AQW 40317/11-15

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 06/01/2015
Answered On Date: 20/01/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice for his assessment of the effectiveness of Belfast City Council’s Tension Monitoring Model in addressing hate crime; and whether he plans to introduce similar models to other areas through Policing and Community Safety Partnerships and other structures.

Answer:

The Department of Justice is currently part funding the development of Belfast City Council’s Tension Monitoring Model with a view to promoting its extension to other council areas, through PCSPs, to share learning to address local issues of tension and support building community cohesion.

Originally planned for completion by end 2015, I understand the project has been extended to end 2016. Belfast City Council held two workshops in 2014 with stakeholders to discuss the outputs expected, and work streams and timelines required, to deliver the project. A plan is in place to deliver project activities such as developing a manual to capture learning and case studies for addressing community tensions; provision of training and consideration of an IT solution to capture data.