Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9^th September 2013 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Executive Director, Resources

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director, Resources, concerning a petition bearing 424 signatures, which had been submitted by Councillor Andrews, who was invited to the meeting, but did not attend.  Mr McGowan, the petition organiser, attended the meeting and spoke on behalf of the petitioners, who were concerned regarding several leading arms companies doing business in the City and, in addition, Council Tax money being paid into the West Midlands Pension Fund, which invested over £60m in arms-dealers.  The petitioners were requesting that the Council remove these investments from the Fund, find better alternatives, and work towards an arms-free economy for the City.

RESOLVED that after due consideration of the report and the matters raised at the meeting, the Cabinet Member approved that the petition be referred to the West Midlands Pension Fund Committee for their consideration.

Report of Executive Director, Resources

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director, Resources, which set out the outturn position for the hospitality budget for the Mayoralty of Councillor Sawdon for 2012/13.  The report also provided details of the beneficiaries of the Lord Mayor’s Charity Appeal for the year.

It was noted that the annual hospitality budget for the Mayoral year was £65,596.  Against this, a sum of £62,368.60 was spent, leaving a sum of £3,227.40 which was returned to Corporate Reserves.

RESOLVED that after due consideration of the report and the matters raised at the meeting, the Cabinet Member noted the outturn of £62,368.60 for the Mayoral year and approved the contents of the report, which described how the hospitality budget had been spent on an event by event basis.

Report of the Executive Director, Resources

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Executive Director, Resources, which set out proposals for the implementation of the Business Charter for Social Responsibility for the City Council and its supply chain.

The recent Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 required all public bodies to consider how they could improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their local area through the services they procure.  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) had become a broadly accepted phrase in business and represented good practice.  The Procurement and Commissioning Service already had in place policies, procedures and processes which were aligned to CSR principles.  These were being reviewed in light of the duty under the Act and there was an opportunity to improve awareness of the Council’s commitment and adoption of the same principles within its supply chain.

It was therefore proposed to supplement the existing Small Business Friendly Concordat with a Business Charter for Social Responsibility.

RESOLVED that after due consideration of the report and the matters raised at the meeting, the Cabinet Member approved the implementation of the Business Charter for Social Responsibility for the Council and its supply chain.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

There were no other items of public business.