Agenda item

(i)           Apologies

(ii)          Order of business

(iii)         Declaration of discussion items

(iv)        Mayor’s announcements

(v)          Length of speeches

(a)  Apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Caluori, Convery, Fletcher, Gallagher, Gill, Mackmurdie and Woodbyrne.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillor Shaikh.

(b)  Order of business

The Mayor announced that the order of business would be revised. Motion 1, Tackling the environment and climate emergency by achieving a net zero carbon Islington by 2030, would be considered as the next item of business, prior to Item 4, Leader’s Announcements.

(c)   Declaration of discussion items

None.

(d)  Mayor’s Announcement

The Mayor highlighted several events she had attended since becoming Mayor and said that it was a privilege to serve the borough’s communities.

As the mayoral year started during Ramadan the Mayor had attended many Iftar parties; the Mayor had especially enjoyed the Iftar at Finsbury Park Mosque which was attended by hundreds of people. The Mayor was also very excited to be invited to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to the New Crescent Society’s Moonsighting event to mark the start of Eid.

The Mayor had attended the Active Officers’ Dinner at the Honourable Artillery Company and thanked her hosts for agreeing to hold back the start of the main course until 8.57pm, to allow the Mayor and her Consort to break their fast.

At the end of May, the Mayor and Cllr Webbe had greeted over 200 primary school children outside the Town Hall who were protesting about the climate emergency. You may have seen some of their posters outside of the Council Chamber. The Mayor understood that this issue was very important to councillors and Islington residents and said that she looked forward to hearing interesting discussions on these issues at the meeting.

The Mayor noted that June was LGBT Pride Month and many fantastic events were being held all over London. In May the Mayor had attended an event at Islington Museum to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.  The Mayor said that Islington has a proud history of LGBT activism and was very important to celebrate all of Islington’s diverse communities.  

The Mayor was pleased to attend the first “Autism Hour” event hosted at the Finsbury Park Mosque. This has been organised by ex-councillor Tim Nicholls who works with the National Autistic Society. The lights were dimmed and a quiet space provided for the children who came along. The Mayor said that she was proud to be Mayor in a borough that is accommodating to all of its communities. 

The Mayor also highlighted several successful events she had attended; the opening of Caledonian Park Clock Tower, the Soul in the City festival on the Andover Estate, and the Cally Festival. 

The Mayor also noted that June was a time of remembrance. 14 June was the second anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. The Mayor said that safety of Islington’s residents must always be the council’s highest priority, and her thoughts were with the survivors of the tragedy.

19 June was the second anniversary of the Finsbury Park terror attack and the death of Makram Ali. The Mayor said that we must never forget the way in which Islington’s communities came together after that awful attack. We must always stand together and show that our communities won’t be divided by hate.

Finally, the Mayor thanked two officers who were leaving Islington Council. Kevin O’Leary, the Corporate Director of Environment and Regeneration, was leaving Islington after 18 years’ service and 43 years in local government. Alan Layton, the Chief Finance Officer, was retiring after 15 years’ service at Islington and 37 in local government. On behalf of the Council, the Mayor thanked Kevin and Alan for their contribution to the borough.

(e)  Length of speeches

The Mayor reminded members to keep within the permitted time allowed for speeches.