Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Sophie Fernandes, Andrew Mayer and Deputy Tom Sleigh.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 25 July 2018.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 25 July 2018 be approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendments:-

·         Under item 4, the bullet point be changes from “There was lots of concern on rule-taking from the Bank of England” to “There was concern from the Bank of England as it did not want to be a rule-taker”.

·         Under item 18, the final sentence to be changed to “The Chairman took the opportunity to wish Members a good and restful Summer and to thank Officers for all their work over a busy period.”

Matters arising

·         Members asked for a further update from the Remembrancer (when he next attended the Sub-Committee) on the City Corporation’s support to Government on the legal issues surrounding international property and the position for EU nationals wishing to stand as local councillors.

Joint report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services and the Director of Economic Development, proposing the final version of the City Corporation’s Digital Skills Strategy for 2018-23.

Members heard how the strategy had been developed as part of a cross-departmental collaborative effort.

As part of a wider discussion, the following points were made:

·         Care needed to be taken on delivering the objectives of the strategy until it was unambiguously clear who the lead officer would be. However, there are lead officers for each of the key initiatives set out in the strategy.

·         There are some broader points in the strategy regarding aspirational attainment of learners, which are not restricted to digital skills only.

·         The plan to track outcomes needed to be considered carefully, as well as the funding envelope.

·         Regulatory regime was an important factor to consider, especially with the amount of data transfer with the US. It was reported that the Secretary of State for International Trade had promoted the idea of sharing skills with the US and this would need to be incorporated as part of the strategy.

The Policy Chairman informed the Sub-Committee that she had been asked to join the Financial Services Skills Taskforce operated by TheCityUK. In addition, a report on proposed themes for the next mayoral year would be considered by this Sub-Committee at its next meeting.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The Digital Skills Strategy be noted, as well as the proposed next steps for its delivery.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development providing highlights of the key activity undertaken by the Economic Development Office (EDO) in July and early August 2018.

The Assistant Director of Economic Development outlined some of the key activity in the next few weeks, including Chile Day and an inward visit from the Governor of Tokyo. On Brexit, Members heard how the UK was in a fluid situation with more political challenges leading into party conferences season. The short-term focus for the City Corporation was on securing a transition agreement and understanding the differences in asks from various sub sectors, e.g. insurance, as well as tackling the cliff edge issues. Members noted that if the City Corporation needed to change its position on Brexit, this would be reported to this Sub-Committee in the usual way.

Members asked for more detail on the regional strategy and heard how the Town Clerk was a vital part of the engagement for meetings with Chief Executives of councils. Specifically, a Member requested an understanding of forensic effectiveness measures of the regional strategy and heard that a report was being prepared for the next meeting of this Sub Committee.

There was a request that reports such as the City of London Corporation PwC Fintech series: India-UK Payments Landscape (in the appendix of the EDO update) be circulated separately from the main agenda pack in future.  

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

Report of the Director of Communications.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Communications updating Members on key elements of the Corporate Affairs team’s activity in support of the City Corporation’s external political engagement and corporate communications.

The Chairman of Markets requested that he be updated, in future, when the Policy Chairman talks to Leaders of London Boroughs on the City Corporation’s vision and strategy for markets consolidation. It was made clear that the borough relationships are maintained by the Policy Chairman but that the Chairman of Markets should have been made aware of the meeting.

In addition, there was a discussion following the headlines of the City AM article that morning of handling the media when it misreports the City Corporation’s messaging. Members were in support of the Director of Communications view, which was to take a tactical approach and not necessarily complain every time. Although there was agreement that there could be further thought into whether a simple tweet might help correct the City Corporation’s position.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Remembrancer updating Members on the main elements of the Parliamentary Team’s activity in support of the City Corporation’s political and parliamentary engagement.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development concerning the City Corporation’s enhanced approach to international engagement with the key markets of Switzerland and the USA.

Members were broadly supportive of the strategies, although there were some comments about the US strategy being a bit too ambitious.

The Sub-Committee heard how plans were coming together to increase Member input before Lord Mayor and Policy Chairman overseas visits, to tap into Member expertise in a certain market.

In addition, the following points were made:

·         As part of the strategies, it would be helpful to consider the bridges that these countries have with the EU, as well as the talent in those markets.

·         The report’s title was misleading, as the report concerns international engagement rather than international investment.

·         The City Corporation always talks to UK based firms of the market ahead of any overseas visits.

RESOLVED, that:

·         It be recommended to the Policy and Resources Committee to approve the new City Corporation engagement strategies for Switzerland and the USA.

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development setting out plans for Member participation on a forthcoming export and investment visit of Alderman Alison Gowman to visit Peru in September.

Whilst Members were supportive, there was a discussion on how Member involvement in overseas visits could be more strategic and to avoid precedence. Members heard how a report which would propose a strategy to provide clarity on which Members represent the City Corporation was being finalised and would be reported to this Sub Committee in due course.

One Member commented that whilst there had been an improvement, there was still some way to go in joining up departments across the organisation.

RESOLVED, that:

·         It be noted that Alderman Alison Gowman would be visiting Peru as a member of the UK-Peru Infrastructure Taskforce in late September.

Report of the Chief Grants Officer and Director of City Bridge Trust.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer and Director of the City Bridge Trust presenting the proposed final version of the City Corporation’s Social Mobility Strategy for 2018-28.

Members heard how this strategy was designed collaboratively across the organisation and represents a broad range of views.

Members were very supportive of the strategy and made the following comments:

·         As the strategy spans ten years, it was important to consider the frequency of reviewing the strategy against its objectives. Members were in agreement that a deep analysis every three to four years would be sufficient, alongside an annual review.

·         In addition, Members asked for more cross referencing of strategies to help evidence the measures achieved.

·         Members commented on the messaging of the strategy and suggested that a more coherent narrative was put forward.

·         It was noted that the City Corporation had a vulnerability in that more financial support is given to the City Corporation’s independent schools than its academies.

·         Social mobility had not progressed across the UK as the Government had envisaged, and a Member had first-hand experience of how young people lack soft skills, which make them less employable.

·         Members noted how, particularly, children of a low socio-economic background will have become more disadvantaged over the Summer holidays, due to lack of learning and stimulation, and in some cases, lack of nutrition. Members felt quite strongly that this could be an area where the City Corporation could support and the Member who raised the issue offered to investigate the issue further, including how Livery Companies could support.

·         The Chairman of the Establishment Committee asked for the report to be discussed by his Committee in order to note the equalities implications of the strategy.

·         Whilst Members were supportive of the collaborative approach behind the strategy, there were some

Questions were raised as follows -

Sport

A question was asked concerning an update on the resourcing and management of sport engagement, following approvals by the Sub Committee in December 2017 for a strategic approach to sports engagement.

The Director of Communications advised Members that a consultant had delivered a report in July, the Remembrancer had some concerns on the impact around the Hospitality Working Party and wanted a bit longer to review the paper to ensure it was holistic and joined up.

Some Members expressed dissatisfaction for the delay in the report being submitted to the Sub-Committee but were content for the report to come to its next meeting. One Member commented that there was confusion on the Remembrancer’s role of facilitation of events and selling of the Guildhall venue.  

Members urged officers to focus on the resource and management aspect of sports engagement strategy rather than revisiting the strategy again. The question was raised about adding ‘Sport’ to the portfolio of one of the Deputy or Vice Chairmen of Policy and Resources. Members agreed that discussion could continue once officers submit a report to this Sub Committee next month.

Filming at Committee meetings

A Member requested that the City Corporation’s policy on filming at meetings could be reviewed to assess the legal implications surrounding it.  

Honorary Freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi

A Member requested an update on discussions around the Honorary Freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Chairman of the Freedoms Applications Committee advised the Member that the Freedom Applications Committee had been discussing this issue and a report from that Committee would be submitted to the Court of Common Council on the 13^th September 2018.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 25 July 2018.

The non-public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 25 July 2018 were approved.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.