Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Deputy Edward Lord.

Jeremy Mayhew made a declaration of interest in respect of Item 4 given his current role as a Senior Adviser to PwC’s Entertainment & Media Consulting Practice, who produced the report ‘The (local) state we’re in’ referred to in the report to Item 5.

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2012.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2012 be agreed as an accurate record.

MATTERS ARISING:

Item 4 - The Chamberlain advised Members that he would report to a meeting later this year on possible trigger points and metrics for the Sub Committee to use when deciding on whether to review a particular department in detail.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk which updated them on the agreed actions arising from the Committee’s departmental reviews that had been undertaken in the previous year.

Although this report had been designed to provide assurance that the actions arising from the departmental review had been addressed, Members discussed expanding this to include actions arising from all reports. The Deputy Town Clerk recognised that any future action updates should be issued on time and in a more user-friendly format such as the format used for the Audit & Risk Management Committee.

The Deputy Town Clerk then gave an update on the potential for Shared Services between the City of London Corporation and the City of London Police, including the resolution of the Police Committee at its meeting on 27 April 2012. A full report would be brought to the Sub Committee for further consideration and Members requested that this report also set out any possible data security issues.

One Member also asked what progress had been made in the alignment of financial and business planning and was informed that this was being actively considered by the Chamberlain’s department in time for the 2013/14 estimates reports.

RECEIVED

Joint report of the Deputy Town Clerk and the Chamberlain.

The Committee received an update from the Transformation and Efficiency Boards and, in particular, considered the following areas:

Guildhall Accommodation Review

The Deputy Town Clerk confirmed that the timetable in relation to implementing the Guildhall Accommodation Review (as reported in paragraph 4 of the report) was correct and that approximately 500 people would be affected by the various office moves. The timetable had also been planned to ensure minimal disruption to departments during key events such as delivering the annual accounts. In response to a question, the Deputy Town Clerk acknowledged that the City Corporation could also look at new ways of working which could capitalise on certain staff being located closer together.

Strategic Finance Review

New style monthly budget monitoring reports to be sent directly to responsible budget managers from June would aim to be clear to non-finance professionals. Members were invited to provide feedback to the Chamberlain as these could be refined as necessary.

The Chairman stated that it would be useful if reports could include a breakdown of internal and external staffing costs charged to City Corporation projects, especially where recharges could be made such as Transport for London (TfL) initiatives and under ‘Section 106 agreements’. The Chamberlain agreed to consider this area and report back to the Sub Committee.

Value for Money (VfM) conclusion

The Chamberlain informed Members that a positive Value for Money (VfM) conclusion for 2011/12 had been received from the external auditors (further to the reference in paragraph 16 of the report).

Local Area Performance Solution (LAPS)

Members noted some concerns regarding the number of carers that had received a carer assessment (as identified in paragraph 25 of the report) and it was noted that this matter had been referred to the Director of Community & Children's Services for an update to be provided

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members considered an update report on the overall financial position and fundraising activities for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s new building at Milton Court as requested by the Sub Committee at its meeting on 23 May 2012.

Members expressed some concerns that any shortfall in funding would be underwritten by the City Corporation. Members also sought assurance that the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (GSMD) was able to meet all of its revenue expenditure as had been stipulated by the City Corporation when it agreed to provide capital funding to develop the Milton Court facility.

The Chamberlain noted these concerns although he suggested that it might be appropriate to review in more detail whether further revenue funding might be needed as the GSMD would need to meet higher operational costs at Milton Court whilst it develops new ways of working and increasing student numbers now that they could be accommodated.

Members requested further updates from the Chamberlain and representatives of the GSMD and were particularly keen to be kept informed on fundraising targets as well as financial performance including variations on the agreed budget.

RESOLVED: That –

      i.        the report be noted;

     ii.        the Chamberlain would issue a report to Members as soon as the GSMD student intake for 2012/13 was finalised; 

    iii.        the Chamberlain would provide an update report on Milton Court fundraising at the next meeting, including a breakdown of funds that had been pledged and those that had been received; and

   iv.        the GSMD’s Principal, Chief Operating & Financial Officer and Chairman of the Board of Governors be invited to attend the 14 November 2012 meeting with a full report.

Presentation of the Comptroller & City Solicitor.

As requested at the previous meeting on 18 May 2012, the Comptroller & City Solicitor provided an overview of his experience in cross-borough working. Afterwards, Members asked a number of questions, particularly his views on how cross-borough working works in different political environments and the scope for quantifiable savings.

The Chairman thanked the Comptroller & City Solicitor for his useful presentation.    

RECEIVED

One Member asked about the cost of benefits in kind to the three Academies and the Chamberlain advised that this would be a matter for the Policy & Resources Committee.

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 the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Part 2 – Non-Public Agenda

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 the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.