Agenda, decisions and minutes

None.

None.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary or personal interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

None declared.

None declared.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 November 2018 as a correct record.

RESOLVED:-

that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 November 2018 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

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None.

To discuss any petitions from members of the public, in accordance with Standing Order 66.

None.

None.

To consider any reference reports from any of the Council’s three Scrutiny Committees.

None.

None.

The report sets out and seeks agreement for the most practical proposal for the delivery of the Council’s obligations in respect of the South Kilburn District Energy Network (the SK DEN). 

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      i.        Approved the procurement a suitable partner to manage and operate the South Kilburn District Energy Network, on the basis of the Council forming a company with this partner for the reasons set out in the report.

    ii.        Delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader (as lead Member for Finance) authority to agree relevant pre-tender considerations for the procurement of a suitable partner and thereafter evaluate tenders on the basis of such pre-tender considerations.

   iii.        Delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader (as lead Member for Finance) authority to select a partner, agree the partnership terms, enter into a partnership agreement and take all steps necessary to establish a company with the partner to manage and operate the South Kilburn District Energy Network.

   iv.        Noted that in the event that a suitable partner cannot be procured or it was not possible to agree partnership terms, the backstop arrangement was that the service would, at least initially, be managed and operated in house

Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader, introduced the report asking Members to consider the most practical proposal for the delivery of the Council’s obligations in respect of the South Kilburn District Energy Network (the SK DEN). 

Councillor McLennan stated that the report outlines the proposal for the South Kilburn District Energy Network (the SK DEN). Members considered further detailed technical background to the South Kilburn District Energy Network project.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      i.        Approved the procurement a suitable partner to manage and operate the South Kilburn District Energy Network, on the basis of the Council forming a company with this partner for the reasons set out in the report.

    ii.        Delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader (as lead Member for Finance) authority to agree relevant pre-tender considerations for the procurement of a suitable partner and thereafter evaluate tenders on the basis of such pre-tender considerations.

   iii.        Delegated to the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Deputy Leader (as lead Member for Finance) authority to select a partner, agree the partnership terms, enter into a partnership agreement and take all steps necessary to establish a company with the partner to manage and operate the South Kilburn District Energy Network.

   iv.        Noted that in the event that a suitable partner cannot be procured or it was not possible to agree partnership terms, the backstop arrangement was that the service would, at least initially, be managed and operated in house

The report presents Brent: Stronger Together - the draft Stronger Communities Strategy 2019-23 for approval. The strategy sets out values and priorities following consultation. It is supported by commitments that focus on the priority areas.

RESOLVED:

      i.        Cabinet considered and agreed the draft strategy and commitments as set out in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report.

Councillor Tom Miller, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, introduced the report and Brent: Stronger Together - the draft Stronger Communities Strategy 2019-23 for Members’ approval.

Councillor Miller stated that the Strategy sets out values and priorities following consultation. He stated that the Strategy is supported by commitments that focus on the priority areas.

Councillor Miller informed Members of Cabinet that the associated action plan would be developed. He stated that delivery against the commitments would be reviewed annually and a progress report would be published.

Councillor Mili Patel, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care, welcomed the Strategy and in particular action to tackle underachievement.

RESOLVED:

      i.        Cabinet considered and agreed the draft strategy and commitments as set out in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report.

The report sets out complaints performance in Brent for the period April 2017 to March 2018 and focuses on the nature of complaints and the learning and improvements from complaints and Ombudsmen cases. 

RESOLVED:

      i.        Cabinet noted Brent’s performance in managing and resolving complaints.

    ii.        Cabinet reviewed progress in 2017/18 with the eight agreed recommendations from the previous annual report in 2016/1, noting that the report which had been developed into a Complaints Service Team Action Plan, would seek to focus on the following in the year ahead:

·         Ongoing monitoring of corrective actions to help ensure promises to put things right were kept

·         Monitoring of the root cause of complaints and supporting service areas to improve complaints hotspots

·         Improving the quality of complaints handling through training, quality checks and support to service areas.

Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader, introducer the 2017/18 Annual Complaints Report, setting out complaints performance in Brent for the period April 2017 to March 2018. The report, she stated, focuses on the nature of complaints and the learning and improvements from complaints and Ombudsmen cases. 

Councillor McLennan stated that a summary of the root cause of complaints and improvement actions by council departments in 2017/18 is provided in Appendix C.

Councillor McLennan stated that the key headlines from complaints performance in 2017/18 are as follows:

·                All Stage 1 complaints volume (corporate & statutory – 1,614 cases) has decreased by 4% (â)

·                All Stage 2 complaints volume (corporate & statutory – 220 cases) has decreased by 8% (â)

·                There were 21 LGO cases upheld against Brent in 2017/18, compared with 17 cases in 2016/17 (á)

·                The total amount of compensation paid by Brent (c£73.8k) decreased by 5% (â)

·                The total number of cases awarded compensation (135 cases) decreased by 34% (â)

·                The top 3 root causes of complaints in Brent were customer care (17%), repairs (8%) and parking enforcement (6%).

RESOLVED:

      i.        Cabinet noted Brent’s performance in managing and resolving complaints.

    ii.        Cabinet reviewed progress in 2017/18 with the eight agreed recommendations from the previous annual report in 2016/1, noting that the report which had been developed into a Complaints Service Team Action Plan, would seek to focus on the following in the year ahead:

·         Ongoing monitoring of corrective actions to help ensure promises to put things right were kept

·         Monitoring of the root cause of complaints and supporting service areas to improve complaints hotspots

·         Improving the quality of complaints handling through training, quality checks and support to service areas.

The purpose of this report is to provide Cabinet with a corporate overview of performance information linked to the Brent 2020 and Borough Plan priorities, to support informed decision-making and to manage performance effectively.   

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      i.        Noted the performance information contained in the report

    ii.        Considered the current and future strategic risks associated with the information provided and agreed remedial actions on strategic risks as appropriate.

   iii.        Challenged progress with responsible officers as necessary

Councillor Margaret McLennan, Deputy Leader, introduced the report and the performance scorecard setting out the position of the Council’s performance in the second quarter of 2018/19.

Councillor McLennan stated that the content and format of the report and scorecard have been revised to focus primarily on the Brent 2020 priorities and then on the Borough Plan priorities.

Cabinet noted that the purpose of this report is to provide a corporate overview of performance information linked to the Brent 2020 and Borough Plan priorities.

Councillor Krupesh Hirani, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure, praised the positive performance indicator for engagement levels at Willesden Green library despite the building problems earlier in the year.

Councillor Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Highways and Planning, informed Cabinet that that three of the Environmental Improvement and Highway Infrastructure indicators have a Red RAG status.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

      i.        Noted the performance information contained in the report

    ii.        Considered the current and future strategic risks associated with the information provided and agreed remedial actions on strategic risks as appropriate.

   iii.        Challenged progress with responsible officers as necessary

No items identified in advance of the meeting.

None.

None.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Head of Executive and Member Services or his representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

None.

This being the last Cabinet meeting of 2018, Councillor Muhammed Butt, Leader of the Council, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2019.