Agenda item

To approve the public minutes and non-public summary of the previous meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 7 December 2021.

The Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 7 December 2022.

The Chairman took this opportunity to congratulate Alderman Prem Goyal on joining the Court of the World Traders and on becoming a Senior Advisor on India to IBDE’s Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Advisory Group.

Matters Arising

Electoral Registration and Deadline for Entry onto Ward lists – The Chairman remarked that all should now have received their respective Ward lists.

 Draft Bill for an Act of Common Council – The Chairman reported that the draft Bill had now had its first and second reading at the Court’s last meeting and would come forward in March for its third and final reading. This concerned Presiding Officers at City elections. Whilst there had initially been some discussion as to the Bill also addressing eligibility to be an Alderman, the Chairman clarified that this was not now covered in the Bill that was currently progressing. He therefore asked that the Remembrancer and the Comptroller and City Solicitor update the Committee on progress on this particular matter.  The Comptroller reported that the intention was for he and the Remembrancer to bring forward a joint paper to the Policy and Resources Committee on this matter and that they would also consult further on this with the Alderman who had initially queried this point and sharing the paper with the wider Committee. The Chair questioned whether this meant that the matter could be dealt with in a draft Bill that could have its first and second reading at the March meeting of the Court of Common Council and its third reading in April given that it would impact upon the timetable of any future Aldermanic elections and that the April Court was likely to be a largely new body of Members. Officers confirmed that they would work to progress the matter as quickly as possible. The Aldermen expressed support for the Bill having all three readings at the March meeting of Common Council if at all possible given that they intended to commence the election timetable next month.   

RESOLVED: - That the minutes of the last meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen held on 7 December be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.