Agenda item

On the 16^th October 2014, the revised Members’ Code of Conduct was approved by the Court of Common Council with an implementation date as of 1^st January 2015.

Following the Standards Committee’s meeting on 11^th September, where it was agreed that the new guidance for Members incorporate some clarification about the special provisions for ceremonial office holders, Members are asked to consider the existing arrangements.

The Private Secretary and Chief of Staff and the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen will be present to provide an overview of the current arrangements in respect of special provisions for ceremonial office holders (gifts and hospitality).

The Chairman welcomed Alderman Sir David Wootton (Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen) and William Chapman (Private Secretary & Chief of Staff) to the meeting and, with reference to the joint report of the Town Clerk and the Comptroller & City Solicitor, provided an overview of the Committee’s previous discussions about the arrangements for ceremonial office holders in respect of the receipt of gifts and hospitality.  The Comptroller & City Solicitor then explained the legal position in respect of the declaration of gifts and hospitality by ceremonial office holders such as the Lord Mayor and highlighted the importance of protecting the reputation of the organisation and also relevant individuals.  

With regards to the current arrangements in operation at Mansion House, Alderman Sir David Wootton explained that any gifts received by The Lord Mayor were gifts of political courtesy and the protocol for giving and receiving such gifts was quite clear about what was appropriate and could not therefore be avoided.  Members were advised that all gifts were logged on a register which was managed by Mansion House and The Lord Mayor was then invited to consider whether to retain the gift or donate it to the City of London Corporation.  It was noted that donated gifts were put on public display at meetings of the Court of Common Council ahead of submission to the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Department for safe-keeping.  With regards to those gifts that were retained by The Lord Mayor, such gifts were not valued as it would be difficult to realistically value the majority of gifts and, most importantly, there could be diplomatic implications of disclosing estimated values.  With regards to hospitality, it was noted that hospitality was not registered, although The Lord Mayor’s diary was widely accessible.

William Chapman (Private Secretary & Chief of Staff) confirmed that the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Department similarly retained a list of gifts received by the Lord Mayor and passed to the Department.  In respect of those gifts received by The Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, it was up to The Lord Mayor and The Lord Mayor Locum Tenens to determine whether a gift would be retained or donated.  Members were advised that the majority of gifts did not exceed the agreed threshold but that on an occasion where they did The Lord Mayor and the Private Secretary would discuss the matter.   The Private Secretary went on to comment that there had been a cultural shift over recent years so when exceptional gifts were received the retention of such gifts was discussed with The Lord Mayor to ensure that there was no reputational risk, organisationally or individually.

The Chairman queried whether it was appropriate to have a separate register of interests for The Lord Mayor during their time in office, or whether all gifts and hospitality should in fact be registered on the Members’ declaration and published to the webpages for public inspection.  Alderman Sir David Wootton responded that there should be some distinction between the individual’s declaration and also the gifts/hospitality received whilst in office as The Lord Mayor.  He referred to potential diplomatic implications of publishing a register for The Lord Mayor and the ramifications of under/over valuing items.  This point was noted by a number of Members who agreed that there could be significant reputational risk to individuals on the basis of registering what had and had not been retained.  With regards to Freedom of Information requests about gifts and hospitality, were such a request likely to be received the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Department would most likely disclose the list of those items retained in the archive. 

It was suggested that the arrangements for ministers in respect of the receipt of gifts and hospitality be considered by way of a helpful comparison, although the Chairman stressed that the different roles and different funding arrangements had to be taken into account.  He suggested that the best option could be to disclose all received gifts, the name of the donor and the date of receipt but not to indicate on the register whether they had been retained, thus ensuring transparency but also affording some protection diplomatically.  A link from the incumbent’s webpage – where their individual register was published – could take the user to The Lord Mayor’s register to ensure that all Members were treated in the same manner.  Likewise, a similar arrangement could be introduced for other ceremonial office holders such as the Sheriffs and the Chief Commoner. 

With regards to hospitality it was agreed that there needed to be greater transparency about the hospitality received by The Lord Mayor, taking into account the need also for some sensitivity.  The Private Secretary suggested that the list of hospitality could be produced quarterly on a retrospective basis, identifying the total number of events attended and reporting, by exception, where hospitality had been provided by an organisation/individual on multiple occasions.  Whilst it was agreed that the list should set out who had provide the hospitality, there was some concern about the inclusion of events where there might be some commercial or diplomatic sensitivity.  Consequently, it was agreed that the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen be asked, at their next meeting in February 2015, to consider the Committee’s views and produce some guidance for The Lord Mayor in respect of the registration of gifts and hospitality and consider the introduction of the publication of a quarterly register of hospitality and the rolling-registration of gifts via a Lord Mayor’s webpage, both of which would be managed by Mansion House.    Following the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen’s deliberation of this matter in February, the Standards Committee would be updated at its next scheduled meeting.

Resolved:- That –

(i) the Standards Committee’s views regarding the special provisions for ceremonial office holders such as The Lord Mayor, in respect of gifts and hospitality, be submitted to the February meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen for consideration;

(ii) the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen be asked to comment on the introduction of a register, which would be published on a quarterly basis, of retrospective hospitality received by The Lord Mayor (excluding diplomatic or commercially sensitive aspects) and reporting, by exception, where multiple instances of hospitality were received from the same provider;

(iii) the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen be asked to introduce the rolling-registration of gifts received by The Lord Mayor on a separate webpage linked to an individual’s Declaration, managed by Mansion House;

(iv) the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen be asked to consider whether the published register should detail whether gifts have been retained or donated to the City of London Corporation;

(v) the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen draft appropriate guidance for ceremonial office holders in respect of the special provisions and submit this to the next meeting of the Standards Committee for consideration; and

(vi) the Old Bailey be advised about the special provisions in respect of the Sheriffs and asked to consider the introduction of similar arrangements for recording gifts and hospitality following the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen’s deliberations.