Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Alderman Sir Nicholas Lyons, Alderman Professor Micheal Mainelli, and Alderman Kawsar Zaman.

Alderman Christopher Makin declared an interest as a member of the Company of Communicators.

Alderman Sir William Russell declared an interest as Master of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers. Alderman XXX also declared an interest as a member of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 4 February 2025.

The Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 4^th February 2025

RESOLVED: - That the minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 4^th February 2025 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

Chairman’s Congratulatory Remarks

The Chairman reported that Alderman Professor Emma Edhem had been appointed as a Mentor, guiding emerging leaders, diplomats and strategists on navigating international relations, power structures and global governance.

Further, the Chairman reported that Alderman Prem Goyal OBE has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director at Dolma Impact Fund II.

Alderman Sir Charles Bowman would be replacing Alderman Sir William Russell as the City Corporation’s representative on the UK-China Green Finance Taskforce.

Finally, the Chairman reported that Alderman Bronek Masojada had been appointed as the City Corporation’s representative on the UK Carbon Markets Forum.

The Committee joined the Chairman in offering their congratulations. The Committee were encouraged to continue to feed in news of any similar achievements/accolades worthy of note.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk, concerning nominations for the appointment of Alderman on those City of London Corporation Committees on which they have reserved spaces for the civic year 2025/26, commencing on 25^th April 2025.

The Town Clerk drew the Committee’s attention to Appendix B, which detailed the full list of committee appointments and outside bodies held by each Alderman. This was intended to be a live list, and the Committee were encouraged to contact the Town Clerk with any updates or amendments.

RESOLVED: - That the Aldermen:

i)               Approve those nominations set out within the appendix to the report and authorise submission of the agreed nominations to the Court of Common Council at its meeting on 25^th April 2025, excluding the appointments to the Honourable the Irish Society, on 22^nd May 2024; and

ii)              Delegate Authority to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen to approve any necessary revisions to the list of appointments.  

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk, concerning a proposed review of the Aldermanic ‘governance’ documentation, including the existing Terms of Reference, to determine whether they adequately reflect the purpose and remit of the Court of Aldermen and to address whether there are any inconsistencies of approach. A Delegated Authority was being sought to consider revisions to the Terms of Reference and other relevant governance documentation, recommending these be submitted to a subsequent meeting of the Committee.

An Alderwoman requested a point of clarification on Appendix 3, that the Aldermen provided leadership rather than acted as leaders to the team of elected Members in individual Wards.

The Committee were encouraged to share its views and recommendations for points of review ahead of its next meeting. Members of the Committee made suggestions on matters for consideration, including references to residents, the Shrieval Plan, and the promotion of the City of London’s Financial and Professional Services. It was also requested that any documentation publicly available be updated following the review.

RESOLVED – That Members agree that:

1.     The terms of reference of the Court of Aldermen and other relevant Aldermanic governance documents (set out as appendices to the report) be reviewed to ensure that any inconsistencies of approach are addressed; and

2.     Should any amendments be required, Delegated Authority be granted to the Town Clerk in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair of the General Purposes Committee, to consider the final wording of the revised Terms of Reference and other relevant governance documentation, with a recommendation thereon submitted to a subsequent meeting of this Committee.

The Committee received a presentation concerning the use of LinkedIn. Topics of the presentation included optimising profiles; content strategy; practical tips; and further resources.

Following the conclusion of the presentation, the Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments, as follows: -

·       The City Corporation had a Flickr account for event photographs, which would be shared with the Aldermen.

·       There was an existing policy for the City of London Corporation account not reposting from its Elected Members. However, there was scope for this to be reviewed under the social media policy and content strategy as part of efforts to grow the City Corporation’s online network.

·       In terms of frequency of posting or reposting, a guideline of one or twice a week was recommended, but Aldermen were asked to consider where they were adding value when posting or reposting.

·       It was noted that Chairs / Chairmen of Committees would have access to City Corporation press releases for LinkedIn, and it could be considered how these could be made more widely available. A rolling key messages document could be provided for consistent messages, and the value added to reposting press releases was again emphasised.

·       There would be further consideration on what support could be provided for Elected Members on LinkedIn, including access to video content and templates for posting as part of the wider strategic branding review.

·       Examples could be provided on good examples for LinkedIn, and advice on maximising impact without the need for additional support or resources, as Members of the Committee noted that the examples provided in the presentation (e.g., the Mayor of London) likely had additional resources to add capacity when posting on LinkedIn. The examples provided were LinkedIn ‘top voices’ – profiles which were identified as consistently producing good content and were generally widely known to

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Committee received a report of the Remembrancer, concerning approval for amendments to the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’ draft Supplemental Charter. The amendments sought were amending the nomenclature of the Company’s most senior elected officer from ‘Master’ to ‘Prime Warden’, amending the formal name of the Company to take account of this change, and granting a power to amend the Company’s charters by special resolution of its members, allowing decisions to be taken by the Company outside of physical meetings.

Members of the Committee who were members of the Magistracy and Livery Sub-Committee wished to note that given that ‘Prime Warden’ was an accepted term, the Sub-Committee expressed no view on the term ‘Master’. The Sub-Committee also welcomed the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’ flexibility in responding to its comments.

RESOLVED – That the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen approve the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers’ draft Supplemental Charter.  

Report of the Director of Mansion House & Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Mansion House and Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor, concerning approval of the high-level Business Plan for the Mansion House and Office of Lord Mayor and Sheriffs (Town Clerk’s) Department for 2025/26.

A Member of the Committee suggested that future high-level Business Plans for the Mansion House and Office of Lord Mayor and Sheriff be shared with those Alderman who, subject to election, were coming forward into the Mayoralty.

RESOLVED, that Members of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen: -

(i)             Note the factors taken into consideration in compiling the Mansion House & Officer of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs Business Plan; and

(ii)            Approve, subject to the incorporation of any changes sought by this Committee, the departmental Business Plan 2025/26.

Report of the Executive Director for Innovation and Growth.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director for Innovation and Growth, concerning the impact of the City Corporation’s work in support of UK-based Financial and Professional Services between October 2024 and December 2024. It also provided the annual update on Innovation and Growth’s Overseas Offices for the 2024 calendar year.

Members of the Committee expressed that the Court of Aldermen were keen to play an active role in the impact of the City Corporation and maximise and leverage the skills available within the Court. It was this helpful that this report be shared quarterly with the Committee. It would create an opportunity for Aldermen to be better informed and thus better equipped to be actively impactful. Officers were also mindful of the recent Court of Common Council election and the new intake of members, how to involve those who did not have a financial services background.

Noting the update on the Overseas Offices, Members noted the critical inflection point of where the City Corporation sat in the current global financial world and encouraged strengthening the links with the FCDO and Department of Trade. Officers were mindful of engagement and opportunities with the US and elsewhere, and how to push this forward. Members of the Committee encouraged a nimble approach with geopolitics.

There were questions on KPIs, and how success would be measured and how outcomes would be measured using data. Officers agreed that data was important to measure success, particularly under investment. However, officers noted that with their more limited resources, the more work undertaken to report the data, especially quarterly, the less impactful the data would be in terms of measuring success.

Members of the Committee emphasised that the City Corporation must not be siloed in its departments to achieve the outcomes. The response was that some

There were no questions.

The Chairman advised that the Kate Doidge had been seconded into the role of Executive Officer to the Court of Aldermen, supporting the Aldermanic work at the City Corporation.

MOTION - That, in accordance with the Court of Aldermen’s Disclosure Arrangement (Standing Order 25), the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen have determined, having had due regard to the Disclosure Arrangement, that disclosure should not be permitted.

RESOLVED - That, in accordance with the Court of Aldermen’s Disclosure Arrangement (Standing Order 25), the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen have determined, having had due regard to the Disclosure Arrangement, that disclosure should not be permitted.

To approve the non-public minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 4 February 2025.

The Committee considered and approved the non-public minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 4 February 2025.

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the Remembrancer concerning the petition of the Company of Communicators to be constituted as a Livery Company of the City of London.

The Town Clerk and respective Chairs of each Strategy Group took the opportunity to update the Committee on progress against their objectives for 2025/26.

There were no matters raised.

There were no questions raised in the non-public session.

Matters concerning the work of those in the Mayoral continuum and the Lord Mayor’s Show were discussed.

Report of the Executive Director of Mansion House, Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor.

The Committee received a confidential, separately circualted report of the Executive Director of Mansion House, Principal Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor updating on a proposals emanating from the review of the staffing body that serves the two Sheriffs of the City of London and the Recorder at the Old Bailey.