Agenda item

To receive updates from the General Managers of Smithfield, New Spitalfields and Billingsgate Markets.

The Board received updates from the General Managers, particularly noting the following:

Smithfield

During the discussion on the refrigeration outage, the following points were noted:

Refrigeration is a fundamental part of the market’s trade and, given that it was out of use for a week, Members asked for feedback in terms of lessons learnt. It was fortunate in that the FSA did not have a presence that weekend, as they could have closed all the traders down.  Further concerns were expressed about the transition arrangements more generally, given that the Poultry Market would be being vacated in 4 months’ time.

The Markets Director responded as follows:

Members were asked to form a balanced opinion, given the age and condition of the refrigeration unit. The issue had arisen due to the positioning of a flow valve during the pipework replacement project, and this would be a key learning point if the pipework is to be replaced on the West Market. The General Manager had acted as quickly as possible to resolve the operational challenges.  Work is underway with the tenants to ensure that temporary refrigeration /storage is available in the event of a recurrence.

Following the implementation of the Target Operating Model (TOM), there had been strong upturn in performance, with further general managers in place in respect of admin, security and finance.

The Director and General Managers need specific examples of what constitutes a failure, with tangible examples.     The market holds 2-weekly operational meetings for raising such issues and transitional issues are considered separately.   The Chief Operating Officer (COO) invited any Members, with concerns about performance of an individual or team, to ask for a meeting in the first instance, noting that the Markets Board is not an appropriate forum for raising operational concerns.

There have been improvements in terms of pest control and cleaning but the procedures require input and commitment from tenants. 

There would be cost implications in respect of provision of SMTA offices during the transition period but every effort would be made to accommodate them.

Work was underway in terms of the provision of parking and unloading parking spaces while areas are taken out of commission.

The COO advised that there are clear City Corporation procedures for assessing claims which might involve more than one party, and this would be the subject of a non-public report at the next meeting. The COO stressed that any future admission of liability will dealt with as part of the claims process.

The Chairman meets regularly with the Director and asked for a list of grievances to be presented to the next meeting, to ensure they are being addressed.  Members noted that the Board should seek assurance and oversight and not seek to micro-manage the daily business of the Markets. 

Chair thanked those traders who had been able to assist during the outage.

New Spitalfields

The General Manager advised that the entire City of London Corporation had received incorrect billing and departments were still waiting on credit notes for the past quarter.  However, the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) had been more successful than expected and we should see a considerable reduction from January 2023.  Members noted that the City Corporation used to pre-purchase energy in peaks and troughs but this expired in September 2022.  Therefore,  all Bills up to October 2022 had been correct.

Billingsgate

Members would receive a further update in the non-public part of the meeting.