Agenda item
Mayor's Announcements (including any petitions received)
To receive any announcements from the Mayor.
Decision:
Announcements from the Mayor were noted in relation to:
· Recent events attended by the Mayor – including Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations, LGBTQ+ Flag Raising ceremony, Brent Refugee Week celebrations, Brent Looked After Children celebration, presentation of bronze bust Rolling Stones Fan Club, Srebrenica Memorial Event and Pride of Brent Awards.
· Death of former Councillor Angela Sheppard.
· Queen’s Birthday Honours.
· 100th birthday celebrations.
· Changes to Council Management Team and tributes to Gail Tolley, Shazia Hussain and Alan Lunt.
· Petitions
Minutes:
The Mayor made the following announcements:
(i) Mayoral Engagements
The Mayor advised he had been pleased to attend a number of events since the start of the Municipal Year. Highlights had included:
· The lighting of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon on 2 June on the steps of Wembley Stadium, which had included the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band, who were thanked for their performance in leading the celebrations. The Mayor reported he had also been pleased to have attended many of the street parties across the Jubilee weekend and seen so many residents enjoying the celebrations.
· Marking the start of Pride month with the LGBTQ+ Flag Raising ceremony, which he was pleased to report had been well attended by staff and other councillors.
· Attending the Brent Refugee Week celebrations at Newman College, where a number of local organisations had received sanctuary awards.
· Being invited to attend a celebration of achievement event for Brent Looked After Children which had recognised not only their achievements but also the ongoing commitment from Brent Council to support them towards fulfilling their individual aspirations and ambitions.
· Hosting the Rolling Stones fan club in presenting a bronze bust of the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts to the Council.
· The Mayor advised he had also been honoured to attend the Srebrenica Memorial Event, which had marked 27 years since the genocide at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
· The Mayor had also been delighted to attend the recent Pride of Brent Awards, where he had been pleased to be able to celebrate and recognise the many unsung heroes amongst Brent’s staff and within the local community.
(ii) Death of former Councillor Angela Sheppard
The Mayor advised that it was with sadness he had to inform members of the death of former Councillor Angela Sheppard on 25 June 2022.
In remembering former Councillor Sheppard, members were advised that she had served as a Councillor in Preston ward during the 1980’s and in the early 1990’s had served as the Borough’s Mayoress alongside Councillor Tom Taylor. The Mayor advised that she would be fondly remembered as someone focussed on serving her residents with a common sense approach and also as someone who served at a national level in the Towns Women’s Guild, where she had been involved in the promotion of women and girls rights for over 50 years. In recognising how much she would be missed by her partner Craig, two sons David & Peter and four grandchildren, the Mayor ended by expressing condolences, on behalf of the Council to her family and friends.
(iii) Queen’s Birthday Honours List
The Mayor then took the opportunity, on behalf of the Council, to congratulate those residents and local representatives who had received an honour in the Queens recent Birthday Honours list. These had included:
· Navin Shah the former Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow who had been awarded a CBE for his role in local politics and public service.
· Chunilal Kakad who had been awarded an MBE for four decades service to the community in Brent.
· Richard Webb-Stephens who had received the Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal for Distinguished Service as the first deaf paramedic to work for London’s Air Ambulance service.
· Christine Gilbert, the former Chief Executive of Brent, who (in addition to her CBE) had now also received the Order of the Companions of Honour distinction for services to young people and to charity.
The Mayor also took the opportunity to congratulate Councillor Eleanor Southwood in being awarded an MBE, which she had received earlier during the day. This honour had originally been announced in the Queen’s Birthday honours list for 2021 in recognition of Councillor Southwood’s outstanding services to charity and local government, as well as her leadership of, and campaigning with the Royal National Institute of the Blind.
All members joined the Mayor in a round of applause to congratulate Councillor Southwood in her achievement and well-deserved recognition.
(iv) 100th Birthday Celebration
The Mayor advised he had been fortunate to be able to attend two recent milestone birthdaycelebrations for two local residents. Firstly he had been pleased to join Bhuliben Patel, a resident at Network Homes, in celebrating her 100th birthday. Secondly he had joined Nel Jones, a resident at Lawnfield House to celebrate her 104th birthday.
(v) Changes to Council Management Team
The Mayor then moved on to highlight a number of key changes to the Council’s senior management team.
· Members were advised that Gail Tolley, Strategic Director of Children and Young People, had decided to retire with her final date confirmed as 31st August 2022. In paying tribute, the Mayor advised that Gail had been at Brent since April 2014 during which time she had made such a significant contribution to children and young people's services within the borough. This included Brent’s Children's Services having achieved an Ofsted rating of Good overall and Outstanding for Children in Care and Care Leavers. Members joined the Mayor in thanking Gail Tolley for what was recognised as her lasting legacy.
· In addition the Mayor advised members that Alan Lunt, Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment, would also be leaving Brent at the end of July. In paying tribute to Alan, the Mayor highlighted the part he had played in Brent’s post-pandemic recovery alongside the work led in improving the experience for residents and visitors at event days in Wembley. In thanking Alan for his contribution the Mayor, on behalf of all members wished him well in his next steps.
· The Mayor also informed members that Shazia Hussain, Assistant Chief Executive, would also be leaving Brent in August, following her appointment as Deputy Chief Executive at Waltham Forest. In paying tribute to Shazia, members were reminded of the key role she had played in Brent’s Covid response as well as in helping to drive the Council’s equalities agenda and approach to participatory budgeting. In wishing Shazia success in her new role, the Mayor felt it important to recognise that this would make her one of the most senior women of Pakistani heritage in local government.
As a final change, the Mayor advised he was delighted to announce the appointment of Nigel Chapman as Brent’s Corporate Director for Children and Young People. During his nine years working for Brent, the Mayor highlighted how Nigel had been able to develop significant experience along with a deep understanding of Brent’s young people as well as the barriers that needed breaking down to help them achieve their full potential. Members congratulated him on his appointed and wished him well in his new leadership role.
The Mayor then invited comments from other members in recognition and tribute to those members of the senior management team who would be leaving the Council. He began by inviting Councillor Muhammed Butt (as Leader of the Council) to speak on behalf of the Labour Group.
Councillor Muhammed Butt opened the tributes by recognising and thanking Gail Tolley and her team for their efforts and hard work to ensure that services for children & young people in Brent had been left in such a good shape and strong position for Nigel to take over as her successor. Highlighting how much she would be missed, he took the opportunity to wish Gail well in her retirement and Nigel ever success in his new role. Referring to Shazia Hussain, he also took the opportunity to recognise and thank her for the important role played during her time at Brent, particularly in terms of the response to the pandemic and in supporting the essential partnership work with the Council’s health and voluntary and community sector partners. In ending his tributes, the Leader also took the opportunity to thank Alan Lunt for his efforts, on behalf of the Council, recognising the work delivered to support communities and businesses as part of Brent’s post-pandemic recovery and to improve the local environment and infrastructure. He ended by once again thanking all three officers for their service and wished them well for the future.
The Mayor then invited Councillor Kansagra to speak on behalf of the Conservative Group, who also thanked and paid tribute to Shazia Hussain and Alan Lunt for their work on behalf of the Council. He then took the opportunity to specifically thank Gail Tolley for her important and much valued work in support of children & young people within the borough and ended by also wishing her well in her retirement.
As a final contribution, the Mayor invited Councillor Georgiou to speak on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group. In endorsing the previous comments made, Councillor Georgiou also thanked all three officers for their public service whilst at Brent and wished them well in their future plans and roles.
(vi) Petitions
Finally, the Mayor referred members to the list of current petitions tabled at the meeting, in accordance with Standing Orders which also detailed the action being taken to deal with them.