Issue - meetings

This report provides an update on progress against the outcomes of the Brent Borough Plan 2015-19. Where available and relevant, this draws upon data from the council’s corporate suite of key performance indicators (KPIs) or from other indicators monitored locally or nationally.

It was RESOLVED that the progress of the Borough Plan 2016-2019 be noted.

Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader, introduced the report by thanking Cabinet Members and officers for the work that has gone into this report and for the considerable amount of work and dedication that this report seeks to measure. 

She stated that there is much to do to meet our goals for delivering the services that our residents value and depend upon. She stated that the Council is working in a time of unprecedented national political and economic uncertainty.

She stated that Council services have seen and continue to see demand increasing by volume and complexity and at the same time, Council budgets, as well as those of partners’ across the public sector, have been slashed, causing a harmful cumulative impact.

Councillor McLennan stated that Government austerity agenda has placed all of these services under immense pressure. 

She stated that schools in Brent are getting better and better such that the vast majority are now judged to be either Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. She warned that progress is at risk if government insists on stripping back funding. The Cabinet is well aware, she stated, that our population is under-employed, but the challenge of helping secure employment is not made any easier by central Government forcing through the closure of local Job Centres.

She stated that the Council and its partners are encouraging more and more residents to take better care of themselves and to live healthier lives. But with the NHS so desperately underfunded, there’s only so much that the Council can do. Referring to community safety, she stated that fewer police may ultimately mean higher crime. She reminded Cabinet that the Council is funding the Met Patrol Plus scheme but that can’t and won’t make up for government failure.

Councillor McLennan stated that the Council is delivering new homes across all tenure but that the prospects of ownership will move further and further away for many of our residents. She stated the administration has clear and effective policies and strategies to ensure excellent progress in achieving our ambitions.

Cabinet agreed that there is no room for complacency.

Councillor McLennan stated that it is important to recognise and put on record how impressive an achievement it is to be where we are, especially considering the extreme financial hardship imposed upon the Council since 2010.

RESOLVED that:

6.1           Cabinet reviewed the progress against Borough Plan outcomes as at 2017.