Agenda item
The local impact of the recession - a six-month review
Report from the Director of Policy and Regeneration.
A report on the local impact of the recession was received by the Executive on 16 March 2009. This detailed the impact the recession was having in Brent and a number of recommendations. The current report sets out Brent’s position six months on and progress to date on recommendations made. Economic data indicate that the recession has a high impact in Brent, particularly in our most deprived wards. Work continues across Brent to ameliorate the impact of the recession.
Minutes:
Phil Newby (Director of Policy and Regeneration) introduced the report, informing the Panel that the Brent Council’s Executive had taken a view in March 2009 to respond to the facts of the recession, as opposed to acting on assumptions. The current report set out the position in Brent six months on, together with progress on recommendations made. The economic data indicated that the recession had had a high impact in Brent, particularly in the most deprived wards, which were also the Council’s priorities for regeneration. Despite the steep rise in unemployment, official labour market statistics had not shown a large dip in employment. This was perhaps because the statistics, provided by Nomis, did not capture short-term changes, and this issue needed addressing. Take-up of housing benefits and council tax benefits had increased, as predicted, and there was a correlation with the level and distribution of unemployment. These areas also recorded the lowest levels of satisfaction with services. There was more mental illness and acquisitive crime, in particular burglaries, although the level of street crime was continuing to fall. In general, however, the indicators showed that the picture was mixed. For example, the incidence of youth violence was low, although when this did take place it tended to be more serious. There was no indication of a large increase in homelessness. The main issue was unemployment and the effect of this in the most deprived areas.
Asked about the possibilities of mitigating the effects of the recession, in particular in relation to unemployment, Phil Newby reported that difficult decisions would need to be made in view of the fact that funding from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund would no longer be available to finance Brent in2 Work. In addition to this, London Development Agency (LDA) funding would be ending. Proposals would be made in November, with the possibility of a flexible new deal arrangement with a private sector partner as a way of funding wraparound services.
Answering a question on the impact of efficiency reviews on the Council’s ability to respond to the increased demand for Council services, Phil Newby informed the Panel that the Council would continue to prioritise the areas of most acute need, and would do it more efficiently. This was an issue affecting all local authorities, not just Brent. The Council’s medium-term financial strategy was predicated on the current plan to save £50m over four years. If, for example, a future government made unanticipated cuts in finance to local authorities, then this would be considered on a logical basis if and when it happened.
Duncan McLeod (Director of Finance and Corporate Resources) added that the Council’s budget was also affected by demographic pressures not linked to the recession, but that the information gathered would be helpful for the future. He also pointed out that the drop in land and rental values was having an adverse effect on the Council’s plans for regeneration. Responding to the suggestion that now be a good time for the Council to acquire land, Phil Newby agreed that while this was the case, the financial realities meant that this was not possible. Duncan McLeod added that, where there was a business case and the Council was confident of a good investment, forward funding could be used, but this could not be justified in the case of what might be regarded as a speculative development.
In answer to a question about the prospects of reviving housing development and the regeneration of the North Circular Road, Phil Newby reported that the Housing and Communities Agency was in favour of development of areas such as the North Circular Road, but that the Council needed to be prepared to tackle this in phases. Currently Quintain was looking more to non-housing, rather than housing developments, but it was hoped that Brent would be included in the next round of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding and thus benefit from the major gains of rebuilding a number of schools. In the meantime the Council was being proactive and looking ahead to the possibilities of joint ventures and partnership with the private sector, with the Council accepting more risk, with the added benefit that the Council would keep more control and more of the gain.
RESOLVED:
that the report be noted.
Supporting documents: