Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Akram, Jayanti Patel and Shah, with Councillor Molloy attending on behalf of Councillor Shah.

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

No declarations of interests were made at the meeting.

The Chair agreed to vary the order of business on the agenda to allow the deputation from Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) Brent to be considered prior the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy Update. The minutes therefore reflect the order in which the items were dealt with at the meeting.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 24 January 2024 as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meetings held on 24 January 2024 be approved as a correct record.

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

None.

This report sets out the vision and objectives of the Property Strategy that officers developed in conjunction with Avison Young - independent consultants, and a range of stakeholders through interviews and interactive workshops.

Councillor Muhammed Butt (Leader of the Council) introduced the report, which set out the vision and objectives of the Draft Property Strategy that officers had developed in conjunction with Avison Young, independent consultants, and a range of stakeholders. The Committee was advised that the Strategy had been informed by the previous comments of members, as the topic had been considered by the Committee last year, and further suggestions and recommendations were welcomed prior to expected Cabinet adoption later in the year. Following the initial introduction of the report, Councillor Muhammed Butt outlined the Strategy’s Strategic Objectives:

•         Manage by robust processes, good data, and insights.

•         Create a leaner, compliant, and financially sustainable portfolio.

•         Dispose, repurpose, or redevelop properties no longer required.

In concluding, the Leader emphasised the importance of ensuring that community, economic and social value was being delivered from commercial properties to maximise the benefits provided to both residents and the Council. Furthermore, it was reiterated that due to the relatively small size of the Council’s non-residential property portfolio, the income generated from increased rents or repurposing properties would not be sufficient enough to ease the Council’s overall financial pressures. In adding to the Leader’s comments, Tanveer Ghani (Director of Property and Assets, Brent Council) explained that if no action was taken regarding the Council’s commercial properties, the portfolio would become unsustainable. Moreover, both Tanveer Ghani and Minesh Patel (Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, Brent Council) stated that key stakeholders had been engaged prior to formal adoption to ensure that the Strategy was fit for purpose and well challenged. Members also noted that the final version of the Strategy would be more succinct, ideally 5-6 pages, however officers wanted to provide a holistic view of the Strategy to the Committee to ensure appropriate scrutiny.

During the consideration of the agenda item, the following key points were discussed:

•         Given that many Brent Housing Management (BHM) non-housing assets, such as community centres, were said to be underused, members queried whether the Strategy included these assets and if not, why was this the case. In response, the Committee noted that the Strategy did not include these assets as it focussed on the general fund, not the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). Nevertheless, it was explained that the Strategy would feed into the HRA to ensure that non-residential assets were being treated in a uniform manner.

•         Regarding the omission of the Council’s approach relating to the acquisition of properties, the Committee was advised that the Council was not currently exploring the acquisition of commercial property that would strive for a traditional ‘return on investment’. Therefore, it was not included in the Strategy’s vision. Moreover, it was explained that a sustainable business case was needed prior to any acquisition to ensure that expected revenue generated would sustainably fund the purchase and maintenance of the property, which was always considered on a case by case basis.

•         Concerning the management of i4B and First Wave Housing (FWH) assets, members heard that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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

Prior to the consideration of the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy, the Chair welcomed Mr Ian Saville and Ms Sheila Simpson to the meeting, who were in attendance on behalf of Action for the Climate Emergency (ACE) Brent, to present a deputation regarding Brent’s response to the climate and ecological emergency. Mr Saville began by acknowledging the efforts of the Council and the Committee, despite the difficult circumstances and financial pressures faced due to reduced central government support and austerity. Nevertheless, the Council was called upon to establish a more coherent and ambitious approach to ensure that the objective of 2030 net neutrality was achieved, particularly given that the impact of climate change was said to disproportionately affect the most vulnerable residents. In reiterating the need for further urgency and attention on the matter, Ms Simpson outlined the following requests:

•         To establish a two-way decision making process that enabled greater resident input and community discussion, due to dissatisfaction with the current community forums. It was stated that ACE Brent could support in recruiting members for such a forum and the development of the 2024-26 Climate & Ecological Strategy Delivery Plan was identified as a unique opportunity to introduce new forms of community participation.

•         Although welcoming the inclusion of climate considerations in all corporate reports, concerns were raised that many reports stated that there were no implications. Thus, it was suggested to introduce more training for officers to effectively identify the climate implications relating to their proposals and to enable policies to be amended to strive for positive climate implications.

•         To further commit to establishing Healthy Neighbourhood areas, given that four out of five schemes had been withdrawn, and to explore the adoption of more in-depth consultative processes.

•         Despite commending the new Brent Climate Action Data Dashboard and the commitment to publishing more information on the Council’s website, it was felt that estimating carbon reduction impacts was integral to prioritise the most impactful work. Furthermore, Ms Simpson suggested collecting more comparable data for all Climate & Ecological Strategy themes.

•         The Council was called upon to refresh the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy to ensure it was comprehensive, consolidated all green strategies and encompassed all of the Council’s workstreams. Moreover, ACE Brent recommended the establishment of a dedicated climate scrutiny committee to ensure appropriate oversight.

•         Officers were urged to commit to actions relating to transport, retrofitting, fiscal divestment, planning, regeneration, renewable energy, tree planting, the protection of green spaces and the encouragement of plant-based food consumption.

In concluding, Ms Simpson and Mr Saville thanked the Committee for providing time at the meeting to discuss the above matters and hoped for further cooperation and progress on the climate and ecological emergency.

Following the deputation, the Chair invited members to ask two questions to Mr Saville and Ms Simpson, with questions, comments and responses summarised below:

•         In highlighting that ACE Brent represented 14 groups across the borough, the Committee questioned the commitments that the organisation could make to further support the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report provides the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee with an update on the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme.

Councillor Muhammed Butt (Leader of the Council) presented a report that updated the Committee on the Council’s Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme, which included updates on both the borough-wide 2022-24 Delivery Plan and specific Green Neighbourhoods action plans. Firstly, the Leader thanked Mr Saville and Ms Simpson for presenting their deputation and provided reassurance that their deputation would be received by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action. In emphasising that the Climate Emergency Programme remained a priority for the Council, Councillor Muhammed Butt outlined the actions contained within the Delivery Plan and highlighted the implementation of a previous Committee recommendation of creating a Climate Data Dashboard. Moreover, it was detailed that the Council was ensuring that the climate and ecological emergency resonated across the Council by including climate considerations in all corporate reports and by pursuing the utilisation of Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (SCIL) funds where possible to support the climate programme. However, the Leader emphasised the importance of partnership working to meet the Council’s goals and ambitions, given that one agency could not deliver the required interventions and resources would need to be efficiently pooled and targeted.

Following the initial overview of the report, contributions, comments and questions were sought from the Committee, with the subsequent discussion summarised below:

•         Members noted that the Food Strategy was currently in development and consultation, with officers explaining that an update would be provided at the appropriate time.

•         In response to a query regarding changes introduced to the Council’s investment strategy, supply chains and procurement models to reduce the Council’s carbon emissions, the Committee was advised that a sustainable procurement model was developed as part of the 2021-22 Delivery Plan which provided the Council with greater influence over local supply chains. Members also noted that the Council’s procurement strategy was due to be refreshed, with sustainable procurement being a key pillar in the new strategy. Furthermore, it was detailed that every contract bidder had to supply the Council with comprehensive climate related information and the West London Coalition, in which Brent were members, had developed a Climate Commitment Charter in which bidders had to agree to. Concerning the Council’s investment strategies, it was explained that the Pension Fund had recently altered its Investment Strategy to better consider the carbon emissions of investments. However, the Committee heard that the Pension Fund was restricted to investing through the London CIV, the London pension fund pool, although at the time of the meeting London CIV were investing in line with the Council’s climate commitments.

•         Members noted that a response could be provided which detailed the monetary amount that the Brent Pension Fund had invested in water companies.

•         The Committee questioned the omission of themes addressing renewable energy, food and investment strategies. In response, it was explained that these topics, whilst not having dedicated themes, were covered in the five themes of the Climate & Ecological Emergency Strategy. For example, renewable energy was covered in Theme 3 ‘Homes, Buildings and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report present the Scrutiny Recommendations Tracker to the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee noted the Recommendations Tracker without comment.

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

Members noted that Committee Work Programme without comment.

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

None.