Agenda item

Opportunity for the Private Secretary, the Town Clerk and the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen to update the Livery Committee on current issues.

The Private Secretary and Alderman Sir Michael Savory updated the Committee on current issues.

William Chapman – Private Secretary

New Year Honours List

The Private Secretary referred to the late Lord Mayor, Alderman Sir David Wootton’s knighthood awarded in the 2013 New Year’s Honours. He also gave mention to the Swordbearer (Lt. Col. Richard Martin’s) MBE. He stated that Mansion House were delighted to learn of both awards.

New Swordbearer / Senior Programme Manager

The Private Secretary reported that the newly appointed Swordbearer, James North, was currently accompanying the Lord Mayor on several visits but hoped to be a frequently attender at future Livery Committee meetings.

Chamber Organ

The Private Secretary reported that Mansion House were to present the Queen with a Chamber Organ as a gift to mark the anniversary of her Coronation. Members were informed that the organ would be taken to Westminster Abbey in late 2013 but it was hoped that good use would be made of it until this time. The Private Secretary reported that the organ was now therefore available for use at Livery Dinners and functions to be held at the Mansion House in the coming months.

Lord Mayor’s Annual Address to the Livery

The Private Secretary reported that Mansion House were now planning to continue to give the Livery adequate notice of the date for this address each year as had been done in 2012.

Livery Masters’ Dinner

The Private Secretary encouraged Members to contact the Mansion House speechwriters if they had any creative content for the Lord Mayor’s speech at this year’s Dinner in March.

LMLT /RLM

The Private Secretary reported that Mansion House had encountered some problems over the past 6 months with regards to either a Lord Mayor Locum Tenens (LMLT) or Representative Lord Mayor (RLM) attending various Livery events in the absence of the Lord Mayor. He outlined the process for securing a LMLT or RLM and stated that all enquiries/requests should be directed to Anton Muszanskyj at Mansion House who would then consult with the Lord Mayor and the Senior Aldermen on these matters.

Livery Events attended by the Lord Mayor

The Private Secretary reported that an analysis of Livery events that past Lord Mayors had attended in recent years had now been conducted and it was hoped that the results of this analysis would be available in the near future. He underlined that Mansion House were looking to achieve greater equity in terms of those companies who had had little or no contact with the Lord Mayor in recent years.

Upcoming Visits

The Committee were informed that the Lord Mayor was due to visit the Gulf next weekend. The Private Secretary went on to report that the Lord Mayor and the Chairman of the City’s Policy and Resources Committee had now also agreed a process of ‘EU engagement’ in an attempt to ensure that every EU country was visited by one or both of them during the year. Where this were not possible, it was envisaged that an event would be hosted in the City to welcome delegates of certain EU countries. Members were informed that this approach had been agreed in an effort to maximise the City’s influence within Europe.

The Private Secretary went on to highlight that the Lord Mayor would be hosting an event at St Paul’s and then at the Guildhall on 23 May 2013 to which every EU country’s ambassador was to be invited.

In response to questions, the Private Secretary reported that, traditionally, the Lord Mayor had not been involved in EU issues but was now keen to take and create whatever opportunities he could for further engagement. He added that he believed that the intention was for the ‘main protagonists’ to be the Lord Mayor and the Chairman of Policy as opposed to his Deputy Chairmen. He underlined that this was a new and interesting development and one which all were hoping to learn from as matters progressed.

A Member suggested that it would be helpful to have the dates of any planned EU visits published in advance so that efforts could be co-ordinated across the board.

For the benefit of those who were not members of Common Council, the Chairman explained that, as of April 2013 the City’s Policy and Resources Committee would be appointing a Chairman and three as opposed to just one Deputy Chairman. He clarified that the three new Deputy Chairmen would each be assigned a separate role in an effort to ‘spread the load’ of the Chairman but would all be of equal status.

Alderman Sir Michael Savory

Old Bailey

The Alderman reported that the Recorder had now formally retired and had been replaced by His Hon. Judge Brian Barker. This, however, now left a vacancy for the position of ‘Common Serjeant’ which it was hoped would be filled over the next few months.

Aldermanic Elections

The Alderman reported that the Alderman for Broad Street, Alderman Sir David Lewis, had now indicated that he would be standing down in June 2013 and that an election would be held in due course.

He added that he, too, would be standing down now that he had reached the age of 70 and that an Aldermanic election for the Ward of Bread Street would therefore take place on 8 March 2013. He reported that his successor on this Committee would be another of the senior Aldermen.

In response to questions, the Alderman stated that the future of the linkage with the magistracy was still yet to be confirmed. The Assistant Town Clerk reported that the Policy and Resources Committee and the Court of Common Council would be considering this matter in the coming months and that there was a possibility that two separate systems could then be run in parallel.