Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during the recent meetings of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee (5^th September) and Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee (11^th September).

Nick Bensted-Smith, Chairman of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee, reported that, among other issues, final scoping was taking place for the exterior works at the Mansion House; once this was done, consideration would turn to the potential of merging elements of the project with the refurbishment works at St Lawrence Jewry. An updated Report would be presented to Members at the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee meeting on 1st November, with a view to the Chairman of the Finance Committee then being able to present an update to the Court of Common Council on 6th December (the initial query concerning the exterior appearance of the Mansion House was raised at Court).

Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee, fed back on the Town Clerk’s Corporate and Business Planning Report. the Chairman noted the following points:

• The paper summarised changes to the Business Planning cycle and contents.

• A set of common core indicators would be included in the Business Plans to allow cross-departmental comparisons and benchmarking, and views were sought on what E&P would like included.

• A verbal update on members’ scrutiny of Business Plans was provided, following on from a discussion at the Chairman’s Informal Supper in July, where it was agreed that taking this outside normal committee meetings would be helpful. The Corporate Strategy & Performance Team and Committee Clerks will contact chairmen to work out what would work best and put dates in diaries during November / December, so that finalised Business Plans can be brought to Committees for approval in the new year. It was agreed that where Business Plans are scrutinised by multiple Committees, one meeting be arranged for all relevant Committee members.

• E&P has asked for details of officers’ Business Plan scrutiny processes to ensure that they are robust and wants to see Business Planning discussions inform better prioritisation and resource allocation.  

After outlining his concerns around housing related procurement issues, a Member asked for an update on the status of the Procurement Sub-Committee. The Chairman confirmed that the September meeting of the Sub-Committee had been cancelled due to limited business, and, suggested that the Member speak directly to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and key officers in the Procurement team to ensure that his concerns were addressed.

The Deputy Chairman of the Procurement Sub-Committee confirmed that discussions had been taking place between the Procurement team and the Department for Community and Children’s Services on these housing issues, and he would keep the Member informed going forward. The Chamberlain added that the problems identified were legacy issues, but that all officers were determined to resolve these as a matter of priority.

The Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee added that, for future iterations of this report, it would be helpful to include reference to all Finance Sub-Committees, even if those Sub-Committees hadn’t met over the previous month(s), it would be useful for Members to note that.     

RESOLVED – That the Committee noted the report.