Agenda item

Item 27b was considered in public session.

Capital and Supplementary Revenue Project Funding – Fundamental Review and Interim Revised Prioritisation Process

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which set out proposals relating to a fundamental review of capital and supplementary revenue spending.

Members queried the scope of the review, specifically with reference to the prospective inclusion of previously approved major projects. The Chamberlain suggested that their inclusion could provide an opportunity for valuable additional scrutiny, potentially allowing for rephrasing or similar. Members expressed significant disquiet at this suggestion, observing that the Court had already approved budgets and specific governance arrangements for the new Courts and Police Accommodation project, as well as the Museum of London project, with significant volumes of work already underway. Commitments had been made and project timescales were extremely tight; there was no option for re-phasing without significant cost implications, failing to provide the City Police with requisite accommodation, or breaching commitments to Government and external parties. The Capital Buildings Committee had been specifically created to provide scrutiny and manage these projects and would be providing robust challenge throughout; it was urged that the Committee be left to undertake this task accordingly. The Director of Major Projects also spoke to urge against the creation of any parallel processes for approval or scrutiny.

It was clarified that, of the four major projects the City Corporation was considering, only two (the Combined Courts / Police Accommodation Project and the Museum of London Relocation) had been approved and funded. Both the Centre for Music and Markets Relocation projects were still subject to further decision-making and budget approvals.

Following debate, it was agreed that those major projects which had already been approved and funded by the Court should be excluded from the fundamental review process.

RESOLVED: That approval be granted for a special meeting of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee to take place in March, using the criteria outlined at paragraph 24 of the report and excluding those major projects already approved and funded by the Court, to scrutinise capital and supplementary revenue project funding bids and prioritise resources.