Agenda item

Interim Report on Tackling Racism

Report of the Town Clerk.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a Report of the Town Clerk concerning the Tackling Racism Taskforce.

 

Co-Chair of the Tackling Racism Taskforce, Caroline Addy, attending today’s meeting as a guest of the Committee, updated Members on the work that has been undertaken by the Taskforce to date. This had been channelled across three key workstreams, namely; Employment and Staffing issues, Culture, and Governance. Given its internal focus, the Taskforce were keen to begin its work by concentrating on reform and actions in relation to Employment and Staffing. This has been followed by examining the Culture in the City, most notably via the public consultation focussing on the statues and place names with connections to the slave trade and colonialism. Work is also underway to improve governance structures and behaviours; the Co-Chair highlighted one of the appendices to today’s Report which sets out guidance for Chairs, Members and Officers when talking about racial inequality.

 

The Co-Chair emphasised that whilst the Taskforce’s final Report was due to be submitted in December, Members of the Taskforce were keen to ensure that momentum was maintained, and they would continue to review and audit how their proposals had been implemented post-December.

 

The Co-Chair added that a meeting of the Taskforce had taken place earlier today, with Members from the wider Court in attendance (including several Members of the Establishment Committee); this had generated a fruitful discussion.

 

Finally, the Co-Chair expressed her formal thanks to Emma Cunnington for her work in support of the Taskforce.

 

Members thanked the Co-Chair for her comments and raised several queries:

 

In response to a question on whether the Taskforce was adequately resourced, the Co-Chair responded that, currently, the group had managed to avoid being overly bureaucratic and they were “fine as we are”; however, whilst she was conscious that resources would be tight in 2021 and onwards, suggested that a greater level of resources may well be needed, once we begin to look at implementing the practical actions further down the line.

 

In response to a query around how the Taskforce was promoting the survey to the widest

audience possible, the Co-Chair informed Members that news of the survey had attracted

an impressive response from local, national, and international media. The Taskforce had

contacted several bodies with either stewardship or a specific understanding of the of local

statues and monuments, including: the Guildhall Art Gallery, the London Metropolitan

Archive, and the Deputy Mayor (GLA) for Culture and the Creative Industries.

 

In addition, the Taskforce was liaising with the Corporation’s BAME staff network and other

external BAME networks across the City.

 

Whilst offering the Taskforce as a hub, the Co-Chair encouraged Members of the

Committee to circulate the survey link to any groups or individuals they thought

appropriate, including the Livery Committee.

 

The Co-Chair also welcomed the Deputy Chair of the Committee’s suggestion to update the Financial Conduct Authority about the Taskforce’s work. In July, the FCA had communicated to all banks and financial firms talking to this very point; so it would be useful to see highlight our work and see whether it could complement their efforts and vice versa.  

 

RESOLVED – that Members:

 

·         Noted the contents of this report and the direction of travel of the Tackling Racism

Taskforce;

 

·         Noted that an increase in departmental training budgets will be required and a

more detailed recommendation will be submitted to the Establishment and

Policy and Resources Committees in due course;

 

·         Noted the draft revised Bullying and Harassment Procedure in Appendix 3;

 

·         Approved that anonymised recruitment be rolled out across the City of London

Corporation at all grades;

 

·         Approved that a programme of mentoring and reverse mentoring, as piloted in

the Department for Built Environment, be rolled out across the City Corporation

in the first instance to staff from the most underrepresented groups.

Supporting documents: