Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from the Lord Mayor, Munsur Ali, Deputy Emily Benn, Tijs Broeke, Deputy Ann Holmes and Irem Yerdelen.

Steve Goodman, noting the possibility that education matters would be discussed in the meeting, declared that he had recently been elected as Chair of the City of London Academy Trust Board.

To consider minutes as follows:-

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The public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 3 July 2025 were agreed as a correct record.

The public summary of the inquorate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting held on 16 June 2025 was received.

The public minutes of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting held on 25 June 2025 were received.

The draft public minutes of the Capital Buildings Board meeting held on 16 July 2025 were received.

The public summary of the Destination Advisory Board meeting held on 11 June 2025 was received.

The Town Clerk to be heard.

The Committee heard from the Town Clerk regarding proposed changes to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee.

Vice-Chair Deputy Caroline Haines, also the Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee, requested the Committee’s agreement to changing the name of the sub-committee to the Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee. The Chief Strategy Officer had added equity to her team’s portfolio to reflect best practice in this sector. Recognising that the change would have wider implications, she also requested that the Committee delegated authority to the Town Clerk to update the Sub-Committee’s terms of reference to reflect the new name. The Sub-Committee would undertake a fuller review of its terms of reference and return with recommendations which aimed to strengthen the connection between officer work and member governance.

RESOLVED: That Members:

a)     Agree to change the name of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee to the Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee.

b)     Delegate authority to the Town Clerk to update the Sub-Committee’s terms of reference to reflect the new name.

c)      Note that the Sub-Committee will be directing officers to undertake a fuller review of its terms of reference.

Report of the Managing Director of City Bridge Foundation.

The Committee considered a report of the Managing Director of City Bridge Foundation concerning the Officer Scheme of Delegations.

RESOLVED: That, upon the recommendation of the City Bridge Foundation Board in the discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of City Bridge Foundation (CBF) in that charity’s best interests, the Policy & Resources Committee in the discharge of its functions:

i)     Agrees the proposed amendments to the Overall Delegations to Officers and Managing Director of CBF sections of the Scheme of Delegations for recommendation to the Court of Common Council for approval;

ii)    Agrees the proposed amendment to the Chamberlain & Chief Financial Officer section of the Scheme of Delegations for recommendation to the Court of Common Council for approval; and

iii)    Delegates authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee, to agree any consequential amendments to the entries in respect of other Chief Officers, where these are required to give effect to the proposed amendments and/or impact on the Managing Director of CBF post.

Joint Report of the City Surveyor and the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a joint report of the City Surveyor and the Town Clerk concerning investment property transaction thresholds in the Standing Orders.

RESOLVED: That Members:

1.     Note the procedure for approving investment property transactions as set out at paragraph 5 and 2

2.     Recommend the following to the Court of Common Council:

·      Amend the thresholds for investment property transactions in Standing Orders as set out at paragraphs 3 to 5 and in Appendix 1.

·      Authorise the Town Clerk to make the necessary amendment to the Scheme of Delegation to Officers to give effect to these changed thresholds.

Report of the Executive Director, Innovation & Growth.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Innovation and Growth concerning the composition of the Competitiveness Advisory Board.

RESOLVED: That Members:

1.     agree that the Terms of Reference for the Competitiveness Advisory Board be updated to include the ability for the Chairman, in consultation with the ex officio members, to exercise discretion over the number of internal Members appointed from the Court of Common Council, based on the scoring and recommendations provided by the officer panel; and

2.     endorse the appointment of the following individuals to the CAB for the 2025–2028/29 term:

·                               Melissa Collett

·                               Prem Goyal

·                               Stephen Hodgson

·                               Shravan Joshi

·                               Sushil Saluja

Report of the Chief Strategy Officer.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Strategy Officer concerning the Faith in the City programme.

Introducing the report, officers noted the importance of addressing the increasing diversity of the City and its changing religious demographics for the City Corporation’s Corporate Plan and strategies such as Destination City. The proposals followed research undertaken by Union Street Consulting, which after consulting with over 1,000 participants showed a strong desire for faith communities, prayer spaces and cultural programming at work. The results suggested that a multi-faith model like that operated at Canary Wharf, tailored to the Square Mile’s unique context, would be widely supported. The project has gained backing from a range of faith and political leaders, including the Lord Mayor and the Policy Chairman. Funding was being sought from a range of organisations, and officers said that formal endorsement from the City Corporation through the Policy & Resources Committee would be crucial in supporting these funding bids.

During discussion, a Member raised several concerns about the proposals in the report. They informed the Committee that, prior to the meeting, they had asked for further information on costing but had been told it was not possible to disaggregate this from business-as-usual. They also noted that the report showed that the major change in the religious make-up was in the percentage of people with no religion. The reference to the post-pandemic faith awakening was based on research by Union Consulting, who were also the convenors of the Faith in the City project, and the Member felt this meant the company had a stake in the outcome of the consultation. They acknowledged the comparators of Abu Dhabi but said that homosexuality was illegal in the former and Friday prayers in the latter were segregated by sex. The Member felt the project could only be

Report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services Committee.

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services Committee concerning the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant.

RESOLVED: That Members note the report and approve the proposal for the City of London Corporation to act as the lead authority, commissioning body and administrator for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant (on behalf of the North East London sub-region.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning the Panel of Independent Persons.

A proposal to amend the report with the affect of increasing the uplift to £325 for three years, to avert the need for annual updates, was seconded and approved.

RESOLVED: That Members:

·           Note the report.

·           Support the request from the Panel regarding the daily attendance allowance, and recommends an uplift to £325.00, to be reviewed after three years.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain concerning the Committees funds.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its contents noted.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk concerning decisions taken between meetings.

RESOLVED: That the report be received and its contents noted.

There were no questions.

There was no other 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 meeting held on 3 July 2025 were approved as a correct record.

The non-public summary of the inquorate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting held on 16 June 2025 were received.

The non-public minutes of the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee meeting held on 24 June 2025 were received.

The draft non-public minutes of the Capital Buildings Board meeting held on 16 July 2025 were received.

The draft minutes of the Income Generation Working Party meeting held on 3 July 2025 were received.

The minutes of the Competitiveness Advisory Board meeting held on 23 July 2025 were received.

Joint Report of the Chamberlain and the Executive Director, Environment.

The Committee considered a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Executive Director, Environment concerning approaches to advertising in the Square Mile.

Report of the Remembrancer.

The Committee considered a report of the Remembrancer concerning private hire charges for Guildhall.

Joint Report of the City Surveyor and the Executive Director, Environment.

The report was withdrawn.

Resolution from the meeting of the Pensions Committee on 7 July 2025.

The Committee considered a resolution from the Pensions Committee.

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Committee received a report of the Chamberlain concerning major projects.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee received a report of the Town Clerk concerning decisions taken between meetings.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.

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The draft confidential minutes of the Capital Buildings Board meeting held on 16 July 2025 were received.

The draft confidential summary of the inquorate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Sub-Committee meeting held on 16 June 2025 were received.

. The draft minutes of the Freedom Applications Sub-Committee meeting held on 14 July 2025 were received.

Report of the Town Clerk.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning the Committee’s Away Day in July 2025.

Report of the Town Clerk & Chief Executive.

The Committee considered a report of the Town Clerk concerning the Ambition 25 project.