The annual meeting of Hackney Council included the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the establishment of committees, and a review of procedure rules. Councillors were also scheduled to discuss appointments to outside bodies and a dispensation to extend the six-month rule for Councillor Michael Levy.

Election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker

The meeting was scheduled to include the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker for the municipal year 2025/26. Councillor Sheila Suso-Runge was the Speaker of Hackney for 2024/25. The report pack also included an item to thank the outgoing speaker.

Mayor's responsibilities

Councillors were scheduled to note the Mayor's scheme of delegation, the composition of the Cabinet, the establishment and membership of executive committees, and the appointment of deputy cabinet members and member champions.

The report pack included a list of Cabinet members and their portfolio responsibilities:

• Mayor Caroline Woodley: Overall budget, strategy and policy responsibility, transformation, relationships with London Councils, Local Government Association (LGA) & key stakeholders, leisure, parks and green spaces, private rented sector and housing affordability, public affairs and campaigns and devolution.
• Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Young People: Statutory Deputy Mayor, legal services, ethical governance, Hackney Education and school inclusion, children's social care and safeguarding, looked after children and fostering, Young Hackney, Young Speakers and Youth Parliament, families, and faith forum.
• Deputy Mayor Guy Nicholson, Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Regeneration: Housing management and service improvement, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) business plan and strategic asset management plan, retrofit council homes, capital programme, town centres, high streets, estates and neighbourhood based place making, planning service, building control & enforcement, economic development and inclusive economy, travellers, waterways and boaters.
• Councillor Robert Chapman, Cabinet Member for Finance, Insourcing and Customer Service: Budget and budget monitoring, procurement and insourcing, overall property and capital programme, revenues, benefits, Council Tax reduction scheme and support for vulnerable residents, customer services, casework and complaints, digital and ICT, democratic services and electoral registration.
• Councillor Sarah Young, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport: Climate change, environment, transport, energy, public realm and streetscene, waste and recycling, street and estate cleansing, clean air and tackling pollution, parking, cycle and electric vehicle infrastructure, green infrastructure, nature recovery and biodiversity.
• Councillor Sade Etti, Cabinet Member for Homelessness Prevention, Rough Sleeping and Temporary Accommodation: Homelessness prevention, lettings and allocations policy, rough sleeping, temporary accommodation, internal advice services.
• Councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Regulatory Services: Police accountability, crime and antisocial behaviour, tackling domestic violence & abuse and violence against women & girls, gangs and serious violence reduction, youth justice, environmental health and trading standards, licensing policy and enforcement, night time economy, markets, shop fronts and street trading, civil and environmental protection, emergency planning and borough resilience, strategic relationship with London Fire Brigade.
• Councillor Chris Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Voluntary Sector and Culture: Health and relationship with the local NHS, adult social care, mental health and wellbeing, arts and culture, libraries, museum and archives, communications and consultations, voluntary and community sector (VCS), food justice, armed forces champion.
• Councillor Carole Williams, Cabinet Member for Employment, Human Resources and Equalities: Employment policy, strategy and partnerships, human resources and organisational development, relationship with the trade unions, Hackney Works, apprenticeships and employment programmes, post 18 skills, volunteering, equalities and anti-racism, refugees, migrants and Windrush, tackling poverty, supporting the London Living Wage, fair trade.

The report pack also included a list of Deputy Cabinet Members:

• Councillor Sem Moema, Private Rented Sector and Housing Affordability: Strategic housing, private sector housing - landlord licensing, housing affordability, housing association relationships and accountability, Hackney’s housing company and living rent.
• Councillor Sam Pallis, Inclusive Economy: Inclusive economic development, local business, cooperative & social enterprise-led community wealth building, responsible business charter, affordable workspace.
• Councillor Anya Sizer, Families, Early Years and SEND: Supporting families, early years, children & family hubs, children’s centres, nurseries and child minders, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
• Councillor Joe Walker, Strengthening Neighbourhoods: Voluntary and community sector (VCS), VCS property, neighbourhood working, resident engagement.

The report pack also included a list of Member Champions:

• Councillor Jasmine Martins: Disability Inclusion Champion
• Councillor Ian Rathbone: No Place for Hate Champion
• Councillor Gilbert Smyth: Climate Justice and Fairtrade Champion
• Councillor Sheila Suso-Runge: Heritage Champion

Council Committees, Commissions, Panels and Boards

The meeting was scheduled to include a discussion on the establishment and composition of the council’s committees, commissions, panels and boards for the 2025/2026 municipal year.

A supplementary paper for this item contained an amended appendix with a list of all groups' seat allocations.

Appointments to Outside Bodies

The council was scheduled to discuss appointments and nominations to outside bodies. The report pack included a list of outside bodies and proposed nominees:

• Finsbury Park Trust: Councillor Soraya Adejare
• Hackney Citizens Advice Bureau: Councillor Sade Etti
• Hackney Community Law Centre: Councillor Deniz Oguzkanli
• Hackney Marsh Partnership: Councillor Sade Etti
• Hackney Parish Almshouse Charity: Councillor Margaret Gordon, Councillor Penny Wrout
• Hackney Parochial Charity: Councillor Chris Kennedy, Councillor Sharon Patrick, Mary Cannon
• The Kench Hill Charity: Councillor Ben Lucas
• Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for Greater London: Councillor Midnight Ross
• South Hackney Parochial Charity: Councillor Jasmine Martins, Councillor Gilbert Smyth
• West Hackney Parochial Charity: Emma Plouviez, Councillor Gilbert Smyth, Councillor Frank Baffour

Amendments to Council Procedure Rules and Petition Scheme

The council was scheduled to discuss proposed amendments to council procedure rules and the petition scheme.

The proposed amendments included:

• Reducing the time allocated for the Elected Mayor to make a statement from 10 minutes to 8 minutes, and reducing the time for responses from Opposition Group Leaders from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
• Requiring the submission of questions from the public 8 clear working days in advance of a meeting, rather than the current 4 clear working days, and reducing the time for responses for questions from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
• Reducing the number of questions per Councillor from two to one, and reducing the time for responses for questions from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.
• Reducing the number of deputations that may be submitted for a meeting from two to one.
• Formally recording the custom and practice of petitions not being permitted at the Annual Meeting or budget setting meetings of Full Council.
• Opposition Groups may submit one item of opposition sponsored business per municipal year.
• To remove the ‘cab rank’ approach to motions through which any motions accepted onto the agenda, which are not debated due to time, rolled over to the next meeting of Full Council, and introduce a limit on the number of motions that can be debated at any Council meeting to a maximum of one per meeting.

Section 85 Local Government Act 1972

The council was scheduled to consider a resolution to extend the six-month rule regarding meeting attendance for Councillor Michael Levy, due to ill health. Section 85 of the Local Government Act 1972 states that councillors must attend at least one meeting every six months to remain in their post, unless a dispensation is granted.

Re-Appointment of Independent Person to the Standards Committee

The council was scheduled to discuss the re-appointment of an independent person to the Standards Committee. The Independent Person works with the Standards Committee on ethical and governance issues and with the Monitoring Officer on complaints into allegations of breaches of the Council’s Code of Conduct.

Calendar of Council Meetings 2025/26

The council was scheduled to approve the calendar of meetings for the 2025/2026 municipal year.