The Corporate Services Committee meeting scheduled for 15 April 2026 was set to discuss the draft People and HR Business Plan for 2026-29, alongside updates on health and safety, internal audit reports, and the forward plan. The meeting's agenda also included discussions on the City Surveyor's department's operating model review and Guildhall security.

Draft People & HR Business Plan 2026-29

A significant item on the agenda was the consideration of the draft People & HR Business Plan for 2026-29. This three-year plan, presented by the Chief People Officer and Executive Director of HR, Cliff Morton OBE, outlines the strategic direction for the People and HR function as a core enabling service for the City of London Corporation. The plan aims to support the delivery of the People Strategy and the Corporate Plan 2024-29. It details key objectives, priority workstreams, and major projects, focusing on areas such as My Contribution, My Reward, My Wellbeing and Belonging, Trustworthy Leadership, My Talent and Development, and Building Brilliant Basics. The plan also includes an action plan for measuring success and outlines the enablers, including people, finance, and operational property. The report noted that the plan had been revised in response to feedback from Members at a previous meeting.

Health & Safety Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on Corporate Health & Safety performance for the period of January 2025 to March 2026. The report, presented by the Deputy Town Clerk, Oli Sanandres, highlighted progress in incident reporting, investigation times, and RIDDOR injury rates, which were noted as being below the national average. The report also detailed the progress of the Tell the Story pillar of the Health & Safety Strategy, which aims to embed safety leadership across the organisation. It was noted that the organisational assurance score was at 61%, with a target of 65% by the end of the financial year. The report also covered the Safety Management Framework, including the Everyday Safety Management (ESM) Leadership Program, and updates on fire safety audits and Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments.

Internal Audit Insight Reports

Two internal audit insight reports were scheduled for discussion. The first concerned Corporate Health and Safety, which provided an assurance rating of Moderate. The audit highlighted meaningful improvements in the maturity score, though it remained short of the corporate target. It noted that while reporting was occurring, it lacked the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) needed for performance management, and monitoring frameworks, while improved, lacked physical assurance of reported outcomes. The second report focused on the Corporate Code of Conduct, assigning it a Limited assurance rating. This audit found that the organisation lacked an effective corporate framework to govern, maintain, embed, and monitor the Code of Conduct, and that there was no consolidated tracking or reporting of breaches at the overall Code of Conduct level.

Forward Plan

The committee was also set to review the Corporate Services Committee Forward Plan, which outlines upcoming agenda items for future meetings. This plan provides visibility of planned reports and discussions across various departments, including People & HR, the Comptroller & City Solicitor's Department, and other departmental reports.

Action Tracker

An update on the Action Tracker was also on the agenda, detailing outstanding references and actions from previous meetings. This report, from the Town Clerk, Chris Rumbles, provides a status update on various items, including those related to employee lifecycle surveys, the SAP SuccessFactors system, and the Employment Rights Act.