Agenda item

Questions to be put to members of the Cabinet in accordance with standing order 40.

The Mayor advised Members that this item gave them the opportunity to ask questions of Members of the Cabinet on any matter, which was the responsibility of Cabinet.  He confirmed that Members had received written tabled responses to these questions.

The Mayor stated that non-Cabinet Members each had one minute to ask a supplementary question if they so wished.

(i)           Councillor Shaw asked the Cabinet Member to inform residents as to who was responsible for sorting out the damage from floods, which had affected residents living in Chamberlain Road and All Souls Avenue NW10? 

In response, the Chief Executive advised Council that this question had already been answered in the written tabled responses, which had been circulated previously.

(ii)          Councillor Choudhary asked the Cabinet Member that, since reports in circulation suggested that unemployment would rise next year as a result of Brexit, what action was likely to be taken to challenge those problems.

In response, Councillor Mashari (Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills) reiterated that there were signs of recruitment contracting significantly since Brexit in the short-term at least.  She said that in a snap-poll following Brexit, conducted by the Institute of Directors, figures had suggested that a quarter of firms were temporarily freezing recruitment.  Councillor Mashari went on to say that other surveys conducted suggested that six out of nine sectors surveyed were less optimistic about adding jobs in the wake of Brexit.

Councillor Mashari agreed with Councillor Choudhary that there was a great deal of uncertainty and a great lack of confidence at the present time.  Councillor Mashari reassured Members that the Council was doing all that it could to reassure businesses, not just in Brent but across West London and in some of the sectors where large numbers of Brent’s residents were employed.  She said that the West London Economic Prosperity Board was a key driver in this and that she would be working closely with the Chief Executive of West London Business, Angie Dakers, to bring forward proposals across West London to create a hub for businesses to get the information and the confidence they needed and, crucially, would work with the Borough’s Eastern European and wider European workforce, which Brent’s economy, locally, depended upon.  In conclusion, Councillor Mashari reiterated that it was an uncertain time and that there was evidence already that recruitment was contracting in the short-term but that the Council would be working with its partners across West London to instil as much confidence in businesses and employers as it could.

(iii)         Councillor Daly asked the Cabinet Member if Members could be advised of the timetable for the roll-out of additional Police Officers in the remaining wards within the Borough.

In response, Councillor Pavey (Cabinet Member for Safer Communities) advised Members that all wards in Brent would have two dedicated ward officers, by the end of 2017.  He said that around half of the Borough’s Wards would have these dedicated officers in place by the end of 2016 (Phase 1) with the remainder being in place by the end of 2017 (Phase 2).  He went on to say that the rationale behind deciding which wards would receive the support of the dedicated officers first was based upon the issues of deprivation and geographical balance.  In conclusion, Councillor Pavey said that Sudbury (for which, Councillor Daly was a Ward Member) would receive the support via Phase 2 with Barnhill and Queensbury Wards being accommodated during Phase 1.

(iv)         Councillor Long asked the Cabinet Member what the Council could do to help the homeless and prevent homelessness given the illogical and daft policies of this government.

In response, Councillor Farah (Cabinet Member for Housing) said that the proposed Homelessness Protection Bill did not address the issue of housing supply.  He said that the Council was doing a lot to help by utilising its Find Your Home strategy in Brent and was very successful.  He said that the proposals created more work and brought about more homelessness with no additional resources and therefore Brent would continue to address its own homelessness issues with its own resources.

(v)          Councillor Kelcher asked the Cabinet Member when his residents in Rowanwood could expect to receive the CCTV and litter bin provision agreed as part of the planning permission to create a new skate park there.

In response, Councillor Pavey (Cabinet Member for Safer Communities) congratulated Councillor Kelcher on the work done by his scrutiny committee on CCTV Policy and also his hard work in this particular case.  Councillor Pavey said that CCTV was covered by surprisingly strict rules considering it was something most members of the community would welcome on their street corner but in the case mentioned by Councillor Kelcher, he was hopeful that a solution had been found that would enable a camera to be installed in that trouble spot in the not too distant future.  He said that this solution would be a credit to his hard work.

Councillor Pavey then took the opportunity to restate the commitment he had given to the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee.  There had, he said, been much discussion about the future of CCTV provision and that Councillor Kelcher had politely, not mentioned the Council in question, which he felt was short-sighted and dangerous.  Councillor Pavey was happy to announce that the local authority in question was Westminster Council, which had taken the decision to switch off all of its CCTV and reassured Members that Brent would not be doing this but would hope to make significant investment in improving the Borough’s infrastructure in the very near future.