Agenda item

This report provides background to Brent’s Local Economic Assessment (LEA) and sets the current context for the local economy.  Attached to the report is an executive summary of the LEA which has been compiled as a synthesis of key findings and issues for consideration by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Jo Francis (Head of Regeneration Policy, Regeneration and Major Projects) gave a presentation on the Local Economic Assessment.  Jo Francis advised that the council was required to prepare the assessment and had received a one-off grant to fund this work.  CLES Consulting and Shared Intelligence had been commissioned to undertake the assessment to help the council identify the challenges and opportunities that needed to be addressed to deliver sustainable economic growth.  This was also to be seen in a London wide context, including consideration of what are Brent’s selling points compared to other London boroughs.  Jo Francis commented that India’s anticipated Gross Domestic Product (GPD) growth may offer Brent opportunities as there was a significant Indian population in the borough.  However, projections also indicated that the GVA performance gap in Brent would widen in the next few years because of the recession.  Members noted that the majority of residents commuted to Central London or worked within Brent, with only a fraction commuting to other parts of West London. 

In terms of overall employment rates, Jo Francis advised that Brent was closing the gap relative to the rest of London, however rates were lower for women and black and minority ethnic groups.  The recession had caused a rise in unemployed claimants, particularly in the south of the Borough and while there had been significant improvements in young people’s educational attainment, there were still a relatively high proportion of residents with no qualifications which could be attributable to language issues or foreign qualifications not being recognised.  It was noted that more than a third of children in Brent lived in poverty.  With regard to Brent’s economic qualities, whilst the number of new businesses starting up was quite high, their long term business survival prospects lagged behind the regional and national averages.  Jo Francis advised that the largest increase in employment growth rates was forecast for business services, including a number of back office functions.

During Members’ discussion, Councillor A Choudry noted the significance of statistics related to black and minority ethnic groups in view of the borough’s diversity and requested further information on this.  He also asked if there was any information available on the number of residents having to leave Brent as a result of changes to housing benefit.  With regard to Park Royal, he enquired whether there was any more capacity for more businesses to be located there.  Councillor Hirani requested a breakdown of figures regarding affordability of housing, employment and housing benefit.  Councillor Clues acknowledged the regeneration schemes for Park Royal and the Wembley Stadium area, however he also noted the low workforce productivity rates for Church End and Kilburn and asked whether regeneration schemes were planned for these areas too.

The Chair asked what the next steps would be in view of the findings of the assessment, including how to engage with small minority ethnic businesses and improve transport links.  He also enquired on the future of apprenticeships in the borough and commented that there was a shortage of three-bedroom properties in Brent and this needed to be addressed in order to house families.

In reply, Jo Francis advised that the report was being considered by Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement to see what the next steps should be to address the issues raised.  A meeting was due to take place with the National Apprenticeship Service on 16 December to discuss the future of apprenticeships in Brent.  Efforts were being made to involve more local businesses with regard to the building of the Civic Centre and the regeneration of Wembley.  Members noted that Employer Partnership was the main vehicle used to engage with small minority ethnic businesses which involved explaining to them what opportunities were available.  There was also training provided by Supply London to help local organisations be fit to tender through a series of workshops.  Jo Francis advised that Park Royal had been identified as a key growth area in the Local Development Framework and it was intended to improve transport routes in this area and others through working with Transport for London.  Park Royal Partnership was seeking funding for a Business Improvement District.  Jo Francis explained that a significant proportion of Brent residents were in low paid employment which was a key factor to consider in terms of affordability of housing.  However, the council’s new structure would facilitate in bringing useful information together.  Jo Francis stated that a breakdown of figures linking affordability of housing, employment and housing benefit could be provided at a future meeting and also further information with regard to black and minority ethnic statistics.

Phil Newby (Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Improvement) advised that a project had been commissioned as part of the One Council Programme to investigate the effects of the Housing Benefit cap, whilst the impact of the Local Government Settlement as a result of the CSR was also being analysed.  Members heard that the council’s Mosaic information collection system was collecting data such as income in Brent and a sizeable difference in income within the south of the borough had been identified due to there being a large influx of young, higher income earners in this part of Brent.  This population trend could affect property prices and lead to the less well off seeking social housing or displacing them elsewhere.  Phil Newby also commented that polarisation of particular groups was a factor that needed to be addressed.  He suggested that Members could invite the Head of Planning to a future meeting to discuss planning implications with regard to housing needs if they so wished.

The Chair commented that there were a number of employment skills and transport issues that needed to be addressed and he asked that information on the future of apprenticeships be included in a future report to the committee.