Corporation of London

The concept of the Court of Common Council grew from the ancient custom of the Folkmoot, when the assent of the citizens to important acts was obtained. This custom was continued by the Mayor who consulted the Commons several times during the 13th century. From 1376 the assembly began to meet regularly and was referred to as the Common Council. It was decided that the Council should be made up of persons elected from each Ward. By 1384 a permanent Common Council chosen by the citizens was established for all time. The Council assumed legislative functions and adopted financial powers, confirmed by Charters of 1377 and 1383. The Council has often used these powers to amend the civic constitution, regulate the election of Lord Mayor and other officials, and amend the functions of the City courts. The Council was judged so successful in the conduct of its duties that it was the only Corporation unreformed by Parliament following the Municipal Corporations Commission report of 1837, while the Corporation Inquiry Commission of 1854 suggested only minor reforms. The work of the Council is conducted by a number of committees, while the whole Council has the right to approve policy, confirm major decisions and sanction expenditure. The committees handle many aspects of the running of the City including land and estates, finance and valuation, open spaces, street improvement and town planning, public health, police, Port of London, civil defence, airports, libraries, markets, education, and law. The Town Clerk has held responsibility for recording the minutes of the Council and its committees since 1274.

The Works Advisory Committee was first appointed in January 1979, following the disbandment of the Guildhall Reconstruction Committee and the Central Criminal Court Extension Committee on 23 November 1978. The Committee's terms of reference were: 1. to advise land-owning Committees on any developments initiated and referred to the Works Advisory Committee by those Committees; 2. the supervision and management of the implementation of any development to the extent that it is delegated to the Works Advisory Committee by land-owning Committees, any necessary report to the Court of Common Council being made by the land-owning Committee.

Its first and only meeting took place on 27 February 1980. It was wholly superseded by the much closer control of capital projects adopted by the Corporation after 1980, by the appointment of specialist building Committees for most major projects and by the Policy and Resources Committee setting up the Control of Capital Contracts Working Party in the 1980s. No Works Advisory Committee members were appointed in January 1989, and, after further consideration, it was formally disbanded by Common Council on 30 March 1989.