Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Hugh Morris.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 21 September 2017.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 September 2017 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

NB. Appendices 1-4 have been circulated as a separate electronic item and hardcopies are available to Members on request.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development giving an update of the department over the last quarter. A Member asked the Director that the useful publications set out in the appendices could be published on the City of London website.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

Report of the Director of Communications.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Communications asking for permissions to the use of drones for commercial filming on the public highway in the City.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The Policy and Resources Committee are recommended to approve that requests to use drones for commercial filming purposes should be assessed on a case by case basis and supported where strict safety measures and guidelines are in place. This would require a road closure to be in place, satisfactory advance notice to allow consultation with departments and properties affected and all the correct Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS (National Air Traffic Systems) permissions obtained and relevant risk assessments and method statements provided.

Joint report of the Director of the Built Environment & the City Surveyor.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment and the City Surveyor setting out the proposed programme of activities and budget in respect of the MIPIM property exhibition to be held in Cannes in March 2018. This had already been approved by the Policy and Resources Committee earlier that day.

Members asked that Officers review the optimal amount of people that should be represented at the conference from the City of London Corporation.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

There were no questions.

The following items of urgent business were raised –

Chatham House Membership

The Chairman explained to the Sub Committee that as part of the City Corporation’s sponsorship of Chatham House, we have a list of 25 ‘nominees’, who receive invitations to Chatham House events and enjoy other advantages of membership. The Chairman noted that the current list was quite random in its composition and needed to be looked at more strategically.

Other Members suggested that the Director of Communications review the usage of the membership by the current list and then propose a new list to the Chairman.

Members also discussed how Chatham House should be encouraged to host events here in the City.

The Chairman also raised that Chatham House had offered to put on two briefings for her on the current European geopolitical context or something more specific. She would like to extend the briefings to be available to Members of this Sub Committee.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The Director of Communications review the current usage of the Chatham House membership and propose a new composition to the Chairman of Policy & Resources;

·         The Chatham House briefings be open to Members of the Public Relations and Economic Development Sub Committee.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

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.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2017.

The non-public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 21 September 2017 were approved.

The Director of Communications and the Remembrancer to be heard.

The Director of Communications and the Remembrancer presented a joint update on recent political and parliamentary activity, with the Director of Communications particularly reflecting on the party conferences.

The Director of Economic Development to be heard.

The Director of Economic Development updated Members on how the City Corporation was working on Brexit issues.

Questions were raised in respect of the following –

·         City of London School branding issue;

·         Update on Aung San Suu Kyi.

There were no items of urgent business.