Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Alderman Sir Peter Estlin and Alderman Nicholas Lyons.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 14^th January 2020.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes of the meeting held on 14^th January 2020 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of the Head of Corporate Strategy & Performance.

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Head of Corporate Strategy & Performance concerning the Corporate Performance Framework.

The paper provided an update on the changes made to the Corporate Performance

Framework (CPF) project due to COVID-19.

Due to the pandemic, the work the Corporate Strategy & Performance Team had planned on the CPF had to be paused. It has now restarted, but with an initial focus on gathering and presenting information weekly on how activity levels are changing in the Square Mile as lockdown eases. The information is being used to inform operational decisions, external messaging and the Policy Chair and Lord Mayor’s virtual engagement programme.

Members noted the Report and remarked that, whilst the information included provided a useful update on the organisation’s response to Covid, particularly around the quality and quantity of data that was now being captured, it gave a limited insight into the types of longer-term areas that the Sub-Committee should focus on in its upcoming meetings. The Chairman indicated that a discussion should take place under public AOB to provide officers with a firm steer about the forward plan for 2020/21.  

RESOLVED – that the Sub-Committee noted the Report.

There were no questions.

There was one urgent item:

Members asked officers to draft a new forward plan for the Sub-Committee for 2020/21.

Particular areas of focus would include the following:

• How E&P could dovetail with the Digital Services Sub-Committee to examine the

practical ways the Corporation can harness digital technology (notably in data

collection and analysis) to improve efficiencies across different departments.

Discussion will include an update on investment in AI.

More widely, Members were keen to understand how, as an organisation, we can continue to drive smarter working. Covid has reframed this area, so two separate papers would focus on a) the practical steps we have taken and will take in the coming weeks/months with the return to the office, and, b) what lessons/gains can be built upon post-covid so as to “bank” efficiencies and drive performance.

• Departmental deep dives – how departments are approaching and improving their “performance culture”. This would include areas such as:

Ø  how depts are measuring performance, and how this can be shown to be driving improvement

Ø  how they are inculcating good practice and capturing the lessons learnt when performance has been sub-optimal

Ø  how they use other Member or officer forums (such as Category Board) to challenge assumptions or contract values

Ø  whether performance targets are a) being met and b) robust enough 

Along these lines, the Department for Community and Children’s Services would be submitting a paper in September.

• An update on the Guildhall Masterplan after the impact of Covid and the resulting

focus on flexible working.

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 14^th January 2020.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 14^th January 2020 be agreed as an accurate record.

Non-Public appendix to ITEM 4.

There were no questions.

There was one item of non-public business.