Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD. View directions
Contact: Toby Howes, Senior Democratic Services Officer 0208 937 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 this agenda. Minutes: None declared. |
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Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 8th September 2009 PDF 114 KB The minutes are attached. Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the minutes of the last meeting held on 8th September 2009 be agreed as an accurate record. |
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Matters Arising Minutes: None. |
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The report describe the reasons why the Lean Fundamentals review of Responsive Repairs was undertaken, covering the period since the start of the Linbrook contract in 2006 what was found during the review with recommendations as to how system changes could be rolled out to cover all responsive repairs across the borough. Current performance levels and details of complaints performance are found on page 21. The report also describes from page 22 how BHP’s currently manages the Voids process since this service was reviewed in 2005. The last part of the report from page 24 onwards describes BHP;s management of the Capital Programme. Minutes: Gerry Doherty (Director of Technical Services, Brent Housing Partnership) gave a presentation on this item, stating that as a result of the Lean Fundamentals review of responsive repairs, a new Responsive Repairs system had been introduced in September 2008. Under the previous system, many repairs were delegated to sub contractors, however the number of directly employed operatives had now increased from 11 to 59. The new Responsive Repairs system also meant that operatives would not move onto another job until they had completed the one they had been allocated. The changes had led to a number of performance improvements, with failure demand, where a tenant calls more than once about the same job, reduced from 50% to 20%. Percentage of appointments made and kept was 99%, percentage of jobs completed on first visit 91%, percentage of jobs resulting in complaints at 1.5% and percentage of stage one complaints answered in target 94%. The new responsive repairs system complemented the Council’s objective to reduce unnecessary customer contact. Overall satisfaction of tenants satisfied with the Repairs Service was 97% and this was not just based on telephone surveys but also through other means such as receiving thank you letters.
Turning to management of voids, Gerry Doherty advised that a dedicated Repair and Void Team was set up in 2006 on a 10 year contract following a Void Service review in 2005. The average days taken to re-let a void property had reduced from 31days in 2006/07 to 28 days between April to September 2009, slightly over target, however this was expected to be attained by the end of 2009/10. Members noted that the average days to repair a void was 23 days during the period April - September 2009.
With regard to the Brent Housing Partnership (BHP) Works Programme, Gerry Doherty stated that a budget of £25 million was available for 2009/2010. This was larger than usual, due to £5.2 million being brought forward from 2010/11 after the Council had successfully applied for earlier access to funds as part of a Government initiative to boost the construction industry during the recession. However, Gerry Doherty warned that the budget for 2010/11 would only be £8.5 million. The Select Committee heard that customer satisfaction with major works had risen from 89% in 2005/06 to 94% in 2008/09. Twenty major works contracts were being undertaken for 2009/10 and would commence in the next month following tendering. The relevant ward councillors would be informed of these works. It was noted that over 4,000 homes needed to be updated to receive digital television before the switchover in 2012, with 1,000 having already been so. Following delays to the South Kilburn Regeneration Scheme, priorities at had been identified for South Kilburn Capital Works. This included concrete testing and repairs, window repair and redecorations, electrical safety testing, lift refurbishments and communal heating repairs. An additional £3 million had been set aside to undertake these and to date concrete testing and repairs had been undertaken for six blocks. Gerry Doherty ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Waste Contract Performance This report provides an update on the performance of the Council’s Waste Services Contract with Veolia, specifically with respect to waste and recycling, street cleansing, missed collections and complaints. Minutes: Ian Stewart (Waste Service Manager, StreetScene Team, Environment and Culture) introduced the report and confirmed that the overall recycling rate of 32.56% as of end of August 2009 represented around a 4% increase from that achieved at the same point last year. This included a 16% increase in the total amount of organic waste for composting, a 7% increase in the amount of waste recycled and a 7% drop in the amount of waste sent to landfill. The tranche 1 score in street cleansing for 2009/10 had shown a drop in performance, with 23% of streets failing to meet an acceptable standard compared to 13% from the first tranche from the previous year. However, Ian Stewart advised that this year’s tranche 1 was only one week different to the period covered from last year’s tranche 2, which had recorded 22%, so seasonal factors could clearly be seen to be of significance. Members also noted performance in respect of missed collections, complaints and results from the Residents’ Attitude Survey 2009.
Councillor C J Patel stated that residents had reported that green recycling boxes had not always been put back in the same place by the waste collection crew. The Chair commented that waste that fell from the refuse collection vehicles and was not picked up and he suggested that Veolia be asked to coordinate their services so that road sweeping took place soon after refuse had been collected from a road. He reported that residents had expressed preference for lids to be attached to the green recycling boxes, as some items such as paper could easily be blown out by the wind. He also suggested that it would be useful for Members to shadow a refuse collection crew for a day and view the whole refuse process from beginning to end and asked officers to investigate the possibility of doing this.
In reply, Ian Stewart advised that any waste dropped during collection should be picked up by the refuse collection crew and that he would raise the issue with Veolia. Members heard that the London Borough of Enfield had tried to introduce a system of street cleansing being undertaken soon after refuse had been collected from the street, however considerable practical problems had been encountered. Ian Stewart agreed to report back to the Select Committee with regard to this issue and also on the possibility of attaching lids to green recycling boxes at a future meeting. He was aware of green recycling boxes not being returned to the spot where they were collected from and advised that officers were to undertake spot checks across the whole borough to monitor this, adding that he would be looking for evidence that Veolia staff were being trained correctly with regard to this. Ian Stewart also agreed to investigate the possibility of Members shadowing the refuse collection process. |
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Waste Strategy Development PDF 112 KB This report provides an update on the development of a revised Waste Strategy for Brent. Minutes: David Pietropaoli (Waste Policy Manager, Waste Management and Recycling Team, Environment and Culture) provided an update on the development of a revised Waste Strategy, a key Council priority and a Gold project as part of the One Council Improvement and Efficiency Action Plan 2010-2014. The revision would set out how the Council would meet the requirements of the new Waste Strategy for England and a business plan and case was in the process of being developed. Members heard that the strategy would also provide a framework of decisions on the management of municipal solid waste in Brent over the next 10 years and how it would conform to the zero waste vision set out by the West London Waste Authority (WLWA). David Pietropaoli then referred to the timetable for producing the strategy and Members noted that the process of preparing the strategy was complete, whilst self-assessment would be undertaken in November and December 2009. Clarification of the Council’s present situation would be undertaken during this time and the Select Committee noted that the Council would use London’s waste composition analysis in the absence of a Brent one. David Pietropaoli stated that a workshop involving WLWA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would help identify future aims during January-February 2010, followed by consideration of how these aims would be achieved in March – May 2010. This would be followed by the revision of the headline strategy in May – June 2010, which would involve consultation with councillors and the public with a view to launching the revised strategy in September 2010. Members also heard that a workshop involving the Greater London Assembly was planned in December 2009 and that the WLWA was looking at new technologies in dealing with waste. David Pietropaoli confirmed that the strategy encompassed waste collection and street cleansing.
Councillor Van Colle (Lead Member for Environment, Planning and Culture) advised that this was a waste collection and street cleansing strategy and not a waste disposal strategy. He also advised that the WLWA’s vision was zero waste to landfill and not zero waste per se. Members heard that a recycling and compost rate of 70% was the theoretical maximum achievable, whilst the issue of Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) also needed to be resolved. The strategy needed to be considered in the context of the Mayor of London’s Waste Strategy which sought to address carbon emissions issues and the lack of available energy. Energy generation was another important consideration and there were presently no proposals in respect of this for the Wembley Regeneration area. Councillor Van Colle stated that it had been identified that there was a lack of bring sites in Brent and in West London in general and this needed to be addressed. Emerging technology in the way waste was collected also needed to be considered, such as autoclaving which baked waste and allowed collection of products that had not melted, such as plastics, to be extracted for recycling.
During discussion, the Chair commented ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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Performance and Finance Review Quarter 1, 2009/10 PDF 192 KB This report summarises Brent Council’s spending, activity and performance in Quarter 1, 2009/10 and highlights key issues and solutions to them. It takes a corporate overview of financial and service performance and provides an analysis of high risk areas. The report is accompanied by appendices providing budget, activity and performance data for each service area, the Local Area Agreement, ring fenced budgets and the capital programme. Vital Signs trend data and graphs are also provided along with the council’s overall budget summary.
Appendices to the report are attached separately. Additional documents: Minutes: Phil Newby (Director of Policy and Regeneration) introduced the performance aspect of the report in quarter one of 2009/10. Members heard that overall there had been a decline in performance which was of some concern, with 30% of indicators classified as well below target, as opposed to 26% from the previous quarter. Areas of concern included:-
· Rise in crime, including gun crime · Fly tipping · Number of visitors to libraries · Adults receiving secondary mental health services in employment · Brent carers · School places · Complaints
Phil Newby advised that the perpetuator of a series of hold-ups of betting shops in Brent had been arrested and that gun crime had since dropped, whilst the adults receiving secondary mental health services in employment had been affected by the recession. Members noted that although Brent was second best performer of all London boroughs in terms of complaints dealt with by the Ombudsmen, there continued to be concerns about complaints being escalated from stage one to stage two and from stage two to stage three.
Mick Bowden (Deputy Director of Finance and Corporate Resources) then updated the Select Committee on the financial situation for quarter one of 2009/10. He advised that a net overspend of £4.5 million on the General Fund Revenue budget was forecast as at the end of first quarter, with the two main areas of overspend being Children and Families at £2.8 million and Environment and Culture at £1.6 million. Environment and Culture had been particularly affected by a drop in revenues from parking charges.
During discussion, Councillor H B Patel asked if the rise in the escalation of complaints was due to a lack of training of new staff. Councillor Van Kalwala enquired whether complaints received were particularly common from certain sections of the community or certain areas. He also asked if any measures were being taken with regard to educating residents over changes to Council services. Councillor Van Kalwala also asked if pressures on school places would continue to be an issue. Councillor Butt enquired whether any overspends for 2009/10 would affect the Council’s balances and sought further views with regard to falling revenues. He also asked what measures would be in place to accommodate areas where growing demand was driving costs up.
In reply, Phil Newby advised that complaints tended to be received by certain service areas and were often as a result of changes to front line staff. He emphasised the importance of providing staff with the sufficient training and confidence to be able to handle complaints and the Complaints Team was providing ongoing training with regard to this. It was being reinforced to service areas of the need to resolve complaints at stage one and consideration was being given to removing stage two in order to motivate service areas to resolve complaints at the first stage.
Mick Bowden advised that if there was a £4.5 million overspend at the year end this would mean that the Council’s general fund balance would be £3.1 million, some way below the target ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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Performance and Finance Select Committee Work Programme 2009/10 Members are asked to consider future topics to be included in the Select Committee’s Work Programme for 2009/10. Minutes: The Select Committee noted the items due for consideration at the next meeting of the Performance and Finance Select Committee on 9th December 2009. |
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Items requested onto the Overview and Scrutiny Agenda (if any) None. Minutes: None. |
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Recommendations from the Executive for items to be considered by the Performance and Finance Select Committee (if any) None. Minutes: None. |
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Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Performance and Finance Select Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, 9th December 2009 at 7.30 pm. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Performance and Finance Select Committee was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 9th December 2009 at 7.30 pm. |
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Any Other Urgent Business Notice of items to be 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 No 64. Minutes: None. |