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:
· Recent fatalities in Brent
· Death of former Mayors Joyce Bacchus and Les Ford with tributes paid by Councillors Muhammed Butt, Colwill, Long, Hector and Kansagra.
· London Finals of HSBC Young Enterprise – Kingsbury High School
· Barham Primary School – Teachers Award
· Windrush Event
· Mayors Civic Service – 23 July 19
· LGBTQ+ Pride Month
· Big Iftar – Monks Park Mosque
· Jack Petchey Award – St Gregory’s Science College
· Armed Forces Day
· Co-operative Day
· Neasden Festival
· Petitions
Minutes:
The Mayor made the following announcements
(i) Recent fatalities in Brent
The Mayor opened his announcements by echoing the sentiments expressed by the Lead Member for Community Safety and Engagement regarding the fatalities in Brent over the weekend. He had been devastated to learn of the events, one of which was in his ward and the other very close to where he lived. He offered his thoughts, prayers and sympathy in support of the victims and their loved ones.
(ii) Death of former Mayor Les Ford & Joyce Bacchus
The Mayor advised that it was with great sadness he had to announce the deaths of two former Councillors and Mayors - Joyce Bacchus MBE and Les Ford.
He recognised that many councillors would have known Joyce, who was well loved and respected by colleagues, residents and council staff alike.
As a mark of respect, the Mayor asked those present to stand in order to observe a minute’s silence in respect of both Joyce and Les and also to remember the young lives recently lost within the Borough.
A minute’s silence was observed
As a number of Members had indicated they wished to formally pay tribute to Joyce Bacchus MBE, the Mayor then invited contributions from other councillors.
Councillor M Butt opened the tributes by highlighting how he and his family had known Joyce since 2005. He remembered with fondness her attention to the small details in life, which had made her so well liked and respected by all she knew and the communities she represented. Councillor Butt said it had been an honour to have been able to work with Joyce and hoped that her commitment and dedication to the people of Brent was something which all Members would aspire to.
The following members also spoke in tribute:
· Councillor Colwill also spoke about how privileged he had been to know Joyce whom he highlighted had been an intelligent, highly respected and dedicated advocate for the residents she had represented. He recalled her resilience, especially after a car accident she had been involved in.
· Councillor Long advised she also had many memories of serving with Joyce and particularly recalled her willingness to support other members. Highlighting the respect Joyce commanded from residents, particularly in her ward, she pointed out that she would be missed and remembered with affection.
· Councillor Hector also took the opportunity to highlight Joyce’s attention to detail and commenting on the tributes paid at her funeral felt she would have been touched by the fondness with which she had been remembered and how much she would be missed by all those who had known and served with her.
· Councillor Kansagra concluded the tributes by highlighting how he had got to know Joyce whilst serving with her as a Magistrate in Brent. He also remarked on her integrity, fairness and lack of bias and pointed out how much she would be missed by all who had known her.
The Mayor thanked everyone for their kind and touching tributes.
(iii) London Finals of Young Enterprise – HSBC Bank
The Mayor congratulated Kingsbury High School for their achievement in reaching the finals of London’s Young Enterprise awards, which had been supported by HSBC bank. Whilst not winning, he highlighted how well they had done to get to the finals and asked Members to join him in congratulating them with a round of applause.
(iv) Teachers Award – Barham Primary School
The Mayor advised he was also pleased to announce that Tina Murray, a trainee Head teacher and SENDCO at Barham Park School, had won a Silver Pearson National Teaching Award in The Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education. He remarked that this was a fantastic achievement for the school community and wished Tina well, as she now moved on to be considered for a Gold Teaching Award.
(v) Windrush Event – Thank you for support
The Mayor advised that he had been delighted to see so many councillors, officers and past Mayors join the Council for its Windrush celebration on Saturday 22 June. As the Council’s first event on National Windrush Day he felt it represented a fitting tribute to the Windrush Generation and their contribution and legacy. The Mayor took the opportunity to thank staff on the organising committee for ensuring the event was a success along with all councillors involved in its organisation, with special mention to Councillors Hylton, Johnson, McLennan, McLeish, Muhammed Butt and Mitchell Murray.
(vi) Civic Service – 23 July 2019
The Mayor invited Members to his Civic Service, which he advised would be taking place on Tuesday 23 July 2019 at the Civic Centre. The service was being held to celebrate his civic year and also the work to support and promote his two chosen charities; the Jason Roberts Foundation and the Sickle Cell Society. Any members wishing to attend were asked to contact the Mayor’s Office.
(vii) LGBTQ+ pride month
The Mayor took the opportunity to remind Members about the recent 50 year anniversary (28 June 1969) of the Stonewall Uprising, which had started a series of events that had kicked off the modern Pride movement. This year’s London Pride had celebrated the Jubilee anniversary, remembering fifty years of activism, protests and victories which he pointed out had helped to shape today’s Pride movement. Recognising that Pride in London was all about the people, he was pleased that it had been possible to celebrate 50 years since the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
(viii)Eid al-Fitr (end of Ramadan)
The Mayor advised that he had recently been delighted to host the Big Iftar at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Monks Park and thanked all those who attended the event with him.
(ix) Jack Petchey award
The Mayor asked Members to join him in congratulating Princilla Agyemang from St Gregory’s Science College, on winning the Jack Petchey Award as part of the Speak Out Challenge. Over 20,000 pupils aged 14 to 15 from state schools in London and Essex had taken part in the competition and he was pleased to able to recognise Princilla’s wonderful achievement, with all members joining him in a round of applause.
(x) Armed Forces Day
It was with honour that the Mayor announced he had been able to mark Armed Forces Day at the end of June, which had provided an opportunity for the Council to show its support for the men and women making up the Armed Forces community including not only currently serving troops but also service families, veterans and cadets.
(xi) Co-operative Day
The Mayor advised how pleased he had been to be able to join colleagues at the Civic Centre in order to raise the co-operative flag in celebration of International Co-operative Day. This was an annual celebration of the co-operative movement, observed on the first Saturday in July with the Mayor thanking Councillor Long for organising the event.
(xii) Neasden Festival
Following on from the co-operative flag raising celebration, the Mayor advised that he had also been delighted to join the local community for the fourth Neasden Festival at the Neasden Shopping Centre. The Mayor advised that he had very much enjoyed attending the event.
(xiii)Petitions
The Mayor ended his announcements, by drawing 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 Orders.