Team set to be agreed at AGM on Monday June 16

Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Leader-elect, Cllr Stephen Cowan, has named his new team that is set to be agreed at Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Annual General Meeting on Monday June 16.

Cllr Mike Cartwright, who has been a councillor since 1992 and is also a Justice of the Peace at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court, has been named Deputy Leader.

Other Cabinet positions include:

Cllr Max Schmid, Member for Finance, is a chartered accountant and formerly worked at a leading Big Four finance firm.
Cllr Sue Macmillan, Member for Children and Education, is a commercial director for a leading parenting advice website.
Cllr Andrew Jones, Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, is a university professor in London, specialising in the economy, environmental studies and urban regeneration.
Cllr Sue Fennimore, Member for Social Inclusion, is a governor of two local schools and volunteers for the Hammersmith Winter Night Shelter for the homeless. She has volunteered for the Youth Offending Service, working on restorative justice with young people who have become involved in the judicial system.
Cllr Vivienne Lukey, Member for Health and Adult Social Care, was a hospital social worker and social services manager for 30 years. She is Chair of Hammersmith and Fulham Mind, the mental health charity.
Cllr Wesley Harcourt, Member for Community Safety, Environment and Resident Services, works at a charity that provides support to legal advice centres, and is also a trustee of the local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Cllr Lisa Homan, Member for Housing, is a trustee of the local Citizens Advice Bureau and was a school governor for 13 years.

Cllr Mercy Umeh has been proposed as Mayor. Cllr Mercy Umeh has lived in Shepherds Bush Green for 38 years and managed her own café in Shepherds Bush Market for 14 years. Cllr Ali Hashem has been proposed as Deputy Mayor.

A full list of Policy and Accountability Committees Chairs and other positions is included in the AGM Agenda.

Cllr Stephen Cowan has also written a letter to residents, with further details of the new council's priorities.

He says: " Last week we shut down nearly £300,000 worth of council magazines and leaflets as well as ending the practice of hanging council promotional messages from lamp posts across the borough.

"We want the council go about its business differently. Residents will have more opportunity to be involved in policy and planning decisions and we have asked officials to change the council’s constitution to end the practice of councillors taking hospitality from developers.

" We will stick to and work within the former administration’s budget forecast totals. But we have inherited a £20.1 million gap in next year's budget. We will tackle this deficit by cutting structural waste. To set the right tone we have already agreed that the new administration’s councillors will take a 10% cut in their special responsibility allowances. We will strengthen the borough’s finances and stick to our promise to reduce taxes.

" Our new administration will officially assume office at the council’s annual general meeting on 16th June. Officials are already working on the due process of delivering the promises we set out in our manifesto.

" There is much we hope to achieve: more genuinely affordable homes for residents to buy or rent; improvements to neighbourhood policing; a stronger local economy that delivers for all our residents; and much more that will form the council’s programme over the next four years."

You can read the full letter on the council website .

June 13, 2014