Responding to a Financial Times Weekend magazine article, a spokesperson for the Corporation said:
“However you view the City Corporation, be it a global voice of financial and professional services, a London leader, or the custodian of the Square Mile, we deliver for our communities and the nation.
“From supporting the City as the world’s leading financial and professional services centre, and a UK sector supporting 2.4 million jobs – two-thirds of which are outside London – to our plans to unlock up to £225 billion of investment across the country through our Vision for Economic Growth.
“We are proud to serve our residents and a diverse range of other communities. We are investing £110m in our housing estates and sponsoring high performing schools in some of London’s most disadvantaged areas across several boroughs. And we are delivering careers festivals giving tens of thousands of young people employment advice, apprenticeships, and work experience.
“The 11,000 acres of open space we manage in and around London are worth over £282 million each year in benefits to society. And as a major UK funder of heritage and culture, we manage and support a range of world-class institutions, including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, and the Museum of London – all for the public good.
“City Bridge Foundation, the 900-year-old charity of which we are sole trustee, is London’s largest independent charity funder, awarding around £30 million annually, and currently supporting over 1,000 organisations. The Foundation maintains five Thames bridges at no cost to the taxpayer, for the benefit of the nation.
“And to be truly representative of our population, businesses and other organisations registered in the Square Mile are entitled to nominate voters to City elections so that, alongside our 8,600 residents, they can have a say on the way the City Corporation is run.
“Playing our national role is an honour that comes with responsibilities that we take seriously. We are fully committed to being an inclusive and welcoming organisation. Today our elected membership is the most diverse it has ever been, and our staff Senior Leadership Team has 50% female representation. But we know we must go further, and through our City Belonging Project we are acting to enhance the diversity of the candidate pool standing for elected office and continuing to remove barriers for anyone wishing to stand.
“We are delivering on the things that matter: driving economic growth, tackling the climate crisis, educating our young people. And working in partnership with all our communities, we are shaping a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London, within a globally successful UK.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the Corporation:
The Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.
';
