Agenda item
Building a Better Brent
To review the delivery of Brent Council priorities and Council strategies.
Minutes:
Councillor McLennan, Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Resources, introduced a report on the delivery of the Council’s policies and strategies including the Borough Plan. The Committee was then invited to raise questions on the report, which focused on a number of key areas as highlighted below:
· It was noted that the Council was looking to extend selective licensing in the future. Should this not be possible, it would look at alternative measures as it was seen as important way in which residents were supported. Borough-wide licensing, however, was not currently possible.
· House building had continued throughout the pandemic, though it had been delayed. The Council’s view was that there would be no long-term implications to the housing programme, though the exact timeline of the delays was no yet known.
· The need to help residents to progress their careers was recognised. The Council itself had the highest number of apprenticeships in the country, spanning across a range of departments such as planning, finance and procurement. Education was seen as key to attainment, as was the types work being offered across the borough.
· While work was being done to increase the attainment level of young people across the borough, particular focus was given to black boys of Caribbean heritage as their attainment levels were proportionally lower. The Council had significantly narrowed this gap in attainment since the Borough Plan was implemented, and it was noted that there had not been an exclusion of a black boy of Caribbean heritage in primary school settings in the past year.
· It was noted that there had been a delay to the installation of electric vehicles points across the borough. The Council was currently renegotiating its contract with its supplier, Source London, and the Committee was assured that there would be no negative impact as a result of the delay.
· It was suggested that the Council considered the use of key performance indicators in monitoring the amount of illegal dumping in the borough.
· It was noted that several policies and strategies had been brought forward since the Borough Plan was first agreed, all of which were being built into the plan in the near future. The Committee was assured that the proposals for the review of the Borough Plan would be brought to a meeting of the Committee early next year. Regarding the action plans the Council was currently pursuing, it was noted that audit and review processes were already underway to ensure their aims would be delivered.
· It was suggested that officers should review the use of contextual measures within the Borough Plan, as well as the Online Watch Link (OWL) system in relation to neighbourhood watches. The use of yearly performance metrics, focused on clear outcomes, was encouraged.
Resolved
The Committee made the following information requests:
1. An assessment of the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the Council’s house building programme.
2. Data on the attainment of all pupils across all categories in Brent.
3. The number of permanent exclusions made for SEN pupils in Brent.
4. The number of work placements or apprenticeships made for SEN pupils.
5. A timeline for review and assessment on progress in achieving the Council’s Healthy Neighbourhood scheme targets.
6. The cost to the Council resulting from the delay in installation of electric vehicle charging points.
7. An assessment and consideration of whether there should be a target (KPI) to reduce the amount of illegal dumping.
8. A report on the proposals for the review of the Borough Plan to be brought before the Committee early next year.
9. A report of the progress on the implementation of the Council’s key strategies, including RAG rated indicators.
10.A report on the implementation of the Council’s priorities, including contextual information on the delivery of key priorities.
Supporting documents:
- Cover Report - Building a Better Brent, item 7. PDF 205 KB
- Appendix A - Building a Better Brent Report, item 7. PDF 5 MB
- Appendix B - Borough Plan Performance Summary 2019/20 Q4, item 7. PDF 4 MB
- Appendix C - Borough Plan Performance Summary 2020/21 Q1, item 7. PDF 4 MB