Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director for Innovation and Growth.

The Committee received a report of the Executive Director for Innovation and Growth, concerning the impact of the City Corporation’s work in support of UK-based Financial and Professional Services between October 2024 and December 2024. It also provided the annual update on Innovation and Growth’s Overseas Offices for the 2024 calendar year.

Members of the Committee expressed that the Court of Aldermen were keen to play an active role in the impact of the City Corporation and maximise and leverage the skills available within the Court. It was this helpful that this report be shared quarterly with the Committee. It would create an opportunity for Aldermen to be better informed and thus better equipped to be actively impactful. Officers were also mindful of the recent Court of Common Council election and the new intake of members, how to involve those who did not have a financial services background.

Noting the update on the Overseas Offices, Members noted the critical inflection point of where the City Corporation sat in the current global financial world and encouraged strengthening the links with the FCDO and Department of Trade. Officers were mindful of engagement and opportunities with the US and elsewhere, and how to push this forward. Members of the Committee encouraged a nimble approach with geopolitics.

There were questions on KPIs, and how success would be measured and how outcomes would be measured using data. Officers agreed that data was important to measure success, particularly under investment. However, officers noted that with their more limited resources, the more work undertaken to report the data, especially quarterly, the less impactful the data would be in terms of measuring success.

Members of the Committee emphasised that the City Corporation must not be siloed in its departments to achieve the outcomes. The response was that some workstreams were resourced cross-Corporation. There was also an officer working group from key departments which met to ensure a mutual understanding of achievements and how goals could be met collectively.

In terms of working with other voices at a national level, the City Corporation had strong input into the London Growth Plan and were working with the Department for Business and Trade on how to collaborate closely.

Lastly, it was agreed that future reports would pick up the Lord Mayor’s work in legal and maritime services, make more explicit reference to the Chairman of Policy & Resources and the Lord Mayor, consider the role of the Sheriffs in future work, and incorporate a forward look.

RESOLVED, that Members of the General Purposes Committee of Aldermen: -

(i)             Note the update on key pieces of work that have taken place between October 2024 and December 2024, and their outputs; and

(ii)            Note the update on the work that has taken place in IG’s overseas officers in the 2024 calendar year.