Issue - meetings
Annual Report from the Leader
Meeting: 16/09/2019 - Council (Item 9)
Annual Report from the Leader
To receive an annual report on the work of the Council from the Leader of the Council, in accordance with Standing Order 38.
Members are asked to note that the Leader of the Council will have up to 5 minutes to present his annual report with a period of 20 minutes then provided for debate.
Additional documents:
Decision:
Noted the annual report provided by the Leader of the Council on the work of the Council.
Minutes:
The Mayor invited Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council, to present (in accordance with Standing Order 38) his Annual Report on the work of the Council and State of the Borough.
Councillor Muhammed Butt began by reflecting on last year’s report in terms of the challenges and also untapped opportunities therein. He lamented that the challenges remained and focussed on the financial hardship that the Council continued to face, highlighting the current crises in Adult Social Care, Housing and the NHS brought about by a decade of central government cuts to public services.
The Leader expressed his views on the forthcoming Government Budget and stressed how he felt local authorities continued to be bypassed, while the current Government continued to waste money, particularly on Brexit. The Leader was happy to confirm that Brent had the highest number of European residents in London and the largest number to gain pre-settled status in England and, as the local population continued to grow, he expressed his pride in so many people wanting to make Brent their home.
The Leader highlighted the many accolades the Borough had received throughout the year, including Friendliest Borough in London, the nomination for the Best High Street in England and the many celebrations of its culture.
In summing up, the Leader felt that the Council was taking radical steps towards delivering on its ambitious manifesto, with empathy, a shared vision of prosperity and with culture at its heart. He reaffirmed the declaration of a Climate Emergency, agreed at the last Full Council meeting, along with the pledge not to penalise tenants in debt as a result of delays in Universal Credit payments; to fight NHS cuts; to bring more Council services in-house; to build more affordable housing; invest in the boroughs highways and support the ongoing development of the transport infrastructure; create more Community Hubs and to foster community wealth building in Brent.
Concluding his annual report and commenting on the state of the borough, Councillor Muhammed Butt felt it was possible to highlight a huge amount as being achieved but also much more to do based on an ambitious, but at the same time pragmatic set of priorities and commitments with an enormous financial challenge to continue to manage and overcome.
The Mayor thanked Councillor Muhammed Butt for his annual report and then advised that he would open up the debate for contributions from other members, starting with a response from the Conservative Group. Councillor Colwill (as Leader of the Conservative Group) advised that he did not intend to response, so the Mayor moved on to invite contributions from other members, with the following comments raised:
· Councillor Ethapemi sought clarification as to whether the additional spending review announced by the Government was based on national reserves or whether the Council was expected to make contingency plans.
· Councillor Kelcher commented that this was the second year that the Leader of the Opposition had not responded to the Leader’s Annual Report and suggested there should be an obligation ... view the full minutes text for item 9