Agenda item
Mayor's Announcements (including any petitions received)
To receive any announcements from the Mayor.
Decision:
NOTED the announcements from the Mayor in relation to:
· Death of former Councillor Carol Shaw – with tributes paid by Councillors Colwill, McLennan and Maurice.
· Kristallnacht
· Hate attacks in Brent
· Remembrance Sunday
· Pride of Brent Awards
· 100th birthday celebration
· United Albanian Community National Day
· World Aids Day
· Mayors Gala Fundraising Dinner
· St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School
· Petitions
Minutes:
The Mayor made the following announcements:
(i) Death of former Councillor Carol Shaw
The Mayor advised that it was with sadness he had to announce the death of former Councillor Carol Shaw who had passed away on 20 September.
He reminded Members that Carol had served the people of Brent for over 25 years, most recently as ward councillor for Brondesbury Park where she had been a passionate and dedicated Councillor. In remembering Carol he stated that the Council’s thoughts were with her friends, family and former colleagues and as a mark of respect asked all those present to stand in order to observe a minutes silence in her memory.
A minutes silence was observed.
As a number of Members had indicated they wished to formally pay tribute to Carol Shaw he then opened up the meeting to invite contributions.
Councillor Colwill opened the tributes by highlighting the support and guidance Carol had provided when he had first been elected to the Council and the friendship they had gone on to develop over the years. He highlighted the way in which she had always stood up for her local residents and said she would be sorely missed.
The following members also spoke in tribute:
· Councillor Long advised she had first encountered Carol back in 1990. Whilst always a formidable character, she highlighted Carol’s dedication to her local residents and the respect in which she had been held by them. She would therefore be missed by councillors and residents alike.
· Councillor Gbajumo also highlighted the dedication Carol had shown to her local residents and how much she was missed by those she had previously served as ward councillor. As a tribute, Councillor Gbajumo advised that she, along with the other newly elected councillors in Brondesbury Park ward, hoped to be able to follow on her good work in representing the local area.
· Councillor McLeish also highlighted the local support and respect for Carol he had experienced ward when campaigning within Brondesbury Park during the most recent local elections.
· Councillor Maurice who advised that whilst only knowing Carol for a relatively short period, had also been impressed by her formidable character and hard work as a ward councillor, with her residents always coming first.
The Mayor thanked everyone for their kind and touching tributes.
(ii) Kristallnacht
The Mayor reminded Members that November marked the 80th anniversary of the Kristallnacht. In remembering the anniversary he felt it was important to never forget the upset caused and victims of such attacks.
(iii) Hate Crime in Brent
The Mayor was sad to report a recent incident experienced outside a Mosque in the Borough, involving racist insults being shouted to people leaving the building.
The Mayor advised that he, along with the Leader and Chief Executive, had joined people immediately after the incident to show solidarity with worshippers and felt it important to demonstrate how such attacks and abuse should never be tolerated.
(iv) Remembrance Sunday
The Mayor thanked all those who had attended the Borough’s Remembrance Sunday services on 11 November. The morning service had been followed by the Annual Remembrance Day Parade in Barham Park.
He was pleased to announce that attendance at the Borough Remembrance services was excellent with hundreds of people coming along to remember the agreement to end fighting of the First World War, in 1918.
Tribute was paid to all those who had taken part and marched for making the service so special. The Mayor also took the opportunity to thank the outgoing Borough Dean, Graham Noyce, for his service to the Borough over the years and also for presiding over the Borough’s remembrance service.
Members were also advised that the Mayor was honoured to have been invited by a representative from the British Legion to lay a wreath at the memorial at the old Town Hall and was enormously grateful to the Lycée for allowing everyone to come together to mark the centenary of the Armistice in order to remember the fallen of all conflicts.
(v) Pride of Brent Awards
The Mayor advised that he, along with the Chief Executive & Deputy Leader, were pleased to have been able to host the recent annual Pride of Brent awards in the Civic Centre.
This had provided an opportunity for Brent employees and community members to come together in order to celebrate the Pride of Brent and for the second year had involved the ceremony merging the community awards with the Council’s employee recognition and Long Service Awards.
The Mayor informed Members that a full list of winners was available on the Council’s website, and congratulated all those who had been nominated and received an award.
(vi) 100th Birthday celebrations
The Mayor advised that one of the many highlights of his office was the opportunity to meet so many of the Borough’s residents. With this in mind, he announced that he would have the honour on 17th December of visiting Mrs Pearl Slater to celebrate her 100th birthday and all Members were asked to join him in wishing her a happy birthday.
(vii) United Albanian Community
The Mayor advised he was honoured to have been invited to attend a flag raising ceremony at the civic centre on Sunday 25 November hosted by the united Albanian Community to celebrate their National Day.
(viii) World Aids Day
The Mayor reminded Members that this year marked 30 years since the first World Aids Day on the 1st of December 1988. In remembering the significance of this day, he felt it was important to acknowledge how far advances in medicine had come and the dramatic difference these had made to the lives of people living with HIV.
At the same time he felt it also important to remember that people living with HIV still faced prejudice and stigma in their workplace, communities and relationships. For these reasons he highlighted the need to remember that HIV had not gone away and that there was still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
(ix) Mayor’s Gala Fundraising Dinner
The Mayor took the opportunity to remind Members that he would be hosting his first Gala Fundraising dinner on the Sunday 2 December at Sattavis Patidar Centre. The evening would consists of a meal, entertainment along with an auction, with tickets available to purchase through the Mayor’s Office.
(x) St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School
The Mayor was pleased to announce that according to The Sunday Times School Guide 2019, published on 18 November 2018, St Joseph's Willesden had been ranked as the 2nd best state primary school in the country and the top state Catholic primary school in England.
Members joined the Mayor in congratulating the whole school community who he pointed out had continued to aspire to excellence despite the circumstances experienced over the last three years in recovering from the fire at the school in September 2015.
(xi) Petitions
Finally, the Mayor drew members’ attention to the list of current petitions along with action being taken to deal with them, which had been tabled at the meeting, in accordance with Standing Order 66.