Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD. View directions
Contact: Toby Howes, Senior Democratic Services Officer 020 8937 1307 Email: toby.howes@brent.gov.uk
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Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on the agenda. Minutes: None declared. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday, 24 February 2011 PDF 136 KB The minutes are attached. Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 February 2011 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting. |
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Matters arising Minutes: There were none. |
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Cultural Strategy for Brent 2010 - 15 PDF 2 MB The committee will receive a presentation on the strategy and how it is being implemented from the chair of Brent’s Culture Sports and Learning Forum. The presentation will include information on how the partnership operates in terms of delivering the strategy and funding arrangements. A copy of the Cultural Strategy for Brent 2010 – 2015 is attached. Minutes: Rachel Evans (Chair of Brent Culture, Sport and Learning Forum, Fountain Studios) introduced herself to the committee and then played a short video to members about the cultural strategy. Copies of the cultural strategy were also circulated to Members. Rachel Evans then gave a presentation on this item and began by emphasising that it was a strategy for Brent and not Brent Council. The strategy sought to set out a vision rather than being a detailed plan and position statement and may change according to circumstances and changing priorities. The strategy had been drawn up by the Culture, Sport and Learning Forum which consisted of the council and its Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) partners, including Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena, Tricycle Theatre, the Federation of Patidar Associations, Fountain Television Studios, the College of North West London, Park Royal Partnership, Wembley Plaza Hotel and Brent Arts Council. Rachel Evans then set out the vision and principles of the strategy, which were:-
· Enhancing cultural vibrancy · Increasing participation · Raising the profile of culture · Encouraging young people to take part · Developing public space · Making the most of London 2012 and other major events · Supporting the cultural economy · Promoting health and well-being
Rachel Evans outlined some examples of the Forum’s initiatives, which included events such as the Healthy Walks Scheme and the Graffiti Partnership Board, which sought to promote positive use of graffiti as an art form. In order to deliver the strategy, the four objectives that needed to be achieved were communicating what is on offer, enabling people to engage and access culture, increase and improve locations, facilities and opportunities and maximise wider benefits of culture through strong cultural links.
At this point, the committee was split into two groups and went into a workshop session on how to achieve the four objectives of delivery. The two groups then fed back to each other on the outcome of their discussions.
Rachel Evans concluded the presentation by outlining some further ways of delivering the strategy, including the launch of the visitwembleyvisitbrent.com website on 19 April, a series of events celebrating Brent, production of regular e-bulletins promoting events in Brent, engaging with leaders to promote culture and raising the profile of culture. Further examples of events in Brent were highlighted and Rachel Evans encouraged Members to inform residents of these.
Members then considered this item further. Councillor H B Patel commented on the borough’s wide diversity and the various groups and venues which could be utilised to promote Brent’s culture. He suggested that the local residents should have been consulted about the strategy at an earlier stage and prior to large businesses. Councillor A Choudry also spoke of Brent’s ethnic make-up and the fact that some 35% of its population were from Indian sub-continent, whilst some schools had over 80% of pupils from one particular faith group. It was such aspects of the community that needed to be engaged more and Councillor A Choudry suggested that such schools be visited more often to help children feel a ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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The employment and skills agenda in Brent PDF 97 KB This report provides a snapshot of the current Brent labour market and outlines some of the local provision available to tackle the high levels of unemployment and persistent low skills levels. In particular, the report details the delivery issues facing both the Council and the College of North West London (CNWL) in light of the recent budget cuts and identifies the gaps this leaves in local efforts to drive forward the local economy. The Deputy Principle of the College of North West London will be attending the meeting. Minutes: Joanne Francis (Head of Regeneration Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) introduced the report that provided an update from the report presented to the committee in December 2010. She stated that the Local Economic Assessment had presented a challenging picture for Brent and for the country as a whole. Providing some historical context, Joanne Francis explained that up until the summer of 2008, the council had made considerable progress in narrowing both the employment and the unemployment rate in the Borough compared to London overall with an employment rate of 71.6%, above the London average and the highest recorded in Brent and a Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claims rate of 3.3%, the lowest in a decade. This had primarily been achieved through the Brent in2Work employment programme. However, since January 2008 there had been an increase of almost 3,500 JSA claims meaning the total claimants now stood at 9,490, representing a rate of 5.5% against a 4.1% London average. The increases were particularly prevalent in deprived areas and Harlesden had experienced close to a doubling of claimants. The claimant rate was also considerably higher amongst the Black British ethnic group. Joanne Francis explained that as well as the economic downturn being a significant factor in these trends, the situation was exacerbated by underlying socio-economic circumstances, particularly in the more deprived neighbourhoods. For example, the borough has a particularly high level of residents with no qualifications and almost ten percent of those of working age had no qualifications and these numbers had grown between 2008 and 2009. Another Brent specific issue was the 30% of the population with qualifications gained overseas that were not formally recognised in the UK. It was also noted that in the most deprived neighbourhoods, approximately a third of residents did not speak English as their first language and this was often a significant barrier to employment, as well as the availability, suitably and affordability of childcare. The committee heard that JobCentre Plus would continue to support the short term unemployed into work despite itself facing 40% reductions in back office functions. The Work Programme provider which addressed the longer term unemployed only received payments in cases where it had successfully placed clients into work on a long term basis.
Turning to the role of the council, Joanna Francis explained that employment had long been a priority and Brent in2Work had been an effective tool in tackling this issue. However, due to the budget pressures bought on by Government cuts to the Working Neighbourhoods Fund following the Comprehensive Spending Review and the council’s need to undertake a fundamental review of activities, the services offered by Brent in2Work would be reduced. This included the closing of the Language2Work project and in order to address the language needs in Brent, efforts were being made to enable voluntary organisations to take on a language teaching role through capacity building. Brent in2Work would retain a skeleton staff and continue to operate a project focusing on matching local unemployed residents to the construction ... view the full minutes text for item 5. |
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Date of next meeting The date of the next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be confirmed at the Full Council meeting on 16 May 2011. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be confirmed at the Annual Council meeting on 11 May 2011. |
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Any other urgent business Notice of items raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Democratic Services Manager or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 64. Minutes: There was none. |