Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Roger Chadwick, Alex Deane, Hugh Morris, Andrew Parmley, Baroness Scotland and Giles Shilson.

Edward declared an interest in Item no. 9 by virtue of being a member of the Foreign Office’s Advisory Board for the British-German Forum.

To consider minutes as follows:-

The public minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2016 were approved.

The draft public minutes of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting held on 17 March 2016 were noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning the use of the Livery Hall as the Electoral Commission’s regional centre for London for the EU referendum.

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the use of the Livery Hall by the Electoral Commission as its regional centre for London for the EU referendum.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning activities which might help to increase the diversity of the membership of the Court of Common Council.

A Member who was, in attendance, referred to a number of matters that did not form part of the report which he felt needed to be considered. He pointed out that current working practices, for example, the scheduling of meetings prohibited some people from standing for election to the Court. He advised that given Members’ closeness to the issue it might be useful to engage an external person to bring more perspective.

Detailed discussion ensued during which, amongst other things, the following comments were made:-

·         A Member commented that, given the low proportion of women on the Court, altering the timing of meetings would, in her view, be a retrograde step. It was noted that the timing of Committee meetings had been discussed on a number of occasions and that each time a collective view was taken not to pursue a change. Similarly, scheduling meetings, for example, over the lunchtime period had also been considered and not pursued. Nevertheless, there was nothing to prevent a Committee from considering altering the time of its meetings.

·         It was suggested that it might be useful to engage with businesses by, for example, speaking to the Asian Business Forum at the London Chamber of Commerce and other similar organisations. It was also important to engage and raise awareness with existing businesses in the City and it was noted that the Association of HR Directors might provide a mechanism for doing this.

·         Reference was made to the fact that larger businesses put a lot of resources into looking at sub-conscious barriers which might affect diversity. Members nevertheless acknowledged the difficulties some Members might have in taking an objective

Report of the Town Clerk.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Establishment Committee on 19 April 2016.

The Committee considered the Town Clerk’s Business Plan for 2016-19.

The Committee noted that, going forward, the format of the Business Plan would be reviewed to ensure that Members were presented with relevant information only.

RESOLVED – that the Business Plan for 2016-19 be approved.

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Police Committee this day and by the Planning and Transportation Committee on 26 April 2016.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment updating it on the proposal to introduce a City Anti-Terrorism Traffic Regulation Order (ATTRO).

The Chairman of the Police Committee advised that, whilst the report had been noted by that Committee earlier that day, there had been some concern about the wording and phraseology contained in the protocol which it was felt could result in the ATTRO being open to challenge.

Detailed discussion ensued on the introduction of a City ATTRO during which, amongst other matters, the following points were made:-

·         In response to concerns about whether the safeguards built in to the process were sufficient, the Chairman pointed out it was important to  acknowledged the need for an element of trust in the officers operating the process;

·         Reference was made to Transport for London’s (TfL) involvement in the process and the key role it played. Members were reminded of TfL’s powers and noted that it was supportive of the initiative and was content for the streets in the City that it was responsible for to be included in The City ATTRO;

·         A Member questioned whether the protocol (paragraph 5.1) should be more specific about the frequency of meetings rather than stating that “regular” meetings would be held; it was agreed that this was not necessary;

·         Members were advised that the expectation was that the ATTRO would end after 48 hours unless there was good reason for an extension.

RESOLVED – That the following be approved:- 

1.       the  commencement of the statutory process for making a City ATTRO, subject to the applicable statutory processes;

2.       the draft Protocol on how the ATTRO should be used as set out in Appendix 1 of the report;

3.       the Director of the Built Environment or a delegated officer be

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

NB: this report has been considered and approved by the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment concerning the special events taking place on the highway in 2016.

The Chairman commented that whilst this was a matter predominantly for the Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee, given past concerns and the fact that road closures were usually required for the special events, in future, the report should also be submitted to the Policy and Resources Committee for approval. Members supported this.

RESOLVED – that:-

1.       the events as set out in appendix 1 of the report be approved; and

2.       future reports on special events taking place on the highway be considered by both Streets and Walkways Sub-Committee and the Policy and Resources Committee.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Economic Development concerning the sponsorship of Wilton Park’s 2016 British–German Forum.

RESOLVED – that approval be given to Wilton Park’s 2016 British-German Forum being sponsored in the sum of £15,000 and that the funding be met from the Committee’s 2016/17 Policy Initiatives Fund, categorised under Promoting the City and charged to City’s Cash.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Economic Development concerning Central London Forward’s (CLF) proposal for delivering employment support for Troubled Families within the central London area.

RESOLVED – That the following be noted:-

1.       the collaboration between CLF, the London Borough of Lewisham and the Shaw Trust for the explicit purpose of developing a proposal for £4m bid for European Social Fund (ESF) grant to fund a programme of employment support for Troubled Families in Central London;

2.       the proposal did not give rise to any additional financial liabilities for the City Corporation as any financial risks would sit with the Shaw Trust as the ESF grant recipient and party responsible for delivery of the project; and

3.       the next steps would be for CLF, the London Borough of Lewisham and City Corporation officers to agree the joint proposal with the Shaw Trust, and establish a collaboration agreement and any associated  delivery agreements.

Report of the Chamberlain (copy attached).

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain concerning the Policy Initiatives Fund and the Committee Contingency for 2016/17.

RESOLVED – That report be noted and, in particular, that the balances currently available in the Policy Initiatives Fund and the Committee contingency for 2016/17 was £527,400 and £159,000 respectively.

There were no questions.

The Committee considered the following item of urgent business:-

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee – Amendment to Standing Orders

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk setting out a request from the Community and Children’s Services Committee to amend standing orders and its terms of reference to remove the prohibition on residents or tenants of any property owned or managed by the City of London Corporation serving as Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee.

RESOLVED – it be recommended to the Court of Common Council that Standing Order No. 29(3) and 30(4a) be amended to remove the prohibition on residents or tenants of any property owned or managed by the City of London Corporation to serving as Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services Committee and that the terms of reference of that Committee be amended to reflect this change.

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.

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:-

Item Nos.                         Paragraph(s) in Schedule 12A

15 - 16                                                3

Part 2 – Non-Public Agenda

To consider non-public minutes of meetings as follows:-

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2016 were approved.

The draft non-public minutes of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting held on 17 March 2016 were noted.

The draft non-public minutes of the Hospitality Working Party meeting held on 16 March 2016 were noted.

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Committee considered and agreed a report of the Remembrancer concerning the review of the Effectiveness of Hospitality.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

Chairman of the Police Committee and the Chief Commoner

At the conclusion of business the Chairman thanked Henry Pollard, Chairman of the Police Committee, and Billy Dove, the Chief Commoner, on behalf of the Committee for the contribution they had made to the work of the Committee during their tenure.