dsd – Slugger O'Toole

The optics are poor and it looks like “the party comes first” (updated with TUV+DUP amendments & results)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 7, 2013, 9:47 pm | Readers 77

On Thursday morning the Social Development committee agreed to hold an inquiry into the issues raised in BBC NI’s Spotlight programme. The recalled Assembly will sit in plenary on Monday at noon. After prayers the Private Members’ Business brought by Mr R Swann (UUP), Ms C Ruane (SF), Mr S Dickson (Alliance), Mrs K McKevitt (SDLP) will be the only business before adjournment. Call for an Inquiry into Allegations of Wrongful Political Interference in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Potential …

What happens next? Where will the Spotlight now shine?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 4, 2013, 7:11 pm | Readers 106

With only thirty signatures needing to be submitted to the Speaker, the Assembly is very likely to be recalled early next week to allow a piece of predictable political theatre to be rehearsed in the chamber. Party leaders will compete for sound bites; DUP back and front benchers will interject and vigorously support their embattled minister, and there will be more heat than light. The Social Development Committee will hold an inquiry with invitations extended to Mandy McAuley and the …

Nelson McCausland gives his reaction to Spotlight at Social Development Committee (updated with audio)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 4, 2013, 10:41 am | Readers 135

After an exchange of late night/early morning text messages between the Social Development committee chair Alex Maskey and DSD Minister Nelson McCausland, the minister appeared before the commttee at 11am this morning. The committee’s current membership is: Alliance- Judith Cochrane DUP Paula Bradley, Sammy Douglas, Gregory Campbell, Pam Brown Independent – David McClarty SF – Alex Maskey (chair), Mickey Brady (deputy chair), Fra McCann SDLP – Mark H Durkan UUP – Michael Copeland Background – I talked to the committee’s …

Lagan Weir footbridge safety report / Irresponsible Drinks Promotions Regulations

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 12, 2012, 10:53 am | Readers 70

Minister for Social Development Nelson McCausland – whose department’s remit of “urban regeneration, community and voluntary sector development, social legislation, housing, social security benefits, pensions and child support” includes the safety of the bridges, drinks promotions and zipwires – released the final report into the safety of the Lagan Weir footbridge this morning. As well as raising money to buy sonar search equipment to help with any future underwater searches, the family of Joby Murphy have made repeated calls in …

Laganside loose ends: an FOI, a disappearing Assembly question & a zipwire across the Lagan

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 9, 2012, 8:00 pm | Readers 110

In the end the Department of Social Development took a shade longer than the four weeks permitted under FOI to answer my simple questions about their investments in the Laganside Events and Laganside Community Activity Grants. Figures for the 2011/12 grants for the two funds were supplied in the meantime through another DSD source. But that left the remaining query asking for the total amount spend on the Laganside grants over the years the schemes have been in operation. The …

Is it effective when only 5-10% of DSD’s £50,000 Laganside Community Activity fund was spent in last two years?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 26, 2012, 8:20 pm | Readers 51

Nelson McCausland, Minister for Social Development, appeared before the Assembly’s Social Development Committee on Thursday 23 February. [Audio temporarily available on NI Assembly website, and should appear shortly on BBC Democracy Live.] In his opening statement, he explained about the decision to withdraw the non-essential Laganside Events Grant and pointed out that it only contributed 5-10% of many events’ budgets (as charted in a blog post last week). The minister explained that he’d no need to know where Finance Minister …

What has the Laganside Events Grant scheme been spent on?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 18, 2012, 9:15 am | Readers 104

After an unexpected intervention on Thursday night, some of the data requested from the Department for Social Development was emailed to me at lunchtime on Friday. It covers the last three years of the Laganside Events Grant, specifying the organisations as well as the amounts they have received. In 2009/10, the largest grant was awarded to Belfast Festival At Queen’s which received 22,650. (This is the last year I remember the Spiegeltent being set up in Custom House Square as …

What Nelson takes away with one hand, Sammy can replace with the other

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 16, 2012, 7:20 pm | Readers 36

This evening a combination of OFMDFM, DFP and DSD came together to announce that £200,000 unallocated after the January Monitoring round is being made available from DFP to extend the Laganside Events Grant for one further year. The Department of Finance & Personnel statement details two conditions on the funding being made available. (i) that DSD takes steps to ensure that only groups that are viable over the longer term are assisted; and (ii) that DSD and DCAL work together …

Freedom of Information – when the minister has access to the information the public can’t see

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 15, 2012, 4:26 pm | Readers 71

Minister for Social Development Nelson McCausland rang into the Nolan show on Radio Ulster on Tuesday morning to respond to the debate around the cessation of the Laganside Events Grant scheme. He had figures – from across departments – at his finger tips to explain the public funding that was being granted to events. In particular, he was able to rattle off the different public funding streams for the Festival of Fools. My query into the DSD communications team seven …

DSD withdraw funding for Laganside Events

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 9, 2012, 12:23 pm | Readers 235

Since the closure of the Laganside Corporation on 31 March 2007, the Department for Social Development has given out grants for events and community activities in the Laganside area of Belfast. The area includes the Cathedral Quarter as well as stretching our towards York Street, Corporation Street, the Sydenham bypass (but not including Titanic Quarter), Sirocco, Lanyon Place, St George’s Market, the Markets, the Gasworks and the banks of the Lagan. Back in 2007, the then minister Margaret Ritchie pointed …

DSD’s using sticking plaster when a comprehensive housing review is what’s needed?

Mick Fealty on January 20, 2012, 10:20 am | Readers 37

From a systemic point of view, the most worrying aspect of the Northern Ireland Water story (in all its often obscure complexity) was the unfit-for-purpose nature of internal (and external) reporting around government processes. In yesterday’s subscription only Irish News Newton Emerson offers a fascinating and important insight into ‘how things are done’ in Northern Ireland politics government yesterday. The picture he gets reading from the back of the Inquiry report on Helm housing’s disastrous venture into property speculation is very different from that given …

Stand-off between Housing Minister and Housing Executive?

Pete Baker on July 6, 2011, 8:29 pm | Readers 24

The BBC are pointing to a potential stand-off between the Northern Ireland Social Development Minister, the DUP’s Nelson McCausland, and the NI Housing Executive over the use of Red Sky building maintenance company. From the BBC report The housing minister had asked the executive to extend the contract with the Belfast maintenance company. The housing body announced in April that the contract would end on 14 July due to allegations of overcharging. Earlier, Mr McCausland denied Red Sky received preferential treatment …

Ritchie/Attwood’s ministerial failure a blessing in disguise?

Blank on May 25, 2010, 7:32 pm | Readers 11

With the announcement of spending cuts of £128m from the Assembly’s budget, Sammy Wilson had stated his intention to offset the loses in part with Departmental underspends. “We knew [this] was coming down the line and when departments surrender money through the year, as inevitably they do, we can maybe use some of that to offset these cuts that have been imposed on us,” Mr Wilson said. Now DSD has declared a halt to plans to develop the Donegall Street …