Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Roger Chadwick, Sophie Fernandes, Alderman Sir David Wootton and Alderman Alan Yarrow.

Alex Deane declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 5 (“Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014”) as he would be registered as a consultant lobbyist as a result of the Act.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 3^rd July 2014.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the last meeting held on 3 July 2014 are approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Director of Public Relations.

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Relations on the City Corporation’s activities in relation to the 2014 Party Conferences and, in light of Members’ feedback, highlighted the operational issues being reviewed to improve the activities in relation to the 2015 Party Conferences.

The Members who had attended the 2014 Party Conferences provided their feedback on the events. Members emphasised that the Party Conferences were extremely beneficial in terms of networking opportunities, particularly in smaller, more focused events. The Conferences also provided excellent opportunities to publicise the strong work of the City to a national audience by both the City and its partners.

In terms of feedback for the events, Members noted that it was important that the dinners had an appropriate number of invitees, and that the fringe meetings had a focal point in terms of either a speaker or discussion session, that the subject of the event was focused upon an area which the City was known for and that the speakers were of a high calibre. Members also noted that it would be beneficial if they could have sight of the guest list for dinners in advance to ensure that they could maximise networking opportunities at the events.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee:

a)    notes the information about the City Corporation’s activities in 2014;

b)    agrees to the general approach set out for the delivery of the City Corporation’s activities in 2015;

c)    agrees that fringe event meetings should be included as part of the City Corporation’s activities at the 2015 party conferences, subject to focusing on City issues and being able to secure high calibre speakers for the events;

d)    requests that the Director of Public Relations reports back to the Committee in mid-2015 to provide details of the proposals for the fringe

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Remembrancer which provided an overview of those parts of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 which were relevant to the City Corporation.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

The Director of Public Relations to be heard.

The Sub-Committee received an oral update from the Director of Public Relations regarding the City of London’s reputation in the media.

The Director of Public Relations explained that the Public Relations Office monitored both the reputation of the City Corporation and the City as a whole. In relation to the City as a whole, he explained that polling data indicated that while the City was not necessarily popular it was seen to be very important to the UK economy. In terms of the Corporation itself, he explained that the decision to publish the City Cash Accounts had been effective in reducing the perception that the City Corporation was secretive. It was noted that it was important to respond to any allegations of private funds or similar.

The Sub-Committee noted that it was not often well known that Members were elected to their positions at the City Corporation and this was suggested as a potentially useful piece of public relations which could be shared through social media.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the oral report.

Joint report of the Director of Public Relations and the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee considered the joint report of the Director of Public Relations and the Director of Economic Development on political and business events that had been held since September 2014.

The Sub-Committee agreed that it was  useful to receive this report. Members asked what the process was for deciding the attendance list for these events. The Chairman explained that it was decided on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the attendees were appropriate for the event. The main purpose of the events was to provide a forum where senior City practitioners could meet policy makers.  It was normal practice for one Deputy Chairman and one or more other Members to be invited.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee:

a)    notes the report; and

b)    agrees that similar reports be submitted to the Committee in future.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Economic Development on the City of London’s Economic Research Programme including recently published work.

RESOLVED – That the Sub-Committee notes the report.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Director of Economic Development which provided an update regarding the work of the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) since the Sub-Committee’ last meeting.

Members who had attended the Annual European Reception in Brussels on Monday 3 November provided feedback from the event. It was noted that all major political parties had been invited to the event, and although the discussion at the event was not fully representative of the views expressed by the British public, that had not been the intention for the event.

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

The Chairman to be heard.

There were no further issues to discuss in relation to the EU Engagement Strategy.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.