Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor Alastair King and Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley.

There were no declarations.

To receive the Order of the Court of Common Council dated 25^th April 2025, appointing the Committee and setting its terms of reference.

The Committee received an Order of the Court of Common Council dated 25^th April 2025, appointing the Committee and setting its terms of reference for the ensuing year.

RECEIVED

To elect a Chair in accordance with Standing Order No. 28.  

The Committee proceeded to elect a Chair in accordance with Standing Order No 28.

Deputy Christopher Hayward, being the only Member expressing their willingness to serve, was duly elected Chairman for the ensuing year.

The Chairman expressed his gratitude to all Members of Policy and Resources Committee for their continued support through re-electing him as Chairman once again.  The Chairman also took the opportunity to welcome new Members and to thank those Members not having returned to the committee for their valued contribution to its work during their time as a Member.

To elect a Deputy Chair in accordance with Standing Order No. 29.

The Committee proceeded to elect a Deputy Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No 29.  Deputy James Thomson and Shravan Joshi had expressed their interest in standing.

A ballot was therefore conducted and the result was as follows: -

Shravan Joshi - 11

Deputy James Thomson – 16

Deputy James Thomson was duly elected Deputy Chair for the ensuing year.

The Deputy Chair offered words of acceptance to the Committee.

To elect two Vice Chairs in accordance with Standing Order No. 29.

The Committee proceeded to elect two Vice Chairs in accordance with Standing Order No 29.

The Town Clerk confirmed that Deputy Anne Holmes had withdrawn her nomination in advance of the meeting.

Deputy James Thomson, having already been elected Deputy Chair, his nomination fell away, and with this leaving two remaining candidates.

Tijs Broeke and Deputy Caroline Haines, being the only two Members validly in nomination, were duly elected Vice Chairs for the ensuing year.

The two Vice Chairs offered words of acceptance to the Committee.

To consider minutes as follows:-

The public minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting on 13 February 2025 were approved as an accurate record.

The draft public minutes of the Civic Affairs Sub-Committee meeting on 29 January 2025 were noted

A summary of the Competitiveness Advisory Board meeting on 29 January 2025 was noted.

The public minutes of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting on 5 February 2025 were noted.

The draft public minutes of the Capital Buildings Board meeting on 5 February 2025 were noted.

Report of the Town Clerk

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk relating to the appointment, composition and terms of reference of Policy and Resources Committee’s Sub-Committees, together with the appointment of its representatives on other City Corporation Committees.

The Town Clerk confirmed that in the interests of efficiency, the Chairman had proposed approving the various terms of reference, setting out the composition and responsibilities of the Sub-Committees as drafted and presented in appendices A-I, noting that the composition of Resource Allocation Sub-Committee was determined by the Court of Common Council

RESOLVED: That Members approved the terms of reference, as detailed in appendices A-I.

The Town Clerk confirmed the intention to move to appointments to Sub-Committees, Boards and representatives on other Committees, with ballots to be conducted in the room as required.

Members noted that Jason Groves’ late nominations had been accepted, following a waiver approved on behalf of the Court of Common Council.  The following Members were duly appointed. 

Resource Allocation Sub-Committee

• Deputy Alastair Moss
• Alderman Vincent Keaveny
• Shravan Joshi
• Deputy Helen Fentimen
• Alderman Tim Hailes
• Deputy Keith Bottomley
• Jason Groves

Communications and Corporate Affairs Sub-Committee

• Deputy Peter Dunphy
• Deputy Helen Fentimen
• Shravan Joshi
• Jason Groves
• Deputy Emily Benn

Jason Groves, being the only Member having expressed an interest in serving, was duly appointed Chair for the ensuing year. 

Civic Affairs Sub-Committee

• Deputy Keith Bottomley
• Deputy Jaspreet Hodgson
• Deputy Andrien Meyers
• James Tumbridge

Deputy Keith Bottomley, being the only Member having expressed an interest in serving, was duly appointed Chair for the ensuing year.  The Deputy Chair would be the Chief Commoner.

Member Development Standards Sub-Committee

Two places being available, with one expression of interest having been received the following appointment was confirmed.

• Deputy Helen Fentimen

No other nominations were received to serve on Member Development Standards Sub-Committee.  Members noted that the

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Town Clerk seeking agreement to renewal of the Lead Member subject areas for 2025/26 and setting out the process for Members to apply to fill the roles.

During discussion of the item, a concern was raised regarding an increase in the number of sub-committees and working parties across the City Corporation, with this resulting in Members having to stretch themselves too thinly and it leading to a number of vacancies on committees. This also placed increased pressure on the Town Clerk’s Department through the additional resourcing required. The Chairman acknowledged the concerns raised and stressed a need to be more disciplined when considering creating sub-committees and working parties; task and finish groups could potentially be used for focussed tasks and with these being time limited.    

The Chairman added how the Policy Leadership Team and Lead Members were managed through his office and so placed no additional resourcing pressures on the Town Clerk’s Department.  These roles allowed the Chairman to achieve a level of expertise across a range of areas and helped him to deliver far more engagement than he could deliver himself given the size of the portfolio under his remit.   They supported the City Corporation’s work overall and also allowed for an inclusive and collaborative approach to leadership, whilst allowing all Members of the Court an opportunity to share in policy work and to take advantage of their expertise.  It was questioned whether a Lead Member should have a term limit, in the same way as Committee Chairs do, with the Chairman acknowledging this would create a level of turnover in the roles and was a point that should be considered further.

The Chairman referred to a planned Policy and Resources Committee Awayday in July, during which there would an opportunity

Report of the Town Clerk and Chief Executive.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk that provided a high-level executive summary of the work of the Town Clerk and his Executive Leadership Board over the past two years to January 2025.

The Town Clerk introduced the paper and remarked on having arrived at an organisation that was rich with resources in terms of staff and with it already delivering outstanding work.  The City had its USP around Financial and Professional Services and with there being good cause for celebration with the City having generated over £100bn of economic output annually for the first time. There was the importance of financial and professional services to the UK and its contribution to UK GDP, with the City also having achieved a 49% year-on-year increase in foreign direct investment.  Another key highlight was the success of Price Waterhouse Cooper’s global Chief Executive Officers Survey finding that the UK had become the second most important destination for investment after the United States.   It was stressed how key deliverables had been achieved through working in partnership with Members.   

It was also about the future and not only focussing on what the City Corporation had already delivered, with there being an acknowledgement of ongoing areas of challenge moving forwards.   There were HR policies and systems in place that needed updating, some of which were now over twenty years old.  The City’s housing stock had seen years of under investment.  There was the need for a strategic review of all City Corporation assets and to think critically about which of these should be retained.   There was the City of London Police’s national lead role on fraud and a need to prioritise and solidify its position. 

The City Corporation had previously been heavily siloed but with there now being an excellent Leadership Team in

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk seeking agreement to an increase to thresholds for property investment transactions so that greater power was delegated to officers and the relevant Committees.

A Member referred to officer delegations being increased and sought an assurance that delegation procedure controls have been reviewed and updated proportionately.    An assurance was given that each year Committees were given an opportunity to approve an annual strategy for each fund and with this including any disposals that might be proposed for the forthcoming year.   The process for providing a robust, transparent and auditable officer delegation process was something that needed designing and was due to be completed imminently.

The Member also referred to an issue considered by City Bridge Foundation Board relating to 59 Variations when there had been agreement that the premium was to be moved from £2.5m to £20m.  Clarity was provided that the £2.5m figure was a typographical error in translating over what had come forward from City Bridge Foundation.  Members noted that this would be dealt with through the authority that was being sought for the Town Clerk to allow for the figure to be corrected for inclusion in the Court report to bring it in line with what City Bridge Foundation had agreed.

RESOLVED: That Members: -

• Agreed to change the investment property transaction thresholds in Standing Orders as set out at paragraph 5, and in Appendix 1
• Authorised the Town Clerk to make the necessary amendments to the City Surveyor’s Scheme of Delegations

Joint report of the Chief Executive Officer, Barbican Centre and City Surveyor.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chief Executive Officer, Barbican Centre and City Surveyor proposing the establishment of governance arrangements to oversee delivery of the Barbican Renewal Programme (BRP).

Reference was made to the previous discussion regarding a 10-year Business Plan, but with this not having been provided and a suggestion that it should have been included.    There was also no reference to partnerships, with there being some great organisations around the world who might prove to be very good partners for the Barbican Centre.  The City Corporation’s significant financial contribution to Barbican Renewal was also highlighted, with it not being clear what the relationship should be with Capital Buildings Board given the existing governance structures for large scale capital programmes that already existed.

A Member, also Chairman of Finance Committee, remarked on there being a very large item of potential expenditure from City Fund and proposed that the composition of Barbican Renewal Working Group should comprise of at least two Members of the Finance Committee given the financial liability involved in the programme.    The position on Optimism Bias contingency funding requests was noted, with these requiring Policy and Resources Committee approval; with it also being stressed that as soon as any potential risks were identified that may require optimism bias funding that Policy and Resources Committee should be alerted at the earliest opportunity.

It was questioned to what extent thought was being given to linking the Barbican Renewal Programme to the Markets relocation, particularly given the plan for Smithfield and its regeneration.

In response to the various points raised, clarity was provided that Capital Buildings Board had not been included as an option for governance following the previous decisions of this Committee and the Court of Common Council and it was now about implementing what had already

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Town Clerk recommending constitution of an Income Generation Working Party (IGWP) to oversee and make recommendations to Policy and Resources Committee pertaining to the City Corporation’s income generation options and opportunities.

During discussion of the item, a number of points were raised.  A Member expressed their strong support for an IGWP, whilst also emphasising a need for more ambition; the IGWP should focus on leveraging the City Corporation’s brand, assets and corporate profile to generate income.   The importance of investing in staff with commercial expertise was highlighted.  Clarity was sought on the reporting line into Policy and Resources Committee rather than Finance Committee given that most of the work would require financial arrangements.  It was stressed how the IGWP needed to avoid working in isolation and to ensure its efforts were fully integrated with other relevant initiatives and departments, with this approach helping to achieve a more cohesive and effective strategy for income generation and leveraging the strengths and resources of the entire organisation.  Clarification was sought on the the scope of the review and whether it would include the City Corporation’s Institutions.

In response to the points raised, it was explained that the IGWP was being established under Policy and Resources Committee given its funding was coming from the Policy Initiatives Fund.   The role of the IGWP would be to offer strategic leadership and look to pinpoint significant income generation opportunities.  There was a necessity to prioritise opportunities and to ensure that the most promising options were being pursued first.  Detailed business cases would need creating for each opportunity, outlining potential benefits, costs and implementation plans, ensuring each opportunity was thoroughly evaluated and planned before implementation.  The IGWP would be consulting with a range of stakeholders to ensure that strategic master

Joint report of the Executive Director, Environment and Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Executive Director, Environment and Chamberlain seeking approval of funding from the City’s On-Street Parking Reserves (OSPR) for two projects.

RESOLVED: That Members: -

Approved allocations from OSPR as follows:

o    £750,000 for the Bank Junction improvements experimental taxi monitoring costs (£535,000 in FY 2025/26 and £215,000 in FY 2026/27).

o    £450,000 for public realm improvements to Ironmonger Lane (all in FY 2025/26).

Report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth. 

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth providing an update on the Year 4 Quarter 3 and 4 activities (October 2024-March 2025) and seeking approval of the drawdown of funds from the original budget envelope for implementation of the Climate Action Strategy in Year 5.

During the discussion that followed, it was questioned when financial returns from the Climate Action Strategy work would start. Reference was also made to the tremendous difficulty with the Housing Revenue Account and work that was needed on social housing;  there was potential for the Climate Action Strategy programme to help, but with its timing of March 2027 not fitting in with the timing of when work can start on social housing, particularly on the Golden Lane Estate.   It was suggested that there would be a benefit in further officer conversations taking place about linking these two areas up to better effect.

The Executive Director of Innovation and Growth responded to the points raised and took the opportunity to highlight how climate action was an area where you witnessed cross department and cross institution working and where there was no silo working; colleagues were working really hard to deliver including around housing.  It was confirmed that an update on delivery against the Climate Action Strategy would be going to Finance Committee, but with initial estimates being around £30m in terms of savings so far.  The Director added how the Climate Action Strategy team were extremely engaged with housing colleagues.  Efforts remained ongoing in looking to see how far and how fast they can go across each of the 12 strands, with each of them going at a different pace and working into their individual reporting committee.  The Climate Action Strategy team would be looking to do all they can

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain providing the schedules of projects and activities which have received funding from the Policy Initiatives Fund (PIF) and the Policy and Resources Committee’s Contingency Fund for 2025/26 and future years with details of expenditure in 2025/26.

RESOLVED: That Members: -

• Noted the report and contents of the schedules.
• Approved the 2024/25 unallocated balances on your Committee’s PIF and Contingency Funds as well as Departments request for unspent allocations to be carried forward into 2025/26. Noting a further part in the process was set out in paragraph 16.
• Whilst the overall 2025/26 PIF uncommitted balance currently stands at £1,557,106, the amount available for multiyear bids was over by £39,100, as shown in Paragraph 17. The available balance for 2025/26 Committee Contingency was £429,692.
• Agreed to increase the 2025/26 multiyear PIF cap by £39,100 from the 2025/26 Committee Contingency for the Proposal for Development of a City Business Investment Unit (CBIU) bid of £221,100 for both 2025/26 and 2026/27 as approved in February 2025’s Committee.  At this time, the 2025/26 uncommitted multiyear bid was only £182,000.

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Deputy Town Clerk providing an overview of the City of London Corporation’s response to the findings of Volume 7 of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report, which focussed on the Local Authority management of building safety controls and responses to associated risks.

The Deputy Town Clerk took the opportunity to summarise outcomes that had been agreed at Corporate Services Committee, given that committee’s oversight of health and safety across the organisation.

There was a need for improvements in the technical capability of staff and changes to systems required to manage buildings stock to the standards defined by the Grenfell report.  There was agreement on the importance of gaining a more granular understanding of specific areas needing improvement and a request for an action plan and timeline for remediation.   There needed to be a strong focus on ensuring that systems go beyond demonstrating compliance and were robust and workable, especially in regard for person-centred fire risk assessments.   The Department for Community and Children’s Services, with which the majority of this works sits, had recently appointed a Head of Health and Safety to guide implementation of this work.

Overall, the City Corporation was in a stronger position and significant improvements have recently been made in responding to emergencies and major incidents.  

RESOLVED: That Members: -

·         Received the report and noted its content.

Report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth. 

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth presenting the impact of the City of London Corporation’s work in support of UK-based Financial and Professional Services between January 2025 and March 2025.

RESOLVED: That Members: -

·         Received the report and noted its content.

Report of the Deputy Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Deputy Town Clerk providing an update on Destination City.

RESOLVED: That Members: -

·         Received the report and noted its content.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk advising Members of action taken by the Town Clerk outside of the Committee’s schedule, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, in accordance with Standing Orders 40(a) and (b).

RESOLVED: That Members: -

·         Received the report and noted its content.

There were two questions as follows:

Jaspreet Hodgson – Housing Provision working party

Would the Chair of Policy and Resources commit to convening a Working Group,

established by this Committee, comprised of not more than 12 members of the

Court elected by the full Common Council and supported by relevant officers, to review our housing provision and to consider the creation of a Housing Committee with Grand Committee authority?

If so, would he agree to convene the Working Group within six months of this date and request that findings be submitted to the full Court within twelve months of convening.

The Chairman responded and referred to there having been three external reviews of the City Corporation’s housing service, following which action was being taken to improve customer focus, contract and cost management and to implement a new housing strategy and develop an asset management plan.

A report in February 2024 considered whether governance arrangements were sufficient to oversee those improvements in our housing service and concluded that no significant governance changes should be made at that time.  That paper proposed that this should be reviewed again in 2 years, which would take us to February 2026.  At Court of Common Council earlier this year, I had also said to Mark Wheatley that I felt that the time to consider such a change would be over the coming civic year. 

So, in response I do think that there is a plan already to consider this and on that basis I am reluctant to agree to any new processes or working groups in addition to that.

When we do consider the matter, I personally would want to be convinced that a new Grand Committee was the right mechanism, given that we have a Housing Sub-Committee, Barbican Residential Committee and Residential Consultative Committee

There were no additional items of 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 consider non-public minutes of meetings as follows:-

The non-public minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting on 13 February 2025 were agreed.

The draft non-public minutes of the Civic Affairs Sub-Committee meeting on 29 January 2025 were noted.

The non-public minutes of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting on 5 February 2025 were noted.

The non-public minutes of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting on 5 February 2025 were noted.

Report of the City Remembrancer.

The Committee considered a report of the Remembrancer relating to funding of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor setting out key actions for the year ahead for the City’s Estate Property Investment portfolio pursuant to the Real Estate Investment Strategy.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report setting out key actions for the year ahead for the City Fund property investment portfolio pursuant to the Real Estate Investment Strategy.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain providing an update on overall progress against work on the Major Programmes.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report advising Members of action taken by the Town Clerk outside of the Committee’s schedule, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, in accordance with Standing Order Nos 40(a) and 40(b).

There were no questions.

There were no additional items of business.

The confidential minutes of the Policy and Resources Committee meeting on 13 February 2025 were agreed as an accurate record.

The draft confidential minutes of the Civic Affairs Sub-Committee meeting on 29 January 2025 were noted.

The confidential minutes of the Freedom Applications Sub-Committee meeting on 4 February 2025 were noted.

Joint report of the Comptroller & City Solicitor and City Surveyor.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Comptroller and City Solicitor, Deputy Chief Executive and City Surveyor seeking approval of options for the Markets Sites Regeneration Programme moving forward.