Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Mitchell and Ahmadi Moghaddam. Councillor Molloy attended as an alternate on behalf of Councillor Ahmadi Moghaddam.

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.

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 25 April 2023 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 25 April 2023 be approved as a correct record.

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

None.

This report provides an update on Brent’s overall financial position by examining the financial outturn position for 2022/23, the Q1 financial forecast for 2023/24 and the medium term financial outlook, which is part of the committee’s role in undertaking budget scrutiny throughout the year. 

Councillor Conneely welcomed Councillor M Patel, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member of Finance, Resources & Reform, to present a report from the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources that provided the Committee with an update on Brent’s overall financial position by examining the financial outturn position for 2022/23, the Q1 financial forecast for 2023/24 and the medium term financial outlook. The Committee noted the following key points:

·      The Financial Outturn had worsened by £1m since the Q3 forecast was presented to Cabinet in January 2023. This was attributed to the volatility of the demand led budgets within the Children and Young People’s (CYP) department and Adult Social Care (ASC).

·      It was noted that the Q1 2023/24 Financial Forecast was in a stable position, however it was recognised that there remained a number of risks and uncertainties across all service areas that could affect the assumptions made in relation to the impact of inflation and pressures as set out in the Q1 Financial Forecast.

·      The Medium-Term Financial Outlook set out the overall financial position faced by the Council and highlighted the risks and uncertainties in relation to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) as well as the proposed budget setting strategy for 2024/25. It was noted that high inflation and uncertainty around interest rates and government funding meant the outlook remained subject to change.

·      The Committee was advised that, looking forward to 2024/25 and 2025/26, the Council would need to provide growth for unavoidable demographic and demand led service pressures. Forecasts suggested that there would be a budget gap of £8m over this period which would need to be met via savings accrued from across the Council.

In the ensuing discussion the Committee raised the following points:

·      The Committee queried how the Council had responded to the challenges highlighted in Appendix A – Medium Term Savings Delivery Tracker 23/24. Officers advised that the budget saving proposals highlighted within Resident Services that looked to increase Council owned temporary accommodation and Re-defining Local Services were unlikely to be delivered this year, however there were mitigations within Resident Services to manage this. The area highlighted within Adult Social Care in relation to reducing the cost of Learning Disability Placements cited potential delays, with mitigations having been identified if needed.

·      The Committee was advised that, in general terms, the enhanced monitoring and action planning in place ensured the right trajectory was being followed to achieve the savings identified on the delivery tracker. Enhanced monitoring offered early identification of issues and therefore increased opportunities for further interventions as and when needed.

·      The Committee questioned how the Council was preparing for the anticipated reduced public sector funding in 2025/26.Officers advised the Committee that it was not yet clear exactly how much funding would reduce by, however, to ensure preparedness, financial modelling had commenced to look at different scenarios of reduced funding together with the budgetary assumptions that could be made to support potential different strategies.

·      The Committee enquired how the Council’s borrowing and Capital Programme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This report provides an update on Shared Technology Services' (STS) operational performance and progress in implementing the Brent and STS cyber security strategies.

Councillor Conneely welcomed Councillor M Patel, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources & Reform, to introduce a report from the Corporate Directors for Finance & Resources & Resident Services that provided an update on Shared Technology Services’ (STS) operational performance and progress on the implementation of the Brent and STS cyber security strategies. Fabio Negro, Managing Director of Shared Technology Services, and Rehana Ramesh, Head of Digital Transformation, were present to respond to the Committee’s questions on the report.  The following key points were discussed:

·      The Committee queried if the partnership between Brent and the partner boroughs in the shared service agreement was likely to remain the same going forward. In response, the Committee was advised that for the foreseeable future it was likely to remain the same, however there may be opportunities for other local authorities to join in the future.

·      In response to a Committee query in relation to the types of cyber attacks the Council had received, the Committee was advised that it was not always possible to identify the origin countries of attacks, however they were often from countries with poor internet controls, with many identified to originate from Asia. Brent received approximately 10,000 attempts a day, with most attempts at a low level and likely to be individual efforts, however some attempted attacks appeared to be better resourced and sophisticated; suspected to be state actors.

·      Following a Committee query in relation to benchmarking Brent’s cyber security performance, the Committee was advised that various benchmarking platforms were in place, which included a recent positive peer review with the LGA that focused on the governance of cyber security as well as the processes in place. The team also worked closely with the London Office of Technology and Innovation that had membership with 23 other local authorities. Officers advised that this was a useful platform to seek advice and share best practice with a broad group.

·      In relation to how the organisational leadership incorporated cyber security into the Council’s key strategic objectives, the Committee was advised that the Digital Transformation Team aimed to ensure that, as well as bringing in technology that was secured by design to support cyber security, employees understood the risks faced from cyber security breaches and everyone’s role in preventing them across the organisation.

·      Following a Committee question in relation to the challenges in educating residents about cyber security, the Committee was advised that Brent were leading in the introduction of the use of multi factor authentication for residents accessing online services, and it was felt that residents understood why this was necessary to keep their data secure and were supportive of this.

·      In relation to employees’ and Members’ understanding of their part to play in cyber security, the Committee was advised that there were well established routines in place to ensure everyone understood their role in protecting data. Information Governance training and Member development sessions were routinely carried out to support this. The annual information governance training was being developed further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report updates the Committee on the Scrutiny Recommendations Tracker.

The Committee was invited to consider the progress and updates provided in relation to the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny recommendation and information request tracker. The Committee noted there were a number of outstanding items that were due to be responded to by the November 2023 meeting and looked forward to receiving these responses.

To advise the Committee of the 23/24 Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny work programme.

The Committee was then invited to consider the Scrutiny Work Plan for 2023/24 and in doing so formally APPROVED the work plan. The Committee noted that it was a live document and in addition to the agreed items, additional items may be added as and when necessary when brought to the Committee’s attention.

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.