Agenda item

To elect a Chairman in accordance with Standing Order No. 28.

A single expression of interest having been received, Deputy Peter Dunphy was duly confirmed as Chair of the Committee for the ensuing municipal year in line with Standing Order No. 28.

Deputy Peter Dunphy thanked the Committee for their trust and support, welcomed new Members and previous Members.

The Chief Commoner delivered a Vote of Thanks to the outgoing Chair Mary Durcan as follows:  

Members of the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee wish to extend their sincere, appreciation and thanks to Mary Durcan for her exemplary leadership and dedication as Chairman of the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee.  

Mary was passionate about the City of London maintaining the cleanest streets in London and was thus instrumental in securing an additional £1 million of funding, resulting in significant enhancements in street cleansing. She would frequently report in issues herself, acting as a conduit between residents, businesses, fellow Members and officers, listening and understanding concerns to ensure that they were resolved as quickly as possible whilst at the same time realising the constraints that the Service. She also chaired the judging panel and presented awards at three Clean City Awards, championing businesses adopting a sustainable approach to waste management. She recognised the importance of the City of London City maintaining its own waste transfer station at Walbrook Wharf and advocated for the continuation of sustainable waste transfer on the River Thames. She was also pivotal in the approval and adoption from the Court of Common Council of the Circular Economy Framework. 

During her tenure Mary has overseen the City of London Corporation’s readiness plans for the new Border Target Operating Model and checks of imported food and feed from the EU, resulting in a substantial increase of doubling staff and operational hours for Port Health, with checks set to rise from 20,000 to 140,000 annually.  

Her commitment to environmental health is evident through the championing the City of London Corporation’s outstanding pollution team, that provides one of the most responsive services to residents and businesses, and the adoption of the new Air Quality Strategy, aimed at reducing pollutants like PM2.5 and improving public health in the City of London. Additionally, she has championed the introduction of a new workstream focused on private sector housing regulation, ensuring the safety of high-rise buildings in the City of London for residents – taking a proportionate and methodological approach to target buildings with unsafe cladding and building owners making the least progress.  

Mary’s leadership has also overseen robust actions against illegal vapes and underage sales by the Trading Standards team, seizing over £60,000 worth of non-compliant products and planning test-purchasing exercises upon volunteers. Her leadership has also overseen the implementation of a new replacement IT administration system at the Cemetery and Crematorium, ensuring future efficiencies and savings.  

The Committee wishes to place on record their sincere thanks to Mary for her unwavering passion and commitment. Her colleagues wish her continued health and happiness in her future endeavours. 

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY, That the Members of the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee extend their sincere, appreciation and thanks to Mary Durcan as moved by Chief Commoner Deputy Henry Pollard and seconded by Deputy Peter Dunphy.