The Council Assembly met on Wednesday 18 March 2026 and agreed to award the Freedom of the Borough to nominees put forward in a closed report. The meeting was an extraordinary session convened to consider these nominations.

Freedom of the Borough Nominations

The Council Assembly considered and agreed nominations for the prestigious Freedom of the Borough award. This honour is the highest accolade the council can bestow, recognising individuals or organisations who have rendered eminent services to the borough . The decision to confer these honours was made in a closed session, with the details of the recipients to be found in a closed report.

The council has the power to grant this title under Section 249(5) of the Local Government Act 1972. The criteria for nominations, established in 2002, require nominees to be persons of distinction who have rendered eminent services to the borough . Nominations can be received from councillors, officers, MPs, outside organisations, and registered electors within the borough.

The report presented to the assembly indicated that three nominations had been received and recommended by the Constitutional Steering Panel. The presentation ceremony for the awards is scheduled to coincide with the Annual Meeting of the Council, Mayor Making, and the Southwark Civic Awards at Southwark Cathedral on Wednesday 20 May 2026. Recipients will be presented with a framed scroll of honour. For individual recipients, there is also the entitlement to wear a ceremonial robe at civic events, though the council already possesses an adequate supply.

The report also outlined conditions applying to awards conferred on organisations, as detailed in Appendix A of the report App 1 Conditions applying to an award.pdf. These conditions stipulate that the award does not grant any rights or privileges, is not an endorsement of services or goods, and prohibits the use of the council's logo or coat of arms without prior approval. Organisations are also reminded that the award cannot be used to suggest individuals associated with them are themselves recipients, and the award is automatically withdrawn if the organisation ceases to exist or operate in the recognised activity.

The report stated that the conferment of these honours would not have a significant impact on any particular community or group, nor would it have significant equalities, socio-economic, or health impacts. Resource implications were considered manageable within existing staff and financial resources, particularly as the presentation ceremony would be combined with other existing civic events, thereby reducing costs. The cost of each scroll was estimated at £200. Additional costs might be incurred if a civic reception followed the presentation.