Agenda item

Livery Committee: Annual Dinner

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of the Finance Committee concerning expenditure on a recent dinner for the Livery Committee.

Responding, the Chairman set out the costs of the event and the intent behind committee dinners, including the networking opportunities provided and the ability to educate others about the activities and aims of the committee in question.

In reply to a supplementary question from Mr Goyal querying whether the money might be used more usefully in other areas, such as employability, the Chairman observed that views as to what was the most effective use of funds were highly subjective and varied from Member to Member; the key, therefore, would be to strike the right balance. He also pointed to the significant expenditure and activity that the City Corporation was engaged in with respect to employability, observing that sums spent on committee dinners were very small in comparison and represented good value for money.

Livery Committee: Public Access

Prem Goyal asked a question of the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee concerning public access to meetings of the Livery Committee.

Replying, the Chairman clarified that the Livery Committee was not a Committee of the Court of Common Council and was therefore not subject to the same access to information requirements. The Chairman added that it was not within the remit of this Court to propose amendments to the Livery Committee’s approach; however, she suggested that the Member might wish to speak to the Chairman of the Livery Committee in the first instance to determine whether the Committee might be agreeable to altering its long-standing practice in this area.