Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which outlined the annual revisions which had been made to the City of London Corporation’s Purchase Card (P-Card) Policy, which were used for business spending, not staff expenses.

The Chamberlain explained that monthly reports on the use of P-Cards were provided to all Chief Officers, which highlighted instances of potential misuse, failure to claim VAT or potential reputational risks due to the description of expenditures. The Chamberlain also explained that the P-Cards could not be used for expenditure on certain codes, and there were clear links to the employee Code of Conduct in the event of misuse.

A Member asked whether it may be more appropriate for the determination of whether fines could be paid via P-Card to be made on a case-by-case basis by a Corporate decision maker, rather than locally, as it should only be in exceptional circumstances that the Corporation paid fines for employees. The Chamberlain agreed that this could be appropriate.

A Member asked how the credit levels were determined for P-Cards. The Chamberlain explained the standard credit level was £2,000, but credit levels were determined on a case-by-case basis through the application process, with approvals by Chief Officers and the Chamberlain for credit limits above certain thresholds. The Committee agreed that it may be beneficial to receive information about holders of P-Cards with a credit level of over £5,000. The Chamberlain agreed to provide this information in the annual report which would be submitted to the Committee in September 2016.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the revised Purchase Card Policy and the revisions outlined in the report, which will be effective from 1 July 2016.