Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Henry Colthurst, Karina Dostalova, Sylvia Moys, and Richard Regan.   

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 27^th January 2021.

RESOLVED – That the public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 27^th January 2021 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Town Clerk.

Appendix 1: 2020 Equality Annual Performance Summary to follow.

The Committee received a Report of the Town Clerk concerning the Equality Annual Performance Summary.

Highlighting the self-assessment ratings, the Head of Corporate Strategy & Performance confirmed that departments have not been named for now, so as to encourage full candour.

A Member queried why the proportion of staff with a protected characteristic fell short of both the London Council and London Civil Service benchmarks. Officers responded that the range of roles at the Corporation were very different to local authorities, for example, it was not uncommon for London Boroughs to employ to 60 to 70 social workers, this compared to approx. 10 at the City. The London Civil Service benchmark was new, so further analysis would be required before officers could provide a fuller answer

Responding to a query, the Head of Corporate Strategy & Performance stressed that, whilst the aim was to bring back a firm plan for the 2021/24 Equality and Diversity objectives in the autumn, further resources needed to be identified in the interim to complete this work.

In addition, it was confirmed that the City Corporation ranked at 50 (out of 119) on the 2020 Social Mobility Employer Index; whilst this marked an improvement from 2019 (56), the aspiration was to continue to improve.

The Chair thanked officers for their hard work and reminded Members that they still had an opportunity to feed into the process; the Report had yet to be published and communications would need to be scoped out before wider circulation.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a Report of the City Surveyor concerning new ways of working at Guildhall.

RESOLVED – that the Committee noted the Report.

The Director of Human Resources to be heard.

The Director of Human Resources informed Members that whilst she had no further update to make on Brexit at this time, she noted that several new pieces of domestic legislation impacting employees had been announced, and these would need consideration from officers and Members alike.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a Report of the Director of Human Resources concerning a TOM related pilot project at the three City of London Schools.

In response to a query, officers confirmed that if the pilot was successful, other City institutions could introduce similar delegations in late 2021/early 2022.

RESOLVED – that the Committee:

Noted and endorsed the areas identified to pilot local delegation to the three Head Teachers at the City Schools in relation to:

·         starting point for external appointments;

·         incremental progression;

·         additional awards and Honoraria payments including the calculation for partial acting ups payments.

Agreed that the pilot commences with immediate effect in order that there can be a full term to pilot these delegations and report back with findings after recess.

Noted that a report will be made to an autumn 2021 meeting of the Establishment Committee providing a review and evaluation of the pilot.

There were no questions.

There were no urgent items.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business 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 the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 27^th January 2021.

RESOLVED – That the non-public minutes and summary of the meeting held on 27^th January 2021 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a Report of the Director of Human Resources concerning Redeployment Policy – Pay Protection provision.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a Report of the Town Clerk concerning the Target Operating Model.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a Report of the Chamberlain concerning the New Financial System and ERP Project.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee received a Report of the Director of Human Resources.

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

To agree the Confidential minutes of the last meeting held on 27^th January 2021.

RESOLVED – That the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 27th January 2021 be approved as an accurate record.

Report of the Head of the City of London School.

The Committee received a Report of the Head of the City of London School concerning a TOM related pilot project at the City of London School.

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

The Committee considered a Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services concerning a restructure in the Housing Division.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

The Committee considered a Report of the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama concerning a restructure.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

The Committee considered a Report of the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama concerning a restructure.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a joint Report of the Director of Innovation and Growth and the Director of Major Projects concerning Cultural and Visitor Development Teams.

Report of the Director of Human Resources.

The Committee considered a Report of the Director of Human Resources concerning working practices.

The Chair to be heard reporting the outcome of the Senior Officer Recruitment Panels, and to agree a report to the Court of Common Council recommending the appointment of Chamberlain and noting the other senior appointments.

The Committee considered an oral update of the Chair and a Report recommending the appointment of Chamberlain and noting the other senior appointments.

Report of the Comptroller & City Solicitor.

The Committee received a Report concerning Employment Cases and Settlements.

The Town Clerk to be heard.

The Town Clerk provided an update.