Agenda and minutes

The apologies of those Members unable to attend this meeting of the Court were noted.

There were none.

To agree the minutes of the meeting of the Court of Common Council held on 8 December 2016.

Resolved – That the Minutes of the last Court are correctly recorded.

Resolved unanimously – That the sincere congratulations of this Court be offered to

George Marr Flemington Gillon, MBE

on his recent appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to the City of London Corporation and the Scottish community in London.

Mr Gillon was heard in reply.

Resolved unanimously – That the sincere congratulations of this Court be offered to

Gordon Warwick Haines, MBE, JP

recently Alderman for the Ward of Queenhithe, on his recent appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his voluntary and charitable services to the Community and Environmental Conservation in London.

Resolved unanimously – That the sincere congratulations of this Court be offered to

Professor Sir Barry William Ife, CBE

Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, on his recent appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as a Knight Bachelor in recognition of his services to performing arts education.

Resolved unanimously – That the sincere congratulations of this Court be offered to

Timothy Slade, QPM

A Sergeant in the City of London Police, on his recent award of the Queen’s Police Medal by Her Majesty the Queen.

Resolved unanimously – that the Members of the Court of Common Council express to

William Harry Dove, OBE, JP

their sincere gratitude for his dedication to the work of the City Corporation over the past 23 years, during which time he served on more than 25 committees, many of which he also chaired.

A teacher by trade, it is no surprise that Billy’s time and activities on this Court reflected his enthusiasm for improving the lives of young people, as well as his charitable nature and his passion

The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor to report on his recent overseas visits.

There was no report.

To receive a statement from the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee.

There was no statement.

There were no documents to be sealed.

To consider a circulated list of applications for the Freedom of the City.

The Chamberlain, in pursuance of the Order of this Court, presented a list of the under-mentioned, persons who had made applications to be admitted to the Freedom of the City by Redemption:-

To receive a report setting out measures introduced into Parliament which may have an effect on the services provided by the City Corporation.

The Court received a report on measures introduced by Parliament which might have an effect on the services provided by the City Corporation as follows:-

The Town Clerk to report the outcome of the ballot taken at the last Court:

¬ denotes appointed.

One Member to the Police Committee.

With no candidate obtaining 50% of the first preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first preference votes had their second preference votes (where indicated) transferred.

The Town Clerk reported the results of a ballot taken at the last Court, as follows:-

Read.

One Member to the Police Committee.

With no candidate having obtained 50% of the first preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first preference votes had their second preference votes (where indicated) transferred.

Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Keith Bottomley to be appointed to the Police Committee.

To consider the following appointments:

(A)         One Member on the Board of Governors of the City of London School, for the balance of a term expiring in July 2020.

Nominations received:-

Dominic Gerard Christian

Michael Hudson

(B)         One Member on the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, for the balance of a term expiring in April 2017.

Nominations received:-

Adam Fox McCloud Richardson

(C)         One Member on the Establishment Committee, for the balance of a term expiring in April 2017.

Nominations received:-

Michael Hudson

(D)         One Member on the Barbican Residential Committee (in the category of non-resident), for the balance of a 4 year term expiring in April 2020.

Nominations received:-

Clare James

(E)         One Member on the City Bridge Trust Committee, for the balance of a term expiring in April 2020.

Nominations received:-

John Alfred Barker, O.B.E., Deputy

Dhruv Patel

(F)          One Member on the Standards Committee, for the balance of a term expiring in April 2020.

Nominations received:-

Christopher Michael Hayward

The Court proceeded to consider appointments to the following committees:

(A)         Board of Governors of the City of London School (one vacancy for the balance of a term expiring in July 2020).

Nominations received:-

Dominic Gerard Christian

Michael Hudson

Read.

The Court proceeded, in accordance with Standing Order No.10, to ballot on the vacancies. The Lord Mayor appointed the Chief Commoner and the Chairman of the Finance Committee, or their representatives, to be the scrutineers of the ballot.

Resolved – That the votes be counted at the conclusion of the Court and the result printed in the Summons for the next meeting.

(B)         Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (one vacancy for the balance of a term expiring in April 2017).

Nominations received:-

Adam Fox McCloud Richardson

Read.

Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Adam Richardson to be appointed to the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

(C)         Establishment Committee (one vacancy for the balance of a term expiring in April 2017).

Nominations received:-

Michael Hudson

Read.

Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Michael Hudson to be appointed to the Establishment Committee.

(D)         Barbican Residential Committee (one vacancy for the balance of a 4 year term expiring in April 2020).

Nominations received:-

Clare James

Read.

Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Clare James to be appointed to the Barbican Residential Committee.

(E)         One Member on the City Bridge Trust Committee, for the balance of a term expiring in April 2020.

Nominations received:-

John Alfred Barker, O.B.E., Deputy

Dhruv Patel

Read.

The Court proceeded, in accordance with Standing Order No.10, to ballot on the vacancies. The Lord Mayor appointed the Chief Commoner and the Chairman of the Finance Committee, or their representatives, to be the scrutineers of the ballot.

Resolved – That the

Road Closures

Edward Lord asked a question of the Chairman of the Planning & Transportation Committee concerning recent road closures and their impact, particularly in relation to the Bank Junction experimental safety scheme.

In reply, the Chairman outlined the significant planning which had been involved to ensure that recent and ongoing major projects were delivered as efficiently and quickly as possible, to minimise the effect of necessary works on traffic. He noted the timely delivery of the recent Tower Bridge project and confirmed that the Bank Junction safety scheme would not be implemented until the Cannon Street works had been completed. He also reminded Members that the safety scheme could be amended at any time to alleviate road closures elsewhere, in order to ensure the free-flow of traffic.

Observing that a significant number of Members wished to speak on this matter, the Lord Mayor suggested that, in accordance with Standing Order 2, Members might wish to consider the suspension of Standing Orders 13(6) and 13(9).

Motion – That Standing Orders 13(6) and 13(9) be suspended for the duration of item 12.

Upon the Motion being put, the Lord Mayor declared it to be carried.

In response to a number of supplementary questions, the Chairman stressed that the issue of safety was of paramount importance and highlighted the duty on the City Corporation, as the highway authority, to ensure that the Junction was as safe as possible. The mandate to pursue this was clear, particularly given the Coroner’s expectations that improvements would be implemented following the tragic death of Ying Tao. Whilst noting that black cabs were amongst some of the safer drivers using the Junction, it was not viable to make exceptions for taxis as part of the scheme without impacting the overall safety of the proposals. The Chairman also agreed

There were no motions.

To receive a report of the Chairman of the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee advising of the recent award of the 2016 John Connell Soundscape Award to the City of London Corporation’s Pollution Team.

The Court received a report of the Chairman of the Port Health & Environmental Services Committee, advising that the City of London Corporation’s Pollution Team had won the 2016 John Connell Soundscape Award for its Noise and Soundscape Strategy.

To consider a report proposing that Standing Order 29(3) be amended to enable the Chairman of the Local Government Pensions Board to also serve as the Chairman of another Grand Committee.

POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

(Mark Boleat)

15 December 2016

Amendment to Standing Order 29(3) – Local Government Pensions Board

In April 2015, the Court of Common Council approved the creation of the Local Government Pensions Board, consisting of three Scheme Administrator (employer) representatives and three Scheme Member (employee) representatives. The Scheme Administrator representatives consisted of two Members of the Court of Common Council and one Senior Officer.

Given the requirement for either the Chairman or Deputy Chairman to be a Member of the Court of Common Council, alongside there only being two Members of the Court on the Board, it was considered prudent to recommend that Standing Order 29(3) be amended to enable the Chairman of the Board to also be Chairman of another Grand Committee at the same time.

Resolved - That Standing Order 29 (3) be amended to enable the Chairman of the Local Government Pensions Board to also be Chairman of another Grand Committee at the same time.

To consider reports of the Hospitality Working Party of the Policy and Resources

Committee, as follows:

HOSPITALITY WORKING PARTY OF THE POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE

(Michael Welbank, M.B.E., Chief Commoner)

(A)         Applications for the Use of Guildhall – to note the prior approval of the listed applications for the use of Guildhall.

For Information

6 December 2016

(A) Applications for the Use of Guildhall

In accordance with the arrangements approved by the Court on 21 June 2001 for the approval of applications for the use of Guildhall, the Court was informed of the following applications which had been agreed to:-

Resolved – That the several applications be noted.

(B)         Applications for Hospitality – to consider one recommendation concerning the provision of hospitality.

For Decision

6 December 2016

(B) Application for Hospitality: Lunchtime Reception to mark the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers’ 50th anniversary

An approach had been made for the City Corporation to host a lunchtime reception following a march through the City in September 2018 by the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, to mark their 50th anniversary.

It was therefore recommended that hospitality be granted for a lunchtime reception for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and that arrangements be made under the auspices of the Hospitality Working Party; the costs to be met from City’s Cash and within the approved parameters.

This would be a full Court event.

Resolved – That hospitality be granted for a lunchtime reception for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and that arrangements be made under the auspices of the Hospitality Working Party; the costs to be met from City’s Cash and within the approved parameters.

To consider a report proposing the continuation of the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with the annual uprating of application amounts in line with Housing Benefit application amounts.

FINANCE COMMITTEE

(Jeremy Paul Mayhew)

13 December 2016

Council Tax Reduction Scheme

In 2013/14, the Government introduced a locally-determined Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS). This replaced the national Council Tax Benefit scheme and assisted people on low incomes with their council tax bills. To protect residents on low incomes, the City of London Corporation adopted the Government’s default scheme for the financial years 2013/14 to 2015/16, which kept the CTRS in line with the Government’s general increase in benefits.

Changes were made to national benefits in the July 2015 budget and, as a result, it was not possible to maintain the same scheme for the 2016/17 financial year. A consultation exercise was undertaken and the Court agreed to make adjustments to the scheme to protect existing claimants from possibly being worse off, keeping the administration of the CTRS in line with Housing Benefit.

There were no proposals to make any specific amendments to the CTRS for this or future years, beyond keeping the CTRS in line with Housing Benefit and it was therefore recommended that the Court agree that the CTRS for 2017/18 be the same as the CTRS for 2016/17, subject to the annual uprating of amounts in line with Housing Benefit applicable amounts. It was also recommended that the CTRS for future years be the same as the previous year, subject to the application of those upratings.

Resolved – That approval be granted to the continuation of the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with the annual uprating of application amounts in line with Housing Benefit application amounts, as set out in paragraph 10 of the report.

To consider a report proposing an alternative layout for the Tudor Street junction as well as a number of mitigation measures.

PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE

(Christopher Michael Hayward)

13 December 2016

Tudor Street – Alternative Design & Mitigation Measures

On 28 April 2016, Transport for London (TfL) opened their North-South cycle superhighway from Blackfriars to Stonecutter Street. However, concerns about the impact of the superhighway on the area around Tudor Street were expressed at the time by the Temples and other residents and, following debate, proposals put forward to help mitigate the position were not supported by the Court of Common Council. Officers had consequently been instructed to work with TfL, the Temples and their transport consultants to establish if a more effective scheme could be developed.

An alternative design for the Tudor Street junction had now been agreed in principle by all parties and was presented to Members for consideration at Appendix 2 to the report.

It had also been recognised that there was a need to implement mitigation measures ahead of the revised scheme, as it had been observed that the introduction of TfL’s cycle superhighway schemes had resulted in an increase in traffic on other City streets which was causing circulation implications for lorry movements within the area.

The Court was consequently recommended to:-

·         agree and instruct officers to continue to work with TfL to progress the alternative layout as shown in Appendix 2;

·         approve a total estimated cost of £195,000, of which £175,000 is a contribution towards TfL’s costs in delivering the alternative layout; and

·         approve and agree to the delivery of the mitigation measures (subject to the resolution of any objections arising from the statutory public consultation) as shown in Appendix 3.

Introducing the report, the Chairman thanked the consultants representing the Temples, relevant Ward Members, TfL staff and officers involved for their hard work and dedication in developing a sensible and pragmatic solution

To consider a report proposing that approval be given to the use of reserves.

POLICE COMMITTEE

(Douglas Barrow, Deputy)

15 December 2016

City of London Police Medium-Term Financial Plan

The revised City of London Police Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) showed a deteriorating financial position. This position had been arrived at within a context of increased terrorism threats post the attacks in France, Belgium and Germany and revised national planning assumptions in the United Kingdom. The associated additional pressures on frontline policing capability, protective services, growing cybercrime, online crime demand and intelligence requirements had also been considered along with work undertaken in the last quarter to better understand increasing pressures within policing directorates.

The MTFP assumptions and financial and operational risks had been reviewed and options being identified to mitigate new threats and risks across the MTFP and consider future viable efficiencies. The current position could also be offset by the use of reserves, which required agreement from the Court of Common Council. The threshold required reserves to be maintained at or above £4m and current estimates showed that the drawdown on reserves would take reserves below that amount in 2016/17 with a forecast drawdown of £2.6m. Reserves would be completely exhausted by 2017/18.

The Policy & Resources Committee had endorsed the proposed relaxation of the reserve threshold, whilst noting the planned professional analytical review which would take place, and it was recommended that the Court approve the relaxation of the reserve threshold of £4m and approve the use of reserves in 2016/17 totalling £2.6m and 2017/18 totalling £1.5m.

Resolved – That approval be given to the relaxation of the reserve threshold of £4m the use of reserves in 2016/17 totalling £2.6m and 2017/18 totalling £1.5m.

To consider a report proposing the creation of a Grade I post to facilitate the appointment of a Strategic Education and Skills Director.

ESTABLISHMENT COMMITTEE

(The Revd. Stephen Decatur Haines, Deputy)

21 December 2016

Appointment of Strategic Education and Skills Director

Since September 2015 the City Corporation had engaged a temporary Education Strategy Director, an Education Policy Officer and part-time Assistant Policy Officer in support of the work of the Education Board. This included the delivery, monitoring and review of the City Corporation’s Education Strategy.

There was now a need to secure long term strategic leadership, monitoring and review of the Strategy and combine it with the responsibility for adult education and the new City Corporation commitment to apprenticeships. As a result, the creation of a permanent post of Strategic Education and Skills Director had been identified as the most effective and efficient way of ensuring that these key City Corporation functions are delivered.

The post had been evaluated at Grade I and therefore required the approval of the Court of Common Council. Members were consequently recommended to approve the creation of this post.

Resolved – That approval be given to the creation of the Grade I post of Strategic Education and Skills Director.

To receive a report presenting the findings of an independent review of the arrangements currently in place for addressing matters connected with the conduct of Members under the Localism Act 2011.

STANDARDS COMMITTEE

(Oliver Arthur Wynlayne Lodge)

16 December 2016

Independent Review of the City of London Corporation’s Standards Regime

On 21 July 2016, the Standards Committee advised the Court of its intention to commission an independent, broadly-based review of the arrangements currently in place for addressing matters connected with the conduct of Members (including co-opted Members) under the Localism Act 2011, with particular focus on the Complaints Procedure (alleged breaches of the Members’ Code of Conduct).

The choice of the individual to undertake the review was determined by the Town Clerk and Mr Charles Bourne QC of 11 King’s Bench Walk was subsequently appointed to carry out the task.

The report detailing Mr Bourne’s findings, together with his recommendations, was now presented to the Court of Common Council for information, at this stage. It was recommended that the Court note the report and also note that the Standards Committee would consider Mr Bourne’s report in detail and report back to the Court during 2017 as to how the various recommendations might best be progressed and implemented, as appropriate.

A Member spoke to suggest that it might be more appropriate for the experience and input of the wider Court to be involved in the consideration of Mr Bourne’s report, rather than this matter being referred to the Standards Committee. He proposed that a panel of senior Members be appointed instead, who might select a number of Members from the Court to serve on a Working Party with power to report back to the Court. The following amendment was proposed:

Amendment – That a Panel be established by resolution of this Court today comprising the Chairman of the Standards Committee, the Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee, the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen, and the Chief Commoner, with power

To consider a report proposing the adoption of a revised Statement of Licensing Policy.

LICENSING COMMITTEE

(Peter Gerard Dunphy)

26 October 2016

Review of Statement of Licensing Policy - Licensing Act 2003

The City of London Corporation, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, published its first statutory Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 in January 2005. Subsequent reviews were published in January 2008 and again in January 2011 and January 2013. Although not statutorily due for a further review until 2018, due to changes in the City Corporation’s policies and procedures, improvements to the Code of Practice and major legislative changes to the Licensing Act 2003, there was a need to revise and update the Statement of Licensing Policy sooner.

The consultation period for the revised text of the Policy finished on Thursday 29 September 2016. Four responses to the consultation were received and the concerns and comments expressed had been taken into account in the Policy attached as an appendix to the report.

The Court was recommended to approve the revised Statement of Licensing Policy, as set out at Appendix 1, for adoption.

In introducing the report, the Chairman advised that a section had also been included detailing how to make an application, so as to be helpful to City businesses. He also clarified that neither the Sexual Entertainment Venue Policy nor the Tables and Chairs Policy, both referred to in the report, were being reviewed at this stage.

Resolved – That the revised Statement of Licensing Policy, as set out at Appendix 1, be approved for adoption.

That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business below on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972.

Resolved – That the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business below on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972.

Summary of exempt items considered whilst the public were excluded:-

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting of the Court held on 8 December 2016.

Resolved – That the non-public Minutes of the last Court are correctly recorded.

To consider a report concerning the Centre for Music project.

Policy and Resources Committee

The Court approved a proposal concerning the Centre for Music.

To consider reports of the Finance Committee as follows:

Finance Committee

The Court:-

(A)Managed Service of Temporary Agency Resource – the award of a four-year contract for Managed Service Temporary Agency Resource.

For Decision

(A)   approved the award of a contract relating to temporary agency resource; and

(B) Action Fraud Interim Service Provision – to receive a report advising of action taken under urgency procedures in relation to the Action Fraud reporting centre.

For Information

(B)noted action taken under urgency procedures in relation to the Action Fraud reporting centre.

To receive a report advising of action taken under urgency procedures concerning a prgoramme of repairs to the Poultry Market.

Markets Committee

The Court received a report advising of action taken under urgency procedures concerning a programme of repairs to the Poultry Market.

To consider a report concerning a proposed lease renewal.

Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama

The Court approved a proposal concerning the renewal of a lease.