Agenda and minutes

Councillor Conneely (as Chair) welcomed members of the Scrutiny Committee to the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors, Dixon, Maurice and Ahmadi-Moghaddam with Councillor Fraser attending as a substitute for Councillor.

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 item on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

Councillor Fraser declared a personal interest in respect of Agenda Item 8: Complaints Annual Report 2023/24 due to the recent employment of a close family member within Brent Social Services.

Councillor Fraser had not sought to take any predisposed position in the consideration of the information item and therefore felt able to consider the matters relating to Brent’s performance in managing and resolving complaints impartially and without any form of pretermination.

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

No deputations were raised at the meeting.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 25 February 2025 be approved as a correct record.

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

There were no matters arising raised at the meeting.

To establish a Task Group to review how kerbside space in Brent could be more effectively utilised to enhance community benefits and environmental outcomes.

(Agenda republished to include the attached report on Tuesday 22 April 25)

Councillor Mitchell was invited to introduce a report providing an overview of the establishment of a Task Group to conduct an in-depth review of Brent’s current kerbside management strategies and assess whether further value could be added to foster a more sustainable, inclusive, and connected community. In presenting the report, the comprehensive nature of the topic was underlined, which would encompass climate change commitments, transport, accessibility, and public health.

With reference to paragraph 8.1 of the committee report, it was emphasised that the work of the proposed Task Group supported the Borough Plan priorities for a cleaner, greener future and a healthier Brent. It was further noted that the Task Group would align with key strategies and policies, including the Brent Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy, the long-term transport strategy, and the Brent Active Travel Implementation Plan.

Councillor Mitchell delineated three primary areas of focus within the Task Group:

1)    Broadly examining kerbside space and community benefits, including sustainable urban drainage solutions and tree planting.

2)    Considering active travel and school streets, aiming to enhance the success Brent had already achieved in these areas.

3)    Reviewing parking, with a focus on ensuring fair pricing and equitable access to the kerbside, in collaboration with officers and relevant cabinet members.

It was highlighted that the Task Group anticipated involving expert interviews and discussions, committee meetings, and consultations with various community groups, including Brent Action on the Climate and Ecological Emergency (ACE Brent).

The proposed membership of the Task Group would consist of the following non-executive members:

• Cllr Mary Mitchell (Chair)

• Cllr Anthony Molloy
• Cllr Saqib Butt
• Cllr Janice Long
• Cllr Jayanti Patel
• Cllr Ajmal Akram

Having reviewed the report, it was RESOLVED to agree the establishment of the Kerbside Management Scrutiny Task Group, noting the membership and terms of reference outlined within the committee report.

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the council’s approach to maintaining and ensuring high build quality standards across the Borough.

(Agenda republished to include this item on 15 April 2025).

Councillor Benea (Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Property) was invited to introduce the report relating to Build Quality in Brent, which focused on how the Council sought to uphold build quality in new build council housing, as well as the refurbishment of community and social infrastructure and facilities for children and young people. The Committee was reminded that the Council delivered a significant portfolio of construction-related projects, including affordable housing, mixed-use developments, and facilities for children and young people.

Three main categories of project delivery were outlined for the construction-related projects, namely council-led schemes, open market acquisitions and developer-led schemes. For council-led schemes, the Council had greater control over its own projects to ensure and deliver high-quality buildings and facilities. By working through the Royal British Institute of Architects Plan of Work, the Council undertook activities, functions, and mechanisms to deliver its capital projects through the pre-construction stages, construction stage, and handover and building operation stages. These included procurement considerations, external professional services, support, and contractual mechanisms. In relation to acquisition schemes, the Council was not directly responsible for build quality requirements, as these were the responsibility of the developer and their appointed consultants and contractors. However, the Council employed its own professional service providers to monitor the developer's progress, supervise construction, and report to the Council, which in turn would cover any issues to be raised with the developer. Similarly, with regard to development agreement schemes, the build quality was the responsibility of the developer, but they were accountable to the Council. The Council also employed its own professional service providers to monitor performance, and in long-term partnerships, the incremental release of further sites helped incentivise positive behaviours regarding build quality.

It was acknowledged that the Council had experienced build quality issues in the past, such as with Granville New Homes and contractors going into administration during live projects. However, the Council, through the measures discussed within the committee report, aimed to reduce the risk of such occurrences to ensure the delivery of high-quality buildings to its residents. Alice Lester (Corporate Director Neighbourhoods and Regeneration) advised that the report effectively set out the different touchpoints where the Council had accountability and governance mechanisms to scrutinise the progress of schemes on sites and the quality being delivered and referenced the mitigations available when issues arose. In citing the example of Granville New Homes, recognising it as a considerable failure of build quality, it was noted that oversight and scrutiny had significantly improved since that time. It was hoped that the measures established within the committee report provided the Committee with reassurance that the Council had been taking the necessary actions to continually address such issues. Tanveer Ghani (Director of Property and Assets) further added that there was a fine line between build quality, wear and tear, and mismanagement or the use of substandard products or features.

Having thanked Councillor Benea, Alice Lester and Tanveer Ghani for introducing the report, the Chair then moved on to invite questions and comments from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report seeks to provide an overview of Brent's performance in handling and resolving complaints.

(Agenda republished to include this item on 15 April 2025).

Councillor Mili Patel (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources)  was invited to introduce a report providing a breakdown of complaints received by department and the top five issues of complaint for those respective departments. The report also provided a breakdown of the number of complaints that had been upheld, not upheld, partly upheld, rejected or withdrawn for each department, with further details provided in the appendices. In presenting the report, the Committee was informed that complaints served as important learning points for the Council, helping to shape the Council’s priorities in many different ways and enable the Council to make necessary changes to achieve and further its priorities. Complaints also offered an opportunity for the Council to understand issues and put things right, also ensuring that they did not reoccur.

The Housing Management Score was notably high, with a high number of stage 1 and stage 2 complaints. Specifically, 60% of stage 1 complaints were upheld, and 75% of stage 2 complaints were upheld, indicating that fault was found in these cases. The Housing Needs department had also received a significant number of complaints at both stages 1 and 2, followed by the Customer Access Team.

Although complaints regarding Adult Social Care and Children's Social Care followed separate statutory complaints procedures, both departments were still among the top six departments with the highest number of complaints received. It was reiterated that this data pertained to the period 2023 to 2024.

Having thanked Councillor Mili Patel for introducing the report, the Chair then moved on to invite questions and comments from the Committee in relation to the Complaints Annual Report 2023/24, with the following comments and issues discussed:

• As an initial query, members raised concerns regarding the high number of complaints around social work and communication, which accounted for over half of the complaints in 2023/2024 and the impact on performance and standards of care. Details were sought around the measures implemented to address this issue and improve future care experiences. In response, Claudia Brown (Director of Adult Social Care) acknowledged the concerns around communication, emphasising that the majority of complaints were related to inadequate updates on care plans, untimely processing, and lack of proactive follow-up. The initiatives undertaken to address these issues included targeting customer care through training programs for managers and social workers, introducing policies and procedures for responding to customers, with a standard operating model accessible to all staff since 2023, ensuring work practices were reinforced during supervision sessions, implementing training programs focused on general customer care and introducing standard letters to inform individuals of next steps and contact information post-assessment.

• Views were then sought regarding what lessons could be learned from a wider organisation perspective whether in terms of Adult Social Care (ASC) as an outlier with issues also noted in relation to the complaints upheld involving the contact centre, localities, and Looked After Children (LAC). In response, Claudia Brown (Director of Adult Social Care) advised that she did not regard ASC as an outlier,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report presents the scrutiny recommendations tracker for review by the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee.

(Agenda republished to include an updated version of the report on 22 April 2025).

In relation to the Scrutiny Progress Update - Recommendations Tracker report, the Chair reported that updated responses had been received from the Children, Young People, and Community Development team regarding committee inquiries in the Safer Brent Partnership report.

Responses had also been received from the Children, Young People, and Community Development team in response to committee questions concerning the Emerging Employment Strategy.

Updated responses had been received from Finance and Resources regarding outstanding committee questions relating to the Q3 financial forecast.

Updates had also been received from the Service Reform and Strategy team with regard to committee information requests concerning commissioning, procurement, community wealth building, and social value.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the updates provided within the Scrutiny Tracker.

To provide an update on the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee’s work programme 2024-25.

(Agenda republished to include an updated version of the report on 22 April 2025).

The Committee received a report from the Deputy Director Democratic and Corporate Governance, which presented the 2024-25 work programme for the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee.

In considering the report, members were advised that as this was the final meeting of the Municipal year, there were no further modifications to the work programme until the new work planning program was established in summer 2025.

Having reviewed the work programme report, it was RESOLVED to note the Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee work programme for the 2024-25 Municipal Year.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Deputy Director - Democratic and Corporate Governance or their representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

No items of urgent business were identified.