Agenda item

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

The Committee proceeded to elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 29. Catherine McGuinness, being the only Member expressing willingness to serve, was duly elected for the ensuing year.

Thanking colleagues for their support, the Chair commented that she had hoped to be holding today’s meeting as a hybrid virtual/physical meeting but, unfortunately, new Government guidance had meant that hybrid meetings were no longer appropriate for the time being, given that it was clearly possible to hold these meetings virtually. In light of the City Corporation’s role as an enforcement agency she suggested that this was particularly important to observe and expressed her empathy with other Chairs in a similar position who had also been hoping to hold hybrid meetings in the coming period, advising that it now appeared there would be a need to revert to virtual meetings only for the time being.

The Chair added that the latest Government announcements underlined the need to focus on recovery, noting that it would be important to progress the City’s various internal reviews efficiently so as to allow for focus that recovery. She also commented that there would be a wider piece of work needed to look at the Corporation’s role in relation to place, particularly given the challenges around reduced footfall in the City at present.