Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2018.

RESOLVED - that the public minutes of the meeting held on 11^th September 2018 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

RESOLVED – that Members note the report.

Report of the Town Clerk.

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

The Chairman requested that future iterations of the Report should include the “Chief Specific Departmental Focus and Commercial/Income Generation Opportunities” line at the top of the table.

The Chairman also pointed out that given the changes for the City Bridge Trust (CBT) taking place over the next few months, it would be prudent to move the Director of CBT to later in 2019 (he was currently scheduled to address E&P Members in March).

RESOLVED – that Members noted the report.

Report of the Chamberlain

The Sub-Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning internal legal services charging.

The Chairman expressed his frustrations about the delays with this project and asked officers to come back to the Sub-Committee with the prospective rollout programme for other departments.

He stressed that the shift from centralised “command and control”, to departments being given the devolved choice on how they pay for services would not be easy, indeed, at times it would be painful.

RESOLVED – that Members:

·         Note the progress made in moving to an internal trading account model for C&CS legal services.

·         Agree to progress under option 2 of this report, which recommends implementing the internal trading account for legal services from 2019/20.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Town Clerk concerning Corporate Performance and Business Planning.

The Town Clerk opened the discussion by explaining that having explored lots of options and their comparative benefits and logistical challenges, the mechanism officers homed in on was holding four sessions between November and January to cover related ‘clusters’ of Business Plans: City, Corporate, Services and Culture. It was felt that this would give maximum opportunity for Members to look across and challenge the plans without being inundated.

The Chairman responded that Members wanted to ensure that officers focused on prioritisation; these papers are amongst the most important that Members will see throughout the year, as it provides a bridge between strategy and prioritisation. Officers had to recognise that resources were finite so prioritisation (and offering Members choices) was critical.

Members raised concerns that too big an attendance at the four proposed sessions would dilute overall effectiveness; smaller groups, in contrast, were likely to deliver greater focus – e.g. Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen and a small group of nominees.

In response to concerns, officers reassured Members that when departmental officers were working on business plans, and negotiating budgets with the Chamberlain’s team, internal integrity was robust, with access to the excel workbooks strictly limited to a small group.

The Chairman summed up by suggesting that the proposal needed more thought, and ultimately would require a political steer from the Town Clerk himself, to ensure officers and Members were giving this initiative the consideration it deserves.

RESOLVED – that Members noted the Report.

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 11 September 2018.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2018 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Town Clerk concerning non-public outstanding actions from previous meeting of the Sub.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

Report of the Managing Director of the Barbican Centre

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Managing Director of the Barbican Centre.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the City Surveyor

Due to time constraints, Members agreed to take this item at the next scheduled ordinary meeting of the Sub-Committee on 29^th January 2019.

Report of the Chamberlain

Due to time constraints, Members agreed to take this item at the next scheduled ordinary meeting of the Sub-Committee on 29^th January 2019.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.