Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 4, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD. View directions
Contact: Toby Howes, Senior Democratic Services Officer 020 8937 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 the agenda. Minutes: Councillor H B Patel declared an interest in relation to item 4.2, Arts and Festivals Strategy, as a member of an organisation receiving a grant from the council. However, he did not feel that the interest was prejudicial and remained present to discuss and vote on this item. |
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Minutes of the last meeting held on 5 January 2011 To follow. Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the minutes of the last meeting held on 5 January 2011 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting. |
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Matters Arising Minutes: None. |
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Call in of Executive decisions from the meeting of the Executive held on 17 January 2011 Decisions made by the Executive in respect of the following reports were called in for consideration by the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with Standing Orders 6 (b) and 18. Minutes: Decisions made by the Executive on 17 January 2011 in respect of the reports below were called in for consideration by the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with Standing Orders 6 (b) and 18. |
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De-commissioning of the Mental Health Community Networks Day Care Service PDF 97 KB The reason for the call in is:-
· To discuss fully the implications of de-commissioning this service at the same time as the changes in the Adult Social Care Direct Services provision.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· To consider if alternative arrangements would enable the impact on service users to be minimised.
The Executive report is attached. The Lead Member and Lead Officer are invited to the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.
Minutes: The reason for the call in was:-
· To discuss fully the implications of de-commissioning this service at the same time as the changes in the Adult Social Care Direct Services provision.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· To consider if alternative arrangements would enable the impact on service users to be minimised.
Councillor Lorber, one of the councillors who had called in this item, introduced the reasons for call in and expressed concern that an important service was proposed for closure, especially as there were also proposals to close day centres. He felt that there would be immediate implications in de-commissioning this service and could place some 185 clients at high risk.
During discussion, the Chair sought clarification with regard to the implications of de-commissioning this service. He also felt that the clients’ ability to become more self-reliant could be limited by their mental health condition. Councillor Mashari asked what arrangements were in place to ensure that clients would be able to access the community facilities that they would be encouraged to use and how frequently would this be monitored. With regard to the proposed two support worker posts for the new arrangements, she enquired how their work time would be rationalised and would it be based on client needs. Councillor Kabir asked whether the risk to individual clients would be monitored. Councillor Denselow enquired whether the consultation would provide opportunity for alternative arrangements to be suggested in order to minimise impact and was there certainty in the benefits of the proposals being achieved. Councillor Lorber asked if a budget was available to support the clients and what was the evidence to show the benefits of the proposals. He also enquired whether a support group would be available to the client’s carers.
In reply to the issues raised, Councillor R Moher (Lead Member for Adults, Health and Social Care) advised that the Executive had agreed to consult on the proposals and no final decision had been made. She acknowledged that some difficult decisions needed to be made, however in view of the financial situation facing the council it had little other choice but to consider such proposals. Members heard that the Adult Social Care budget was comparatively large and so it was inevitable that a significant proportion of savings would be required from it. Two support workers would be recruited to assist the clients in accessing community facilities.
Alison Elliott (Assistant Director – Community Care, Housing and Community Care) drew Members’ attention to the possible risk implications and benefits as outlined in the report. Overall, there was to be a move away from buildings-based mental health support to a move to clients accessing community facilities more frequently. Alison Elliott explained that the Government agenda for Adult Social Care focused on increasing independence and opportunities for those with disabilities, mental health issues and for older people. Resources were to be used to support clients in a different way and the benefits would include meeting the ... view the full minutes text for item 4a |
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Arts and Festivals Strategy PDF 86 KB The reason for the call in is:-
· To discuss full the implications of reductions in funding and to discuss the reasoning behind the proposals to retain funding for the remaining festivals.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· To consider whether alternative funding arrangements could produce better results for residents.
The Executive report is attached. The Lead Member and Lead Officer are invited to the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.
Additional documents: Minutes: The reason for the call in was:-
· To discuss full the implications of reductions in funding and to discuss the reasoning behind the proposals to retain funding for the remaining festivals.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· To consider whether alternative funding arrangements could produce better results for residents.
With the approval of the Chair, Nirmal Patel addressed the committee to represent the views of the Hindu Council. Nirmal Patel expressed concern that there were proposals to stop the grant to help celebrate Navratri, an important event that had been funded by the council over the last four decades and represented one of the largest Navratri events outside of India. She explained that Navratri offered the opportunity for children to help understand Indian culture and tradition. The committee heard that Navratri represented a good example of the council working in partnership with the community, whilst the costs involved were relatively low and there was no expenditure on staffing and policing or any health and safety issues. There had also never been any public disorder in celebrating Navratri whilst councillors also enjoyed participating. Nirmal Patel suggested that by assisting with Navratri, the council was meeting one of its objectives in caring for the community and without the council’s help there would not be sufficient funds available to continue celebrating this event in Brent.
With the approval of the Chair, Bharat Gajjar, representing an organisation affiliated to the Hindu Council, addressed the committee. Bharat Gajjar advised Members that the Hindu Council had met with the council on 27 January where they were informed of proposals to withdraw funding for Navratri. He explained that Navratri was an important part of Hindu culture and that withdrawing the grant to help celebrate it would be detrimental to a significant proportion of the community. Members noted that most of the costs involved for Navratri were related to hiring halls, such as those in schools, meaning most of the money was being put back into Brent organisations. Bharat Gajjar suggested that it would be preferable to reduce funding for Diwali which was self-funded to a large extent in any case and use the funds released to support Navratri instead. He concluded by stating that the Hindu Council had worked with the council for a long time and he urged that the council re-consider and continue providing funds for Navratri.
With the approval of the Chair, Paresh Modasia, representing the Hindu Council, addressed the committee. Paresh Modasia stated that Navratri was an important cultural festival that engaged all the Hindu community including both young and old. It gave the opportunity to teach children Hindu morals and good citizenship and there had never been any public order issues at any of the events, with the police withdrawing from attending some years back due to there being no need for their presence. Paresh Modasia felt that use of school halls to host events represented positive engagement with the ... view the full minutes text for item 4b |
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Former park keepers' houses at 776 and 778 Harrow Road - disposal in open market PDF 1 MB The reason for the call in is:-
· Report contains no discussion of conditions of sale of land. Call in to discuss the implications of selling the land without such conditions.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· That the Executive introduce conditions on the sale of the land to limit any development and make it suitable for the area.
The Executive report is attached. The Lead Member and Lead Officer are invited to the meeting to respond to Members’ questions.
Minutes: The reason for the call in was:-
· Report contains no discussion of conditions of sale of land. Call in to discuss the implications of selling the land without such conditions.
Suggested action for the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee to take:-
· That the Executive introduce conditions on the sale of the land to limit any development and make it suitable for the area.
Councillor Lorber, one of the councillors who had called in this item, stated that the issue of disposing of the properties had been an issue for some time. Whilst he understood that the reason for disposing of the two houses was to raise funds to invest in Barham Park. However, the original proposals to sell the properties to a local housing association to provide housing from residents being decanted from Barham Park Estate had now been changed to sell the site to the by auction to the highest bidder. Councillor Lorber expressed concern that without conditions being attached to the sale of the site, it could to lead to undesirable developments such as high storey blocks which would be opposed by local residents. He added that this issue was of particular concern as there were proposals for seven to nine storey block of flats in a site adjacent to this one.
In reply to the reasons for the call in, Councillor Crane (Lead Member for Regeneration and Economic Development) advised that the Executive had initially approved disposal of the site subject to Charity Commission approval. However, it had now been clarified that Charity Commission approval was not required and the decision to dispose of the properties by auction would provide the capital receipts, as well as matching funding, necessary to improve Barham Park.
Richard Barrett (Head of Property and Asset Management, Regeneration and Major Projects) added that as the site was held by the Barham Park Estate Trust, of which the council was trustee, approval of the Charity Commission to dispose of the land was not necessary. Richard Barrett advised that placing any condition on selling the site would require the Charity Commission’s approval which it was not likely to grant as it would not be perceived as being in the interest of the Trust. The District Valuer had recommended that the council sell the properties as two separate dwellings in order to receive greater capital receipts.
During Members’ discussion, Councillor H B Patel acknowledged the reasons given with regard to the sale of the site, however he commented that the council as trustee also had a requirement to look after the interests of local residents. He stated that the Planning Service had expressed the view that the site was appropriate for housing development, however it needed to be acknowledged that multi storey developments would not be popular with the local residents. Councillor H B Patel sought a response in how making financial gain was balanced with the interest of residents. Councillor Lorber stated that although the site was of significant financial value now, it may ... view the full minutes text for item 4c |
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The Executive list of decisions for the meeting that took place on Monday, 17 January 2011 PDF 55 KB The list of decisions that took place on Monday, 17 January 2011 is attached for information. Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the Executive list of decisions for the meeting that took place on Monday, 17 January 2011 be noted. |
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Date of next meeting The next meeting of the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at 7.30 pm and will take place in the event of there being any call-ins of decisions made by the Executive on 15 February 2011. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Call In Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 2 March 2011 at 7.30 pm and would only take place if there were any call ins on decisions from the Executive meeting held on 15 February 2011. |
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Any other urgent business Notice of items 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 64. Minutes: None. |