Agenda item

Report of the Town Clerk and Chief Executive.

Members received a report of the Town Clerk and Chief Executive concerning the City of London Corporation’s policy on gender identity, and the findings from independent analysis of an online survey conducted in 2018. The following comments were made:

·         The Chairman stated that the Policy was publicised with no warning and requested that the Media Team consider the potential implications and press issues prior to the publication of press releases in future.

·         It was noted that there was significant interest and concern being voiced on social media and within the press and it was agreed that it would have been helpful to understand the implications of the situation in advance. Members were reassured that there were 21,000 valid responses to the survey which were largely supportive and that there had been a number of misconceptions shared on social media. It was agreed that a Member Q&A would be circulated.

·         To provide clarity, Members were advised that the Policy had been to Chief Officers and the Summit Group before publication and it was their responsibility to inform their teams of policy changes. The Policy was made public in early May and campaigners had only recently used this within the context of the Heath’s Ponds. It was noted that as soon as the Media Team were informed of the press issues at the Heath, two media representatives attended site to help deal with the matter. Members were advised that any queries from the press must be directed straight to the Media Team for a response.

·         The Superintendent advised that there were two single sex facilities at the Ponds which were prone to media attention. This was having a knock-on effect on Partners who were being asked for comment but did not have the support or understanding of how to deal with the press.

·         It was stated that gender identity was a sensitive subject at the Heath, with gender fluidity being the primary concern, and a meeting had been arranged with Partners to discuss how to manage the issues. It was noted that the Corporation was offering more training in this area for staff and Members, but this did not cover the practical issues and more clarity was requested.

·         A Member felt that staff needed more support as it was hard for them to rely on a policy of someone consistently identifying as a specific gender. It was agreed clear guidelines and support were needed to support staff.

·         Members were advised that the aim of the Policy was to provide a high-level Corporation-wide strategy with the flexibility to allow individual organisations and departments to incorporate their own specific considerations.

·         A Member noted that this was an ongoing issue that had not been resolved as recommendations were still in development. In response to a query asking what the Committee could do to support Chief Officers, the Superintendent confirmed that the Business Manager was leading on developing values for the Pond to support the strategy noting that it was difficult to have set rules on identity, but that tolerance was key. Engagement with gender intelligence groups was supporting the work and had been specifically helpful with developing lifeguard dialogue.

·         It was noted that the Ladies Pond were supportive of this approach.   

·         The Deputy Chair stated that this was not a new issue and would not go away, the focus was to ensure that that people were always handled sensitively and to continue to ensure current swimmers are happy.

·         Members were advised that an update would come to the Committee at the end of summer embedding the Policy and how it would work for the Heath.

RESOLVED: That Members:-

·         Consider the survey findings;

·         Note the Gender Identity Policy and its implications for them.