Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director & Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor. 

The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director and Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor presenting the high-level summary Business Plan for the Mansion House & Office of Lord Mayor and Sheriffs for 2023/24.

The Executive Director and Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor reported that this set out the Department’s main activity and direction of travel, broken down under

four headings – stabilise, commercialise, modernise and integrate better with other parts of the Corporation. She added that they were doing particularly well in terms of commercial activity which was a key part of the Target Operating Model (TOM) restructure made to generate the savings that were required here. She commented that she was very proud of the way in which the team had come together and were now moving in a new direction culturally.

An Alderman commented that the Operational Property and Projects Sub-Committee which he currently chaired had been looking at the bow wave issue and had taken the view that leaving this with relevant service committees to fix was not overly productive and so they had asked for a report on how to tackle the whole piece now be commissioned. This would look at the whole piece/project in terms of timetable and cost.

Another Alderman questioned how the KPIs could be made more quantitative as opposed to qualitative. He also questioned whether the finances might be presented more conventionally going forward. The Executive Director and Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor commented that she was seeking to make improvements in terms of both going forward and that what was presented here was a transitional arrangement. The Alderman suggested that the Department might consider something like Net Promoter Score in terms of quantitative data and measuring impact for both Mansion House and Lord Mayor and Sheriffs.

An Alderman noted that there was reference to the Climate Action Strategy within the report and questioned the drive towards the Mansion House building itself becoming net zero. She also questioned how the Central Criminal Court would work in terms of the Sheriffs and events going forward. The Executive Director and Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor clarified that the CCC now fell under the City Surveyor’s remit. In terms of Mansion House and achieving net zero/the longer-term environmental goals, the Committee were informed that this site was also interdependent on the City Surveyor and Environment Department. The Alderman noted that it was therefore fair to say that the Mansion House may well not achieve net zero by 2027 in line with the corporate target.

The Committee thanked the Executive Director and Private Secretary to the Lord Mayor and her team for all of their hard work to date.

Resolved – That the Committee:

i. Note the factors taken into consideration in compiling the Mansion House & Office of Lord Mayor and Sheriffs Business Plan; and

ii. Approve, subject to the incorporation of any changes sought by this Committee, the departmental Business Plan 2023/24.