Belfast Council has reversed a decision to spend £10K for sponsoring a business climate conference, in a spend described as a “vanity investment.”
At the council ’s recent Strategic Policy and Resources Committee last month, elected members narrowly agreed to pay the money, after a knife edge vote saw a People Before Profit proposal to not foot the £10K bill fail. Nine councillors from the DUP and Alliance voted to pay the £10K, while eight from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit voted against the payment.
Council officials recommended that the committee approve the funding contribution to the Management and Leadership Network who are 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.
