Agenda item

To hear any deputations requested by members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 32.

Members are asked to note that the following deputations are due to be received at the meeting:

6.1   Response and action to address the climate emergency in Brent (deputation to be made by Action for the Climate Emergency Brent)

6.2   Implementation and operation of Blue Bag recycling scheme (deputation to be made by Sheila Darr, local resident)

(Agenda republished to include confirmation of second deputation on 14 November 2023)

6.1     Action to address the Climate Emergency

NOTED the deputation received from Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau (representing Action for the Climate Emergency in Brent) outlining concerns regarding the urgency of the action being taken by the Council to address the climate emergency and achieve the target of becoming a net carbon zero borough by 2030.  Referring to the coalition of groups represented by the newly established ACE Brent (which included Brent Friends of the Earth, Brent Cycling Campaign, Brent Parks Forum, Brent Pure Energy, Brent XR and Divest Brent) members were also reminded of the recent correspondence outlining the coalition’s detailed proposals along with the need to increase the pace of action over the coming five-year period.  Whilst recognising that the government was not on track regarding the climate emergency, ACE Brent felt that Brent as a borough could be.

Although recognising the Council’s commitment towards achieving net zero (as outlined within its Climate Emergency Strategy, Green Vision Planning guidelines, Green Neighbourhood pilots and other initiatives) it was not felt these were sufficiently urgent in nature as a response or reflected (given the diversity within Brent) the global and local social justice obligations which underpinned tackling the climate emergency.  Whilst aware of the financial pressures on the Council and impact of cost-of-living crisis, it was felt that working together to focus on more ambitious and urgent action did not mean having to spending more money, with calls for a revamped Climate Plan to galvanise and replace the current strategy that would bring together all current strategies and initiatives to more clearly prioritise SMART and costed actions that would deliver net zero and protect those residents most at risk.  Prior to handing over to Sylvia Gauthereau to continue, Elaine Sheppard ended by expressing concern at the limited scope of the Climate Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-24 in terms of the activities covered and also at the recent decision to revise reporting on the climate action from an annual to biannual basis, reiterating that this decision negatively impacted the ability to effectively monitor delivery of the Climate Strategy in advance of 2030.

Sylvia Gauthereau continued by advising that ACE Brent had welcomed the agreement at a recent Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee seeking a more accessible accountability framework to monitor performance, especially with regard to clearer measurement of emissions which it was hoped was now in progress.  It was also felt that the development of any new Plan should be initiated and informed by a new Climate Assembly which would have regular dialogue with, and report to, residents and stakeholders.  In support of this proposal, reference was made to the establishment of dedicated Climate and Emergency Scrutiny Committees and Citizen Panels by other local authorities.  As a result, ACE Brent felt that in order to effectively support the move towards net zero and ensure the necessary co-ordination and oversight was provided, Brent should also consider establishing a dedicated Climate and Ecological Emergency Scrutiny Committee which met on a quarterly basis. To conclude, Sylvia Gauthereau outlined the main areas ACE Brent were seeking to address as part of any new Climate Plan which included enabling further choice for active travel, implementing a major programme of insulation and retrofitting within the housing stock, fully divesting Brent’s Pension Fund from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel emitters, ensuring the sustainability of new developments, encouraging the installation of solar panels on all public buildings in the borough and increasing the canopy cover and green spaces in Brent.

In responding to the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action, welcomed ACE Brent’s continued interest and contribution as it was deemed crucial that residents and stakeholders supported the Council to effectively tackle the climate emergency and meet the Council’s ambitious target of net zero by 2030.  In recognising this was not something the Council could deliver in isolation, the importance in ensuring all residents and stakeholders were engaged was recognised, with Councillor Krupa Sheth expressing her thanks for the work ACE Brent were undertaking as both a coalition and individual organisations in encouraging climate action.  In expressing her pride at all those in the borough who were taking on the challenge through practical action to reduce emissions or make the borough greener, either as part of local initiatives or in their day-to-day lives, Councillor Krupa Sheth also felt it was important to recognise the local leadership role being played by the Council in coordinating, convening and empowering local groups to contribute through the Brent Environmental Network, the Faith Climate Action Plan and the Together Towards Zero small grant scheme.

In reminding members that Brent’s Climate Strategy had been developed on a consensus basis, with the themes mirroring those areas the Brent Climate Assembly had viewed as being environmental priorities for the borough, the importance in ensuring that the Strategy and Delivery Plan remained adaptable had been recognised with work already being undertaken to embed the actions in the Council’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan more prominently in future climate delivery plans.  With communication identified as key in order to maintain progress, the work being undertaken to develop a data dashboard on a host of key climate measures to demonstrate impact was also outlined, which it was hoped to provide for the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee early in 2024. This was being designed to supplement and provide greater transparency on existing progress reporting to Cabinet and via existing communication channels.  In ending her response, Councillor Krupa Sheth thanked Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau for the deputation and reiterated that the Council was keen to continue working constructively and collaborative with all sections of the community and stakeholders on the climate agenda to make Brent a low carbon, greener borough.

6.2     Implementation and Operation of the Blue Bag Recycling Scheme for paper and cardboard

NOTED the deputation received from Sheila Darr (as a local resident) seeking to highlight a number of practical implementation and operational concerns relating to the recently introduced blue bag recycling scheme across the borough.  In referring to comments which had been highlighted on the Nextdoor app and also various petitions in opposition to the blue bag recycling scheme, she began by outlining health and safety concerns regarding blue bags being blown onto the streets and not sufficiently holding their contents, which it was reported had resulted in waste being left on the street.  As a result, queries were raised in relation to any risk assessment completed regarding the danger that lost bags and loose waste posed to the community.  Furthermore, in reiterating the impact of the current housing crisis she pointed out concerns had also been raised in relation to storage of the bags in homes, given the limited space often available when they were full, and queried why excess paper and card could not be placed in recycling bins as residential blocks had continued to use these rather than bags.  In addition, the difficulty in keeping blue bags dry during wet weather and cold conditions was highlighted, especially where collection timetables had been altered causing bags to be left for a longer period of time, leading to increased contamination.  In discussing the impact of the blue bag recycling scheme on the elderly within the borough, Sheila Darr highlighted how the elderly might struggle with the weight of the bags and questioned whether any risk assessment had also included the practical impact of the scheme on the elderly.  Although recognising that support could be requested on the Council’s website, Sheila Darr reiterated that many elderly people struggled with internet usage and therefore may not be receiving the support they required.  In concluding, it was felt further guidance was required with concerns highlighted in relation to the impact of the scheme on the elderly, those whose main language was not English and the extent of consultation undertaken prior to the implementation of the scheme. In highlighting the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the health and well-being of local residents Sheila Darr ended by calling on the Council to reconsider the implementation of the blue bag scheme in order to avoid this compounding the challenges already being faced by many residents across the borough.

In response to the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action, felt it important to start by highlighting that the changes made to recycling collections have been designed to improve the amount and quality of recycling and reduce levels of contamination in order to reduce the borough’s impact on the environment and contribute towards the goal of the Council becoming carbon neutral by 2030. These changes had been predicted to save the Council £1.2m per annum by 2024/25, the first full year of operation for the new service, which she felt was also an important consideration to recognise given the wider financial challenges being faced by the Council as a result of the funding restrictions being imposed by Central Government.

In terms of the consultation process undertakenon the future waste collection and street cleansing services, confirmation was provided that this had taken place in Summer 2022 with the outcome supported by a successful trial involving 5000 households in Autumn 2022 and reflected similar schemes being successfully operated by other local authorities.  In confirming that the changes introduced had only been to street level properties and not to flats in communal blocks, which continued to receive the same comingled recycling collections as before, Councillor Krupa Sheth felt it important to recognise the need for any major service change, to fully bed in with the Council continuing to monitor the roll out of the new service very closely.  Work was also being undertaken with the contractor, Veolia, to address any operational issues and listen to all feedback so that, where required, improvements could be identified in order to make the service better for both residents and the environment.  The opportunity was also taken to highlight the positive impact of the scheme with a continued rise in the amount of separated paper and card being collected, mirroring the successful trial from last year.  As an example, members were advised that in the last two weeks of October, the Council had seen a 50% increase in paper and cardboard collected in comparison to the first fortnight and further increases at the start of November with no reported issues in terms of either contamination or moisture.

In addressing specific concerns raised within the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth confirmed that residents could choose whether to store their sack indoors or outdoors, so long as they were presented at the kerbside on the scheduled collection day. They could also order additional or replacement sacks for free with those residents who required it, also receiving extra assistance with their recycling arrangements, as before.  In summing up, confirmation was provided of the Council’s ongoing commitment, despite the challenging nature of the budget pressures identified, towards the provision of key services across the borough whilst also seeking to protect the most vulnerable with Councillor Krupa Sheth advising she would welcome further feedback on the blue bag scheme as it continued to bed in across the borough.

Eligible for Call-In: No

The Mayor advised that she had accepted two requests for deputations to be presented at the meeting.  The first of these was from Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau (representing Action for the Climate Emergency in Brent) outlining concerns about the action being taken by the Council to address the climate emergency and achieve the target of becoming net carbon zero by 2030.  The second was from Sheila Darr (as a local resident) seeking to highlight a number of practical implementation and operational concerns relating to the recently introduced blue bag recycling scheme across the borough.

Unless otherwise indicated by members, the Mayor advised that she intended to allow up to five minutes for presentation of each deputation before then allowing the relevant Lead Cabinet Member up to two minutes to respond.

As no objections were raised on the approach outlined, the Mayor moved on to welcome the first deputation.

7.1     Action to address the Climate Emergency

In thanking the Mayor for the opportunity to address the meeting, Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau advised they were presenting the deputation on behalf of the newly established Action for the Climate Emergency in Brent (ACE Brent) which represented a coalition of groups including Brent Friends of the Earth, Brent Cycling Campaign, Brent Parks Forum, Brent Pure Energy, Brent XR and Divest Brent.  In seeking to outline their concerns regarding the urgency of the action being taken by the Council to address the climate emergency and achieve the target of becoming a net carbon zero borough by 2030, Elaine Sheppard began by reminding members of the correspondence circulated in advance of the meeting, which had outlined the coalition’s detailed proposals along with what they felt was a need to increase the pace of action over the coming five-year period.  Whilst recognising that the government was not on track regarding the climate emergency, ACE Brent felt that Brent as a borough could be.

Although recognising the Council’s commitment towards achieving net zero (as outlined within its Climate Emergency Strategy, Green Vision Planning guidelines, Green Neighbourhood pilots and other initiatives) it was not felt these were sufficiently urgent in nature as a response or reflected (given the diversity within Brent) the global and local social justice obligations which underpinned tackling the climate emergency.  Whilst aware of the financial pressures on the Council and impact of cost-of-living crisis, it was felt that working together to focus on more ambitious and urgent action did not mean having to spending more money.  ACE Brent were therefore seeking a revamped Climate Plan to galvanise and replace the existing strategy aimed at bringing together all current plans and initiatives to more clearly prioritise SMART and costed actions that would deliver net zero and protect those residents most at risk.  Prior to handing over to Sylvia Gauthereau, Elaine Sheppard ended by expressing concern at the limited scope of the current Climate Strategy Delivery Plan in terms of the activities covered and also at the recent decision to revise reporting on climate action from an annual to biannual basis, reiterating that this decision negatively impacted the ability to effectively monitor delivery of the Climate Strategy in advance of 2030.

Sylvia Gauthereau then continued by advising that ACE Brent had welcomed the agreement at a recent Resources & Public Realm Scrutiny Committee to seek a more accessible accountability framework to monitor performance, especially with regard to clearer measurement of emissions which it was hoped was now in progress.  It was also felt that the development of any new Plan should be initiated and informed by a new Climate Assembly which would engage in regular dialogue with residents and stakeholders.  In support of this proposal, reference was made to the establishment of dedicated Climate and Emergency Scrutiny Committee’s and Citizen Panels by other local authorities.  As a result, ACE Brent felt that in order to effectively support the move towards net zero and ensure necessary co-ordination and oversight was provided, Brent should also consider establishing a dedicated Climate and Ecological Emergency Scrutiny Committee. To conclude, Sylvia Gauthereau outlined the main areas ACE Brent were seeking to address as part of any new Climate Plan which included enabling further choice for active travel; implementing a major programme of insulation and retrofitting within the housing stock; fully divesting Brent’s Pension Fund from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel emitters; ensuring the sustainability of new developments; encouraging the installation of solar panels on all public buildings in the borough and increasing the canopy cover and green spaces in Brent.

In responding to the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action, welcomed ACE Brent’s continued interest and contribution in supporting the Council to effectively tackle the climate emergency and meet the Council’s ambitious target of net zero by 2030.  In recognising this was not something the Council could deliver in isolation, the importance in ensuring all residents and stakeholders were engaged was recognised, with Councillor Krupa Sheth expressing her thanks for the work ACE Brent were undertaking as both a coalition and individual organisations in encouraging climate action.  In expressing pride at the range of individuals and organisations across the borough taking on the challenge through practical action to reduce emissions and make the borough greener, Councillor Krupa Sheth also felt it was important to recognise the local leadership role being played by the Council in coordinating, convening and empowering local groups to contribute through the Brent Environmental Network, the Climate Action Plan and the Together Towards Zero small grant scheme.

In reminding members that Brent’s Climate Strategy had been developed on a consensus basis, with the themes mirroring those areas the Brent Climate Assembly had viewed as being environmental priorities for the borough, the importance in ensuring that the Strategy and Delivery Plan remained adaptable had been recognised with work already underway to embed the actions more prominently in future climate delivery plans.  With communication identified as key, in order to maintain progress, the work being undertaken to develop a data dashboard on a host of key climate measures to demonstrate impact was also outlined, which it was hoped to provide for the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee early in 2024. This was being designed to supplement and provide greater transparency on existing monitoring updates being provided to Cabinet and via existing communication channels.  In ending her response, Councillor Krupa Sheth once again thanked Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau for the deputation and reiterated that the Council was keen to continue working constructively and collaborative with all sections of the community and stakeholders on the climate agenda to make Brent a low carbon, greener borough.

Having thanked Elaine Sheppard and Sylvia Gauthereau for their deputation and Councillor Krupa Sheth for the response the Mayor then moved on to welcome the second deputation.

7.2     Implementation and Operation of the Blue Bag Recycling Scheme for paper and cardboard

In thanking the Mayor for the opportunity to address the meeting, Sheila Darr (as a local resident) advised she was seeking to highlight a number of practical operational concerns relating to the recently introduced blue bag recycling scheme across the borough.  In referring to comments which had been highlighted on the Nextdoor app and various petitions in opposition to the blue bag recycling scheme, she began by outlining health and safety concerns involving the bags being blown around on streets and not sufficiently holding or protecting their contents, which it was reported had resulted in additional litter.  As a result, queries were raised in relation to any risk assessment completed regarding the danger that lost bags and loose waste posed to the community.  Furthermore, in reiterating the impact of the current housing crisis, she pointed out concerns had also been raised in relation to storage of the bags in homes, given the limited space often available when they were full, and queried why excess paper and card could not be placed in recycling bins as residential blocks had continued to use.  In addition, the difficulty in keeping blue bags dry during wet weather and cold conditions was highlighted, especially where collection timetables had been altered, causing bags to be left for a longer period of time leading to increased contamination.  In highlighting other difficulties with the blue bag recycling scheme, Sheila Darr also raised concerns about the impact on those elderly residents who may struggle with the weight of the bag and questioned whether any risk assessment had included the practical impact of the scheme in this respect.  Although recognising that support could be requested on the Council’s website, Sheila Darr reiterated that many elderly people struggled with internet usage and therefore may not be receiving the support they required.  In concluding, it was felt further guidance was required with concerns highlighted in relation to the impact of the scheme on the elderly, those whose main language was not English and the extent of consultation undertaken prior to the implementation of the scheme. In highlighting the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the health and well-being of local residents Sheila Darr ended by calling on the Council to reconsider the implementation of the blue bag scheme in order to avoid compounding the challenges already being faced by many residents across the borough.

In response to the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth, as Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action, felt it important to start by highlighting that the changes made to the recycling arrangements had been designed to reduce contamination and improve the amount and quality of material being recycled in order to reduce the borough’s impact on the environment and contribute towards the goal of the Council becoming carbon neutral by 2030. This scheme had been predicted to save the Council £1.2m per annum by 2024-25, the first full year of operation for the new service, which she felt was also an important consideration to recognise given the wider financial challenges being faced by the Council as a result of funding restrictions being imposed by Central Government.

In terms of the consultation process undertakenon the future waste collection and street cleansing services, confirmation was provided that this had taken place in Summer 2022 with the outcome supported by a successful trial involving 5000 households in Autumn 2022. The scheme in Brent had also reflected similar schemes being successfully operated by other local authorities.  In confirming that the changes introduced had only been to street level properties and not to flats in communal blocks, which continued to receive the same comingled recycling collections as before, Councillor Krupa Sheth felt it important to recognise the need to allow sufficient time for any major service change to fully embed, with the Council continuing to closely monitor the roll out of the new service.  Work was also being undertaken with the contractor (Veolia) to address any operational issues and feedback identified so that, where required, improvements could be introduced to make the service better for both residents and the environment.  The opportunity was also taken to highlight the positive impact of the scheme with a continued rise in the amount of separated paper and card being collected, mirroring the successful trial from last year.  As an example, members were advised that in the last two weeks of October, the Council had seen a 50% increase in paper and cardboard collected in comparison to the first fortnight and further increases at the start of November with no reported issues in terms of either contamination or the impact of the weather.

In addressing the specific concerns raised within the deputation, Councillor Krupa Sheth confirmed that residents could choose whether to store their sack indoors or outdoors, so long as they were presented at the kerbside on the scheduled collection day. They could also order additional or replacement sacks for free with additional assistance available (for those residents who required it) with their recycling arrangements, as before.  In summing up confirmation was provided of the Council’s ongoing commitment, despite the challenging nature of the budget pressures identified, towards the provision of key services across the borough whilst also seeking to protect the most vulnerable with Councillor Krupa Sheth advising she would welcome further feedback on the blue bag recycling scheme as experience continued to be gained following its implementation across the borough.

The Mayor thanked Sheila Darr for attending the meeting in order to present her deputation and Councillor Krupa Sheth for her response and advised that as this concluded consideration of the deputations she would move on to the next item.