Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Doug Barrow, Nicholas Bensted-Smith, Gregory Lawrence, Oliver Lodge, Deputy Robert Howard and Deputy Henry Pollard.

No declarations of interest were received.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 22 July 2014.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 22 July 2014 be approved as an accurate record, subject to the replacement in the second paragraph of minute 14 of the phrase “Committee’s Board” with “Company’s Board”.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The committee considered the report of the Town Clerk which provided details of outstanding actions arising from minutes of previous meetings of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Economic Development which advised the Committee that the City of London had been requested by Central London Forward (CLF) to become the accountable body for two significant programmes being developed by CLF. The Committee was asked to grant delegated authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to carry out procurement of the larger of the two programmes, known as the London Growth Deal. This was estimated to be valued at £10m over 5 years to help 4,000 long term unemployed residents in Central London closer to employment.

The Committee discussed the proposals and agreed that as the proposals were currently at an early stage and it was a fast moving project, it was important that the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, was rigorous in ensuring that there was equitable risk sharing between partners and sufficient protection for the Committee of any potential claw back of funding.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the report; and

b)    agrees that authority be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, to take all necessary procurement decisions relating to the CLF 5 year programme, estimated to be in the region of £10m, to help long-term unemployed people move nearer to work, which forms part of the London Growth Deal.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered the Chamberlain’s Monthly Budget Monitoring report to the end of August 2014.

A Member noted that the budget figures had changed between the end of July and the end of August, and it was therefore difficult for Members to get an accurate picture of performance against the set budgets. The Chamberlain explained that the budgets had changed due to carry forward of funds from previous years being agreed, the identification of in-year savings from the Service Based Review, and posts moving between Departments.

Members discussed the issues of budgets changing in-year, and requested that for future reports the budget being monitored against should be the budget as originally set, with variances from this budget being explained within the report.

The Committee also discussed the contingency funds for the Policy & Resources and Finance Committees. It was suggested that, in light of the current financial position, it could be beneficial to review the origin of these funds and their use, to ensure that they were not being used to circumvent appropriate budget planning. During discussion it was noted that the contingency funds in their current format and quantum were an important asset as they provided the necessary flexibility to advance the City Corporation’s overall objectives without delay.

After further debate and a vote being taken, it was agreed that no further action would be taken with regard to a review of the contingency funds.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the report; and

b)    requests that future budget reports monitor against the budget as originally set, without variances to the budget being included.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered the report of the Chamberlain which set out the new Risk Management Strategy which was approved by the Audit and Risk Management Committee on 13 May 2014.

The Deputy Chairman noted that the report would be circulated to all Service Committees and explained that it was important that the report further highlight that responsibility for Risk Management lies with Chief Officers. The Chamberlain agreed to amend the report for future submission to Service Committees to ensure that this was reflected.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered the report of the Chamberlain which provided Members with a summary update of progress made towards delivery of the objectives and outcomes as stated in the Chamberlain’s Business Plan.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chamberlain which set out the key issues arising from two recently published Government consultation papers relating to financial matters in the local government sector. It was considered that there were no significant issues for the City Corporation which arose as a result of the consultations.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chamberlain which provided details of the 2013/14 outturn and Prudential Indicators for the City Fund.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chamberlain which set out a detailed report about City Procurement now that the partnership with Accenture had been excluded.

The Committee discussed the issue of invoices having no Purchase Order and considered appropriate ways forward to minimise this. The Committee agreed that it was important that a balance was struck between ensuring that invoices were not paid until a Purchase Order had been raised and ensuring that payments were made promptly. The Chamberlain explained that the Oracle upgrade project would provide help in the area, because process changes were also being adopted as part of the upgrade. In addition, further training was being offered for relevant staff to ensure that they were completely aware of the requirements of the procurement process. The Chamberlain explained that a further report on this could be submitted to a future meeting of either this Committee or the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee to provide further comfort in this area.

A Member stated that the budget monitoring report elsewhere on the agenda reported that there had been an overspend on repairs and maintenance and asked if that would reduce the savings stated in the appendix to the report currently being considered. The City Surveyor explained that the overspend on repairs and maintenance was being met from savings from elsewhere within the Departmental budget and discussions were being held with the contractor regarding the charging for works which had been undertaken which were outside of the contract.

RESOLVED – That the Committee:

a)    notes the report; and

b)    requests that a further report be submitted to either the next meeting of the Finance Committee or the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee outlining actions being taken to reduce the number of invoices without Purchase Orders

There were no questions.

There was no other 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 - 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 22 July 2014.

The non-public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 22 July 2014 were approved.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered and noted the report of the Town Clerk which provided details of outstanding actions arising from minutes of previous meetings of the Committee.

Joint report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor and the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor which detailed two cases where it was proposed that outstanding debt be written off.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Chamberlain which requested the approval of the Committee to allow the new caterers of The Guildhall Club, The Cook and The Butler, to take up admitted body status.

Report of the Managing Director, Barbican Centre.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Managing Director of the Barbican Centre which provided the final outturn position for the first year of the Cap 3 period (2013/14) and provided a revised project programme and expenditure plan for the final two years of the Cap 3 period (2014/15 and 2015/16).

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor which requested the Committee’s agreement to a shop lease variation and office lease variation at 124 New Bond Street.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Town Clerk detailing non-public decisions taken under delegated authority and urgency procedures since the last meeting. The report also requested the Committee consider proposals to make donations to the British Red Cross’ disaster relief appeals in relation to the Ebola Outbreak and South Sudan.

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

There was no other non-public business.