Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from James Tumbridge (Chairman), Rehana Ameer, Chris Boden and Andrien Meyers.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2017.

The public minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2017 were considered and approved as a correct record.

MATTERS ARISING

Members’ Declarations under the Code of Conduct in Respect of Items on the Agenda (page 2) – The Deputy Chairman reported that, since the last meeting of the Markets Committee, Greg Lawrence had applied for a dispensation from the City’s Standards Committee to enable him to speak/vote on any matters that he might be considered to have a disclosable pecuniary interest in in the context of this Committee’s business going forward. The Committee were informed that the Standards Committee had granted Mr Lawrence a dispensation ‘until the ward elections in 2021 to speak on all matters concerning the London Central Markets, other than those in which he has a disclosable pecuniary interest as a shareholder or director of any company which holds a tenancy in the market, and which would affect only him personally or his business interests as opposed to the generality of the tenants within the market’. The request for a dispensation to vote on such matters was refused.

Billingsgate Market Seafood School (page 4) – In response to questions, the Superintendent of Billingsgate Market reported that there had been no formal meetings between the City of London Corporation and the Seafood School regarding their future to date but that the City continued to offer the School rent-free use of accommodation/facilities at the market. He added that he was kept well aware of the School’s finances as he also served as a Trustee of the charity.

The Superintendent went on to report that market tenants remained adamant that they would not be contributing any further to the running costs of the School.

The Deputy Chairman requested that the Committee be kept regularly updated on this matter going

Joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

Members received a joint report of the Chamberlain and the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection comparing the 2016/17 revenue outturn for the services overseen by the Markets Committee with the final budget for the year.

In an amendment to the written report regarding ‘Local Risk Carry Forward to 2017/18’, the Chairman reported that it was now the Director’s intention to carry forward £137,000 (as opposed to £120,000) for consultancy services to complete a report on the Strategic Review of Markets. The additional £17,000 referred to within the report as being carried forward to employ 1 apprentice Support Officer would now be met from the Director’s existing budget and not from any underspend.

In response to questions around the likely total cost of the Strategic Review and the Summit Group’s rejection of funding from the Transformation Fund for this, the Director reported that the Transformation Fund had been set up from City’s Cash and was overseen by the City’s Summit Group which was a Chief Officer group chaired by the Town Clerk and Chief Executive. The Group were aware of the Director’s underspend when a bid for Transformation Funds was made and felt that it would be preferable to make use of the underspend for this purpose as opposed to funds from this ‘pot’. The Director undertook to update the Committee on the total estimated cost of the Strategic Review within the non-public session.

With regard to Appendix B1 and the Comparison of the 2016/17 Operating Statement with the Operating Budget for each market, a Member questioned why one market seemed to be effectively cross financing another and how they might look to move away from this practice going forward. With regard to Smithfield Market, the Director reported that the site was operating at a deficit due to the fact

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection bringing Members up-to-date on the Strategic Review of the Markets and providing a synopsis of the work that will be conducted by the consultants.

The Deputy Chairman reported that, as Members of the Review Steering Group, he and the Chairman were to meet with the appointed consultants in September, October and December of this year.

A Member commented that his view of the appointed consultants was that they were very property/technically focused. He therefore questioned what process was in place to consult existing and potential customers of the Wholesale Markets to ensure that there would continue to be an ‘appetite’ for such offerings. The Member went on to comment on the importance that the Steering Group would play in the Review process and questioned why this would only include two Members of the Markets Committee alongside a number of Officers.

The Director confirmed that all stakeholders/relevant expertise would be engaged at different stages of the review process as appropriate and as detailed within the written report. With regard to Officer membership of the Steering Group, Members were informed that this would include the Director, the Markets and Consumer Protection Head of Business Performance, one representative of the Chamberlain’s department, and one representative of the City Surveyor’s Department.

In response to further questions, the Director confirmed that the appointed consultants did have a recognised Markets Consultant expert on their Board.

A Member questioned whether the final report would cover issues such as the phased move of all 3 Wholesale Markets versus moving all three simultaneously would be covered if the re-location of these was a recommended outcome. He also highlighted that the co-operation of Tower Hamlets would be critical with regard to any proposals around the future of

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection updating Members on the progress made on reducing the HGV unloading risk at Smithfield Market since the Committee report of January 2017.

The Deputy Chairman congratulated the Superintendent of Smithfield Market and the SMTA on the progress made in this area to date. He added that this would, however, remain a red risk that was closely monitored and regularly reported to Committee for the time being.

RESOLVED – That, Members note the report.

Report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The Committee received a report of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection produced to provide Members with assurance that risk management procedures in place within the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection are satisfactory and that they meet the requirements of the corporate Risk Management Framework.

The Deputy Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, wished to publicly congratulate the New Spitalfields Market team for being highly commended in the Operational Award for their ‘Controlling workplace traffic risks’ initiative at the National 2017 Alarm Risk Awards (Recognising Risk Excellence) held on 26 June, which was the first time that the City had achieved such an award.

RESOLVED – That, Members note the report and actions taken in the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection to monitor and manage effectively risks arising from their operations.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee received a report of the City Surveyor bringing Members up to date with recent developments on Smithfield Market’s refrigeration condenser water.

The Committee noted that new East Market pumps had now been installed and were operational.

RESOLVED – That, Members note the contents of the report.

The Superintendents to be heard.

The Committee received oral updates from each of the Market Superintendents as follows:

Billingsgate Market

·             Fire Risks – The Superintendent began by reporting that there had recently been a review of fire risk assessments and procedures at the Market which had, overall, shown that fire risks on the site were well managed and that sound practices were in place.

He informed Members that the site’s current system had been installed two years ago at a cost of approximately £175k and so was relatively new. He reported that the system was tested monthly with fire drills/evacuations also scheduled to take place every six months.

The Superintendent went on to state that the sprinkler system covering the markets buildings were also regularly tested. He added that the building was just two-storeys high with many escape routes.

Members were notified that some concerns around cladding/insulation used within the many containers situated on site had been raised and that the Superintendent was now awaiting recommendations on how this risk might be managed going forward.

·             Crossrail Construction Site – As previously reported as a matter arising from the minutes of the last Markets Committee meeting, the Superintendent reported that the land handed to Crossrail for the construction of a Canary Wharf station would be returned to the Market by the end of this month as planned following some remedial/repair works. He added that the Market and the Comptroller and City Solicitor were already in discussions with four existing tenants regarding the future use and development of this area of land.

Smithfield Market

·             Safety Management/Banksmen – The Superintendent reported that a third audit had now taken place over four nights beginning on 9 July 2017. During the audit, no incidents of unguided backups had been witnessed. The Superintendent wished to place on record his thanks

There were no questions.

There were no additional, urgent items of business for consideration.

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 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 Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act as follows:-

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2017.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 10 May 2017 were considered and approved as a correct record.

Report of the City Surveyor.

The Committee considered and approved a report of the City Surveyor regarding the Poultry Market Major Repairs project.

There were no questions raised in the non-public session.

There were no additional, urgent items of business for consideration in the non-public session.