Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Ian Seaton and Philip Woodhouse.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 30 November 2016.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 30 November 2016 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

RESOLVED – That the outstanding references be noted and updated as appropriate.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk which set out the work plan for future meetings.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chamberlain outlining the next steps to be taken regarding the implementation of the Efficiency and Sustainability Plan.

The Chamberlain advised that the plan needed to be viewed in the context of the overall Medium Term Financial Strategy: namely to have a five year plan with sufficient cashable savings to present a balanced budget for all four funds. To assist with this context and messaging, the set of core messages on the City of London Corporation’s Finances had been reviewed and updated.

The Chamberlain reported that the principles of how the Peer Review programme was anticipated to work had been agreed with the Chief Officer Summit Group, however the actual approach adopted would be revised in-light of experience gained from the first pilot review. Chief Officers would be invited to suggest key focus areas and approximate timing for a Peer Review of their Department so that a full programme could be developed.

A Member suggested that the reviews should avoid looking at each department individually and aim to be more thematic and cross-cutting so as to be more strategically focussed. It was further suggested that consideration be given to the communicating of the core messages to members during the member Induction programme.

In response to questions the Chamberlain explained that the reviews would be kept relatively light touch and draw on models/approaches developed elsewhere. Each review would seek to identify and utilise an external expert reference point to help shape the key lines of enquiry. He explained that this process would assist with embedding the principle of continuous improvement across the organisation.

The Head of Corporate Performance and Strategy also reported that the Corporate Strategy Network was about to be launched, the purpose of which was to provide support for the Chief Officers leading

Report of the Head of Corporate Strategy and Performance.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Town Clerk updating on progress with the corporate and business planning process since the last meeting.

The Town Clerk advised that a refreshed Corporate Plan was being developed for 2018-23, which would set out a new vision and specific outcomes against which to monitor performance. Members would be invited to comment on the draft plan after the Common Council elections, before it was presented to the Court of Common Council for final approval, prior to publication.

The Town Clerk advised that, during January, consultation meetings were held to offer Service Committee Chairmen early sight of the proposals for revising corporate and business planning, including the new template for high-level departmental plans. The proposals were generally received very positively, and a number of helpful suggestions and comments were made. These had been fed back to Chief Officers and their business planners working on the high-level plans.

Draft high-level departmental plans would be presented to Service Committees before the elections in March, where possible, or circulated to the current Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen. Following the elections, Service Committees would receive the high-level plans for approval, supported by detailed business plans.

The Town Clerk advised that, during 2017/18, further development work would take place, including the re-formatting of detailed business plans and arrangements for monitoring and reporting performance. Regular updates would be provided to the Sub Committee as the work progressed.

A Member commented that it would be helpful to see the existing Corporate Plan so that any fundamental changes included in the new one were easily identifiable and any implications arising as a result could be considered appropriately. Members also commented that departmental business plans should be revisited after the agreement of the new Corporate Plan.

Members noted that the output from the People, Place

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chamberlain updating on the implementation of the Service Based Review recommendations approved at the Efficiency and Performance Sub-Committee in March 2016.

The Sub-Committee was advised that the implementation of the SBR contract management recommendations was progressing in line with the plan to launch the service in April 2017.  Members of the newly established commercial unit had started joining the Corporation and a framework and supporting toolkit was in draft format and projected to be finalised by the end of February 2017.  Overall the status of the implementation was green with the only challenge being able to secure an Assistant Director to run the service, a role which might not be recruited to in advance of the April go live date.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a report of the Chamberlain outlining the CIPFA Public Sector Corporate Services Value for Money (VFM) Indicators for Finance and Human Resources (HR) and 2015/16 (the latest available statistics) and comparing movements to the previous two years. The comparator base used was London Boroughs.

The Chamberlain reported that overall both Finance and HR scored well on embedding modern practices and on impact in the organisation, reflecting the high quality of the service provided. Both departments were relatively high cost compared to the local authorities in the comparator group due to the nature of the corporate structure and the mix of work undertaken. However, the relative cost, compared to the size of the organisation, of both services had fallen from the previous year.

The Chamberlain advised that he was focusing on securing further efficiencies through process re-engineering and system improvements, improving the financial management information to service users and ensuring appropriate professional development of staff.

The Director of HR was focusing on a number of areas to reduce costs going forward as part of the City Corporation’s efficiency plan.

The Chairman questioned the usefulness of the data provided, particularly the comparisons to very different local authorities, and suggested that the inclusion of more trend-analysis and graphic content would be more useful.

The Chamberlain acknowledged that while the data provided limited value, any externally validated data was always helpful if the Corporation were to be challenged.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent 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 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 30 November 2016.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2016 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

RESOLVED – That the non-public outstanding references be noted and updated as appropriate.

Joint report of the Town Clerk, Comptroller and City Solicitor, City Surveyor and Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee noted a joint report of the Town Clerk, Comptroller and City Solicitor, City Surveyor and Chamberlain which provided an update on the Strategic Asset Management (SAM) Programme. The report informed Members that the SAM Programme was making steady progress towards rationalising and consolidating service resource and contracts across the City Corporation in order to achieve greater collaboration, savings and better service outcomes.

Report of the Managing Director, Barbican Centre.

The Sub-Committee noted a report of the Managing Director of the Barbican Centre which provided an update on the Barbican Centre service based review.

Joint report of the Town Clerk and Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee noted a joint report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain which provided an update on the Service Based Review, including cross-cutting reviews, key departmental projects, and the monitoring of financial savings.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.