Agenda item

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 build a successful and fulfilling life.

·                SUFRA NW London - a local charity established to address both the causes and consequences of poverty in the community with a Community Hub providing support for people in crisis, including families living in extreme poverty and people who were vulnerable, homeless and socially isolated.

·                The Jason Roberts Foundation– an organisation established by former professional footballer Jason Roberts to provide a support programme including mentoring, life skills, education and training projects focussed around wider sports activities working with young people at risk of offending, those excluded from school or struggling in the school curriculum, and young people with physical and learning difficulties.

Highlighting the important work undertaken by each of the charities in terms of supporting some of the most vulnerable members in society he hoped all members would support him with his fund raising efforts during his year in office.

Reflecting on the level of diversity within communities across Brent, the Mayor ended by once again highlighting how proud he was to have been elected as Brent’s First Citizen and how he hoped it would be possible to use the office of Mayor to continue supporting the work being undertaken to unite communities and address the uncertain times and challenges being experienced by so many across the borough.

Taking the opportunity to thank his family and friends for their support over the coming year, Councillor Aden advised that with the support of such a passionate and dedicated intake of councillors he was committed to work hard over the year ahead in order to exceed and achieve excellent results for all communities across Brent.