Agenda item
Mayor's Announcements (including any petitions received)
To receive any announcements from the Mayor.
Decision:
1.1 NOTED the announcement by the Chief Executive of a casual vacancy on the Council following the resignation of Councillor Michael Pavey along with the accompanying tribute from Councillor Shafique Choudhary as a fellow Barnhill ward councillor.
1.2 NOTED the announcements from the Mayor in relation to:
· Flag Raising Event – Nigerian Independence
· World Mental Health Day
· Black History Month
· Hindu New Year
· Remembrance Day Commemoration Events
· Annual Fireworks & Diwali Celebrations
· Mayor’s Charity Football Tournament
· Christmas Lights – Wembley Park
· Pride Of Brent Awards
· 100th Birthday Celebrations
· White Ribbon Day
· Mayors Christmas Charity Event
· Petitions
Minutes:
Before starting his announcements, the Mayor invited Carolyn Downs (Chief Executive) to make a short statement who advised Members she had been informed, that morning, of Councillor Pavey’s intention to resign as a councillor in Barnhill ward for personal reasons.
As the Council’s Returning Officer, she informed members that she intended to publish Notice of the Vacancy on the 26 November 2019. Subject to a formal request being received, it was anticipated that the resulting by-election would be held in late January 2020. Members were asked to join the Chief Executive in wishing Councillor Pavey well for the future and in recognising his contribution to the Council since his election in 2012, not only as a local councillor for Barnhill ward but also during his time as Lead Member for Children’s Services and Deputy Leader
Councillor Shafique Choudhary took the opportunity to pay tribute to Councillor Pavey, as a fellow councillor for Barnhill ward. Highlighting how closely he had worked with Councillor Pavey, he was keen to recognise his integrity and focus in supporting local residents and advised how much he would be missed as both a friend and valued colleague.
Following a short round of applause in tribute to Councillor Pavey, the Mayor then moved on to make the following announcements:
(i) Nigerian Independence – Flag Raising Event
The Mayor was pleased to begin his announcements by advising of the successful flag raising event held on the 1October to celebrate Nigerian Independence Day and thanked all those who had attended.
(ii) World Mental Health Day
The Mayor also took the opportunity to thank Councillor Colacicco (as Deputy Mayor) for attending the World Mental Health Day event in his absence.
(iii) Black History Month
The Mayor advised that he had been pleased to join the celebrations for Black History Month in October, which had included numerous school and other events in the borough. Amongst the events attended had been the Black History Month celebration at the Civic Centre, which had been a huge success.
(iv) Hindu New Year
Advising what an honour it had been, the Mayor informed Members that he had attended BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir to celebrate the Hindu New Year and had also been pleased to attend Diwali celebrations at the Civic Centre, alongside the Chief Executive, Council staff and representatives of the temple.
(v) Remembrance Day Commemoration Events
The Mayor advised he had also been honoured to attend the Borough Remembrance Sunday Service at Barham Park in order to commemorate all those who had lost their lives in conflicts throughout the world. Commenting on how well attended the service had been, the Mayor advised that it had been humbling to see so many turn out to pay tribute. A service had also been held at the Civic Centre the following morning, which included local children from Park Lane Primary School reading some poetry led by the War Horse Theatre Production.
(vi) Annual Fireworks and Diwali celebrations
The Mayor informed Members that he had also been pleased to host a reception to watch the Wembley Park fireworks, and parade on Sunday 10 November, which had been well attended and enjoyed by all.
(vii) Mayor’s Charity Football Tournament
The Mayor advised that he had enjoyed attending a successful football tournament organised jointly with the FA on behalf of his charity at Wembley Stadium. A number of councillors, staff, community groups and the police had participated in the event, which he advised had provided an amazing opportunity to play on the famous Wembley pitch.
(viii) Christmas Lights – Wembley Park
The Mayor reported he was also pleased to have been invited to switch on Winterfest, Wembley Park’s first-event lights festival, which included a sonic runway and London’s tallest LED Christmas tree.
(ix) Pride of Brent
The Mayor took the opportunity to congratulate all winners at the recent Pride of Brent awards, at which he was honoured to have been able to celebrate and recognise the contribution of staff and residents who made such a massive contribution to the lives of the people of Brent.
(x) 100th Birthday Celebration
The Mayor asked all Members to join him in congratulating Ms Isobel Collis, whom he had recently visited at Kenbrook Nursing Home, Wembley in order to celebrate her 100th birthday.
(xi) White Ribbon Day
The Mayor took the opportunity to remind Members that the 25 November had been designated as White Ribbon Day, which sought to raise awareness and work towards the prevention of violence against women.
As part of the campaign, he reminded Members that Brent would be holding its own event on 26 November 2019 between 10am – 2pm at the Civic Centre, which would include a range of keynote speakers and information stalls and encouraged as many councillors as possible to attend.
(xii) Mayor’s Christmas Charity Event
The Mayor ended his announcements by reminding everyone that he would be holding his Festive Christmas Dinner and Dance on Friday 6 December at the Civic Centre, for which tickets were currently on sale.
(xiii) Petitions
Finally, the Mayor drew Members attention to the list of current petitions, along with the action being taken to deal with then, which had been tabled at the meeting, in accordance with Standing Orders.
Post Meeting Amendment
At the Council meeting on 19 February 2020 it was noted that the Mayor had made an additional announcement at the November meeting on the Ochanja-Onitsha fire disaster, which had not been included in the original minutes. As a result, it was agreed to amend the November minutes by including the following as an additional announcement:
Ochanja-Onitsha fire disaster
I would like to offer my condolences, thoughts and prayers to the Government and people in my home state of Anambra in Nigeria, affected by the Ochanja-Onitsha fire tragedy.