Town Clerk and Chief Executive |
Chamberlain |
Remembrancer
The Town Clerk and Chief
Executive
The Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London is the
head of paid service and, as such, has authority over all other
City of London officers as is necessary for the efficient
management and execution of the City of London's functions. He is
also the City of London’s principal advisor on matters of policy
through the Policy and Resources Committee.
The Town Clerk's department at the City of London is responsible
for a number of areas of work, including servicing meetings of the
Court of Common Council and Court of Aldermen, their committees,
sub-committees and working parties.
His other areas of work include taking responsibility for
investigating complaints against the City of London from members of
the public, acting as the Electoral Registration Officer and being
responsible for the City of London’s public relations, economic
development and human resources.
The current Town Clerk and Chief Executive is Chris Duffield. He
has served in local government for nearly 30 years and prior to
joining the City of London was the Chief Executive of Bexley
Council. He has also previously worked for the GLC, Redbridge and
Essex.
The Chamberlain
The Chamberlain is the Finance Director of the City of London. He
is the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and paymaster and is
responsible for the City of London’s local and private / trust
funds. In addition, he is also responsible for making arrangements
for the investment of City of London and other funds and is one of
the three official trustees.
Through the Chamberlain's Court he also administers the
admission to the
Freedom of the City and personally admits all Honorary Freemen.
He is also responsible to the Court of Aldermen for constituting
new livery companies and interpreting and amending their ordinances
and charters.
The Chamberlain’s relationship with the Court of Common Council
is the same that applies to other local authority Chief Finance
Officers (CFO) and he therefore has the same responsibilities
placed on him as any other CFO in the UK.
The current Chamberlain is Chris Bilsland. He joined the City of
London from Somerset County Council where he was Corporate Director
of Resources.
Remembrancer
The Remembrancer is one of the City’s Chief Officers and the
role dates back to 1571. His traditional role is as the channel of
communications between the Lord Mayor and the City of London on the
one hand and the Sovereign, Royal Household and Parliament on the
other. The Remembrancer is also the City's Ceremonial Officer and
Chief of Protocol.
The Remembrancer’s department at the City of London is broken into
three distinct branches of work - parliamentary, ceremonial and
private events. The parliamentary office is responsible for looking
after the City of London's interests in Parliament with regard to
all public legislation, while the ceremonial office’s objectives
are to enable the Lord Mayor and City of London to welcome high
profile visitors both domestically and internationally. Functions
staged range from small receptions to major state dinners. Finally,
the private events team co-ordinate the hiring of the Guildhall for
private banquets, receptions or conferences.
The current Remembrancer is Paul Double. He joined the City of
London from the Bar and earlier government service. His recent work
in Parliament has centred on the legislation to implement the
changes to the City's electoral system.