Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 3 - 2nd Floor West Wing, Guildhall. View directions

Contact: Emma Cunnington  Email: emma.cunnington@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor, Alderman Peter Estlin and Deputy Tom Sleigh.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

MEMBERS' DECLARATIONS UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT IN RESPECT OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

Minutes:

Tijs Broeke declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of item 11 by virtue of his role as a school governor of the City of London Academy Hackney.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 12 December 2018.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on Wednesday 12 December 2018 be approved as a correct record.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Outstanding Actions pdf icon PDF 65 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

Members received an outstanding actions report of the Town Clerk.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Presentation from CEO of London & Partners

Minutes:

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of London & Partners, Laura Citron, delivered a presentation on the work of the organisation. The CEO outlined the key messages that told London’s story, which were relevant to different audiences. Members heard how London & Partners view that London’s reputation was currently at risk and so London & Partners were responding quickly to secure London’s global reputation.

 

The CEO presented some of the findings of the messaging research carried out with the City Corporation which found that the best received message was “London is a city of creative energy”. Members also heard how London & Partners were trying new methods of communication to coordinate networks of businesses such as WhatsApp.

 

The Policy Chair, the Director of Economic Development and Head of Media all expressed the close, positive working they had encountered with London & Partners.

 

The following discussion points were then raised:

·         London & Partners worked very closely with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and are in contact on a daily basis.

·         Whilst it was important that messaging included London’s current strengths, it should be borne in mind that there could be some uncertainty on whether these strengths are long-term.

·         Whilst it was important that security and safety were conveyed as key messages for London, this was best undertaken through images of people looking safe rather than specific reference to security.

·         One Member felt that London did have competitive advantages and some of the threats around companies leaving were counteracted by the thought of living and working in other cities within the EU.

·         London & Partners had innovative ways of measuring outputs and outcomes, and Members were particularly interested in social media activation.

·         Whilst there was reluctance to say much publicly on immigration, London & Partners were in a position to talk privately with Government, promoting the business view.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

General Update from the Policy Chair

The Policy Chair to be heard.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Minutes:

The Chair of Policy & Resources updated Members on her recent and upcoming activity, including with parliamentary, business and London stakeholders. Members heard about her recent meeting with Transport for London on Crossrail, and also on upcoming international visits to India and to Davos with the Lord Mayor.

 

A Member commended the idea of seeing London borough leaders in their own council offices and thought that consideration should go into including this within the Lord Mayor’s speech at the London Government Dinner.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

EDO Update pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Report of the Director of Economic Development.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

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 December 2018.

 

A Member requested that, in future, reports specify the city of a visit rather than just a country. For example, the Lord Mayor visited Vancouver in Canada and San Francisco in the US.

 

A Member also impressed the importance of asking the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) to focus on engaging on the e-Privacy Regulation.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Corporate Affairs Update pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Report of the Director of Communications.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Minutes:

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.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Parliamentary Team Update pdf icon PDF 59 KB

Report of the Remembrancer.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

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.

 

The Remembrancer reported that Commanded Karen Baxter of the City of London Police had given oral evidence to the Treasury Select Committee earlier that day, which had been well received by MPs.

 

The Remembrancer also updated Members on the Clean Air Bill and that it would be discussed at a meeting of the Greater London Assembly (GLA) later in January. The City Corporation had been engaging with particular MPs on the matter.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Dress codes at events pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Report of the Executive Director of Mansion House.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Mansion House concerning a trial introduction of Lounge Suit as the dress code for the Business and Industry Dinner in March 2019.

 

Members noted that the recommendation was to trial a change in dress code for one dinner.

 

One Member requested that the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen consider any further application of dress codes to Aldermanic dress. The Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen responded that it was important that dress code was always fit for circumstance and occasion.

 

It was also discussed that for many people at the Dragon Awards Dinner, wearing black tie was an important part and people wanted to dress up for the event. There was also comment that the report should have included a box which recommend lounge suit for general business engagement dinners.

 

One Member suggested that an acceptable compromise would be to label dress codes as “White Tie preferred”, so that guests knew what the standard would be but that those who could only wear black tie would not be deterred. Another Member felt that a mix of dress codes would look dishevelled.

 

There was some debate around whether Members should wear robes at dinners, and one Member did feel it was useful for guests to differentiate between hosts and other guests.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         It be recommended to the Policy and Resources Committee to support the trial introduction of Lounge Suit as the dress code for the Business and Industry Dinner in March 2019.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

The City of London Corporation's Social Mobility Strategy for 2018-28 - Progress Update pdf icon PDF 277 KB

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

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chief Grants Officer and Director of City Bridge Trust updating Members on progress of the City Corporation’s work on social mobility.

 

Following a question, Members heard how the majority of the activities in the academies benefit pupils from City of London academies rather than independent schools.

 

The Chair of the Establishment Committee also requested for this paper to be submitted to the Establishment Committee.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

12.

Summer Enrichment Programme pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 12.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services concerning a proposal of a summer enrichment pilot tackling summer learning loss and summer hunger for pupils and young people during August 2019.

 

The Sub-Committee was very supportive of the proposal but agreed that the Policy Initiatives Fund was not the correct source of funding and it should be recommended to Policy & Resources that this should be funded from a contingency budget.

 

There was some general feedback that the activities should be age appropriate and what was interesting to a 10 year old, for example, would be different for an 18 year old. It was confirmed to Members that officers were liaising with the provider and being guided by them on the appropriate age range, looking at gaps in current provision.

 

The Policy Chair informed Members that the Sutton Trust’s report, Chain Effects 2018, ranked the City Corporation’s sponsored academies as the top performing schools in the country in terms of Attainment 8 and Progress 8 at GCSE level, which track pupil achievement and progress. Members asked the Media Team to undertake a proactive communications approach on this news.

 

Another Member asked whether the budget, as suggested in the report, could allow for other schools to take part such as the City of London Academy Hackney and asked for more transparency on reasons behind the choosing of City of London Academy Highbury Grove. Members heard how it was envisaged that focusing the pilot in Islington would contribute evidence to existing research in this borough.

 

Members requested for a report back to this Sub-Committee on the pilot, acknowledging that this work was accountable to the Education Board.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         It be recommended to the Policy & Resources Committee that the proposal outlined in this report be approved, subject to finding a

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

City Corporation's Legal Initiatives pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Joint report of the Remembrancer and Director of Economic Development.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 13.

Minutes:

Members received a joint report of the City Remembrancer and the Director of Economic Development concerning an overview of the City Corporation’s legal services work.

 

Members were pleased on receiving such a report, however one Member noted that there were a few activities missing from the report, such as an annual reception for the Central London Bench and activity of the Courts Sub Committee of the Policy & Resources Committee. It was also noted that engagement with the Central London Bench could be increased.

 

Discussion followed about the importance of legal services as part of the wider professional and business services sector. A Member underlined the need for the City Corporation to be engaging in all areas of this wider sector too. Other Members agreed but also felt that as there was such a depth of understanding of legal services within the City Corporation, and that a future Lord Mayor might potentially use legal services as their mayoral theme, it made sense for this to be focused on.

 

One Member felt it would be helpful to understand a breakdown of the legal services sector based on Ministry for Justice reports, and specifically referenced intellectual property lawyers as London was a centre of expertise in this area.

 

There was also discussion on how to involve Members better in these areas and it was suggested that the Town Clerk looked again at how to collate Members’ interests in a certain area. One Member reported that the majority of Members were also members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

 

The Director of Economic Development confirmed that two reports would be submitted to this Sub-Committee in due course, concerning, firstly, the City Corporation’s involvement with the Professional and Business Services Council and, secondly, research on the overall ecosystem of the

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Policy Chair's Visit to Washington and New York pdf icon PDF 78 KB

Report of Director of Economic Development.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 14.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Economic Development outlining the key messages and activities from the Policy Chair’s visit to New York and Washington DC in November 2018.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Six Month Media Update pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Report of the Director of Communications.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Director of Communications summarising media output over the past six months from the City Corporation’s Media Team.

 

RESOLVED, that:

·         The report be noted.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

QUESTIONS ON MATTERS RELATING TO THE WORK OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT

Minutes:

There were no urgent items.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Exclusion of the Public

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.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 18.

Minutes:

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.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

NON-PUBLIC QUESTIONS ON MATTERS RELATING TO THE WORK OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT AND WHICH THE SUB COMMITTEE AGREES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHILST THE PUBLIC ARE EXCLUDED

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.