The Mayor

The Mayor

Councillor Jenny Penfold became the new Mayor of Bracknell Forest at the Annual Meeting of the Council on Wednesday 15 May 2024. Councillor Penfold has represented Hanworth ward since 2023. 

Jenny and her husband, Nick, have lived in Bracknell for 40 years. They have 2 sons, both educated in local schools, but now living in other parts of the UK. She worked locally as a teacher, mainly at Garth Hill College, but with a spell at Easthampstead Park school. She also helped as a governor and a parent-helper at her boys’ primary school, The Pines. 

Jenny is involved as a Trustee of Mityana UK, which is a small charity working in Uganda. Amongst other activities, it sponsors education. It currently has about 200 children on its books, ranging from Nursery to University. She has visited and seen all the valuable work they are doing. 

The Mayor is looking forward to engaging with voluntary groups, businesses and schools across the borough and recognising them and individuals for the significant contributions they make to the community. She will be accompanied by her Consort, Mr Nick Penfold.

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

Councillor Janet Cochrane is the Deputy Mayor and represents Hanworth ward.