Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Catherine McGuinness, Deputy James Thomson, James Tumbridge and Philip Woodhouse.

Shahnan Bakth, Emily Benn, Madush Gupta, Benjamin Murphy and Paul Singh observed the meeting virtually.

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 12 December 2023.

RESOLVED, that – the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 be approved as an accurate record, subject to the following amendments:

• Deputy Christopher Hayward’s apologies be recorded;
• The wording of the question on London Wall West be added before the reply at item 13.

Matters arising

The Chairman drew the Committee’s attention to item 9 of the minutes, in which the Committee had considered a report on Benefits-In-Kind. He informed Members that he asked officers to review the governance of Benefits-In-Kind,  and suggested that the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee would be the appropriate home.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

RESOLVED – That the Committee notes the report.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain providing the Committee’s

forward plan.

To receive the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Projects and Procurement Sub-Committee held on 4 December 2023.

The Committee noted the draft public minutes and non-public summary of the Projects and Procurement Sub-Committee held on December 4 2023, noting that the Sub-Committee had also met on 15 January 2023.

The Chairman suggested that the schedule of meetings for the Sub-Committee should be revised at its reappointment in May to ensure that timings fitted better with the cycle of Finance Committee meetings.

RESOLVED, that – the draft minutes be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain relating to departmental business plans.

A Member asked why the 2024/25 targets for the collection of business rates and council were still marked as ‘tbc’, and if officers could provide the details of what these targets would be. The Chamberlain undertook to return with further information.

A Member welcomed the separate business plan for Digital, Information and Technology Services, and asked if officers could explore ways to improve the City Corporation’s websites. In reply, the Chamberlain agreed that the Corporation should aim to provide a smooth pathway for stakeholders to navigate.

RESOLVED, that – Members:

a)    Note the factors taken into consideration in compiling the Chamberlain’s Department Business Plans; and

b)    Approve, subject to the incorporation of any changes sought by this Committee, the departmental Business Plans 2024/25.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain relating to the City Fund and Pension Fund Statement of Accounts.

RESOLVED, that – Members approve delegated authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chamberlain, Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee, to approve any significant changes to the 2022/23 Statement of Accounts that may be necessary before the issuance of the audit opinion by Grant Thornton, expected by the end of January 2024.

Report of the Chamberlain.

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

RESOLVED, that – the report be received and its contents noted.

There were no questions.

The Chairman informed Members that the next City Question Time would be held on 30 January from 5pm in the Livery Hall, focusing on the theme of finance.

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 12 December 2023.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 were approved as an accurate record.

To note the draft non-public minutes of the Projects and Procurement Sub-Committee held on 4 December 2023.

The Committee noted the draft non-public minutes of the Projects and Procurement Sub-Committee meeting held on 4 December 2023. There was no update from the meeting held on 15 January 2024.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain relating to the City Corporation’s current HR and payroll system.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain concerning the Enterprise Resource Planning programme’s budget.

Report of the City Surveyor and Executive Director of Property.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain concerning the Enterprise Resource Planning programme’s budget.

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain concerning bad debt write offas the wholesale markets.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee noted a report of the Town Clerk detailing non-public decisions taken under delegated authority and 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.

To approve the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023.

The confidential minutes of the meeting held on 12 December 2023 were approved as an accurate record in the non-public session.