Issue - meetings

To receive notice from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).

Councillor Hack, as newly appointed Mayor, thanked members for his nomination and appointment as Mayor.  He then announced the appointment of Councillor Kathleen Fraser to serve as Deputy Mayor for the 2025 - 2026 Municipal Year.

At this stage in proceedings the Mayors Chain of Office and robes were exchanged between the outgoing and newly appointed Mayor.

Councillor Hack then formally returned thanks for his appointment.  Starting by welcoming all guests, he highlighted his pride and personal honour in being nominated as Mayor and thanked all members for their trust, confidence and faith in appointing him to take on the role as first citizen of the borough.

Highlighting the privilege he felt in being appointed as Mayor, Councillor Hack began by outlining his family history and welcoming his great grandparents as guests.  Expressing pride at his strong Irish heritage, Councillor Hack advised he had lived in Brent all his life, having studied at Preston Park Primary School Claremont High School and then St Dominic’s Sixth Form College with his family’s first home being a council property in Harlesden prior to them settling in Neasden.  Referring to growing up in Brent, he outlined the strong sense of community and compassion he had experienced involving people from all walks of life which he hoped to be able to replicate during his time as Mayor.

Paying tribute to his family and mother Councillor Hack advised that, as a result of the support he had received, he had been the first person in his family to attend university where he had graduated with a Masters Degree from University College London. Whilst being the youngest Mayor in Brent’s history, he hoped his story and journey in terms of perseverance over struggle and hardship along with similar experiences shared by many other across Brent would help to provide a sense of hope and aspiration to future generations.

Since being elected to serve on the Council, Councillor Hack advised that he had sought to use the platform to coordinate and campaign for improvements for many causes including residents access to food, mostly in areas of deprivation, which he advised had included working to open and support community kitchens as well as surplus food markets in order to support significant numbers of residents across Brent.

Councillor Hack then outlined the aims for his Mayoralty in terms of continuing to support the Council’s overall vision and objectives.  In this role he advised that he also intended to support the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) which had been formed in 1978 in response to the welfare needs of the Irish community and continued to work to improve the well-being of the Irish community across North London and beyond.  Highlighting comments recently made by Colum Maloney, as one of the founders of BIAS and first Irish Mayor of Brent, as part of the St Patricks Day celebration at the Learie Constantine Centre, he supported the description of Brent being a borough “united as one”, which he also believed represented the aspirations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4

To receive notice from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).

Councillor Diana Collymore was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2024 - 25 Municipal Year.

Councillor Dar, as newly appointed Mayor, thanked members for his nomination and appointment as Mayor.  He then announced the appointment of Councillor Diana Collymore to serve as Deputy Mayor for the 2024 - 2025 Municipal Year.

At this stage in proceedings the Mayors Chain of Office and robes were exchanged between the outgoing and newly appointed Mayor.

Councillor Dar then formally returned thanks for his appointment.  Starting by welcoming all guests, he highlighted his pride and personal honour in being nominated as Mayor and thanked all members for their trust, confidence and faith in appointing him to take on the role as first citizen of the borough.

Highlighting the privilege he felt in being appointed as Mayor, Councillor Dar regarded this as the culmination of the work he had undertaken since arriving in the UK in 1965 in seeking to champion residents, for which he was also proud to have been recognised with the award of an MBE in 2019.  Having been a local councillor since 2018, Councillor Dar advised he was honoured to currently serve as a representative of Mapesbury ward as well as to have served as Deputy Mayor during 2023-24 and paid specific tribute to his family and fellow councillors for their support during this time.  He also took the opportunity to express gratitude to all the elders across the borough, with specific reference to his and other families proud legacy in their service to the UK (including its Armed forces) and in providing a platform for the establishment of various Welfare Associations, Mosques and Community Centres given the support being provided to communities across the borough, which he blessed and hoped would continue for many generations to come.

Having advised how delighted he was to have been joined by so many guests, Councillor Dar then moved on to express his thanks to Councillor Hylton and congratulated her for the success achieved as Mayor, recognising the hard work she had undertaken to support local community groups and events across the borough and to continue promoting Brent so diligently.

The Mayor then moved on to congratulate Councillor Collymore on her appointment as Deputy Mayor and advised how much he was looking forward to working with her over the coming year in order to continue delivering, positives outcomes for the borough.

Referring to teamwork, the Mayor outlined that he intended to continue working closely with fellow members, the Chief Executive, Council Management Team and other officers in order to capitalise on the strengths and experience available in continuing the hard work of the outgoing and previous Mayors in seeking to achieve the best results for the borough focussed around cohesion and trust.

Councillor Dar then outlined the aims for his Mayoralty in terms of continuing to support the Council’s overall vision and objectives.  In this role he advised that he also intended to support the Pakistan Community Centre as his chosen charitable organisation during his year in office.  Referring to their role as a voluntary and charity organisation,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4

To receive notice from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).

Councillor Tariq Dar MBE was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2023 - 24 Municipal Year.

Councillor Hylton, as newly appointed Mayor, thanked members for her nomination and appointment as Mayor.  She then announced the appointment of Councillor Tariq Dar to serve as Deputy Mayor for the 2023 - 2024 Municipal Year.

At this stage in proceedings the Mayors Chain of Office and robes were exchanged between the outgoing and newly appointed Mayor.

Councillor Hylton then formally returned thanks for the appointment and began by welcoming all guests and commenting on her pride and honour in being nominated as Mayor and thanking all members for their trust, confidence and faith in appointing her to take on the role as first citizen of the borough.

Highlighting the privilege and personal honour she felt in being appointed as Mayor, Councillor Hylton advised this reflected the fact she had been educated, lived and worked in the borough all her life.  Starting her primary education at Pound Lane School in Willesden before moving on to attend Willesden High School (now Capital City Academy) Councillor Hylton advised she had also been employed by Brent (prior to being made redundant) from 1985 – 2007.  It was during this time that she had begun volunteering with the local Resident Association, as well as taking up the role as Chair of a Police Working Group and serving on various other committees and groups, including Fareshare.  Having been a local councillor since 2014, Councillor Hylton advised she was honoured to currently serve as a representative of Preston ward as well as to have served as Deputy Mayor during 2022-23 for which she thanked all her family and fellow councillors for their support.

Having advised how delighted she was to have been joined by so many guests, Councillor Hylton then moved on to express her gratitude to Councillor Aden for his success as Mayor and congratulated him on the hard work undertaken to support local communities across the borough and to continue promoting Brent so diligently at so many events and functions.

The Mayor then moved on to congratulate Councillor Dar on his appointment as Deputy Mayor and advised how much she was looking forward to working with him over the coming year in order to continue delivering positives outcomes for the borough.

Referring to teamwork, the Mayor outlined how she intended to continue working closely with fellow members, the new Chief Executive, Council Management Team and other officers in order to capitalise on their strengths and experience and in continuing the hard work of the outgoing and previous Mayors in seeking to achieve the best results for the borough.

Councillor Hylton then outlined her aims for her Mayoralty in terms of continuing to support the Council’s vision and objectives.  In this role she advised that she also intended to support the following two charities:

·            PLIAS Resettlement – a community-based organisation providing support, advice and guidance to people with criminal convictions, and aiming to support offenders and ex-offenders to re-reintegrate back into society. The organisation also offered support to people who were at risk  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4

To receive notice from the Mayor regarding the appointment of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor, in accordance with Standing Order 27(b).

Councillor Orleen Hylton was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the 2022/23 Municipal Year.

Councillor Aden, as newly appointed Mayor, thanked members for his nomination and appointment as Mayor.  He then announced that he had appointed Councillor Orleen Hylton to serve as Deputy Mayor for the 2022/2023 Municipal Year.

At this stage in proceedings the Mayors Chain of Office and robes were exchanged between the outgoing and newly appointed Mayor.

Councillor Aden then formally returned thanks for his appointment and began by commenting on his pride and honour in being nominated as Mayor and thanking all members for their trust, confidence and faith in appointing him to take on the role as first citizen of the borough.

The Mayor then went on to share some information about his background.  Having been born and educated in Somalia he advised that he had moved to the UK and settled in Brent in 1990, where he had lived and worked ever since as an employee of the Royal Mail.  It was during this time he became interested in community development and cohesion, having worked as a volunteer at the Stonebridge Somali Centre, which had also deepened an interest in local politics.  This led to him standing in the local elections in 2010 and having the honour to represent Stonebridge as a councillor since 2018 with him serving as Deputy Mayor during 2021/22.

Having advised how delighted he was to have been joined by so many guests and relatives from all over the UK and abroad he then moved on to express his gratitude to his predecessor Lia Colacicco for her outstanding work as Mayor during such a difficult and challenging period in the recovery from the pandemic.  Recognising the challenges this had placed on the Mayor being able to undertake her full range of activities he congratulated her on the work undertaken to support local communities across the borough and to continue promoting Brent at so many events and functions.  In addition he also took the opportunity to acknowledge and thank Tim Evans, as the Mayor’s consort, for the support her had provided the Mayor over the previous year.

The Mayor then moved on to congratulate Councillor Hylton on her appointment as Deputy Mayor and advised how much he was looking forward to working with her over the coming year in order to continue delivering positives outcomes for the borough.

Referring to teamwork, the Mayor outlined how he intended to continue working closely with fellow members, the Chief Executive, Council Management Team and Mayor’s Office to capitalise on their strengths and experience in order to continue the hard work of previous Mayors in seeking to achieve the best results for the borough.

Councillor Aden then outlined his aims for his Mayoralty in terms of continuing to support the Council’s vision and objectives.  In this role he advised that he also intended to support the following three charities:

·                Hilltop Circle – a Brent-based charity focussed on providing training, education and support to young people with the aim of instilling values, self-esteem, skills and confidence to help them  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4