Minutes

Harlesden Brent Connects Meeting

Minutes and Action Log

1

Soapbox – Chaired by Councillor Ethapemi

The item was introduced by Councillor Ethapemi who went over the ground rules before opening up the Soap Box section.

·        The session was opened by a Marketing and Recruitment officer for Brent Council who was making an appeal for Foster carers in Brent. It was updated that the team was seeking top open pathways for more local people to become foster carers, alongside a programme of support and training. The audience were advised that more details could be found on: https://www.brent.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/fostering-and-adoption/fostering

            Email: fostering@brent.gov.uk

·        A resident raised a point around waste disposal issues; specifically with regards to food waste and ensuring that waste did not end up on the street. The Neighbourhood Manager for the Harlesden area shared their contact details with the resident, and offered to discuss their issues outside of the meeting. 

·        A second resident spoke about the high level of crime in the area. An incident involving a young woman was highlighted as not having a sufficient police response, and the Neighbourhood Manager acknowledged that this incident was unacceptable, pointing out that Police resources were stretched on the weekend in question due to a football event at Wembley.  

2

Keeping Young People Safe – Community Safety and Children’s Services

The item opened with a short menti exercise asking the audience about their ideas on what the council and community could do to keep young people safe in Brent. Some of the key themes highlighted included a Brent Youth Service, wider support for families, increased knife awareness and training for volunteers and parents to carry out street patrols.   

Following this Davina Smith (Community Safety Manager) delivered their presentation, which gave a detailed overview the importance of Contextual Safeguarding, the Safer Brent Priorities and how they were working on a Public Health centred approach in conjunction with commissioned services, to divert young people from criminal and violent behaviour, as well as a general understanding of the dangers they could face. 

The audience were then invited to ask questions, which are captured below:

·        Regarding support for young people at risk of suicide, the Community Safety Team explained that the first point of contact was Children’s Services, alongside Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Kooth, which were both commissioned services.

·        Another resident enquired as to why they had not been receiving referrals from Children’s Services for a project, and it was advised that they get in touch with the Children’s Services Team.

Actions

·        Community Engagement to circulate PowerPoint presentation to attendees and pass menti information on to children’s services

3

Neighbourhood Priorities

Amira Nassr (Head of Strategy and Partnerships) opened the item with an interactive Menti exercise, which covered key themes that residents would like to see in their neighbourhoods in the borough. The responses and feedback to the exercise is captured below. Participants said that they would like to see:

·        Support for local businesses and low income households

·        More green spaces and cleaner streets

·        Investment in young people and support social spaces

·        Affordable childcare and encouraging financial literacy for young people

·        More access to GP and mental health services, as well as a healthy living curriculum.

In closing the item, the audience were thanked for their input and ideas, and informed that this would feed in to the finalisation of the council’s neighbourhood priorities.

4

We are BANG

The meeting received a presentation from Jenifer Ogole of ‘We are Bang’, a Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) funded project from Brent Council, which was based in the Harlesden area. The presentation detailed the work that was taking place to support young people, concentrating on creativity, health and wellbeing, arts, learning skills, communities, and heritage. This was followed by an overview of their ‘RISE UP’ leadership programme for young people.

Following the presentation, a short promotional video of the group’s projects was presented to the audience.

The audience were then invited to raise questions, which are captured below:

·        The audience gave positive feedback to the presentation, praising the work that the organisation were doing in the community.

5

Draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP)

The meeting received a presentation from Lauren Salisbury (Air Quality Policy and Projects Officer), who gave an overview of the council’s upcoming Air Quality Action Plan, as well as information regarding the consultation which was planned to begin by the end of March.

The presentation detailed that across London, there had been 4,100 deaths attributed to air pollution in 2019, and it was known that poor air quality had a negative effect on children’s lungs. Harlesden was identified as a hot spot for poor air quality in Brent.

In closing, the three key aims of the plan to improve Brent’s air quality were set out: namely reducing Nitrogen Oxide, raising awareness of health impacts of poor air quality, and introducing change by leading.  

The audience were then invited to ask questions, which are captured below:

·        A resident asked how data was going to be measured, as well as the impact of traffic on Brent’s air quality. Lauren Salisbury provided her contact details and encouraged the audience member to get in touch.

Actions

·        Community engagement team to share slides with attendees

6

Community Well Being Project

Mohammed Jama (Head of Brent Hubs) gave a presentation detailing a joint initiative from Brent Hubs and Sufra food bank. The project was taking place at Bridge Park Leisure Centre and was currently running on Mondays and Tuesdays. It was updated that the venue was providing a community shop and kitchen, where members could get a hot drink, snack, dinner as well as reduced goods. This was through a £3.50 a week membership and was aimed at providing assistance to residents who had been affected by the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis. 

Action

·        Community Engagement Team to share slides of presentation to participants