Agenda item

Report of the Chief Strategy Officer.

The Sub Committee received a report of the Chief Strategy Officer, concerning the submission of the City Corporation’s 2024 Social Mobility Employer Index to the Social Mobility Foundation.

It was noted that the field for the Social Mobility Employer Index was more competitive than it had been since its origins in 2017. However, this provided the opportunity to learn from different employers. The City Corporation had a unique advantage on the scale and breadth of its responsibilities, meaning that it could cover many different areas and reach out to lots of different communities. It was hoped that there had been improvements within some areas which would provide more meaningful feedback. Members understood that there was still much work to be done, yet the feedback would provide recommendations for which the Corporation could use to improve its ranking.

It was confirmed that the Index was UK wide, but it focused on regional areas. The Index took into consideration geography and types of organisations, and what sections were completed (for instance, the Corporation could only allude to university outreach due to its connection to schools) and were weighted accordingly to determine the ranking.

It was noted that equality (and other associated) data was not routinely collected on Members, and it was up to Members whether this was collected. Members recalled that there had been a previous survey on protected characteristics, but this had not included social mobility. It was suggested that this data be collected to understand a baseline for the current elected membership.

The Sub Committee agreed that if data was collected, this should occur ahead of the Corporation’s elections in 2025, suggesting that any proposed draft of the survey be sighted by the Sub Committee. Officers agreed to take this action away, to investigate options in consultation with the Town Clerk, the Deputy Town Clerk, Comptroller & City Solicitor, the Chair of Policy & Resources, and the Chief Commoner, and ensure that this was reported back to the Sub Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.