BELFAST City Council has reversed a decision to spend £10,000 sponsoring a business climate conference - a spend described as a “vanity investment”.
At the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, members narrowly agreed to pay the money, after a vote saw a People Before Profit proposal to not foot the bill fail. Nine councillors from the DUP and Alliance voted to pay the £10,000, while eight from Sinn Féin, SDLP, Green Party, and People Before Profit voted against.
Council officials recommended that the committee approve the funding contribution to the Management and Leadership Network which is hosting the prominent climate business conference, called Sustain Exchange. The total cost of the conference, which is being hosted at Titanic Belfast this week, will be in excess of £60,000.
At the monthly meeting of the full council on Tuesday, a People Before Profit amendment successfully reversed the committee decision.
People Before Profit councillor Fiona Ferguson said afterwards: “I am glad and relieved that the council tonight reversed a committee decision to spend £10,000 on a vanity investment to brand a conference with the council’s logo. Council participation in this conference was not contingent on the payment making the fee entirely superfluous, other than to advertise.
"We are living in incredibly difficult times for many in our communities, as the cost of living crisis continues largely unabated. At the same time, threats of yet another hike in the rates are being touted, along with talk of tightened budgets in the coming period. In this context, a £10,000 council branding exercise would have been totally unnecessarily exorbitant.
"If we are to continue with talk of difficult decisions, then those can come at the expense of the council’s brand."
