Belfast City Council DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
Wednesday, 18th August, 2004
[excerpt]
to see minutes in full see:
http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/minutes.asp |
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| Arts Sub-Committee |
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| (Mr. J. Walsh, Principal Solicitor , attended in connection with this item.) |
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| In considering the minutes of the meetings of the Arts Sub-Committee of 4th, 12th and 16th August, copies of which had previously been circulated, the Committee's attention was drawn to the minute of 4th August under the heading "Factotum", agreeing that funding which Factotum had received earlier in the year be not recouped and agreeing further that the Head of Economic Initiatives submit to a meeting to be held later in the year, at which new grant criteria were to be considered, a report outlining conditions to be applied to grants being awarded by the Sub-Committee which reflect the Good Relations principles adopted by the Council and which are in accordance with the Council's Corporate Objectives, with a view to ensuring that future applicants understand that it is their responsibility to deliver their projects in accordance with those principles and Objectives. |
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Development Committee,
Wednesday, 18th August, 2004 |
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Moved by Councillor McCausland,
Seconded by Councillor Wilson, |
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| That the Committee agrees that no further funding be provided to Factotum during the remainder of the Project Grant Scheme 2004/2005. |
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| The Principal Solicitor reviewed the award which had been made to Factotum and stated that the application in that regard had met the Council's agreed criteria. The Company's publication of the monthly cultural paper entitled "The Vacuum" did not break any law and the recoupment of funding in respect of its publication would not be viable. He stated also that any decision to withhold the remainder of the allocation could be considered as a contravention of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as adopted by the Human Rights Act. He stated further that, as the application met the specified criteria, any decision to withhold the remainder of the allocation could be susceptible to legal challenge as the organisation in question would have a legitimate expectation of receiving such funding. |
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| The Principal Solicitor suggested that the Council might wish to consider requiring persons who received funding in connection with projects that involved the publication of material to publish a form of words putting some distance between the Council and the published material, or some form of disclaimer. |
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| In response to a question from a Member, the Principal Solicitor stated that the Council could request that a disclaimer be printed in future editions of the paper indicating that the views expressed within it did not represent those of the Council but that this would have to be agreed by the publishers. It could however be imposed as a requirement in relation to future funding. |
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| The Committee then proceeded to vote on the amendment. |
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| On a vote by show of hands four Members voted for the amendment and five against and it was accordingly declared lost. |
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| Adoption of Minutes |
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| The Committee approved and adopted the minutes of the meetings of the Arts Sub-Committee of 4th, 12th and 16th August. |
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