Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mark Boleat, Henry Colthurst, Stephen Haines, Hugh Morris and Tom Sleigh.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes of the Sub-Committee meeting held on 14^th December 2017.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on Thursday 14 December 2017 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

NB: This report was referred to the Sub-Committee for a decision by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services concerning an increase in the budget for Adult Social Care to address the forecast overspend.

RESOLVED –  That approval be given to an increase in the baseline budget of £265,000 in 2018/19 and £135,000 in 2019/20 (to total £400,000), subject to the approval of Community and Children’s Services.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

NB: This report was referred to the Sub-Committee for a decision by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services concerning the proposed Education Budget for 2018/19.

RESOLVED – That the Education Budget for the 2018/19 be approved as set out in the report.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Economic Development concerning the creation of a Cyber Directorate.

It was noted that whilst the report referred to use of the Priorities Investment fund, the source of funding for the proposal had yet to be determined.

The Director of Economic Development was heard in support of the report. Detailed discussion ensued and whilst Members were supportive of the principle of the City Corporation becoming involved in cyber security, particularly in its capacity as a champion for business, concern was expressed about the scale and complexity of the issue and whether the City Corporation could make a difference to the issue or had the ability of the City Corporation to deliver such a project. The Sub-Committee felt that the report as drafted, did not clearly define the scope of the proposal and that potentially it was too wide ranging for the City Corporation. Members therefore asked for a further paper to come back which addressed the issue of scope and what realistically the City Corporation might be able to deliver.

RESOLVED – that it be recommended to the Policy and Resources Committee that the report be withdrawn and that a further report addressing the issue of scope and what realistically the City Corporation might be able to deliver on cyber security be submitted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning the refreshed version of the Corporate Plan, 2018-23.

Reference was made to the importance of the document and to all Members being aware of its content. It was suggested that consideration should be given to placing the Corporate Plan before the budget and medium-term strategy item on the agenda of the next ordinary meeting of the Court. Members supported the suggestion.

RESOLVED – That the following be noted:-

1. the refreshed Corporate Plan, 2018-23;

2. that a further alignment of departmental Business Plans for 2018-19 with the Corporate Plan, 2018-23 was intended via the revised two-page high-level summary Business Plan template as set out in appendix 2 of the report; and

3. from March 2019, and annually thereafter, the Corporate Plan annual review, priorities for the coming year and budget would be presented in the same document.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Chief Grants Officer.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee

The Sub-Committee considered a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chief Grants Officer concerning the resources required to implement ‘Bridging Divides’, the City Bridge Trust’s (CBT) approved charitable funding strategy.

The Chief Grants Officer was heard in support of the report. Reference was made to the City Corporation’s philanthropic activities, the Bridging the Divides Programme, the use of Bridge House Estates funding and to the broader approach which was now being taken towards the use of the fund. Reference was made to social mobility and whether more could be done to ensure that the offer of resources was channelled to areas where it was most needed such as other City centres. It was noted that a new head of Philanthropy was now in place and would be considering whether activities could be considered beyond London.

RESOLVED – That it be recommended to the Grand Committee that, the strategic framework for the implementation of ‘Bridging Divides’ be approved as set out in the report and that it be noted that further reports relating to the framework would be brought back to relevant Committees for decision in due course.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Chief Grants Officer.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee

The Sub-Committee considered a joint report of the Chief Grants Officer and the Chamberlain proposing the creation of a Bridge House Estates (BHE) Strategic Review Fund totalling up to £1m, to understand the wider impacts of the implementation of Bridging Divides.

Members noted that this was a one-off proposal. A Member questioned the total cost of administration and was advised that it was more likely to be approximately £400k rather than £1m, but until the review was underway, it was difficult to anticipate the specific nature and amount of work that may be needed.  

RESOLVED – That it be recommended to the Policy and Resources Committee that:-

1.         the creation of a BHE Strategic Review Fund, totalling up to £1m be supported; and

2.         the governance arrangements for the approval of bids against the Fund, i.e. the Town Clerk approving bids in consultation with the Committee Chairmen of Policy & Resources, Finance and City Bridge Trust, the Chief Grants Officer and Deputy Chamberlain be agreed.

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Town Clerk.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee

The Sub-Committee considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Town Clerk concerning the 2018/2019 revenue budget (the first year of the new funding strategy for Bridging Divides programme) overseen by the City Bridge Trust (CBT) Committee.

It was noted that, whilst the report had been printed on yellow coloured paper, with a not for publication strapline, it was a public report.

RESOLVED – it be recommended to the Policy and Resources Committee that the 2018/19 revenue budget of £23.810m be approved and that the Chamberlain be authorised to revise the individual budgets to allow for any necessary realignment of funds resulting from corporate projects.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

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 1 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 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Item Nos.                                                              Paragraph(s) in Schedule 12A

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Part 2 – Non-Public Agenda

To agree the non-public minutes of the Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 December 2017.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 14 December 2017 were approved.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Sub-Committee considered and agreed a report of the City Surveyor concerning a request for additional funding for the City Fund Estate in 2017/18 and 2018/19.

Report of the Chamberlain.

NB: This report will also be considered by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered and agreed a report of the Chamberlain concerning the provision of funding to enable three projects to proceed as follows:-

·                The Monument Visitor Centre

·                Police Digital Interview Recording System Replacement

·                Police Telephony System Replacement

Report of the Chamberlain.

NB: This report is also being considered by the Grand Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered and agreed a report of the Chamberlain concerning the funding of the Cyclical Works Programme for 2018/19.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.