The Mayor and Cabinet
Cabinet
The council's cabinet is made up of ten councillors and is accountable for decision-making within the council. Each member of the cabinet has a portfolio of responsibility.
Read more about each members portfolio of responsibility
The Mayor
The Mayor of Hounslow is a ceremonial role and is elected each year at the annual meeting of Borough Council in May.
The role of the mayor is to represent the council in the local community as the borough's "first citizen".
Duties carried out by the mayor include:
- Chairing Borough Council meetings
- Signing documents under seal
- Hosting events (eg. Holocaust Memorial Day, Remembrance Day)
- Attending events
During their period of office, the mayor will receive numerous invitations to events/functions in the borough and across London. The role played at these events varies, depending on their nature and the expectations of the organiser.
The mayor's role may sometimes be purely passive where all that is required is the mayor's presence. There may be other occasions when the mayor’s role is more active in terms of opening events, making a speech, awarding prizes and meeting guests.
At the beginning of each mayor's year, it is traditional for the mayor to set up an appeal for a certain cause. During the course of the year, the mayor will organise a number of events to raise money for the appeal. Although the borough treasurer acts as the honorary treasurer to the appeal, the appeal is NOT controlled by the council and the mayor has complete discretion over who should benefit from the money raised, having regard to the appeal's purpose.
The Mayor is a purely ceremonial post and, unlike in some council, he or she does not make any political decisions. Nor is the Mayor able to assist with residents’ complaints or casework, which should be submitted to your ward councillor or through the Council’s complaints system which can be found elsewhere online.
