Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Karina Dostalova, Simon Duckworth, Christopher Hayward, Alderman Robert Howard, Deputy Clare James, Tim Levene, Oliver Lodge, Paul Martinelli, Deputy Robert Merrett, Alderman Andrew Parmley, William Pimlott, Ian Seaton, Sir Michael Snyder, Deputy James Thomson

and James Tumbridge.

There was one declaration of interest.

Jeremy Mayhew reminded Members that, in his position as the Chairman of the Finance Committee, he was a Director of City Re Limited (ITEM 14).

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 24^th July 2018.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 24^th July 2018 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk which set out outstanding actions from previous meetings of the Committee.

RESOLVED – That the Committee noted the report.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during the recent meetings of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee (5^th September) and Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee (11^th September).

Nick Bensted-Smith, Chairman of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee, reported that, among other issues, final scoping was taking place for the exterior works at the Mansion House; once this was done, consideration would turn to the potential of merging elements of the project with the refurbishment works at St Lawrence Jewry. An updated Report would be presented to Members at the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee meeting on 1st November, with a view to the Chairman of the Finance Committee then being able to present an update to the Court of Common Council on 6th December (the initial query concerning the exterior appearance of the Mansion House was raised at Court).

Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee, fed back on the Town Clerk’s Corporate and Business Planning Report. the Chairman noted the following points:

• The paper summarised changes to the Business Planning cycle and contents.

• A set of common core indicators would be included in the Business Plans to allow cross-departmental comparisons and benchmarking, and views were sought on what E&P would like included.

• A verbal update on members’ scrutiny of Business Plans was provided, following on from a discussion at the Chairman’s Informal Supper in July, where it was agreed that taking this outside normal committee meetings would be helpful. The Corporate Strategy & Performance Team and Committee Clerks will contact chairmen to work out what would work best and put dates in diaries during November / December, so that finalised Business Plans can be brought to Committees for approval in the new year. It was agreed

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the department’s key work streams and business plan.

A Member queried the London-wide Strategic Investment Pot (SIP) allocation criteria. Specifically, she wanted to know whether, once the bids had been finalised, there was a subsequent process of sub-regional shifting of the bids. The Chamberlain confirmed that as the SIP was managed by the GLA, it made more sense to think strategically about how the SIP could be best applied to meet cross-borough challenges, and the bids were prioritised accordingly. The Chairman asked the Chamberlain to follow up with the Member to discuss this issue further.

After a Member raised his concerns about in-year revisions to budgets, the Chairman reminded Members that he and the Chamberlain had outlined to senior officers, in the most unambiguous terms, that in year revisions should be entirely abandoned; it was now incumbent upon Chief Officers to adhere to their original budgets.

A Member asked about the status of the bow wave, the Chairman responded that the City makes generous financial provision for it and is tackling it more quickly than in previous years, and so its growth, i.e. new items added to the list, was now stable. He added that the main concern for the City Surveyor, was around ensuring that a sufficient level of project management skills was in place to meet the challenge, this would become particularly acute as the major projects came on stream over the next three years. The Chairman of the Corporate Asset Sub-Committee noted that the bow wave had now plateaued and expected it to come down over the medium term. He added that a thorough conversation on the bow wave had taken place at the last meeting of the Corporate Asset-Sub Committee on 5^th September, focused on the

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain which provided updates regarding the top risks within the Departmental Risk Register.

Focusing on Risk .., the Chairman raised the key points from the Commissioner of the City of London Police’s presentation to the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee on 11^th September:

• Governance piece for the Police with Finance Committee’s role to be clarified and defined in the autumn
• The Corporation is underweight in terms of how it supports the Police Committee, compared with how other authorities are supported across the UK
• If the Police need new funding for emerging risks/opportunities, then bids will not be heard unsympathetically. The key is getting their current finances in order
• £4-5m structural deficit is unsustainable. Officers and Members needed to find a way to close this gap (the Home Office premium was insufficient)
• The Police Committee’s co-opted Member, Andrew Lentin, was concerned with the Deloitte efficiency findings, he was a lot more confident with the work around the Transform Programme

• The Commissioner and Deputy Chairman of Police Committee (who was in attendance representing that Committee) were confident about hitting their savings targets for 2018/19.
• Members asked the Commissioner to return to the Sub-Committee in December to give greater clarity on the projections for FY2019/20 and beyond - with doubts around the robustness of the Deloitte work it was important to nail down for certain the Police’s baseline.

RESOLVED – That the Committee noted the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain which provided Members with information regarding the current balance of the Finance Committee Contingency Funds for the current year.

The Chairman reminded Members and officers that the Finance Contingency Fund is the option of last resort. When sourcing funding for new projects, officers had to appreciate that resources are finite, and should, in the first instance, look to manage and reprioritise their current commitments, in short, officers should always look to remain within their budget envelope. He added that adverse variances needed to be explained but would not automatically receive censure if the reasons were sound.

The Chairman queried why Central Risk seemingly contained little flexibility. It was inevitable that unexpected events would occur from time-to-time, referencing the recent fire at Epping Forest as a case in point. He informed Members that the Chamberlain would be presenting a Report later this year on contingency funding.  

RESOLVED – That the Committee noted the report.

Joint Report of the City Surveyor and the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

N.B. To be read with ITEM 19 (Non-public appendix)

The Committee considered a Report of the City Surveyor concerning housing delivery.

Members were of the view that the appropriate source of funding for the £100,000 was, in the first instance, the City Surveyor’s local budget.

RESOLVED – that Members declined the request to source the funding from the Finance Committee’s Contingency Fund.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning irrecoverable non-domestic rates.

Members were keen to ensure that future iterations of this Report should include a section on lessons learnt.

In terms of the single ratepayer responsible for £1.76m of the unpaid total, whilst there were mitigating factors around the delay in getting this specific case resolved, officers should in general, whenever possible, expedite these cases as a matter of urgency.

RESOLVED – that Members approved the write off of irrecoverable non-domestic rates in the sum of £2,635,943 noting that £754,978 will be met by the City Corporation and £22,965 from the premium. The debt relates to 33 companies and two individuals dating back to 2012.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the audit completion report for the 2017-18 City Fund and the Pension Fund.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning City Procurement.

The Chamberlain noted the positive impact since the introduction of the waiver danger campaign. Members were pleased with the decline in waivers and non-compliant waivers and encouraged the Chamberlain to keep up the good work.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the revenue outturn for 2017/18.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning City Re Limited.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

There were no questions.

There were three urgent items.

The October meeting of Finance Committee

The Chairman raised the possibility of cancelling the October meeting of the Committee due to the likelihood of limited business, the Chairman wanted to establish the timeline for the Report: “Review of the City of London Police Authority – Resourcing & Governance Arrangements”, as it was important to keep up momentum in this area. The Town Clerk and the Chamberlain would provide the Chairman with an update after today’s meeting. The Chairman proposed that, in the event of cancellation, any decisions for Finance Committee in the Report could be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee, so as to expedite progress. Members agreed to delegate the decision. The Town Clerk would be in touch with Members with an update in due course.

Reporting Schedule

The Deputy Chairman suggested that future agendas should include a standalone item focusing on the high-level departmental reporting schedule, this would give Members a helpful overview of what to expect throughout the year.

Karen Moorhouse

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman offered many congratulations to Karen Moorhouse, Commercial Contract Manager in the Procurement Team, who was recognised as the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) Young Procurement Professional of the Year during last week’s Supply Management Awards.  Karen was commended by the judges on her “mature and inclusive approach, raising the profile of procurement. Karen is an excellent role model for rising procurement stars”.  The Chairman saluted a great achievement by Karen, and noted it was further recognition for the City of London Corporation’s transformation City Procurement service.  

MOTION - 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 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 Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 24^th July 2018.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 24^th July were approved as an accurate record.

N.B. Non-public appendices to be read with ITEM 9.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee noted a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during non-public session at recent meetings of the Committee’s Sub-Committees.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered a Report of the City Surveyor concerning Woodredon Estate properties.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain concerning Bad Debt.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee noted a report of the Town Clerk detailing non-public decisions taken under delegated authority and/or urgency procedures since the last meeting.

There were no non-public questions relating to the work of the Committee.

There were no items of urgent business.