Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room - 2nd Floor West Wing, Guildhall

Contact: John Cater
tel. no.: 020 7332 1426  Email: john.cater@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Jamie Ingham Clark, Mark Bostock, Dominic Christian, Karina Dostalova, Simon Duckworth, Deputy Tom Hoffman, Gregory Lawrence, Tim Levene, Paul Martinelli, Deputy Robert Merrett, Alderman Russell, Deputy James Thomson.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

Members' Declarations under the Code of Conduct in respect of items on the agenda

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 238 KB

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 21st November 2017.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21st November 2017 be approved as an accurate record.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Outstanding actions from previous meetings pdf icon PDF 123 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which set out outstanding actions from previous meetings of the Committee.

 

RESOLVED – that Members noted the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Committee's Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk on the Annual review of the Finance Committee’s Terms of Reference. The Report proposed no changes to the Committee’s current Terms of Reference.

 

The Chairman suggested that the Town Clerk should incorporate a brief description of the role and responsibilities of the respective Sub-Committees. The Town Clerk would consult the Chairmen of the Sub-Committee and relevant officers and present the changes to the Court of Common Council to consider in April 2018.

 

In addition, the Town Clerk distributed an addendum to this item that proposed several changes to the 2018 Finance Committee Sub Calendar. This was an attempt to better align the schedule of Sub-Committee meetings with the Grand Committee. The proposed schedule establishes six separate Committee cycles, with the Subs due to take place (on average) a fortnight before the Grand Committee meets.

 

RESOVLED- that

 

     I.        subject to any comments and agreement, the Terms of Reference

of the Finance Committee for submission to the Court, as set out in the

appendix 1 are agreed and;

 

    II.        the Committee considers the frequency of meetings of the Committee; and

 

  III.        any changes to the Terms of Reference required in the lead up to

the appointment of Committees be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

 

 

 

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Report of the work of the Sub-Committees pdf icon PDF 172 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during recent meetings of the Committee’s Sub-Committees.

 

RESOLVED – That Members noted the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Draft public Minutes of Sub-Committees

To note the draft minutes of the following Sub-Committee meetings:

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

The Committee noted the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the following Sub-Committee meetings:

-        Corporate Asset Sub-Committee held on 22nd November 2017;

-        Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee held on 15 November 2017;

-        Finance Grants Oversight and Performance Sub-Committee held on 21 November 2017; and

-        Information Technology Sub-Committee held on 24 November 2017.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

7a

Draft public minutes of the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee held on 15 November 2017 pdf icon PDF 198 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee meeting held on 15th November 2017 be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7a

7b

Draft public minutes of the Finance Grants Sub-Committee held on 21 November 2017

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Finance Grants Sub-Committee meeting held on 21 November 2017 be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7b

7c

Draft public minutes of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee held on 22 November 2017 pdf icon PDF 221 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Corporate Assets Sub-Committee meeting held on 22 November 2017 be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7c

7d

Draft public minutes of the Information Technology Sub-Committee held on 24 November 2017 pdf icon PDF 310 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and non-public summary of the Information Systems Sub-Committee meeting held on 24 November 2017 be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7d

8.

Chamberlain's Department - Draft Departmental Business Plan 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 141 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Chamberlain regarding the Chamberlain’s Department’s Draft Business Plan for 2018/19. The report presented information on the draft high-level business plan, alongside the departmental estimate report.

 

Picking up on the wording in paragraph 5, the Chairman stressed that officers should be aiming for full alignment, not “closer alignment”, between the departmental business plans and the draft outcomes from the Corporate Plan. This was an important distinction that should be reiterated to relevant officers across the City Corporation.

 

Furthermore, the Chairman suggested that the Draft Business Plan currently contained a surfeit of bullet points, which had the unfortunate effect of diluting the key messages. The Chamberlain should look at refining the Plan to reduce the number of bullet points.

 

RESOLVED – that Members noted the Report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Risk Management - Top Risks pdf icon PDF 150 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Chamberlain which provided updates regarding the top risks within the Departmental Risk Register.

 

In response to a query from a Member, officers confirmed that both red risks (CR16 – Information Security and CR19 – IT Service Provision) were on track to move from red to amber soon.

 

RESOLVED – that Members noted the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

City Procurement Quarterly Progress pdf icon PDF 353 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Chamberlain which updated Members on the work of City Procurement, and the key areas of progress since it last reported to the Finance Committee in July 2017.

 

The Chairman questioned officers as to City Procurement’s record of paying Small and Medium Sized Enterprises; timely payment should be a priority for the City as maintaining a healthy cashflow was critical for SMEs. Officers confirmed that (as at October 2017) 96% of all suppliers were being paid within 30 days; of these figures, a further breakdown indicated that 96% of SMEs specifically were being paid within 30 days (84% within 10 days).

 

In response to a Member querying the outlook for retrospective waivers, officers reiterated that the aim was to eliminate them entirely. A Report would be presented to Finance Committee in February detailing the work undertaken in this area.

 

RESOLVED – that Members noted the Report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Central Contingencies pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Chamberlain regarding the current balance of the Finance Committee Contingency Funds.

 

The Chairman noted that the wording in paragraph 2 had omitted an extra zero for the sum available under the City’s Cash Contingency Fund for national and international emergencies.

 

As this contingency fund had been exhausted in autumn 2017, Members agreed that a further £25,000 should be assigned as an additional exigency sum, available to be accessed by the Town Clerk (in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman under Delegated Authority) if another crisis occurs before the end of March 2018.


RESOLVED – that Members noted the report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Pilot Scheme for Business Rates Devolution in London

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Remembrancer.

 

To Follow.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Minutes:

Members received a Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Remembrancer regarding Business Rates devolution in London.

The Chamberlain outlined that this was a pilot scheme, with the City as the lead authority. The scheme would have a financially neutral starting-point but enable any year-on-year growth in rates revenue to be retained in London—a dividend projected to be worth £240 million in 2018–19. Some of this would be used to establish a new strategic investment fund and the rest would be shared among the participating authorities (with the City of London’s projected share £8.2 million).

The Chairman suggested that the case for a Memorandum of Understanding was solid, however, in time, a firm contract would be desirable.

Furthermore, the Chairman and other Members stressed that officers should be vigilant about how the scheme developed if the pilot proved a success. There was caution about the assumption that London’s economy (and consequently its business rates coffers) would continue to grow unabated. When a downturn did occur, it was vital that the City was not left exposed.

RESOLVED – that Members approved the following:

1) the Common Council should participate, as a pilot scheme for the 2018-19 financial year, in a business rates pool with the Greater London Authority and the London borough councils;

2) the arrangements for the distribution of revenue within the pool should, subject to recommendation (3), be as described in the body of this report;

3) the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee should be authorised, in consultation with the Chairman of the Finance Committee, to agree to minor variations in the arrangements, if agreed by the other participants in the pool;

4) the Common Council should agree to act as the lead authority for the pool and for the strategic investment fund to be established under

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

The Kenley Fund pdf icon PDF 101 KB

Report of the Superintendent of The Commons.  

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Superintendent of The Commons regarding the Kenley Fund.

 

RESOVED - Members agreed that the Interest on cash balances held in the Kenley Fund should be credited to the Kenley Fund.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Autumn Budget 2017 pdf icon PDF 93 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Chamberlain regarding HM Treasury’s November Budget.

 

RESOVLED- that Members noted the Report.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Revenue and Capital Budgets - Operational Services 2018-19

Report of the Chamberlain.

 

To Follow.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.

Minutes:

To note – this Report was listed incorrectly under the non-public section (Item 22 in the Agenda Pack), during the meeting it was taken in the public section of the meeting after item 14.

 

Members received a Report of the Chamberlain regarding the proposed 2018/19 Revenue Budgets for Operational Services.

 

Members were concerned that the Report presented two budgets for 2017/18 – the “Original Budget” and the “Latest Budget”; it made the overall position unclear as the “goalposts had been moved during the year”.

 

The Chairman was of the view that departments should have a starting point and stick to it. A Member stressed that the budget was misleading and queried whether in future officers could bring two reports, one with the revised projection and another that compared “original to original”, essentially if departments have spent more than allocated in their original budget this should not be obscured, and as a result, the current report “didn’t quite work”. In response, officers emphasised that different departments had their own requirements, and in terms of reporting, the Chamberlain could present the budget either way.

 

 

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Any Other Business that the Chairman considers urgent

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Exclusion of the Public

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.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 18.

Minutes:

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting, 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.

 

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Non-public minutes of the previous meeting

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2017.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2017 were approved as an accurate record.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Outstanding actions from non-public minutes of previous meetings

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 20.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Town Clerk which set out outstanding actions from previous non-public minutes of the Committee.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Report of the work of the Sub-Committees - non-public issues

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 21.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during the non-public sections at recent meetings of the Committee’s Sub-Committees.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Draft Non-public minutes of Sub-Committees

To note the draft non-public minutes of the following Sub-Committee meetings:

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 22.

Minutes:

The Committee noted the draft non-public minutes of the following Sub-Committee meetings:

-        Corporate Asset Sub-Committee held on 22nd November 2017;

-        Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee held on 15th November 2017;

-        Finance Grants Oversight and Performance Sub-Committee held on 21st November 2017; and

-        Information Technology Sub-Committee held on 24th November.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

22a

Draft non-public minutes of the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee held on 15 November 2017

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee meeting held on 15 November 2017 were noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22a

22b

Draft non-public minutes of the Finance Grants Sub-Committee held on 21 November 2017

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the Finance Grants Sub-Committee meeting held on 21 November 2017 were noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22b

22c

Draft non-public minutes of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee held on 22 November 2017

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee meeting held on 22 November 2017 were noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22c

22d

Draft non-public minutes of the Information Technology Sub-Committee held on 24 November 2017

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the Information Technology Sub-Committee meeting held on 24 November 2017 were noted.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22d

23.

Action and Know Fraud Centre -Contract Service Budget

Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 23.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Commissioner of the City of London Police.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Waste Collection, Street Cleansing and Ancillary Services - Procurement Stage 1

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of the Built Environment.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 24.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Director of the Built Environment and the Chamberlain.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

Barbican Write Off

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 25.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

26.

Care Costs Write Off

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 26.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Departmental response to Chief Officer Purchase Cards

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 27.

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Chamberlain on the Chief Officers Purchase Card Report.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Agilisys Contract Extension Recommendations

Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 28.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the Chamberlain.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

29.

City of London Freemen's School - 2016 Masterplan Programme & Progress

Report of the Headmaster, City of London Freemen's School and the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 29.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

City Fund & City’s Estate Highway Disposal - 22 Bishopsgate

Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 30.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Bridge House Estates, 2 Kennington Road, London SE1 - Freehold Disposal

Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 31.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of the City Surveyor.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

GLA Roads - Land Dispute with Transport for London

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 32.

Minutes:

Members received a Report of The Comptroller and City Solicitor and The City Surveyor.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Non-public questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

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

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

34.

Any Other Business that the Chairman considers urgent and which the Committee agree should be considered whilst the public are excluded

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.