Its original vision from 2001 remains in place i.e. an “outward-looking, dynamic and liveable” region with a “strong sense of its place in the wider world” and also a region “of opportunity” where diversity “is a source of strength rather than division.”

The RDS’ status as a framework, giving a broad idea of where development should occur, is strongly emphasised.  It is “not a bidding document nor a fixed blueprint or master plan” and none of its contents “should be read as a commitment that public resources will be provided for any specific project.”

It acknowledges the economic downturn since 2008 and an uneven population growth pattern over 2001-2008 (down
3 per cent in Belfast but up 10 per cent in the south and west of the province).

The draft strategy had identified nine sub-regional centres: Ballymena; Coleraine; Cookstown; the Craigavon urban area; Downpatrick; Enniskillen; Newry; Newtownards; and Omagh.  It assumed that five of these centres (Ballymena, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon and Newry) would work well in ‘clusters’ with smaller towns, e.g. lining up public transport with local shopping and travel-to-work patterns.  The Newry-Dundalk cluster had a cross-border element, which is again affirmed in the final strategy.

Sub-regional centres have now been abandoned in favour of the 16 ‘main hubs’ and five ‘local hubs’ previously listed in 2001 (see box).  Enniskillen and Omagh are treated as standalone settlements but the other hubs are then linked into seven clusters:

•    Ballymena, Antrim and Larne;

•    Coleraine, Ballymoney, Ballycastle and Limavady;

•    Cookstown, Dungannon and Magherafelt;

•    Craigavon, Banbridge and Armagh;

•    Newry, Dundalk and Warrenpoint;

•    Downpatrick and Newcastle;

•    Newtownards and the Belfast metropolitan urban area (BMUA).

“In times of economic downturn places cannot afford to compete with each other,” the strategy states, in an implicit message to councils.  “Co-operation is important to reduce unnecessary duplication of services and facilities.”

Around 40 per cent of Northern Ireland’s population lives in rural areas but the strategy points out that few areas are truly “remote”.  Most people live within 15 miles of a hub but services and jobs in rural areas must be maintained as people live there “through choice or birth”.

‘Gateway’ points into Northern Ireland must be welcoming and attractive as a region’s image is “set within the first few minutes of arrival and is difficult to change once established”.

‘Regionally significant economic infrastructure’ is also defined, comprising “strategic improvements in external and internal communications” (i.e. transport and telecoms), projects contributing to renewable energy, waste and climate change targets, and others “of regional or more than regional importance”.  The Maze/Long Kesh site is an example of the latter.

As expected, the region’s five main transport corridors are the M1, A1 (towards Dublin), A4 (towards Sligo), A5 (Derry to Dublin), A8 (Belfast to Larne) and A26 (between Antrim and Moira).

Housing growth indicators will be among the most watched statistics in the document.  The aim is to increase the percentage of houses built in Belfast and its hinterland from 43 per cent (1998-2008) to 48 per cent (over the 2008-2025 timeframe).  The indicators were previously viewed as either targets or absolute maximums but the strategy makes clear that these are guides for planners.  Only minor variations have been made from the draft.

Existing commitments on environmental and energy policy are re-affirmed.  Development will be minimised in areas with a high flood risk.  The Executive will also consider establishing “one or more” national parks; a proposed Mourne national park has been held up by opposition from farmers.

Implementation will be overseen by a ministerial sub-group, comprising the Regional Development Minister, Environment Minister and Social Development Minister (as their remits are most relevant to the strategy).  The DRD will analyse progress every three years and the Regional Development Committee can request a briefing at any time, as occurs regularly.  A more comprehensive review will also take place, with its timing depending on progress made.

The RDS will be implemented through development plans, planning policy statements and development schemes, which must conform to it.  This remains the law regardless of the planning authority, so councils will not be free to make radical changes when they receive planning powers.

Housing growth indicators (2008-2025)

Ministers could choose from a stock of good stories about Northern Ireland in St Patrick’s week, but travelled without media scrutiny.  Peter Cheney assesses this year’s visit and the way ahead for the province’s US links.

March 2012 was very much Ireland’s moment in Washington, with Barack Obama highlighting his Moneygall roots and Hillary Clinton keeping up her personal interest.  Vice-President Joe Biden could point back to his County Londonderry ancestors.

Northern Ireland could take pride in a host of achievements e.g. Rory McIlroy winning the US Open, Terry George’s Oscar and Game of Thrones (mainly filmed in Belfast).  The First and deputy First Ministers looked forward to Derry’s City of Culture and the opening of Titanic Belfast, the Metropolitan Arts Centre, and the Giant’s Causeway visitors’ centre.

The Irish Government took the opportunity to claim credit for tentative economic recovery, one year into office.  Exports are indeed “thriving” as Enda Kenny said, with external sales of goods worth a record €92.9 billion in 2011.  Northern Ireland’s external sales totalled £12.4 billion in 2010-2011 but, pro rata with the Republic’s population, should equal £30.8 billion (€37.2 billion).

That said, the full picture includes a sluggish domestic economy with relatively high unemployment on both parts of the island: 14.3 per cent in the South, 7.2 per cent in the North.

“So, it’s normal foreign politics and boring is good for Northern Ireland,” Peter Robinson said after meeting Hillary Clinton.  America was “incredibly supportive” in bringing jobs, Martin McGuinness added.

Unlike previous visits, no local journalists were present and the trip was relayed instead by the OFMDFM press office.  Hence Northern Ireland being “synonymous with good news” with “heightened … attractiveness to the curious international traveller” and the two ministers pressing “all of the heritage buttons” to turn “lookers” into “bookers”.

However, when pressed on the substance of their discussions with President Obama and Secretary Clinton, OFMDFM refused to comment as these were “private” meetings.

Robinson and McGuinness also met Irish-American Congressmen Peter King and Richard Neal.  King refused to retract his support for the IRA when challenged by MPs at Westminster last year.  agendaNi asked the DUP for the purpose of Robinson’s meeting with King but the party declined to respond.

At the British embassy, Owen Paterson again pointed out that a public sector-dominated economy was unsustainable.  He noted the “overwhelmingly positive response” to the Treasury’s consultation on devolving corporation tax and expected the working group to finish up this summer.

In a frank assessment, Paterson highlighted the need to regenerate “areas where there is generational worklessness and where paramilitaries, on both sides, continue to prey and recruit.”  Sectarian divisions “help to sustain terrorism and other criminal activities, particularly within deprived communities.”

David Ford, Danny Kennedy, Tom Elliott, Alasdair McDonnell and Alex Attwood also joined the Washington delegation.  Indeed, McDonnell invited Vice-President Biden to visit the province.

This is an exceptional opportunity to state Northern Ireland’s economic case, as the Irish Government has been doing for the Republic since the days of JFK.

Access

Diplomats from other small countries look on with envy at Ireland’s access.  In population terms, Northern Ireland is closest to the Gambia (a tiny west African state), while the Republic ranks just above the Central African Republic.  Yet the Taoiseach, First Minister and deputy First Minister have the same level of access as the British and Israeli prime ministers.
That cannot be taken for granted.

The Canadian stops (at Montreal and Toronto) were a natural follow-on from the US schedule, given their proximity and Bombardier’s importance as an inward investor.

OFMDFM has confirmed that it has no plans for a more extensive round of visits, claiming that economic pressures would prevent this.  Irish Government ministers, though, took their investment message to 15 countries, as far as China, Australia and New Zealand, and visited both coasts of the States.  With 17 ministers, junior ministers and Executive party leaders, Stormont has the numbers for a similar schedule.

The post of US Economic Envoy has remained vacant since Declan Kelly’s resignation (to continue his business career) in May 2011.  The State Department has “no current plans” to fill the post, a personal appointment by Hillary Clinton to “ramp up” progress on business links.

St Patrick’s visits will continue, by tradition, but the warmth of high-level support could cool very quickly.  A European recovery will help Obama’s re-election chances but the President’s political objective is American jobs for American workers.  US unemployment in March stood at 8.2 per cent: 12.7 million people.

Consider his state of the union in January: “Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple.  Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.”

The Executive will, of course, need to anticipate an electoral upset.  Republican candidate Mitt Romney is pro-business but has no distinguishable Irish ancestry.  His Italian-American potential running mate, Rick Santorum, apparently has some Irish blood on his mother’s side.  As Northern Ireland falls down the foreign policy priority list, it will need to make the most of its connections to stay on the US political radar.

Unrivalled as a hands-on centre of scientific exploration and learning, W5 is now also the STEMNET contract holder for Northern Ireland and is managing the flagship STEM Ambassadors Programme.  Here she discusses maths – the neglected ‘M’ in ‘STEM’.
To paraphrase Galileo, maths is the language of nature. It describes the world in a similar way as music or literature, but only with numbers and symbols rather than notes or letters. But as a population we appear to seriously struggle with this subject and perceive it as being extremely difficult.

Why is this? Do we actually believe that maths can never be made fun or relevant?  Why would anyone want to engage with maths?  How do we move it from ‘geek’ to ‘chic’?

W5 has been successful in tackling public engagement with science and engineering for over a decade and is now being reinforced by the STEM Ambassadors Programme.  But even W5 can struggle to tackle maths-based events and activities. Within the science education field, many of the ways that the education team use to engage young people with maths are through puzzles and maths masquerading as magic tricks. Although this can demonstrate the joy of numbers, statistics and probability, does it really show the practical, day-to-day applications of maths? 

And more importantly does it really encourage our young people to stick with this subject?

At least it’s a start.  This style of maths engagement has to be used as a hook to show that maths is not just fun but interesting. Maths engagement activities have to make you want to explore and study further.  That is the trick that we need to master within education.

Since taking over the STEM Ambassadors programme for Northern Ireland, W5 has been looking at new and innovative ways to raise the profile and interest in applied maths. 

STEM Ambassadors are volunteers from business and industry who actively engage with young people at school to provide role models, careers advice and to demonstrate the application of STEM in the real world.  Our Maths Ambassadors are key to providing young people with real life examples of how maths is used every day in all fields of work, from apprenticeships to high-end engineering – and everything in between.

Dr Eimear Barrett, one of W5’s new STEM Ambassadors from the Centre of Excellence for Public Health, advises:  “Unconsciously we encounter risk and probability every day: wherever you go, whatever you do.  We process information and make mathematical calculations in an instant before choosing whether to cross a road, put on a seatbelt, light up a cigarette. Maths is thinking logically, critically, analytically, creatively – about anything.

“Real world maths is critical in the scientific and technological developments taking place, affecting every aspect of what we do.  Maths is the unsung hero of STEM.”

From a business perspective, we must not underestimate the major impact a lack of numeracy skills at every level will have on Northern Ireland’s economic future.  Numeracy and Literacy are at the core of every business; and every business, at some point in time, will have to recruit new staff. Recruiting qualified staff with basic skills can be a minefield.  Are they literate? Numerate? Team players? Good communicators? 

A recent survey conducted in February 2012 by YouGov, on behalf of the charity National Numeracy,  suggests that while four out of five people would be embarrassed to confess to poor literacy skills, just over half would feel the same about admitting poor maths skills.   Only 15 per cent of Britons studied maths after the age of 16, compared with 50-100 per cent in most developed nations.  The impact of this is reinforced by research by KPMG suggesting that annual costs to the UK public purse arising from a failure to master basic numeracy skills amounted to £2.4 billion.

There are a range of concerns in maths education from the frequent “what’s the point?" complaint of both pupils and parents to the perceived difficulty of the subject and an unwillingness to follow repetitive procedures that do serve to embed useful mental tools. 

But what exactly is being done about this?

Through the STEM Ambassadors Programme, W5 wants to get young people thinking about taking maths further. When young people are at school and approaching that time when they are choosing their GCSEs and A-Levels, all they may have seen of maths is in the classroom.  While you have to learn the theory, wouldn’t it be great if you could have a different type of learning experience or school trip and come back with fantastic but more importantly relevant experiences of maths in the real world?
This is what the STEM Ambassadors Programme for Northern Ireland aims to provide.

If we are to develop a buoyant and successful Northern Ireland economy for the future, through STEM, we need to support and develop our Maths education.  If we do not, we will be paying for this, not only in our science, technology and engineering industries, but also in people’s own ability to earn funds and manage their lives.

Currently W5 is working with over 200 Northern Ireland companies who are actively supporting the STEM Ambassadors Programme. 

If you would like to get involved and sign up to offer your support for this invaluable initiative, or get your company involved with inspiring young minds to the excitement of a career in STEM, please contact Mary Carson or Judith Harvey on 028 9046 7835/7789 or email stemnet@w5online.co.uk