Agenda and minutes

Full Council to elect the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the Council Year 2024/25.

The Mayor to make a declaration of acceptance of office.

Councillor Mackover moved, Councillor Hargreaves seconded, and Council RESOLVED that:

Councillor Will Lane be elected Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for the ensuing year.

The elected Mayor made and signed the statutory declaration of acceptance of Office and was invested with the Chain and Badge of Office.

The Mayor, Councillor Lane, in the chair.

The Mayor gave a short speech of thanks to Full Council and announced that his mother, Ms Jennie Lane, had agreed to serve as his Mayoress.

(Pursuant to paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule of the Local Government Act,1972 the Mayor may appoint a Councillor to be Deputy Mayor).

The Mayor appointed Councillor Laura Burns as his Deputy Mayor.

Councillor Burns addressed Full Council.

The Mayor appointed Reverend Brian Elficke as his Chaplain.

Councillor North moved, and Councillor Areti seconded, a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Councillor Lari also spoke.

Council RESOLVED:

That the Council gives its thanks to Councillor Preety Hudd and Councillor Dori Schmetterling for the year they served as the Royal Borough’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

Councillors Hudd and Schmetterling responded.

The minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 28 February 2024 are submitted for confirmation.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 28 February 2024 were confirmed as correct and signed by the Mayor.

Any member of the Council who has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting is reminded to disclose the interest to the meeting and to leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

Members are also reminded that if they have any other significant interest in a matter to be considered at the meeting, which they feel should be declared in the public interest, such interests should be declared to the meeting. In such circumstances Members should consider whether their continued participation, in the matter relating to the interest, would be reasonable in the circumstances, particularly if the interest may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interests, or whether they should leave the Chamber while any discussion or vote on the matter takes place.

No Members made any declaration of interest.

The Mayor announced that Councillor Emma Dent Coad had been made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

(i)       Apologies for Absence

(ii)     Other Communications

Councillors Adourian, Ahmed, Bennett, Idris, Verboven, Weale, and Yankson submitted apologies for their absence.

The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council to address the meeting. The Leader then rose to speak:

Good evening and welcome, Mr Mayor! I hope tonight marks the start of a fantastic year for you and your deputy. As you take office, we all wish you well in raising money for your nominated charities and in representing this borough on a national and, at times, international stage, as well as meeting our residents and businesses. You provide a vital connection between the council and the people who live and work in our borough.

I know you have a hard act to follow in Cllr Hudd, who took the Mayoralty around the entire borough and even abroad, celebrating the strong links we have with communities around the world. Thank you to Preety and Dori for all their hard work throughout the year.

Mr Mayor, I also want to say a big welcome and congratulations to the newest councillor in the chamber tonight. In these times of political upheaval, turmoil, and uncertainty, it just goes to show that there is absolutely no substitute for good old-fashioned hard work, strong values, and speaking to residents on the doorstep and listening to them.

Councillor Stéphanie Petit, Conservative member for Norland Ward, doesn't that sound great. Stéphanie will know more than most of us that the message on the doorstep is clear: this council is doing a great job and getting the basics right. We must continue to double down on what we are doing and how we are doing it. Congratulations to Cllr Petit and the team for running a great campaign and increasing our share of the vote in the ward.

Mr Mayor, We are becoming the best, honouring commitments made in recent years and in our Council Plan. Only yesterday I attended the opening of the award-winning Kelso Cochrane house, with members here on the front bench. It is difficult to describe the sense of achievement in seeing new housing being completed in the borough, the nod to the unique history of this borough, but also seeing the pride of Kelso's family as they helped us to open the new block in North Kensington and put his name to the building – a real, lasting legacy.

We promised to build homes, quality homes, and safe homes in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy seven years ago. So every step we take on this front is an important one.

Mr Mayor, my final remarks tonight centre around the infected blood inquiry, which delivered a withering verdict on public sector services and culture on Monday afternoon. The events that happened over many years were not only a scandal; they were avoidable. It was impossible to watch on Monday and not think about Grenfell and the coming inquiry report that will involve us, alongside many other private and public sector participants. I was drawn to the verdict that the Civil Service and governments, over many years, ignored people, covered up details, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Group Whips will table Appendix B, the nominees to committees, at the meeting.

Councillor Campbell moved, and Councillor Taylor-Smith moved the report's reception. Councillors Addenbrooke, Dent Coad, Lari, and Wade moved the appointments, standing their names.

RESOLVED:

(i)             That the political balance be noted.

(ii)            That the ratios on committees be agreed.

That the appointments be agreed.

The relevant Group Whips will table the list of nominees at the meeting.

Councillors Addenbrooke and Lari moved the appointments standing in their names.

RESOLVED:

That the appointments be agreed.

[Each written report on the public part of the Agenda as detailed above:

(i)    was made available for public inspection from the date of the Agenda;

(ii)   incorporates a list of the background papers which (i) disclose any facts or matters on which that report, or any important part of it, is based; and (ii) have been relied upon to a material extent in preparing it. (Relevant documents which contain confidential or exempt information are not listed.); and

(iii)   may, with the consent of the Mayor and subject to specified reasons, be supported at the meeting by way of oral statement or further written report in the event of special circumstances arising after the despatch of the Agenda.]

Exclusion of the Press and Public

There are no matters scheduled to be discussed at this meeting that would appear to disclose confidential or exempt information under the provisions Schedule 12A of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Should any such matters arise during the course of discussion of the above items or should the Mayor agree to discuss any other such matters on the grounds of urgency, the Council will wish to resolve to exclude the press and public by virtue of the private nature of the business to be transacted.  

There were no other items.