Minutes:
The Mayor welcomed councillors and members of the public to the first Council meeting of 2018, took the opportunity of wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and trusted that they all had an enjoyable and peaceful Christmas.
1. Past Engagements
The Mayor said that she and the deputy mayor, Councillor Doris Jiagge, had attended many mayoral events since the last Council meeting. Enfield’s festive celebrations had been musical and vibrant.
The Mayor had enjoyed the carol services and performances by the children at various schools and local Enfield choirs.
Her favourite event had been the outstanding London New Year’s Day parade in Central London where Enfield’s St Monica’s players had performed on the float, and won a place in the competition. This had also resulted in a £2,000 donation to the Mayor’s charity.
December 2017, had been the 100th anniversary of the awarding of the Victoria Cross to two First World War soldiers from Enfield. To commemorate their valiant and courageous acts of pure selflessness, for the good of their Country, a stone was laid in the road where they were born, allowing their memory to live on forever.
This month the Mayor had opened the Nutrition Station at Enfield Chase Station.
Two weeks ago, at the Enfield Town Football Club, as part of the focus on healthy eating in schools and workplaces, the Mayor had attended and launched the “Sugar Smart” campaign, part of the national Sugar Smart UK and Enfield Councils Healthy Enfield Campaign. The aim of which was to encourage local organisations to promote healthier, lower sugar alternatives and help make the borough healthier. The Mayor thanked Councillor Fonyonga for launching this and supporting the fantastic work of the public health team.
The Mayor had been working with the “All People, All Places Charity” at All Saints Church Edmonton, one of their seven homeless shelters in Enfield (a shelter providing 12 beds, as well as food and support, and help to get homeless people into work and to find a permanent home). She had spent a Sunday night at the shelter and been touched by the great work of the organisation, which had also been named as one of her charity recipients.
On Thursday 25th January 2018, it had been her great pleasure to receive the Deputy Mayor of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. She had been honoured to receive a dignitary from such a long way away and thanked Councillor Abdullahi for arranging this visit from his home town.
2. The Mayor’s Charity
The Mayor said that they would be busy with her charity work this year with many events planned. She was very grateful to Hayes Rees, Macmillan charity volunteer, who worked tirelessly for the Enfield Cares/Care in the Community Charity. This week he was organising a World Cancer Day cake sale in the Mayors Parlour, this Friday 2nd February 2018 at 10am to 4pm. The Mayor asked as many members as possible to come and support the event to help raise money for this worthy cause.
3. Future Events
The Mayor’s Ball would be taking place on the 17th February 2018 (two weeks next Saturday) at The Penridge Suite, Arnos Grove. Mayors from across London had agreed to attend and hopefully the Mayor of London. The Mayor was looking forward to seeing everyone and asked members to confirm their bookings as soon as possible.
4. Enfield Football Club
The Mayor said that she was very pleased to let everyone know that she had been appointed as a board member of Enfield Town Football Club. She was a big fan and proud of the Club, located right in the middle of Enfield. This was a dynamic and spirited local club, also the first football club in Britain to be solely owned by their supporters and run by volunteers.
Many of the football clubs in this country only had a small number of women board members (Spurs 2 and Arsenal 0). The Mayor asked members if they knew that women’s football in this country had been banned in Football Association stadiums for 50 years from 1921 to 1971; it wasn’t until 1993 that the ban was lifted. She encouraged all Enfield residents to attend games and support their local Enfield Club. New signs would be going up soon to ensure that everyone knew where it was.
5. One Hundredth Anniversary of Votes for Women
The Mayor said that for the rest of this municipal year, she would be wearing a Vote for Women Sash. February 2018 would mark the 100 year anniversary of women in the UK being allowed to vote. She thanked Councillor Brett for purchasing and providing her sash.
In 1918 women over 30, owning and occupying property worth more than £5, were allowed to vote. It took another 10 years, until 1928, for women to have equal voting rights to men. A number of events are to be organised in Enfield throughout the year, to celebrate the anniversary, and to improve understanding of the issue.
The Mayor reminded members of a saying from the Suffragettes ‘The beginning is always today’ and asked everyone to keep up the good work on establishing and working for peace, equality for women, and progress for all residents in Enfield.
6. Outstanding Achievement Award
Lastly, the Mayor said that she was delighted to welcome Julie Mimnagh, Head of Human Resources Operations, to the Chamber. Julie and her team had been recognised for outstanding achievement at the recent Personnel Today Awards 2017. They had won the Innovation in Recruitment category for the Career Returner @Enfield programme. This was despite being up against fierce competition from several high profile organisations including Barclays, DHL, and Lloyds Banking.
The career returner programme had enabled the Council to fill posts in areas where Enfield has traditionally struggled to recruit, and helped local residents return to their chosen career after a prolonged career break.
The Mayor presented the award to Julie Mimnagh.