The Mayor

The Mayor

Councillor Naheed Ejaz was elected Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest on 24 May 2023. Cllr Ejaz represents the ward of Great Hollands North.

Naheed and her family have made Bracknell their home for the past 4 decades. All 5 of her children were born and raised in the borough.

With a master’s degree in political science, Naheed is now aiming for a PHD. She is a successful entrepreneur, who has owned several businesses over the past 20 years. Currently, she owns a company which provides transportation for children with special needs.

Naheed is looking forward to engaging with local businesses, schools, charities, the voluntary sector and the wider community. She is keen to acknowledge the great contribution of those who work hard to keep our borough safe, friendly and welcoming. She describes it as a ‘Communi-versity’ - a community of sharing ideas, wisdom and working together for a better, prosperous borough. She will be accompanied by her son, Diwan Khan, as her Consort to perform her mayoral duties.

The Mayor said:

"I’m very honoured to be elected as the Mayor of Bracknell. It’s a place I have called home for 40 years and it’s where my heart is.  

As we set off on our journey, I’ll endeavour to reach out to all the communities living in our borough of opportunity.”  

Responsibilities

The Mayor is a serving councillor elected to the office for one year at the Annual Council Meeting in May.

The key roles and responsibilities of the Mayor are to:

• represent the whole community served by the council, and act as a ‘symbol’ or figurehead of the authority on appropriate occasions
• act as a focus for community cohesion
• act as host on behalf of the council and citizens of the borough at functions arranged by the council such as Citizenship Ceremonies
• attend important functions as a representative of the borough or the council
• perform official openings or presentations throughout the borough
• promote wherever possible the diplomatic, business, commercial, community and education life of the borough
• uphold the office of the Mayor
• refrain from actively promoting any political party
• sign properly and appropriately authorised documents for sealing on behalf of the council
• chair meetings of the council fairly and impartially so that its business is carried out efficiently and with regard to the rights of councillors and the interest of the community
• liaise with officers on the content of the council agenda
• understand the Mayor’s role in the constitutional arrangements relating to the waiving of call-in when decisions are urgent and the taking of decisions on the grounds of urgency if they are not on the forward plan or are outside the budget and policy framework
• encourage the highest standards of behaviour and probity

The Deputy Mayor

Councillor Jenny Penfold was made Deputy Mayor on 24 May 2023 and is the elected representative for Hanworth ward.