Agenda item

Report of the Managing Director of Bridge House Estates (BHE)

The Board considered a report of the Managing Director of BHE providing an update on key areas of activity across the whole charity since the Board last met in September 2022 and outlining upcoming activities for the Board to note. The Managing Director of BHE thanked Members for their attendance at the Board’s recent Strategic Away Half-Day, and Members and officers for their contributions to the Lord Mayor’s Show the previous weekend, the procession having featured a BHE float.

The Managing Director of BHE then introduced the report, drawing Members’ attention to the key points and recommendations requesting delegated authority for decisions relating to a funding application over £500,000 and the charity’s Conflict of Interest policy.

Tower Bridge

The Managing Director of BHE advised that the main elevator within the North Tower had been out of action, with visitors being re-routed to the Exhibition via the South Tower. Whilst this was difficult operationally, there had been positive feedback regarding the management of the issue. The Board was advised that officers were working with the City Surveyor’s Department to resolve the issue and it was hoped that the elevator could be fixed within three weeks.

Conflict of Interest Policy

The Managing Director of BHE outlined the context of the request for delegated authority to agree the policy, noting that this was contingent on the timing of final approval of the Supplemental Royal Charter, and that if the delegated authority were exercised, the draft policy would be circulated to the full Board for comment.

In response to a question from a Member, the Managing Director of BHE advised that the wider governance review of BHE had facilitated a better understanding of handling conflicts of interest in the context of managing the difficulties arising from a lack of funding in other areas. The Managing Director of BHE added that acting in the best interests of the charity was a clear guiding point on which Members and officers were vigilant, and that the policy would be drafted on the basis of legal advice provided by the Comptroller and City Solicitor’s Department and Bates Wells.

Members commented that the policy should be clear on the appropriate relationship between the charity, the City Corporation as trustee and the City Corporation in its other capacities, but also noting the nuances relevant to this. The Managing Director of BHE responded that work on the policy was part of a broader workstream examining the commitments between the charity and the City Corporation for opportunities to clarify this relationship in a mutually beneficial way. The separate and independent oversight of BHE business through the BHE Board was also noted as being a key in the City Corporation’s management of conflicts of interests and loyalty.

The Chair thanked Members for their discussion on this point before drawing the Board’s attention to the recommendations, which were agreed.

RESOLVED – That the BHE Board, in the discharge of functions for the City Corporation as Trustee of Bridge House Estates (charity no. 1035628) and solely in the charity’s best interests:

i)              Note the contents of the report;

ii)             Delegate authority to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair, to consider a grant proposal of over £500,000 towards Together for London, should this be recommended by the Grants Committee of the BHE Board on 5 December 2022; and

iii)           Delegate authority to the Managing Director of BHE, in consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair, to settle the charity’s Conflict of Interest Policy following the grant of the Supplemental Royal Charter, to facilitate prompt recommendation to the Court of Common Council for approval.