Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Aden, Councillor Shah and Councillor Mitchell.

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 Wednesday 19 July 2023 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 19 July 2023 be approved as a correct record.

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

None.

The purpose of this report is for the Committee to establish a Scrutiny Task

Group to consider the Cabinet’s budget proposals for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Councillor Conneely presented a report from the Head of Strategy & Partnerships that outlined the arrangements of the establishment of a Budget Scrutiny Task Group to consider the Cabinet’s budget proposals for 2024/25 and 2025/26. The Committee was advised that the task group would be made up of Members from both the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. The task group would undertake a series of meetings to examine the Council’s budget proposals whilst considering key priority areas. Comments and draft recommendations from the Task Group were expected to be considered by the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee in January 2024, subsequently a report from the Committee would then be presented to Cabinet for consideration in February 2024; to coincide with the report from the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources on the final budget proposals.

The Committee agreed to note the recommendations as follows:

(1)      That a Budget Scrutiny Task Group be established with members to be confirmed at the Committee meeting on 6 September 2023.

(2)  The Terms of Reference for the group will be to:

(2.1)         Consider the Cabinet’s budget proposals for 2023/25 and 2025/26.

(2.2)        Receive evidence from Cabinet Members, senior departmental officers and any other relevant stakeholders.

(3)      Agree a draft report to comment on the budget proposals for submission to the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee for ratification and submission to Cabinet.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the development of a Community Engagement Framework (CEF).

Councillor Conneely welcomed Councillor Donnelly-Jackson, Cabinet Member for Customers, Communities & Culture, to introduce a report from the Corporate Director of Communities and Regeneration that provided an update on the development of the Council’s Community Engagement Framework (CEF). Zahur Khan, Corporate Director of Communities & Regeneration highlighted that the framework was in its infancy, however he was keen to use the meeting as an opportunity to seek the Committee’s views to support the development of the CEF with the overall aim of creating a framework that would achieve a consistent approach, using best practice to maximise engagement with the community and all stakeholders.

In the ensuing discussion the Committee raised the following points:

·                The Committee queried how co-production and co-design techniques were being incorporated to support the development of the CEF. In response the Committee was advised that in recognition of including the community on the journey of the development of the CEF it was paramount that the progression of the framework took an inclusive approach. The Council were working with independent advisors to support the co- design element to ensure a process that invited maximum engagement with community groups, officers, and residents. The element of co- production related to how the agreed plans would be taken forward to implementation. It was felt that prioritising community engagement in the initial stages of designing the CEF would see greater success at the implementation stages.

·                The Committee acknowledged that the CEF was in its early stages of development, however required clarity from officers that they had a clear vision going forward of what needed to happen to enact effective community practice. Officers advised that once the framework was in place, they would be in a better position to create a detailed action plan and planned to bring together a network of community organisations and stakeholders to support driving the framework forwards.

·                Following a Committee query in relation to how the new CEF would support a revised approach to Brent Connects meetings, the Committee was advised that officers recognised that at present Brent Connects meetings were not achieving an optimum level of engagement and effectiveness, however it was hoped that the creation of a new CEF would provide an opportunity to make delivery improvements to Brent Connects meetings that could include a mix of face to face and online meetings. Additionally, it was hoped that increased officer presence that included a member of CMT being present at each meeting would add weight to the process and increase public engagement. As well as the proposed delivery changes to Brent Connects meetings, officers advised that there were plans to improve the tracking of the discussions and actions agreed at the meetings with the introduction of an action log being published online after meetings to support residents in seeing the value of the process.

·                The Committee welcomed a revision in the way that Brent Connects meetings were delivered and queried if as part of the changes, consideration could be given to the different geographical areas that Brent Connects  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report provides the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee with an outline of how the planning enforcement process is resourced and delivered in Brent.

Councillor Farah, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Public Protection introduced a report from the Corporate Director of Communities and Regeneration that outlined the planning enforcement process as carried out in Brent and detailed how this area of work was resourced. The Committee heard that Brent’s Planning Enforcement performance was consistently good and rated within the top 3 nationally, despite this the Planning Enforcement Team continued to seek ways to continue to improve the service.

Following the information heard the Committee raised the following points for discussion:

·                Committee Member’s shared that they were often contacted from constituents who had raised Planning Enforcement issues and subsequently felt they had not been listened to as they did not receive adequate communication from the Council, therefore the Committee required clarity on the number complaints received, specifically, in relation to the lack of communication following an initial planning enforcement complaint. In response the Committee was advised that very few complaints of this nature were received, where they were received, they were resolved promptly by the Head of Planning and Development Services.

·                The Committee felt it was important to manage residents’ expectations when they raised a possible planning enforcement issue and queried with officers how clear the process was to residents from the point that a complaint was reported. In response the Committee was advised that once a complaint was received a letter of acknowledgement would be sent out within 7 days to the complainant acknowledging receipt of the complaint with an explanation on the back of the letter that advised of what would happen next. The Committee heard that it was difficult to provide complainants with an exact timescale as there was several factors that could affect the speed and escalation of a complaint, namely the quality of the evidence provided at the point of making the complaint. If good quality evidence was provided and officers felt that there was a breach, officers would aim to complete a visit within 2 weeks. Once a site visit has been completed officers would notify the complainant to update them as to whether the Council were able to take action.

·                The Committee noted that not all complaints received progressed to action being taken, as some complaints did not constitute a breach and where there were breaches identified, due to limited resources within the team, only the highest priority cases were likely to be progressed.

·                Officers recognised the reputational risk that could be expected if residents felt their reports were not being acknowledged and in turn appreciated the need for improved communication to support residents understanding and expectations of planning enforcement in Brent; with improved guidelines and threshold information available to support residents in managing their expectations of the service.

·                The Committee required clarity on the communication Ward Councillors could expect if a breach was identified in their wards. Officers advised that due to GDPR considerations it was not always possible to include Councillor’s in emails that updated the progress of a case, unless they were included in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The purpose of this report is to present the Scrutiny Recommendations Tracker to the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. 

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 that there were a number of outstanding items that were due to be responded to by the November 2023 meeting and looked forward to receiving those responses.

To provide an update on any changes to the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee’s work programme

The Committee noted there were no changes to the work plan since the last Committee meeting. 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.