City of London committee proposes longer terms for independent persons to enhance continuity.
The City of London's Member Development and Standards Sub Committee has recommended changes to the terms of office for independent persons, proposing to extend them from two-year periods to two four-year terms. This move aims to improve continuity and reduce the administrative burden of recruitment.
The proposal, discussed at a meeting on Thursday, 15 October 2026, stems from the annual report of the Panel of Independent Persons. The report highlighted that the current recruitment process for these roles is resource-intensive, taking significantly longer than anticipated. Extending the terms would allow for better management of recruitment cycles and help retain valuable knowledge within the panel.
The City of London proposes to amend the terms of office for independent persons to two four-year terms, rather than three two-year terms, to improve continuity and reduce the resource intensity of recruitment.
The benefits expected from this change include allow some continuity on the panel and help and help build that knowledge around the city corporation and those processes and and help and kind of help on board those on board those who are newer to the panel.
The recruitment process for independent persons is described as resource-intensive
and taking much longer than originally planned given the diaries involved and the number of applications on this occasion – commencing in summer 2025, with the appointment by Court of Common Council unable to take place until March 2026.
The feedback from the Recruitment Panel was that they would not recommend annual recruitment exercises given the amount of time required and difficulties with aligning diaries to allow time for shortlisting and interviews.
The proposed change to the terms of office for independent persons is to amend them to two terms of four years, with a maximum of two terms being served (applicable from the 2026 recruitment cohort onwards).
The report notes that recruitment activity was a resource-intensive process, taking much longer than originally planned
and that the panel wish to put in place term expiry dates to allow time to properly plan recruitment and allow for a year in-between recruitment exercises given current resource capacity.
During the meeting, members discussed the significant time and resources involved in the recruitment of independent persons. Deputy Caroline Haines noted that the last recruitment round saw approximately 70 applications, with a lengthy process of sifting and interviewing. This underscored the panel's desire for longer terms to reduce the frequency of such intensive exercises.
The annual report detailed the panel's activities between June 2025 and September 2026, during which it considered five complaints. One complaint was deemed inadmissible, one resulted in no further action, and three were resolved through informal resolution. The panel also made recommendations regarding the extension of terms for four current independent persons to further manage the rotation of membership and retain expertise.
More details can be found in the Public reports pack for the Member Development and Standards Sub Committee meeting.