Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from George Abrahams, Deputy John Barker, Doug Barrow, Nicholas Bensted-Smith, Gregory Lawrence, Oliver Lodge, Deputy Henry Pollard and David Thomson.

No declarations of interest were made.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 25 June 2014.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 25 June 2014 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered the report of the Town Clerk which provided updates on Outstanding Actions from previous meetings of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

To note the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 3 June 2014.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Corporate Assets Sub-Committee meeting held on 3 June 2014 be noted.

To note the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 25 June 2014.

The Chamberlain reported that the Oracle project referred to within item 4 of the minutes of the Information Systems Sub-Committee was now rated as a red risk due to an increase in the costs of the project and delay in its completion.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Information Systems Sub-Committee meeting held on 25 June 2014 be noted.

To note the public minutes of the meeting held on 2 July 2014.

The Town Clerk explained that in relation to item 9 of the minutes and the setting of energy targets, a report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Finance Committee to allow the Committee to ensure that appropriate targets were set and that invest-to-save opportunities were considered.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee meeting held on 2 July 2014 be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided the Committee with the City Fund and Pension Funds Financial Statements for 2013/14.

The Chamberlain explained that the City Fund contribution to the Crossrail project which was expected to be paid in 2016 was included as a capital commitment within the Financial Statements as the City Corporation would not become liable for this funding until the point at which the ticket halls were built. Consequently, as this was an executory contract, the inclusion of a provision would not be an appropriate accounting treatment. The Chamberlain explained that this issue had been discussed at length at the meeting of the Audit and Risk Management Committee earlier in the day. It had been agreed by that Committee that in future years a note would be added to the Financial Statements to demonstrate how the balance sheet would differ if the Crossrail funding was provided for within the Accounts.

The Chamberlain also explained that the Audit and Risk Management Committee had considered the Risk Management section within the Financial Statements and agreed some amendments to this section (paragraphs 30 to 33). The amended version of the Risk Management section of the Financial Statements was put around the table at the Committee, and the Finance Committee agreed to these amendments to the Financial Statements.

The Chamberlain further explained that the Audit and Risk Management Committee had agreed to the recommendations within the report, with an amendment to the recommendation which delegated approval of material changes to the Financial Statements to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. The amendment was to add the words “subject to the full Committee being consulted where, in the view of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, it is appropriate to do so”.

RESOLVED – That

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered the report of the Chamberlain which provided the Committee with the Bridge House Estates, City’s Cash Trust Funds and Sundry Trust Funds Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2013/14.

The Chamberlain reported that the Audit and Risk Management Committee had agreed that the note on Related Party Transactions with the City Fund needed greater prominence and it would therefore also be included in the Trustees annual report.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

1.         notes the contents of Moore Stephens Management Letter;

2.         approves the Annual Reports and Financial Statements for Bridge House Estates, City’s Cash Trust Funds and the Sundry Trust Funds taking account of any observations from the Audit and Risk Management Committee; and

3.         agrees that the Annual Reports and Financial Statements are signed by the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee on behalf of the Court of Common Council.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered the Chamberlain’s Monthly Budget Monitoring report to June 2014.

A Member queried whether, in light of the provision that Spy Car CCTV alone could no longer be used to secure prosecutions for parking offences, whether there were any proposals to use CCTV to direct enforcement officers to offending vehicles. The Chamberlain explained that a cost-benefit analysis of this approach would need to be conducted.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided the Committee with the details of the revenue outturn for 2013/14 for the operational services overseen by the Finance Committee.

RESOLVED – That the revenue outturn report for 2013/14 and the budgets proposed to be carried forward to 2014/15 are noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided an update on the end of the PP2P partnership arrangement with Accenture, the performance of the City of London Procurement Service (CLPS) and provided an update on the proposed service restructure.

A Member stated that he believed that the culture change brought about by the CLPS had been extremely positive. However, he also felt that the report provided an overly optimistic assessment of the savings achieved through the CLPS. In some instances these savings were attributed to very general areas, such as “Highways” or “Construction”, and there was not always clarity regarding whether savings had been achieved through more efficient procurement, or whether through the specifications of work changing or proposed work not taking place.

The Member requested, and the Committee agreed, that a further report be submitted to the Committee to provide a more detailed breakdown of savings achieved, including information regarding which departments the savings had accrued to, and how attributable these savings were to the procurement process itself.

A Member also suggested that this might be an area for the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee to consider, particularly given that a lot of the work in relation to the CLPS had been overseen by that Sub-Committee.

A Member also commented that similar reports in the past had included a projection of future work, which had not been included within this report, and requested that this be reintroduced to future reports.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the progress made by the service during the partnership with Accenture and ongoing challenges which the service is currently addressing; and

b)    requests that a further report be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee which provides a more detailed breakdown of savings achieved, including information regarding which departments the savings

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided information on the claims experience and Underwriting Profit and Loss Account for the third accounting period of the Insurance Captive, from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014, which revealed that a retained profit of £92,569 had been achieved.

A Member queried whether the Committee needed to approve the accounts, as a shareholder of the company. The Chamberlain explained that the accounts had been approved by the Company’s Board, and was presented to the Committee (as a representative of the shareholders) for information.

A Member asked for further details in relation to an outstanding claim referred to in the report. The Chamberlain explained that this was currently a sensitive matter, and if further discussion of this issue was desired it would need to be considered within the non-public part of the agenda. The Committee agreed that it would wish to discuss this issue, and therefore deferred a resolution of this item until the non-public part of the agenda.

Report of the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries which summarised the issues and options for introducing a foreign currency exchange service at the City Information Centre, and requested the Committee to approve in principle the introduction of the service.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

1.    receives for information the contents of this report and the recommendations of the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee; and

2.    formally waives the procurement regulations in accordance with regulation 9.2, so enabling the City Corporation to procure the service for a one-year trial period, with the option to extend the trial to a maximum period of eighteen months if the tender process for a three-year contract is not complete within the trial period and continuity of service is required

Chairman’s Announcements

The Chairman reminded Members of the Telecommunications Working Party that the Working Party would meet at the rising of the Finance Committee meeting.

The Chairman reported that the two Finance Breakfasts held in July had been extremely well received, and further breakfasts would be held in October. It was likely that these Breakfasts would focus on the Service Based Review.

The Chairman also announced that from September onwards, a quarterly Members’ Financial Briefing Paper would be produced, which would keep Members informed of any financial issues which were thought to be relevant. The Chairman requested that Members inform him if they have  any issues which they thought should be covered in these Briefing Papers.

Committee Papers

The Chairman asked for Members’ comments on any ways in which the size of the agenda for the Committee could be reduced for future meetings. Members suggested that it may be possible for appendices to not be included within the agenda, or only within the electronic version of the pack and not printed, if not critical to the business of the meeting.

There was no urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – As discussed during consideration of the item in relation to City Re Limited, that under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for discussion of that item in relation to an outstanding claim on the grounds that the discussion will involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided information on the claims experience and Underwriting Profit and Loss Account for City Re Limited, and as discussed at item 14, the Committee considered the issues raised in relation to an outstanding claim.

RESOLVED – That the meeting be reopened to the public.

Following discussion of the report in relation to City Re Limited during the non-public session, the Committee considered the recommendations within the report.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2014.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2014 were approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered and noted a report of the Town Clerk which set out actions outstanding from the non-public minutes of previous meetings.

To receive the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2014.

The non-public minutes of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee held on 3 June 2014 were noted.

To receive the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2014.

The non-public minutes of the Information Systems Sub-Committee held on 25  June 2014 were noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Chamberlain which provided proposals for the replacement of the City Corporation’s Wi-Fi infrastructure.

Report of the Director of Environmental Services.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Director of Environmental Services which sought the approval for the write off of a bad debt.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor which set out the fees in relation to detailed design proposals for the Central Criminal Court Plant Replacement programme.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered and noted a report of the Town Clerk detailing three non-public decisions taken under delegated authority since the last meeting.

There were no non-public questions relating to the work of the Committee.

The Committee considered five items of non-public urgent business.