Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Tijs Broeke, Alderman Prem Goyal, Catherine McGuinness and Alderman Sir William Russell. Caroline Haines and Deputy Madush Gupta also issued apologies, but were observing the meeting online.

Jason Groves declared non-pecuniary interests in respect of Item 7 due to being a member of the Financial Services Council of the CBI and being a former trustee of the Industry and Parliament Trust.

To agree the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 6 September 2023.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 6 September 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk concerning outstanding actions of the Sub-Committee.

·       3/2022/P would be closed off following the meeting as a Party Conference Update report was an agenda item.

·       2/2023/P was still an outstanding action whilst the campaign was paused, not by the Sub-Committee but other committees responsible for the agreement. A report would be submitted to the Resource Allocations Sub-Committee and it was intended to provide a full report to the next meeting of the Communications and Corporate Affairs Sub-Committee. Officers had been asked to provide an update to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee. Members requested an explanatory note be provided to Members of the Sub-Committee outlining the reasons the campaign was paused, how many occupiers had signed up to the pledge and whether empty buildings could be included.

·       5/2023/P would be closed off following the meeting as this was included within the Corporate Communications & External Affairs Update Report agenda item.

RESOLVED – that Members

1) Note the report; and

2) Be provided with an explanatory note on P/2023/P.

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs.

Members received a report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs regarding an update on the Department’s work.

Members of the Sub-Committee were informed that the Corporate Communications and External Affairs Transformation Programme was well underway and Members of the Sub-Committee had been invited to one-to-ones to discuss the strategy. Over 70 engagement sessions had so far been held as had two workshops and an external review of digital channels and brand and stakeholder mapping was taking place for the first time. An update would be submitted to the February 2024 meeting.

In the discussion, the following points were made:

·       The City Belonging Project proactive engagement was taking place across the City. Members commented that engagement could be broadened and widened and more resident engagement should take place. An Officer stated that the work would ensure that opportunities in the square mile were open to as many residents as possible and that there was a wider community offer in place.

·       Partnering would be considered once the centre of excellence and its governance around the head of profession was in place.

·       The soft power that the sports engagement programme delivered was significant. Internal communications with Members and Officers in relation to the understanding of the sports strategy would be part of the strategic review. A Member commented that there was no reference to in-house City of London facilities in the sports engagement update. An Officer stated that the report referred to the review being carried out by the sport consultation around facility provision and this was an ongoing piece of work.

·       Officers were congratulated on their hard work including their work in relation to the party conferences, the City Belonging project, the party conferences and sports engagement.

RESOLVED, That the report be noted.

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs which set out the City Corporation’s proposals to engage in the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in July, August and September 2024.

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       This presented an opportunity to engage with high level domestic and international stakeholders at the world’s biggest sporting event in a neighbouring European city.

·       This was the first time that a European city had hosted the games since London 2012.

·       The Mayor of London and the GLA were keen that London was represented and involved with GB House which was a place to invest and promote interests in partnership with the GLA bringing together business and sport.

·       Work with UK Sport had provided a solid base of evidence for the economic and soft power and international trade benefits of business and sport working together of £4billion of economic value to Great Britain over the next 10 years.

·       Details of partnership arrangement were yet to be agreed by the British Olympic Association (BOA) and the British Paralympic Association (BPA). These would be shared with Members to scrutinise in due course.

·       Although £100,000 was a significant sum, it was much less than most organisations would pay to engage in the Paris Games and was the minimum required to have meaningful engagement.

·       In addition to the Paris engagement and the sponsorship of GB House, there was also the engagement which could happen in the City around fan zones, a possible parade and an opportunity to celebrate Olympic Day on 26 June.

·       The BOA and BPA were charities and to run a successful GB House operation, support was required from organisations such as the City of London Corporation. Those who would be attracted to GB House include

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs regarding the Think Tank Review and Membership for 2023/24.

In the discussion the following points were made:

·       It was important to have the right balance of think tanks across the political spectrum.

·       There were a wide range of opportunities to engage with other organisations without joining as corporate members.

·       Members queried how much Chatham House and LGiU memberships were used and whether they provided value for money. An Officer stated that there were 25 nominees signed up to Chatham House and this comprised Members and Officers. Since March 2023, Members and Officers had engaged at 17 events. A Member suggested that a list of memberships, the budget for each of them and alternative options be submitted to the Sub-Committee. An Officer stated that some of the data was commercially sensitive. This data would be presented as a non-public item.

·       In addition to the memberships which sat within the Corporate Affair’s budget, the review would consider other memberships including the IPT which sat within the Remembrancer’s Team and CBI which sat within the Innovation and Growth team. The review would also include how Members could access more of the opportunities within the memberships.

·       The Tony Blair Institute was working on police policy and Officers would keep Members updated on this work.

·       Members requested oversight of memberships and subscriptions across the Corporation. Whilst the Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs had agreed to present these to the Sub-Committee, more consideration would need to be given to how this could be actioned where memberships and subscriptions in other departments were approved under the officer scheme of delegation. It was acknowledged that if Member approval was to be provided, under the terms of reference, this would have to be

Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Communications and External Affairs.

RESOLVED, That Members

·       Note the initial summary report;

·       Note the recommendation that more focus is given to Business Day, in particular at the Labour and the Conservative party conferences and agree to, as a minimum, Policy Chairman presence at Business Day at these conferences in 2024; and

·       Consider the Policy Chairman’s representation at the SNP party conference and agree that possible alternatives be considered for 2024.

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of The City Remembrancer which updated Members on the main elements of the Parliamentary Team’s previous and planned activity in support of the City of London Corporation’s political and parliamentary engagement since the last formal update to the Sub-Committee on 6 September 2023.

An Officer stated that Members had been sent an email outlining the bills that were announced in the King’s speech and which bills had been introduced and had started the parliamentary process.

The Chairman congratulated the new Remembrancer on his position.

A Member, referring to the Financial Services and Markets Bill, asked about the appointment of the new City Minister and his position on setting up a House of Lords committee to hold the regulators to account on their competition and growth objectives. An Officer stated that the City Minister was a founding member and chair of the parliamentary Regulatory Reform Group which had previously made similar suggestions. He had received the Vision for Economic Growth paper and a meeting on this was due to take place. Due to his appointment, the meeting had been delayed but would be rescheduled.

A Member asked for an update on the City of London (Markets) Bill in relation to Havering Borough Council and the opposed bill. An Officer stated that committee stage had not been scheduled and discussions with Havering were ongoing. More detailed information could be provided in non-public session.

A Member queried the Pensions Reform Bill not being included in the report. The Deputy Chairman, as Policy Chairman, stated that there was no pensions bill announced in the King’s speech. It was considered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that matters could be dealt with by regulatory measures rather than through primary legislation and more detail would be set out in the Chancellor’s

There were no questions.

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.

Questions were raised in respect of the following –

·       City of London (Markets) Bill

·       Mansion House Summit

There were no items of urgent business.