Agenda and minutes

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

There were none.

a)    To agree the minutes of the meeting of the Court of Common Council held on 22 June 2017.

b)    To agree the minutes of the special meeting of the Court of Common Council held on 8 May 2017, for the award of the Honorary Freedom to Her Excellency Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

(A)         Resolved – That the Minutes of the last Court are correctly recorded, subject to the antepenultimate bullet point under item 7 on page 4 being amended to read:

“Noting that private leaseholders also were responsible for the costs of improvements, the Chairman agreed to speak with officers to see whether any relevant communications might be sent to such households to advise them of steps that could or should be taken in respect of fire safety.”

(B)  Resolved – That the Minutes of the special meeting of the Court, held on 8 May 2017, are correctly recorded.

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

His Honour, Sir Peter Ribblesdale Thornton

Lately Chief Coroner and a former judge at the Old Bailey, on his recent appointment by Her Majesty the Queen as a Knight Bachelor, in recognition of his services to the Administration of Justice and the Coroner Service.

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

Asif Sadiq, MBE

Formerly the City of London Police’s Equalities and Diversity Officer, 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 policing and the community in London.

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

Catherine Brigid Waters, BEM

Lately Matron at the Central Criminal Court, on her recent award by Her Majesty the Queen of the British Empire Medal, for services to the welfare of court users.

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

The Lord Mayor reported on his recent visits to the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Poland and Romania.

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

There was no statement.

There were no docquets 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 consider the following appointments:

(A)         Two Members on the Licensing Committee, one for the balance of a term expiring in April 2019 and one for the balance of a term expiring in April 2020.

Nominations received:-

Edward Lord, O.B.E., J.P., Deputy

Andrien Gereith Dominic Meyers

(B)         Six Members on Christ’s Hospital, for four year terms expiring in May 2021.

Nominations received:-

Peter Gordon Bennett

Edward Lord, O.B.E., J.P., Deputy

(C)         One Member on the Thames Estuary Partnership, for a three year term expiring in May 2020.

Nominations received:-

Henrika Johanna Sofia Priest

The Court proceeded to consider appointments to Licensing Committee, Christ’s Hospital, and the Thames Estuary Partnership.

(A)      Two Members on the Licensing Committee, one for the balance of a term expiring in April 2019 and one for the balance of a term expiring in April 2020.

          Nominations received:-

          Edward Lord, O.B.E., J.P., Deputy

          Andrien Gereith Dominic Meyers

          Read.

          Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Deputy Edward Lord and Andrien Meyers to be appointed to the Licensing Committee.

(B)      Six Members on Christ’s Hospital, for four year terms expiring in May 2021.

          Nominations received:-

          Peter Gordon Bennett

          Edward Lord, O.B.E., J.P., Deputy

          Read.

          Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Peter Bennett and Deputy Edward Lord to be appointed to Christ’s Hospital.

(C)      One Member on the Thames Estuary Partnership, for a three year term expiring in May 2020.

          Nominations received:-

          Henrika Johanna Sofia Priest

          Read.

          Whereupon the Lord Mayor declared Henrika Priest to be appointed to the Thames Estuary Partnership.

Livery Committee: Annual Dinner

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of the Finance Committee concerning expenditure on a recent dinner for the Livery Committee.

Responding, the Chairman set out the costs of the event and the intent behind committee dinners, including the networking opportunities provided and the ability to educate others about the activities and aims of the committee in question.

In reply to a supplementary question from Mr Goyal querying whether the money might be used more usefully in other areas, such as employability, the Chairman observed that views as to what was the most effective use of funds were highly subjective and varied from Member to Member; the key, therefore, would be to strike the right balance. He also pointed to the significant expenditure and activity that the City Corporation was engaged in with respect to employability, observing that sums spent on committee dinners were very small in comparison and represented good value for money.

Livery Committee: Public Access

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee concerning public access to meetings of the Livery Committee.

Replying, the Chairman clarified that the Livery Committee was not a Committee of the Court of Common Council and was therefore not subject to the same access to information requirements. The Chairman added that it was not within the remit of this Court to propose amendments to the Livery Committee’s approach; however, she suggested that the Member might wish to speak to the Chairman of the Livery Committee in the first instance to determine whether the Committee might be agreeable to altering its long-standing practice in this area.

To consider a Motion, submitted by Deputy Edward Lord, concerning the flying of the Rainbow Flag at Guildhall to mark Pride week in London.

Motion - “That this Honourable Court, reaffirming the commitment of the City of London Corporation to the promotion of equality, diversity, and social inclusion, commends the Chief Commoner and the Town Clerk & Chief Executive for their response to an initiative by the Corporation’s staff Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) Network to authorise the flying of the Rainbow Flag above the Guildhall and Tower Bridge to mark Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride in London earlier this month.

That further this Court welcomes the addition of the City of London Corporation to the list of institutions including Her Majesty’s Government, Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, the United Kingdom Parliament, United Kingdom Embassies, the Bank of England, devolved administrations and assemblies in Scotland and Wales, the Greater London Authority, and many local authorities, who celebrate Pride and their wider commitment to diversity by flying the Rainbow Flag above their premises.

That this Court resolves that, in accordance with the now established custom, and subject to any future advice received from Her Majesty’s Government, the Rainbow Flag should be flown above Guildhall and on other City of London Corporation premises each year to mark Pride week in London.”

Deputy Edward Lord and Ruby Sayed spoke in support of the Motion.

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

To receive a report of the Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee concerning the recent receipt of an award.

The Court received a report of the Chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee, advising that the City of London Planning Department, within the Department of the Built Environment, had been named the Local Authority Planning Team of the Year at the recent London Planning Awards.

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

(Wendy Mead, O.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

11 July 2017

(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:-

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

For Decision

UK – India Year of Culture 2017

In 2015 the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Prime Minister David Cameron announced that, in celebration of the 70^th anniversary of Indian Independence and the close cultural ties that exist between the two countries, 2017 would be the UK-India Year of Culture. A varied programme of literary, sporting, dramatic and musical events had since been organised by the Indian High Commission and Indian Government agencies to mark this Year of Culture.

The closing event of the Year of Culture was to be a concert taking place at the Barbican in November and, following discussions with the Indian High Commission, it had been proposed that the High Commission and City Corporation jointly host a closing reception on the evening of the concert. This reception would provide an opportunity for the City Corporation to facilitate closer relations with the Indian Government and strengthen ties with the Indian community in London.

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

The host element would be the Hospitality Working Party and Members with relevant interests.

Resolved – That hospitality be granted for a pre-concert reception with arrangements 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 proposed amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee, concerning the transfer of responsibilities for the licensing of charity collections.

Port Health & Environmental Services Committee

(Jeremy Lewis Simons)

9 May 2017

Amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee

The Court of Common Council was requested to agree to amend the Terms of Reference of its Licensing Committee to include charity collections (under the provisions of the Police, Factories and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1916). This was currently within the remit of the Port Health & Environmental Services Committee, but given the Licensing Committee’s responsibility for general licensing issues it was felt that this matter would sit best with that Committee.

This recommendation had the support of the Licensing Committee, Port Health and Environmental Services Committee and the Policy and Resources Committee and the Court was asked to grant final approval.

Resolved – That the inclusion of charity collections, under the Police, Factories and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1916 (or any subsequent re-enactment) in the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee be approved, as set out in the appendix to the report.

To consider The City Bridge Trust’s Funding Strategy for 2018-2023.

THE CITY BRIDGE TRUST COMMITTEE

(Alison Gowman, Alderman)

11 May 2017

Bridging Divides

The Court considered a report setting out The City Bridge Trust’s proposed funding strategy for 2018-23, “Bridging Divides”.

Introducing the strategy, the Chairman informed the Court that “Bridging Divides” was a vision and values led strategy which would ensure that from 2018 to 2023 all of the work that The City Bridge Trust undertook would link to its vision for London to be a city where all individuals and communities can thrive, especially those experiencing disadvantage and marginalisation. 

She added that the Trust would be working to ensure the best use of its other resources, alongside its monetary contributions, to ensure funds were spent as effectively as possible. These would include the links it had to civil society, other funders and the wider funding ecology, and the expertise of its trustee, the City of London Corporation with its links to local, regional and national Government and the private sector. 

Through this strategy, the Trust intended to consider the ways in which it could make the most positive impact on reducing inequality and creating cohesive communities, whilst also determining its role in improving the success and resilience of London’s civil society. 

Resolved – That The City Bridge Trust’s funding strategy for 2018-23, “Bridging Divides”, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be approved.

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 Paragraphs 3 and 7 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 Paragraphs 3 and 7 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 22 June 2017.

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