Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - https://youtu.be/2lrwquq0vY4

Contact: John Cater
tel. no.: 020 7332 1407  Email: john.cater@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Roger Chadwick, Gregory Lawrence, Catherine McGuinness, Robert Merrett, Ian Seaton, and Sir Michael Snyder.

 

 

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

2.

Members' Declarations under the Code of Conduct in respect of items on the agenda

Minutes:

Mark Wheatley declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of item 12 due to being the City of London Vice-President of the British Red Cross.

 

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

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 226 KB

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 13th October 2020.

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

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the public minutes of the meeting held on 13th October 2020 be approved as an accurate record.

 

In response to a query concerning City Re and captive insurance, the Chairman confirmed that, subsequently to the Finance Committee meeting in October, discussions had taken place with the Department of Innovation and Growth (IG) to explore whether there was scope for the UK to expand into the captive insurance market. IG would be continuing these discussions with other stakeholders in the insurance market in the coming months and would report back to Finance Committee in 2021.

 

The Chairman re-emphasised that the pause for any additional expenditure on the Centre for Music project remained in place, and the project would only be re-started with the approval of the Court of Common Council.

 

 

 

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

4.

Forward Workplan pdf icon PDF 105 KB

Joint Report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a joint Report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain concerning the Committee’s workplan for the next eight months.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

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

5.

Appointment to Digital Services Sub-Committee pdf icon PDF 88 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Report of the Town Clerk concerning an appointment from the Court of Common Council to the Digital Services Sub-Committee.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee approved that Dawn Wright is appointed to the Digital Services Sub Committee for the remainder of the 2020/21 civic year.

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

6.

Report of the work of the Sub-Committees pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during a recent meeting of the Procurement Sub-Committee (N.B. Procurement was the only Sub to have met since the last meeting of Finance Committee)

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee noted the report.

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

7.

Risk Management - Top Risks pdf icon PDF 150 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

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

 

The Chamberlain provided a brief overview. He confirmed that the IT risk around Resilience had been merged with that of Business Continuity.

 

The Chairman added that, more broadly, the recent bi-lateral meetings (between Chief Officers, Members and the Chamberlain’s team) had proved fruitful, he asked that, in preparation for the November meeting of the Court of Common Council, the Clerk distribute a note from the Chamberlain that outlined the Corporation’s in-year (2020/21) financial position. In summary, the damage wrought by the pandemic had amounted to a hit of £36m across all three Funds, and, whilst we may yet receive £12m in compensation from central government for income losses and expenditure incurred,  this would still leave a substantial net negative impact of circa £23.4m.

 

The Chamberlain stressed that, in terms of two specific areas of risk; i) the Barbican Centre, which had been particularly impacted by the Covid restrictions since March, was making good progress on finding savings; ii) the scale of the hit to the Corporation’s commercial rental income was becoming clearer and would be play a significant part of budget planning for 2021/22.

 

The Chamberlain added that departmental Chief Officers were working constructively with his team to scope out the 12% savings target for next year. Whilst a lot of hard work lay ahead, achieving this target would be a key component in our efforts to stabilise the Corporation’s medium-term financial outlook. Reports would come back to the Committee over the coming months that would provide Members with updates on these budget discussions.

 

The Chamberlain added that the Government’s Spending Review was due on 25 November, this would present the headline numbers; the more granular detail and the

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

8.

2019-20 City Fund and Pension Fund Financial Statement pdf icon PDF 220 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the 2019-20 City Fund and Pension Fund Financial Statement.

 

Members noted the net asset position at the end of March, which showed a £195m increase over the course of the 2019-20 f/y. The position since March, with the advent of Covid, was more volatile, with further turbulence expected up to the end of 2020-21.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee approved the following:

 

·         the 2019-20 City Fund and Pension Fund Statement of

Accounts: and;

 

·         Delegate to the Chamberlain, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy

Chairman of the Finance Committee, approval of any material changes to the

statement of accounts required before the signing of the audit opinion by

BDO which is expected by the end of November.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

9.

City's Cash Financial Statements 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 191 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the City’s Cash Financial Statements for 2019-20.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee approved the following:

 

·         note that the external auditor BDO LLP intends to give an unqualified audit opinion;

 

·         consider the contents of the Audit Management Report issued by BDO LLP; and

 

·         approve delegated authority for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the

Finance Committee to approve and sign the City’s Cash Financial Statements on

behalf of the Court of Common Council, taking account of any observations from

the Audit and Risk Management Committee on 3 November.

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

10.

City's Cash Trust Funds and Sundry Trust Funds Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 162 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning City's Cash Trust Funds and Sundry Trust Funds.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee approved the following:

 

·         note that the external auditor BDO LLP intends to give an unqualified audit opinion;

 

      consider the contents of the Audit Management Report issued by BDO LLP; and

 

      delegate approval of the Annual Reports and Financial Statements for the City’s Cash Trust Funds and the Annual Reports and Financial Statements for the Sundry Trust Funds for the year ended 31 March 2020 to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, taking account of any observations from the Audit and Risk Management Committee on 3 November.

 

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

11.

Key Workstreams and Business Plan update pdf icon PDF 177 KB

Report of the Chaamberlain.

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a Report of the Chamberlain which provided an update on key areas of work underway in the Chamberlain’s department.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

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

12.

Donations - International Disaster Fund pdf icon PDF 129 KB

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

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a Report of the Chief Grants Officer and Director of City

Bridge Trust concerning the International Disaster Fund (IDF).

 

The Chairman clarified that the decision to approve any donation is delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee; this has proved an effective method as we can react speedily to unfolding disasters.

 

Officers clarified that this Report provided an update on the direction of travel, a decision paper would be coming back to Members in 2021 to determine both the budget for next year and the mechanism around providing donations. It would be helpful to measure, for instance, how effective the donations are in encouraging others to donate.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

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

13.

City Procurement Quarterly Progress Report (November 2020) pdf icon PDF 378 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a Report of the Commercial Director concerning the work of City Procurement over Q1 – Q2 of 2020/21.

 

The Chairman and the Chamberlain commended Chris Bell who will be leaving the Chamberlain’s team shortly for a new commercial role with the City of London Police. Chris’ valuable contribution over the last several years has been significant and they wished him well in his new role.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

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

14.

Central Contingencies pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

Minutes:

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


RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the report.

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

15.

Questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no questions.

 

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

16.

Any Other Business that the Chairman considers urgent pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Minutes:

The following item of urgent business was raised –

 

Update to the Code of Corporate Governance concerning delegation of write off limits and discretionary business rate relief.

As part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic Members agreed some amendments to the scheme of delegation to officers. These temporary measures expired on 31st October 2020.

 

A late report to today’s Finance Committee requested that the revised levels of delegation for write offs and the delegation of decisions for discretionary business rate relief are continued until they can be updated within the Code of Corporate Governance.

 

The report also requested that the Head of Revenues is given delegated authority to determine and award the grants for the Government business rate grant schemes. These grants are being delivered to support businesses through the pandemic.

 

In response to a concern about the scale of the thresholds proposed in the paper, the Chamberlain proposed keeping Members regularly up-to-date on decisions relating to higher cost decisions taken by his department, and that he submit a Report to the March Finance Committee, reflecting on whether Members wanted to approve a permanent change to the thresholds.

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee approved the following:

 

The amendments to the following changes to the Scheme of Delegations to Officers:

 

o   To temporarily increase the limits to write off all debts due to the City of London Corporation which are irrecoverable up to £100,000 (Head of Revenues) and up to £500,000 (Chamberlain) with any amount in excess of £500,000 to be submitted to Finance Committee for approval. Finance Committee to receive a report for information on any write-offs over £25,000 and a Report in March 2021 reflecting on whether Members wanted to approve a permanent change to these thresholds

 

o   To authorise the granting of discretionary rate relief under section

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

17.

Exclusion of the Public

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.

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

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 Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

 

 

 

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

18.

Non-public minutes of the previous meeting

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13th October 2020.

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

Minutes:

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 13th October 2020 were approved as an accurate record.

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

19.

Report of the work of the Sub-Committees - non-public issues

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk which advised Members of the key discussions which had taken place during a recent meeting of the Procurement Sub-Committee (N.B. Procurement was the only Sub to have met since the last meeting of Finance Committee)

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

20.

Civil Parking & Traffic Enforcement

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of the Department of the Built Environment.

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

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of the Department of the Built Environment concerning civil parking and traffic enforcement.

 

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

21.

Semi-independent / Supported Accommodation Placements (16-25yrs)

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community & Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 21.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Community & Children’s Services concerning accommodation placements for 16-

25-year olds.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Non-public decisions taken under delegated authority and urgency procedures

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 22.

Minutes:

The Committee noted a report of the Town Clerk detailing a non-public decision taken under urgency procedures since the last meeting.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Non-public questions on matters relating to the work of the Committee

Minutes:

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

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Any Other Business that the Chairman considers urgent and which the Committee agree should be considered whilst the public are excluded

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.