Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Alderman Bronek Masojada and Irem Yerdelem.

The following Members observed the meeting online: Deputy Madush Gupta, Caroline Haines, Elizabeth King, Judith Pleasance, Antony Manchester, and Jeanette Newman.

Chief Commoner Ann Holmes also attended the meeting.

Deborah Oliver declared the following interests (in respect of item 9): Barbican library member, member of Barbican Association, member of a Barbican house group.

To agree the public minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 May 2023.

RESOLVED, That the public minutes of the meeting of 22 May 2023 be approved as an accurate record of the proceedings.

To note the minutes of the meeting of the Keats House Consultative Committee of 23 June 2023.

The Committee noted the minutes of the 23 June 2023 meeting of the Keats House Consultative Committee.

To receive the report of the Clerk.

The Committee noted the report of the Clerk.

On action 3, Members asked whether an update was available on an Officer working group and whether clarification on cultural strategy leadership and timetable might be available, noting the Committee’s Terms of Reference that referenced cultural strategy leadership and the Culture, Heritage & Libraries (CHL) Committee’s primacy in determining that strategy.

The meeting heard that plans for a working group were under way, that a draft outline paper for it had been shared informally with the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Policy & Resources (P&R) Committee, and that the paper was expected to be forwarded to the executive leadership ahead of presentation to the CHL Committee in the autumn time.  In response to Member queries about why CHL Committee was not sighted on that documentation ahead of the autumn time, the meeting heard that the draft was being discussed upstream of its submission to the CHL Committee in order to ensure that the contents and recommendations were appropriate. The meeting heard that a recommendation of the draft paper was that the strategies themselves were to be submitted to the CHL Committee in the first instance, to be subsequently shared with the P&R Committee for information. 

Members asked that the Chair and Deputy Chair of CHL be involved in such discussions in future.

To note the forward plan

The Committee noted the Forward Plan

To receive the report of the Executive Director, Innovation and Growth

(presentation in separate pack)

Members received a presentation providing an overview of the Destination City programme. The main points covered in the presentation were as follows:

-       A recap of the Destination City programme, its purpose and vision;

-       An overview of the core Destination City priority programmes;

-       The core Destination City marketing and events calendar;

-       Priority audience segments; and

-       The adjacent Destination City workstreams, delivered across the Corporation.

Members congratulated Destination City (DC) on the presentation and made the following points:

-       There is benefit in further information on how targets were expected to be met

-       Details of the steering group’s membership would be welcome

-       More information on the extent to which the plan aligns with City of London (CoL) core objectives would be helpful

-       It is important to provide advance notice of events (for key stakeholders including CoL tour guides, Guildhall Art Gallery, students, and small businesses)

-       There is merit in utilising the CoL Common Council to nurture brand partnerships

-       There are further opportunities to reach out to the wider public via election communication material

-       It is important to mesh cultural strategy and DC activity, ensuring that culture underpins all activity

-       There are further opportunities to streamline strategy communications with corporate partners and City BIDs

-       Proactive engagement with City of London Police, residents, business, BIDs, educational institutions and embassies (including for unique events such as the Lord Mayor’s Show) is vital

-       Some of the targets and spend given appeared to be low

The meeting heard that a meta-model and business intelligence dashboard could be shared with the Committee, together with supporting strategies, and that stakeholder involvement and consistency with CoL objectives was core to DC’s strategy with further detailed information on those strategies to be submitted to future Committees. The

To consider the report of the Executive Director, Environment Department

Members congratulated the Keats House team on their work, and commented that there was merit in further integrating the CoL’s assets into Keats House activities and its website.

RESOLVED, That the Keats House Activities Plan 2023/24 be approved.

To receive the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

The Committee received the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

A Member sought clarification on when the subsidised residents’ rate would be known, commenting also that some Barbican residents might be disappointed that fees were being charged. The meeting heard that fees had not yet been set and that the same model would be used as that of the Artizan St library - and that any hire would be managed as a library space rather than a community space.

In response to questions on whether the deterrent effect of late fees would be lost if late fees were reduced or removed, the meeting heard that libraries across the country were reviewing their policies on late fees, and that evidence suggested that late fees generally did not impact significantly on returns.

Members commented that hospitality services were expected at such venues, noting the restrictions inherent in their provision because of the nature of the building and noting that library staff time would be a factor. 

To receive the report of: The Chamberlain, Deputy Town Clerk, Executive Director of Innovation and Growth, Executive Director Environment, and Executive Director of Children’s & Community Services.

The Committee noted the revenue outturn for 2022/23 (showing an overall unfavourable variance to final budget of £0.614m), noting also that there are no carry forward requests for 2023/24 in relation to the CHL Committee.

Commenting that budget underspends would eventually be coming to an end, a Member sought clarification on that for the future and also on “reduced income”.(as per section 3.1 of the report). The meeting heard that further reviews would take place in the autumn period, including that of the annual allocation and of income levels (relating particularly to Monument).

A Member asked whether a contingency fund was available for the CHL Committee. The meeting heard that contingency funds were held at Finance/P&R level and that each Committee was awarded an annually-approved fund allocation. No decision on those budget estimates has been finalised.   

To consider the report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services

A Member asked whether unwaged customers and/or JSA recipients might benefit from further reductions. The meeting heard that such users would be considered for lower rates.

In response to a question on further resident engagement, the meeting heard that further wider-scale resident engagement was planned that would include a community sewing group and a festival of making. 

RESOLVED, That Members agree to the proposed fees as per Option 3 as set out in section 10 of the report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services, to include discounts for unwaged and JSA-receiving users.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

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 the 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.

To agree the non-public minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 May 2023.

The Committee considered the non-public minutes of the meeting of 22 May 2023.

To receive the report of the Director of Innovation & Growth

The Committee considered the recommendations of the City Arts Initiative.

To consider the report of the Managing Director, BHE

Members considered the recommendations of the Corporate Charities Review in respect of Keats House.

To receive the report of the Executive Director, Innovation and Growth

(Presentation slides are in a separate pack)

The Committee received and noted the presentation providing an overview of the

Bartholomew Fair programme and plans that took into account previous CHL

recommendations.

To consider the report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee noted the report of the City Surveyor.