Agenda item
Report from the Leader or members of the Cabinet
To receive reports from the Leader or members of the Cabinet in accordance with Standing Order 38.
Minutes:
Councillor Butt reported on the proposed Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for Old Oak Common. He stated that the Council been working hard with Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing Councils to make sure the views of each borough were heard. For Brent this meant ensuring representations around Crossrail and the link to Wembley Central were kept high on the agenda. Two Housing Zone bids for Alperton and Wembley had been submitted which linked to making Wembley Central a critical transport hub. With the proposed provision of around 24,000 homes within the MDC the Council needed to make sure that different types of tenure were made available to maximise the provision of affordable housing. Councillor Butt added that efforts were also being made to ensure residents of Brent benefited from the potential jobs available.
Councillor Pavey updated Members on the budget consultation carried out in light of the Council having to make an additional £54M savings over the next two years. He reported that he was part of a delegation from Brent that had met with Minister for Local Government, Chris Hopkins, MP to explain the destructive impact this was having on Brent but there could be no change expected from the Government. The Council was working with the local community to decide which services to protect. This amounted to a genuine consultation exercise with £60M savings identified from which £54M was required.
Councillor Hirani reported from the first meeting of the Health Commission, chaired by Michael Mansfield, QC, jointly established with Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow Councils. Changes in the North West London health economy continued to impact local residents and so he submitted it was very important to look at what had gone wrong and what interventions needed to take place so that local people had a service that met their needs. Councillor Hirani updated Members on the implementation of the Care Act which would fundamentally change the way the Council delivered social care over next two years. Some aspects of the Act were positive but the financial elements were already starting to unravel to the detriment of vulnerable people and councils were expected to make up shortfalls at the same time as being asked to make massive cuts.
Councillor McLennan reported that landlord licensing had become an enforcement issue from 1 January 2015. To date the Council had received 3,100 applications for licences and would be seeking to enforce the licensing provisions. There was a good dialogue being established with landlords and estate agents. She made reference to the crisis in the provision of temporary accommodation in the private rented sector and the shortage of council homes. The Council was out to tender for partners to provide temporary accommodation – two areas were being considered, a housing association lease scheme and provision of generic private rented housing. Councillor McLennan stated that joint work between the Children and Young People service and Property and Projects service was being carried out to provide the additional school places needed by expanding a number of schools within Brent. Finally she reported on the eco green deal for which the Council had been selected with Havering, Hounslow and Newham to participate in the London Mayor’s energy grant scheme which had been launched that day.
Councillor Moher reported on a reduction in the number of children out of school with 98 children currently without a school place but only 26 of those having not been offered a place and this figure was expected to reduce. Further to Councillor McLennan’s report, she stated that several school expansion projects were out for consultation with the schools under consideration being Byron Court Primary, Elsley Primary, Islamia Primary, Leopold Primary and Oakington Manor Primary. Councillor Moher reported that improvements had been made in the recruitment of social workers in an effort to reduce caseloads. She stated that the Council expected to be notified of an OFSTED inspection in the near future. Finally, she reported that through the innovations fund project the Children and Young People service would be improving the way children were kept safe and develop new ways of working with families.
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