Councillor Lauren Wall and Councillor Aysha Raza have stood down from their roles as Ealing cabinet members, and there has been some movement of existing cabinet members between portfolios.

Councillor Wall stood down in March 2023, writing then in a letter to council leader Peter Mason: “I remain strongly committed to the renewed and inspiring vision that you, as leader, have shown for the improvement of our borough, and I have been very pleased to have been part of this.

“I am personally particularly proud of our many achievements since 2021, despite significant financial and capacity challenges and pressures as a direct result of the pandemic. Our resolve to refer ourselves to, and work with, the Regulator of Social Housing, with urgency, to address the shortcomings we discovered in relation to the health and safety of council tenants, was particularly salient for me.

“We also radically improved the way we allocate council homes in Ealing, brought our Housing Revenue Account back onto a stable footing, all without losing sight of our ambition to build the genuinely affordable homes that Ealing residents so desperately need. I know that Councillor Mahfouz will take up the challenges of this role with energy and commitment, and I look forward to supporting him – and you – as he does so.”

Councillor Raza said: “As the first Muslim Ealing cabinet member, it has been an honour and a privilege to serve the borough of Ealing as cabinet member for tackling inequality. I am very proud to have delivered on our Safer Ealing for Women listening exercise, and the work we have done to support refugees who have chosen to make Ealing their home.

“We have been exemplary in terms of keeping our young people out of the criminal justice system, and we are well on the way to delivering on the demands of the Ealing Race Equality Commission. I would also like to thank council officers for their dedication and hard work.”

Council leader Peter Mason, thanked Councillors Wall and Raza and welcomed the newly appointed cabinet, saying: “I want to thank both Councillor Lauren Wall and Councillor Aysha Raza for the contributions they have made, driving forward our collective commitment to improving the lives of Ealing residents, and ensuring that everyone in our borough has the opportunities they need to realise their potential.

“I am particularly grateful for Councillor Wall’s forensically fair approach to changing the way we manage our housing stock in the borough, and to Councillor Raza’s work with the Race Equality Commission and subsequent Citizen’s Tribunal to tackle racial inequality in Ealing.

“I warmly welcome Councillor Louise Brett and Councillor Polly Knewstub, who have accepted cabinet roles that directly address two of this administration’s key priorities – creating good jobs and putting residents at the centre of our decision making. I, the rest of the cabinet and council officers look forward to working with both Louise and Polly.

“Cabinet as a whole will retain focus on making positive change for Ealing residents, as we outlined in our 2022 Council Plan.”

Councillor Louise Brett, incoming cabinet member for decent living incomes, said: “The opportunity to earn a decent living income is the foundation for so much in life, and yet too many of our residents face precarious working conditions and multiple barriers to entering the workforce.

“I’d like to thank Councillor Mason for asking me to become part of his cabinet. I’m excited to hit the ground running and continue Councillor Mahfouz’s work to create 10,000 new, good jobs in Ealing by 2026, to support those residents facing the toughest barriers to employment and continue to enforce against businesses who break the rules.”

Councillor Polly Knewstub, who will take on the thriving communities portfolio, said: “I’m thrilled to be taking on the thriving communities brief as a member of Councillor Mason’s cabinet. Building on Councillor Anand’s achievements over the last two years, I look forward to progressing our work to empower local communities to be part of the decisions that affect them through Town Forums, and to re-designing and delivering a new, state-of-the-art leisure centre at Gurnell.”

The changes to Ealing cabinet will be noted by councillors at the meeting of Full Council on 23 May 2023.

From 24 May 2023 the cabinet will be:

• Leader – Councillor Peter Mason
• Deputy Leader and climate action – Councillor Deirdre Costigan
• Decent living incomes – Councillor Louise Brett (new to cabinet)
• Inclusive economy – Councillor Steve Donnelly
• Genuinely affordable and safe homes – Councillor Bassam Mahfouz (formerly cabinet member for decent living incomes)
• Good growth and new homes – Councillor Shital Manro
• Thriving communities – Councillor Polly Knewstub (new to cabinet)
• A fairer start – Councillor Kamaljit Nagpal
• Tackling inequality – Councillor Jasbir Anand (formerly cabinet member for thriving communities)
• Healthy lives – Councillor Josh Blacker