DEATH OF BARONESS BETTY LOCKWOOD

It was the sad duty of the Lord Mayor to report the death, on 29 April 2019, of Baroness Betty Lockwood, at the age of 95. Renowned for her political activism, Baroness Lockwood was the first Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Coal Mining Museum for England, a cause whose future she championed and helped secure when it was faced with losing its funding in the 1990s. Baroness Lockwood promoted equal opportunities for women on a national and international level and was instrumental in the creation of the Equal Pay Act in 1970.  She also served as a Deputy Lieutenant in the county and became the University of Bradford’s fourth Chancellor in the spring of 1997.

Members and Officers stood for a minute’s silence in memory of Baroness Lockwood.

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST

The Lord Mayor had written to congratulate Dr Jacqueline Ann Gerrard, lately Director of the Royal College of Midwives, on her being created a Member of the Order of the British Empire in Her Majesty the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Her Majesty bestowed the honour in recognition of Dr Gerrard’s services to women and midwifery.

CRICKET WORLD CUP TRIUMPH

Two native Bradfordians, Adil Rashid and Jonny Bairstow, were part of England’s world cup winning cricket team and made significant contributions to the world cup campaign. The Lord Mayor would be writing to them on behalf of the people of the District to put on record thanks, congratulations and appreciation of their achievement.

EVENTS MARKING THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE ARMED FORCES

The Lord Mayor drew attention to the well-attended events in the Bradford District recognising the contribution made by members of the Armed Forces, past and present. Armed Forces’ Week was marked by the traditional flag-raising ceremony, which was followed by the ‘Remember Us’ event and exhibition highlighting the part played by BAME veterans and the impact they made. A special civic lunch was held for veterans and the annual Parade of Standards and Drumhead Service and the commemoration service in memory of the Bradford Pals rounded off the week. Thanks were given to all who worked to ensure the smooth-running of these events.

On behalf of the people of the District, the Lord Mayor also wrote to Her Majesty the Queen to thank her for representing the nation at last month’s 75^th anniversary commemorations of the D-Day landings. 

GOLD AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF STREET INFORMATION

The Lord Mayor reported that the Council has been given a ‘Gold Performance Award’, in recognition of the way in which it manages its street information database, at the GeoPlace annual conference.  The award recognised the skills and hard work inherent in maintaining a constantly-changing dataset.  The gold award is only given to authorities who had consistently reached and upheld the highest standard in national tests on data excellence. 

FM CATERING SERVICES RECOGNISED FOR INNOVATION AND LEADERSHIP 

FM Catering Services had also received an award at the prestigious LACA (Lead Association for Catering in Education) Yorkshire & Humberside Excellence awards 2019. The award recognised the service’s new product range designed to provide nutritionally-balanced street food inspired by global flavours and dishes. The ‘Yumi and Zingi’ street food service at Beckfoot School, Bingley had proven popular with the pupils, having been sampled, trialled and the uptake closely monitored.