Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms, 2nd Floor, West Wing, Guildhall

Contact: Gregory Moore
tel. no.: 020 7332 1399  Email: gregory.moore@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Henry Colthurst, The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman Peter Estlin, Deputy Dr Giles Shilson, Deputy Tom Sleigh, and Jeremy Simons.

 

 ...  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 none.

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

3.

Minutes

To consider minutes as follows:-

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

Minutes:

3a

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2019. pdf icon PDF 103 KB

Minutes:

The public minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held 14 March 2019 were approved.

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

3b

To note the draft public minutes of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 March 2019. pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Minutes:

The draft public minutes of the meeting of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee held on 14 March 2019 were received.

 

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

3c

To note the draft public minutes of the Projects Sub-Committee meeting held on 22 March 2019. pdf icon PDF 100 KB

Minutes:

The draft public minutes of the meeting of the Projects Sub-Committee held on 22 March 2019 were received.

 

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

3d

To note the draft public minutes of the Public Relations and Economic Development Sub-Committee meeting held on 7 March 2019. pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Minutes:

The draft public minutes of the meeting of the Public Relations and Economic Development Sub-Committee held on 7 March 2019 were received.

 

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

4.

Resolution regarding sport engagement pdf icon PDF 44 KB

To receive a resolution from the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen's Park Committee, supported by the Epping Forest & Commons Committee, concerning Sport Engagement.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a resolution from the Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood and Queen’s Park Committee concerning sports engagement and the role of the several open spaces committees, together with certain other committees, with regard to the new strategy.

 

The Director of Communications provided clarification in respect of a number of areas and agreed that the pillars proposed were sensible, noting that they were already reflected within the job description of the Sports Engagement Officer post. He reiterated the previous commitment to share all sport engagement reports with interested committees and the Chair noted her longstanding commitment to open spaces work needing to be at the forefront of sports engagement activities. It was noted that final decision-making would need to rest with Policy & Resources and its Public Relations and Economic Development Sub-Committee as the work was cross-cutting and fell across multiple areas.

 

RESOLVED: That the resolution be noted.

 

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

5.

Capital Funding - Interim Revised Prioritisation and Project Funding Update pdf icon PDF 178 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

 

N.B. – To be read in conjunction with the non-public appendices at Item 19.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain concerning arrangements for the prioritisation and funding of capital projects ahead of the forthcoming fundamental review process.

 

In response to questions concerning the deferred projects, it was confirmed that officers had scrutinised each in detail and considered the risk implications associated with all proposals. Each would be subject to ongoing officer review and any items could be brought back to Members to reconsider, should the position change materially. The next meeting of Resource Allocation Sub-Committee would provide an early opportunity and there would be flexibility to revisit items in the event of changed circumstances. In the meantime, a pragmatic approach would be taken in respect of each deferred project, with projects utilising existing funding approvals to take them up to the next Gateway point or other sensible place to pause.

 

With respect to Community Infrastructure Levy funding, it was clarified that the intent was to review future allocations, not to revisit sums already allocated to service departments.

 

RESOLVED: That Members:-

1.     Approve the prioritisation of new capital projects in 2019/20 in accordance with the criteria in paragraph 6 and 7 and confirm any additional interim criteria to be applied pending the fundamental review (paragraph 18).

2.     Approve the schemes set out in paragraph 13 (Tables 2 - 4 and Appendices 1 – 4) for release from hold to continue through the Gateway procedure, with a combined value of £89m.

3.     Approve £23.622m of funding for schemes detailed in Appendix 6 as follows:

·       internal loan funding with:

o  payback periods of 5 years or less of up to £3m; and

o  payback periods of more than 5 years of up to £18.818m

to be allocated from the reserves of City Fund and City’s Cash, subject to other relevant approvals including gateways and Court

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

6.

City Visitor Strategy 2019-23 pdf icon PDF 58 KB

Report of the Director of Major Projects.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Major Projects seeking approval for the City of London Visitor Strategy 2019/23.

 

RESOLVED: That Members approve the final draft of the City of London’s Visitor Destination Strategy (2019-2023) as shown in appendix 1 for submission to the Court of Common Council.

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

7.

2019 Party Conferences pdf icon PDF 96 KB

Report of the Director of Communications.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Communications concerning the proposed programme of City Corporation activities at 2019 party conferences and funding for the associated think tank partnerships.

 

It was noted that further reporting may be necessary should the political landscape change following European Parliament elections.

 

RESOLVED: That Members:-

1.     agree the City Corporation’s proposed programme of activity at 2019 party conferences;

2.     agree to provide funding for the City Corporation’s partnerships, the total sum amounting to £41,000 from your Committees 2019/20 Policy Initiative Fund categorised under ‘Events’ and charged to City’s Cash, with the four think tanks listed below at Liberal Democrat, Labour, and Conservative party conferences:

i)     Social Market Foundation

ii)    The Institute for Public Policy Research

iii)   Centre for Policy Studies

iv)   Policy Exchange

3.     agree to visit the question of providing funding for partnership(s) at the 2019 Scottish National Party conference once details concerning the date, location and venue of the conference have been released.

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

8.

Battle of Ideas Sponsorship pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Report of the Director of Communications.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Communications proposing sponsorship of the 2019 Battle of Ideas event.

 

Members noted that this event had been funded from the Policy Initiatives Fund (PIF) for several years and questioned the appropriateness of continued funding from that source, given recent changes to how the PIF was administered. It was therefore agreed that funding should be provided from the Committee’s Contingency instead on this occasion, with the funding source to be reviewed for any future years.

 

RESOLVED: That Members agree to provide £20,000 from the Committee’s 2019/20 Contingency Fund to sponsor the 2019 Battle of Ideas festival.

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

9.

Sponsorship of the Fabian Society research project pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Report of the Director of Communications.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Communications concerning the sponsorship of a Fabian Society research report intended to assess how investment in arts and culture drives economic development.

 

RESOLVED: That approval be granted to the sponsorship of the Fabian Society research project, ‘Using Arts and Culture to Enable Deprived Communities to Thrive’, at a cost of £20,000 to be met from the Committee’s 2019/20 Policy Initiatives Fund categorised under ‘Research’ and charged to City’s Cash.

 

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

10.

Review of the City of London Corporation's 2006 Fairtrade Resolution pdf icon PDF 114 KB

Joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain concerning the City Corporation’s position in respect of Fairtrade accreditation.

 

It was noted that the Hospitality Working Party, at its 26 March 2019 meeting, had agreed to recommend Option 1. The Policy and Resources Committee agree to endorse this position.

 

RESOLVED: That the 2006 Fairtrade Resolution be maintained, thereby:

1.      Maintaining the City Corporation’s support for the Fairtrade mark and the Fairtrade resolution of 2006, thus meeting the City Corporation’s responsible business commitments and moreover retaining the City of London’s ‘Fairtrade Zone’ status;

2.      Continuing to advocate the use of Fairtrade products in the Guildhall Club and for City Hospitality Events in conjunction with wider ethical and sustainable sourcing initiatives as outlined in the City Corporation’s Responsible Procurement Strategy 2016 – 2019 and corporate catering contracts specifically;

3.      Reviewing the 2006 Fairtrade Resolution in the event of a change of standard used within the Good Food for London report.

 

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

11.

Immigration Bill pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Report of the Remembrancer.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Remembrancer concerning the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

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

12.

London Living Wage Campaign pdf icon PDF 831 KB

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development updating on the success of the London Living Wage Campaign.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

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

13.

Policy Initiatives Fund and Committee Contingency pdf icon PDF 63 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain updating on projects and activities that had received Policy Initiatives Funding and funding from the Committee’s contingency or Brexit contingency funds.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

 

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

14.

Decisions Taken Under Delegated Authority or Urgency Powers pdf icon PDF 43 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk advising of one action taken in accordance with delegated authority arrangements, concerning the composition of the Freedom Applications Committee.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its content noted.

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

15.

QUESTIONS ON MATTERS RELATING TO THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

Minutes:

There were no questions.

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

16.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT

Minutes:

There were two urgent items:

 

Housing Delivery Working Group

RESOLVED: That, following Sir Mark Boleat’s resignation from the Court, Deputy James Thomson be appointed as the new Chairman of the Housing Delivery Working Group.

 

Crossrail Arts Foundation

RESOLVED: That, following Sir Mark Boleat’s resignation from the Court, Graham Packham be appointed as the Committee’s representative on the Crossrail Arts Foundation.

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

17.

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 the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

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

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That under Section 100A(4) 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 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 

Item No.

Paragraph No.

18 – 23

3

26

2 & 3

27

3

 

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

18.

Non-Public Minutes

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

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

Minutes:

18a

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2019.

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held 14 March 2019 were approved.

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

18b

To note the draft non-public minutes of the Projects Sub-Committee meeting held on 22 March 2019.

Minutes:

The draft non-public minutes of the meeting of the Projects Sub-Committee held on 22 March 2019 were received.

 

 

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

18c

To note the draft non-public minutes of the Public Relations and Economic Development Sub-Committee meeting held on 7 March 2019.

Minutes:

The draft non-public minutes of the meeting of the Public Relations and Economic Development Sub-Committee held on 7 March 2019 were received.

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

18d

To note the non-public minutes of the Hospitality Working Party meeting held on 28 February 2019.

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the meeting of the Hospitality Working Party meeting held on 28 February 2019 were received.

 

 

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

19.

Non-Public Appendices: Capital Funding - Interim Revised Prioritisation and Project Funding Update

Non-public appendices to be read in conjunction with Item 5.

 

N.B. – Printed and circulated as a separate document pack.

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

Minutes:

The Committee noted the non-public appendices associated with item 5.

 

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

20.

CITY OF LONDON FREEMEN'S SCHOOL MASTERPLAN

Joint report of the Headmaster of the City of London Freemen’s School, the Chamberlain and the City Surveyor.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chamberlain, the City Surveyor, and the Headmaster of the City of London Freemen’s School concerning the School’s Estate Development Plan.

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

21.

Markets Consolidation Programme

Joint report of the City Surveyor and the Director of Major Projects.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a joint report of the City Surveyor and the Director of Major Projects concerning the Markets Consolidation Programme.

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

22.

2019-20 Cyclical Works Programme Funding

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Chamberlain which sought approval for the proposed 2019/20 Cyclical Works Programme (CWP).

 

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

23.

DECISIONS TAKEN UNDER DELEGATED AUTHORITY OR URGENCY POWERS

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk advising of one action taken under urgency procedures since the last meeting, concerning the Police Accommodation Strategy.

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

24.

QUESTIONS ON MATTERS RELATING TO THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

Minutes:

There were no questions.

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

25.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT AND WHICH THE COMMITTEE AGREE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHILST THE PUBLIC ARE EXCLUDED.

Minutes:

There were two items:

 

Brexit

The Chair provided an update on recent discussions with Government relating to Brexit.

 

Chief Commoner

The Chair noted that this would be John Scott’s last meeting as Chief Commoner and Members took the opportunity to thank him for his contributions during the year.

 

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

26.

Strengthening the City

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development.

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

27.

Confidential Appendices: Markets Consolidation Programme

Confidential appendices B and E to be considered in conjunction with Item X.

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

Minutes:

The Committee noted the confidential appendices related to item 21.

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