Agenda item

A report on how the Council is supporting Covid-19 economic and community recovery.

Councillor Margaret McLennan (Deputy Leader, Lead Member for Resources and Children's Safeguarding, Early Help and Social Care, Brent Council) and Councillor Shama Tatler (Lead Member for Regeneration, Property & Planning, Brent Council) presented these reports. It was noted that the pandemic had resulted in serious implications for Brent residents; the borough had the most amount of people on furlough, digital access for residents was low, as well as food and fuel poverty. The work from the Transformation Team at the Council was praised, as well as that of Citizens Lab and Age UK. This work had resulted in granular, real time work which enabled the Council to set up the Residents Support Fund and other funds such as the Household Support Fund. Coming out of the pandemic, this work had been able to identify residents with the most issues, as well as making communities more resilient. In future, funding was available to kick-start Brent’s economy, looking at how businesses could be supported, as well as additional education provision. The schemes carried out by the Council were delivered across Customer Services and in Community Hubs. As a result, the organisation of the service was being considered, with collaboration in mind. It was also noted that the procurement strategy tied into this report, including affordable workplaces and inclusive growth. It was noted as being vital  to provide residents with digital access so that they could achieve their goals and ambitions. Brent’s Council Tax Support scheme was also highlighted as being one of the best in the country, allowing the Covid-19 funding to be utilised elsewhere. However, the Committee were asked to note that the funding and support to residents was due to end in March 2022, though support for businesses would extend beyond this date. To date, there had been 4000 applications to the Residents Support Fund, of which 1500 applications had been successful. In future, it was planned to make the application process for the Council’s schemes more accessible to residents.

The Committee was then invited to raise questions on the update provided, which focussed on a number of key areas as highlighted below:  

·                The Committee noted that it would be useful to have a clear picture of the total grants received, the money spent to date, the monies remaining and the outcomes from the schemes. It was noted that the breakdown of each particular grant would be available for the Committee.  

·                The Committee asked about the deadlines for personal and business support, and what would happen if that money was not spent by the March deadline; it was answered that the business grants would extend beyond this financial year, with the Household Support Fund ending on 31 March. 60% of the grant had been given to residents, with 40% remaining. If this money was not spent by the deadline, this would be returned to Central Government.

·                Further to this point, the Committee asked if the Council were confident of spending the remaining money on the Household Support Fund, to which it was answered that due to the level of demand there was confidence that this would be spent.

·                In the context of wider budget cuts, it was asked how much of the Covid-19 grants were ‘new’ money and not received through previous funding streams. It was clarified that all Covid-19 funding that had come through had been new money and had not affected other areas in the Council’s budget. It was clarified that the money that had been received from the Government for these schemes would have to be paid back in some form over the coming years.

·                A question was asked regarding the Voluntary Sector’s role and the funding provided to Food Banks. It was queried whether this had created barriers for organisations already carrying out these services and whether work streams had been duplicated; it was clarified that the monies outlined within the report were additional monies provided by the Government, some of which went to schools, as well as food and fuel vouchers for residents. There was also a group formed by the Council comprising of all Food Banks within the borough, whereby if an organisation signed up they could be provided with money from Central Government via the Council.

·                Referencing feedback from Community Groups arising from a Budget Scrutiny Group discussion, it was asked whether the amount of money provided to Food Banks was thought to be sufficient, as well as querying whether work streams were in fact duplicated by the Council. It was noted that this work was collaborative rather than duplicating, as part of a process to understand the needs of residents. In terms of the funding, this was noted as being part of the Winter Support Fund, with the money used to support Food Banks and supporting residents who attended Food Banks. In terms of distributing food to residents, it was clarified that at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the Council delivered food parcels to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV), which was an emergency reaction and not a precedent. The discussions during the pandemic with Food Banks were as a result of demand where charities felt they were unable to cope with rising demand. 

·                The Committee asked how it was decided whether the money spent had been successfully invested, particularly relating to employment and education. In terms of Brent Hubs, it was noted that the number of residents supported was measured, as well as measuring and tracking outcomes. It was noted as complex to determine whether issues had been resolved as many residents attending the Hubs had multiple and complex issues. It was updated that there was a new system which would track outcomes in areas such as supporting residents coming out of debt and coming into employment; as well as preventative work around issues such as homelessness. It was also updated that the employment team had a new CRM system which was in place prior to the pandemic, with several thousand people registered. Updates included the number of jobs people were placed into, as well as the duration and whether they received a living wage.

·                In relation to how many members were in Brent’s Food Bank network and what the funding provided, it was clarified that there were thought to be seven members of the network currently, and that the funding could be spent on food as well as infrastructure, transport and storage.

·                In considering digital support, it was asked whether the springboard training was free, and if so where it was advertised. This was noted as a result of social value and ethical procurement, including courses in how to write a CV and beginning coding, with 500 people signed up free of charge. In terms of advertisement, this was publicised on Sky News and it was being promoted by the Council. Springboard had also been promoted through partner organisations and was tied in with digital device schemes with residents and businesses.

·                A question was raised around the BuyBrent app and the digital pilot scheme, particularly how outcomes were measured. It was clarified that Town Centre Managers had reached out to businesses around the BuyBrent app, with 2000 downloads so far. Residents and businesses’ activity and transactions were able to be tracked, as well as anecdotal discussions with businesses.

·                It was queried how BuyBrent and other schemes would help the local economy, to which it was answered that 5000 people had enrolled in Brent Start and thousands using the Springboard app. It was stressed that BuyBrent was not deployed in isolation, but as part of an overall package of skills and employment support. In terms of local businesses, there was a focus on enabling digital support as well as promoting local businesses more widely. As a wider point, it was stated that the goal was for Brent residents to spend money within the borough through the BuyBrent app.

·                In a strategic point around unemployment and redundancies, it was asked whether conversations were ongoing with the top 5 largest employers in the borough and what work was happening to support these businesses. It was recognised that strategic conversations needed to be established with Brent Businesses, which had previously been carried out through the Brent Business Board. In terms of support, it was updated that support was offered around digital access, green initiatives as well as affordable workplace strategies. Town Centre Managers were also working with Landlords to establish vacancy rates in commercial properties. 

·                In relation to unemployment levels in Brent, it was posited that Brent had higher levels of unemployment than many London boroughs; this was noted as being a reason why Brent was vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. Discussions with Brent businesses around barriers they face had taken place and could be shared with the Scrutiny Committee.

·                A query was raised around contracts that had been provided outside of regular procurement rules outlined in 3.10 of the report, it was suggested for a list of these contract awards to be provided. Any contracts outside of the procurement rules would have been delegated under emergency powers and would have been documented within the Council’s decision-making process. These decisions were a result of the fast moving landscape of Covid-19. 

·                It was asked whether the Covid-19 grants had contributed to help with domestic abuse against women and girls, to which it was clarified that these grants were primarily for support with food, fuel and utilities. However, there had been work conducted alongside the Family Wellbeing Centres in Brent to assess where families required extra support, including domestic violence. 

·                It was asked why Brent’s wages had decreased on average during the pandemic, to which it was answered this was likely due to the types of jobs which had changed, as well as those in higher paid jobs losing their jobs.

It was RESOLVED:

(1)     That the following areas for improvement be noted:

·         To receive a breakdown of the Covid-19 grant funding received by the Council including:

a)    Total received

b)    Total spent

c)    Total unspent

d)    Outputs/outcomes

e)    Cut off points for grant applications and spend

f)     Total allocated from Council core funding/additional grant funding

·         To receive a breakdown of the outputs/outcomes (in line with outputs/outcomes provided for other work in report) for Covid-19 support provided by:

a)    Brent Hubs

b)    Financial Inclusion and Welfare workstream

·         To receive a list of organisations that have signed up to the Foodbank Network and details on where the organisations are located within the borough.

·         To receive a list of contracts that have been given outside of the Council’s procurement rules during the Covid-19 pandemic.

·         To receive a list of the Council’s live strategies.

(2)     The Committee made the following information requests:

·         For the Council to consider increasing the amount of grant funding provided to Brent foodbanks.

·         For the Council to engages with the largest employers within the borough to seek assurance around potential future job losses. If necessary, appropriate support should be given to large employers to ensure job losses are limited.

·         For the Council’s Town Managers to assess how many local businesses are in need of “critical support” and increase support for these businesses in line with their need.

·         For the Council to ensure that Covid-19 related financial support for victims of domestic abuse and violence is well communicated to residents.

·         For the Council to consider commissioning business and/or financial professionals to provide support to those high street businesses that may be struggling to recover from the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.