Agenda and minutes

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on the agenda.

None declared.

The minutes are attached.

RESOLVED:-

that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 October 2010 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

None.

This report outlines the progress on developing a voluntary sector strategy for

Brent and the next steps planned.  It highlights initial responses to points which have been raised by voluntary sector organisations.

Joanna McCormick (Partnerships Coordinator, Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) introduced the report and explained that the Voluntary Sector Strategy focused on the main themes of communication and coordination of services.  A draft strategy document would be consulted upon with the wider voluntary sector once the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) had been identified.  Members heard that work on the Strategy had begun in 2009 and discussions to date had recognised a number of objectives and aims shared by partners.  A number of factors had been identified that affected the ability to improve the relationships between the public, voluntary and community sectors and key themes included commissioning, engaging and consulting - especially with the hard to reach groups.  It was noted that a number of issues had been raised at the One Community, Many Voices Event which were being fed into the development of the strategy. The issues raised included giving organisations a better understanding of what funding is available from external sources, promoting volunteering and volunteer responsibilities, what ‘Big Society’ means for Brent and places for small voluntary organisations to meet.  Joanna McCormick advised that ‘Brent – Our Future’ Strategy was committed to building a Voluntary Sector Resource Centre and the availability of other Local Strategic Partners (LSP) buildings could also be explored.  The council had a strong relationship with the Brent Multi-Faith Forum and the Corporate Diversity Team had successfully implemented a Building Stronger Communities Programme. 

During discussion by Members, Councillor Clues commented that more importance may be placed on the voluntary sector because of the ‘Big Society’.  He sought further clarification with regard to Brent Association for Voluntary Action’s (BrAVA) role and had an audit been undertaken with regard to their effectiveness.  He sought assurance that there was sufficient confidence that BrAVA could deliver its objectives effectively.  Councillor A Choudry also expressed concern about BrAVA’s ability to function effectively and felt that they needed to provide a more professional service and take the initiative more often in asking voluntary organisations what they wanted.  He asked for details of what monitoring of BrAVA’s performance was undertaken and who set BrAVA’s agenda and whether the council had any influence over the role of BrAVA.  Councillor A Choudry asked whether a study of what each voluntary organisation in Brent had been undertaken and commented that the information could be used for organisations to share services and resources or even to merge and the information could also be used as a basis to determine whether organisations were eligible for funding.  Councillor Hirani stressed the importance of voluntary organisations in achieving the outcomes set.

The Chair sought details regarding BrAVA’s funding arrangements, its future as a partner and the council’s view of the organisation.  He asked if the council’s efficiency savings would impact upon the voluntary sector, had funding been identified for the Voluntary Sector Resource Centre and when was it likely to open.

In reply, Joanna McCormick advised that BrAVA’s role was to act as a Community and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report provides background to Brent’s Local Economic Assessment (LEA) and sets the current context for the local economy.  Attached to the report is an executive summary of the LEA which has been compiled as a synthesis of key findings and issues for consideration by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Jo Francis (Head of Regeneration Policy, Regeneration and Major Projects) gave a presentation on the Local Economic Assessment.  Jo Francis advised that the council was required to prepare the assessment and had received a one-off grant to fund this work.  CLES Consulting and Shared Intelligence had been commissioned to undertake the assessment to help the council identify the challenges and opportunities that needed to be addressed to deliver sustainable economic growth.  This was also to be seen in a London wide context, including consideration of what are Brent’s selling points compared to other London boroughs.  Jo Francis commented that India’s anticipated Gross Domestic Product (GPD) growth may offer Brent opportunities as there was a significant Indian population in the borough.  However, projections also indicated that the GVA performance gap in Brent would widen in the next few years because of the recession.  Members noted that the majority of residents commuted to Central London or worked within Brent, with only a fraction commuting to other parts of West London. 

In terms of overall employment rates, Jo Francis advised that Brent was closing the gap relative to the rest of London, however rates were lower for women and black and minority ethnic groups.  The recession had caused a rise in unemployed claimants, particularly in the south of the Borough and while there had been significant improvements in young people’s educational attainment, there were still a relatively high proportion of residents with no qualifications which could be attributable to language issues or foreign qualifications not being recognised.  It was noted that more than a third of children in Brent lived in poverty.  With regard to Brent’s economic qualities, whilst the number of new businesses starting up was quite high, their long term business survival prospects lagged behind the regional and national averages.  Jo Francis advised that the largest increase in employment growth rates was forecast for business services, including a number of back office functions.

During Members’ discussion, Councillor A Choudry noted the significance of statistics related to black and minority ethnic groups in view of the borough’s diversity and requested further information on this.  He also asked if there was any information available on the number of residents having to leave Brent as a result of changes to housing benefit.  With regard to Park Royal, he enquired whether there was any more capacity for more businesses to be located there.  Councillor Hirani requested a breakdown of figures regarding affordability of housing, employment and housing benefit.  Councillor Clues acknowledged the regeneration schemes for Park Royal and the Wembley Stadium area, however he also noted the low workforce productivity rates for Church End and Kilburn and asked whether regeneration schemes were planned for these areas too.

The Chair asked what the next steps would be in view of the findings of the assessment, including how to engage with small minority ethnic businesses and improve transport links.  He also enquired on the future of apprenticeships in the borough and commented that there was a shortage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Members will receive a presentation that will update them on the emerging priorities of the police and the Crime Prevention Strategy Group.

Genny Renard (Head of Integrated Community Safety - Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) updated Members on policing priorities in Brent.  She began by explaining that 83% of offenders in the borough had re-offended and this could be partly attributed to the fact that after being prosecuted for an offence, it affected offenders’ ability to gain employment.  The Crime Prevention Strategy Group (CPSG) was presently undertaking an assessment of issues to be addressed and looking at long term solutions to current trends in Brent such as the rise in robberies, particularly street robberies and the impact of crime upon communities.  An assessment of why anti-social behaviour occurred was also being undertaken.  Genny Renard advised that knife crime in Brent had fallen to the extent that it now had borderline status as a trident borough.  Gun crime figures were influenced by the fact that incidences recorded included those where there was a perception that a gun was involved.  Another priority area was encouraging betting shops to improve their own security arrangements.  Of the most serious violent crimes committed, approximately 60-70% of these were domestic violence related and of those victims murdered, none had been know to the council and this was an area that needed to be focused on.  Genny Renard advised that changes to Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) meant that although every ward would still have an SNT, the formula applied for the composition of the SNTs had changed.  It was felt that there was not a requirement for a police sergeant for SNTs in every ward and consultation was taking place with regard to this.  Genny Renard commented that one possibility was that a police sergeant may cover more than one ward in areas where crime was relatively low.  It was also intended to improve the mobility of SNTs to respond to incidents based on the information that had been collected for each area.

During Members’ discussion, Councillor Clues enquired whether the savings required would impact upon the court service and stated that additional pressure both on courts and the police could occur as the defendant could call on a number of witnesses, including police officers.  Councillor Hirani enquired whether reductions in the performance area grant with regard to domestic violence would affect services.

The Chair enquired what the council’s recommendation was with regard to SNT arrangements and sought opinion on what other changes were being considered, were there any specific proposals for Stonebridge ward and when the consultation period on this would finish.  He also asked if there was any further update with regard to funding of the CPSG and the police and whether there was a lot of natural wastage in the police concerning staff reductions.

In reply, Genny Renard advised that the council was considering recommending that an SNT police sergeant cover two to three wards in areas of lower crime, whilst each ward would still have a police constable and two police community safety officers.  She felt that Stonebridge would require three SNTs in view of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the services for women in and exiting prostitution in Brent task group.

Jacqueline Casson (Senior Policy Officer, Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) introduced a report updating the committee on progress on the recommendations made by the Services for women in and exiting prostitution task group.  She drew Members’ attention to sections in the report detailing the response to each recommendation to date, including timescales for implementation.

Councillor Hirani enquired if newspapers had been approached with regard to the task group’s recommendation that they be encouraged to ensure that none of the sex industry related advertisements included photographs or information on ethnicity and age.  He commented that if Brent Magazine was to be circulated less frequently, local newspapers would have an even greater impact upon the image of Brent and therefore such advertisements would have a greater negative effect on the borough.  Councillor Hirani also suggested that it would be desirable if the UK signed up to an EU agreement to curb opportunities for human trafficking.  Councillor Clues spoke of the increasing urgency in addressing prostitution, human trafficking and organised crime in view that the 2012 Olympics was taking place in seven months’ time and he asked whether this issue had been discussed with the Mayor of London’s office.

The Chair asked for an update on the recommendation that there be an article on the task group’s report in the Brent Magazine. 

In reply, Jacqueline Casson advised that local newspapers had been contacted with regard to the task group recommendation in respect of sex industry related advertisements, however this was now being addressed at a national level.  She confirmed that the task group recommendation for an article of their work to appear in Brent Magazine was being pursued.  Members heard that the CPSG were considering ways of tackling opportunities for organised crime, human trafficking and prostitution in relation to the forthcoming 2012 Olympics and that this was being discussed with the Mayor of London’s office.

Genny Renard commented on the difficulties in preventing newspapers allowing sex industry related advertisements from including such details as photographs and references to ethnicity and age and this was an issue which needed to be tackled at a national level.  Members noted that an application for funding from The Body Shop to tackle human trafficking had been made and Genny Renard agreed that it would be helpful for the UK to sign up to the EU agreement in relation to this.

Phil Newby advised the committee that there had been a significant reduction in 2012 Olympic funding because of the Local Government Settlement following the CSR.

The Chair advised Members that a further update on the task group’s recommendations would be presented to the committee in six to 12 months’ time.

RESOLVED:-

that the progress on the task group’s recommendations to date be noted.

The next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to take place on Thursday, 17 February 2011 at   7.30 pm.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Partnership and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 17 February 2010 at 7.30 pm.

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 64.

None.