Agenda item

To receive reports from the Chairs of the Council’s Scrutiny Committees in accordance with Standing Order 36.  The reports have been attached as follows:

12.1    Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

12.2    Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee

NOTED the update reports provided by the Chairs of the Community & Wellbeing and Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committees.

Responses were also provided by the relevant Scrutiny Chair on the following additional questions raised during the open session of this part of the meeting:

·                Councillor Long regarding plans to scrutinise the work of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust within the borough.

·                Councillors Kennelly & Maurice regarding the potential closure of Wembley Ambulance Service Station and its wider impact within the borough.

·                Councillor Choudhary regarding the status of those health services within the borough that had been or continued to be restricted due to the pandemic.

Before being presented with the updates from each Scrutiny Committee Chair, the Mayor reminded Members the time set aside for this item was 12 minutes, with each Chair having up to three minutes in which to highlight any significant issues arising from the work of their Committees.  Once these updates had been provided, the remaining time available would then be opened up for any other non-Cabinet members to question (without the need for advance notice) the Scrutiny Committee Chairs on matters relating to the work of their Committee.

Councillor Ketan Sheth was then invited to introduce the update report on the work being undertaken by the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, with the following issues highlighted:

·                The work due to be undertaken by the Committee at their next meeting, which would include scrutinising the impact of Covid-19 on Education and Children’s Services, progress against the Action Plan for raising attainment of boys of Black Caribbean heritage and the Brent Youth Offending Service post-inspection Action Plan;

·                Although the review of specialist services at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, had been paused as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, plans were being made for this to recommence.  Once completed proposed options from the review were expected to be published next year for public consultation;

·                Following concerns expressed about the proposed closure of Wembley Ambulance Station, the Committee had invited representatives from the London Ambulance Service to attend their next meeting, in order to clarify the current position.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Ketan Sheth for his update.

Councillor Mashari was then invited to introduce the update report on the work being undertaken by the Resources and Public Realm Committee, with the following issues highlighted:

·                The strong focus within the Committee’s Work Plan for 2020-21 on the Council’s strategic and policy framework, with a particular emphasis on how the Council had responded to the pandemic, revival of the local economy and employment and its response to the Black Community Action Plan and Poverty Commission;

·                The establishment of the annual Task Group to scrutinise the Council’s budget performance and draft budget proposals, which would include as a specific focus progress against delivery of the Borough Plan and key services along with the financial impact of Covid-19;

·                The proposed changes to the operation of the Committee aimed at improving its responsiveness, accountability and accessibility including the introduction of community witnesses and a review of the existing work programme to provide capacity for the inclusion of current issues at shorter notice;

·                The Committee would be considering a range of issues at its next meeting, including the Council’s proposals to tackle the climate emergency and the impact of Covid-19 on unemployment in Brent.

The Mayor thanked Councillor Mashari for her update and it was RESOLVED that the contents of both update reports be noted.

Following the updates provided, the Mayor advised that the remainder of time available would be open for questions from non-cabinet members to the Scrutiny Chairs. The Mayor reminded members of the need to ensure that questions raised were focused on the updates provided or the work being undertaken by each Committee. The following questions were raised and responses provided:

(i)      Councillor Long asked whether the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee had plans to scrutinise the work of the Royal Free London NHS Trust within the borough.

In response, Councillor Ketan Sheth advised members of the plans to ensure the Committee fully engaged in the work of all NHS trusts operating within the borough.

(ii)        Councillor Choudhary asked what plans the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee had to review the status and plans to provide access to those health services within the borough that had been or continued to be restricted due to the pandemic, including face to face GP consultations.

In response, Councillor Ketan Sheth explained that whilst a Task Group had been established to explore this issue in detail, its review had currently been paused in order to support the response being provided to the ongoing pandemic and pressures on the health service. It was intended to recommence the review once these pressures had eased and he advised he would be willing to liaise further on the issue following the meeting.

(iii)      Councillors Kennelly and Maurice both highlighted concerns regarding the potential closure of Wembley Ambulance Station and the wider impact this would have on service response times across the borough.  Both supported representatives from the London Ambulance Service being requested to attend the Community & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee in order to review and clarify the position.

Councillor Ketan Sheth assured both members of the plans to fully scrutinise the issue at the Scrutiny Committee’s upcoming meeting, with all interested members invited to attend or follow the proceedings via the live webcast.

At this stage in the proceedings, the Mayor advised that the time allocated for questions had now expired and he would therefore be moving on to the next item with all members thanked for their contributions.