Agenda item
Questions from the Opposition and other Non- Executive Members
Questions will be put to the Executive
Minutes:
Councillor Hopkins referred to the ban on lorries above 7.5 tonnes using certain roads in her ward and the need for effective enforcement, especially along Dollis Hill. She stated that this was made difficult because many of the signs were missing and so asked if these would be replaced and the ban enforced. Councillor J Moher replied that he had recently had discussions on this issue along with the effect heavy lorries were having on the Oxgate Farm building and flooding in the area. Work to rectify the situation was in hand and he expressed sympathy with the points made based on personal observation. Efforts would be made to effectively enforce the ban. Councillor Hopkins stated that it was not just Oxgate Farm that was affected but also the wider Dollis Hill area. From monitoring the movement of lorries, it appeared that many used local roads as a rat run. She appreciated the reply from Councillor Moher and looked forward to urgent action being taken.
Councillor HB Patel stated that the local water company had recently dug up the road on East Lane. Whilst understanding the need for these works to be carried out, he stated that they had caused significant traffic disruption along such a busy road and the diversions put in place were poor. Drivers had used Clarendon Gardens and Castleton Avenue as a cut through and heavy vehicles had caused damage to the footways. He asked why the Council had not anticipated the situation and put in effective diversions. Councillor J Moher acknowledged the damage caused along Clarendon Gardens and added that it appeared that larger vehicles were getting through the width restriction. He reminded members that an earlier decision had been taken to restrict all vehicles entering from East Lane but this had caused other problems and so the restriction had been lifted and a width restriction put in its place. He felt there was a need for better enforcement in the area and so had asked officers to look into this matter. Councillor Patel appreciated the reply from Councillor Moher but pointed out that the problem was largely caused by Council vehicles passing through the width restriction with the restriction having been removed and then not being reinstated and action to stop this was needed immediately.
Councillor Arnold asked what the GCSE results in Brent schools were for the year in respect of 5 A-Cs and 5 A-Cs with English and Maths and how these compared with last year’s results and the national average. Councillor Pavey replied that 64% had achieved A-C. He congratulated the young people on achieving such good results and thanked the schools for the work put in to reach this position. He also acknowledged the support of parents, governors and others that contributed to local schools performing so well. Councillor Arnold added her congratulations to everyone involved. She stated that the Government was turning back the clock with child poverty on the increase, teachers being undermined and she expressed concern that the appropriate measures were taken to ensure no-one was excluded.
Councillor Sneddon referred to the role of planning where a concentration of a particular type of business was allowed to occur. He recalled the Council passing a motion in 2011 on restricting the proliferation of betting shops and asked what steps had been taken to progress this. Councillor Butt replied that a study of recent cases where permissions for certain businesses had been challenged showed that most such challenges failed. Work was being carried out with London Councils and the Mayor of London to lobby for sufficient powers to be able deal with this problem. He referred particularly to the proliferation of betting shops and pay day lender outlets. Consideration was being given to what action could be taken in the Wembley area which if successful could be extended around the borough. Councillor Sneddon thanked Councillor Butt for his reply. He also referred to some councils calling for laws to limit particular businesses and that this was a matter of discussion nationally within the Liberal Democrat party. He hoped all parties could work together on this.
Councillor Oladapo asked what actions the Council took in partnership with the police following the tragic killing of Sabrina Moss in Kilburn and how the Mayor of London’s decision to close Willesden Green police station as well as the front counter at Harlesden police station would impact on the police’s ability to respond to extremely violent crimes such as this in the future. Councillor Choudry replied that one person had been charged in relation to this very serious incident. Following the murder the police had convened a group consisting of a wide range of community representatives who were asked to use their leadership role to reassure people about the situation, especially in light of the Notting Hill carnival taking place. Councillor Choudry was pleased to say that there were no related incidents at the carnival and an incident room remained at Willesden Green Police Station. The rationalisation of police services would see the closure of Willesden Green police station and the front counter at Harlesden police station as stated by Councillor Oladapo. There would be a 24 hour front counter service at Wembley. Contrary to the assertion that this would not have a detrimental impact on police services it was clear that people would be left feeling less safe with police services cut back in this way. Councillor Oladapo added that the murder had been one of the worst incidents to have taken place in the Kilburn area which remained a safe and vibrant place. He acknowledged the good work by the police in arresting a suspect. He reassured the Council that he and other community leaders would continue to work to prevent such an incident being repeated. He added that he understood that the Mayor of London even wanted to close Kilburn police station.
Councillor Hunter referred to the Council seeking London Living Wage accreditation and the criticism of zero hours contracts in the NHS. She asked how this could be reconciled with the Council employing staff on such contracts and if it could be guaranteed that the public realm contract would ensure staff were paid a minimum of at least the London Living Wage (LLW). Councillor Butt replied that he had always been committed to the LLW. Regarding zero hours contracts he referred to the time of the previous Council Administration when there were 700 people on such contracts. This number had now been reduced to below 200. Work was being undertaken to continue to review these contracts to ensure staff received appropriate terms and conditions and were not taken advantage of. Councillor Butt added that he would continue to encourage businesses to pay the LLW as the best way towards employing a happy workforce and contributing to the local economy. Councillor Hunter was pleased to hear that the number of staff on zero hours contracts had reduced but stated that, whilst there was a lot of discussion and agreement around the need to review these contracts, there was also comments made that they were sometimes necessary. She felt that in the public sector there should be zero tolerance of zero hours contracts.
Councillor Mitchell Murray asked what would be the impact in Brent of the Government’s proposals to end the duty of local authorities to monitor and report on air quality. Councillor Mashari replied that the level of health inequality in the borough was already shocking. It was clear that air quality had an effect on the quality of life for local residents. Instead of working to improve the health of people the Government was instead proposing to dismantle the current structure that produced accurate data on air quality. This would mean that local authorities would be powerless to refuse planning permissions for developments that might have a detrimental effect on the health of local residents because the necessary evidence would not be available. She encouraged everyone to submit their objections to the proposal before the consultation period ended. Councillor Mitchell Murray thanked Councillor Mashari for her reply.
Councillor Lorber referred to a previous call-in of the Executive’s decision to abolish parking scratch cards and the Executive’s response that it amounted to a fuss about nothing. Members were told the situation would improve when additional staff were taken on. However, he stated that all this time later and residents were still unable to get through on the telephone and the IT systems were still not working properly. Councillors and officers continued to receive complaints and so Councillor Lorber asked if the Executive would apologise for forcing through this change. Councillor J Moher replied that all members could quote examples of complaints or praise. He acknowledged there were problems with the new system but additional telephone lines had been installed and additional staff recruited with the result that as of 5 September call waiting time was down to an average of one minute 39 seconds. Improvements to the service were happening and it had been made clear to the contractor that further improvements still had to be made. Councillor Lorber responded saying he felt the scheme was indefensible and referred to a specific case where a pensioner did not have access to a computer and her son had been unable to get through on the telephone. He again asked why scratch cards had been stopped and referred to consultation being carried out by Brent Housing Partnership over options for introducing parking scratch cards.
Councillor Van Kalwala asked if the Executive would agree with him that the people of Brent would have been better off if the MP for Brent Central had discovered her conscience three years ago. Councillor Butt replied that he agreed with Councillor Van Kalwala. Sarah Teather, MP had voted for successive Government budgets which had reduced funding for Brent Council by £104M. As Schools Minister she oversaw the elimination of the previous Government’s crucial Building Schools for the Future programme and she had colluded in the privatisation of the NHS. He stated that Brent residents needed an MP who would stand up for them through thick and thin and who would not be afraid to face the electorate on their record. Councillor Van Kalwala thanked Councillor Butt for his reply. He agreed that Sarah Teather had failed to stand up for the people of Brent. He stated that there was now the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and get in a Labour MP to stand up for Labour values and give people some hope for the future.
Councillor Brown thought that the Executive should be as appalled as local people were over the condition of the streets. He asked if the Council would expand its enforcement action against illegal dumping and invest to save on reducing the amount of rubbish on Brent’s streets thereby saving in disposal costs. Councillor Mashari replied that the incidence of dumping in the borough was at a two year low and provided the following information: 2,500 street inspections carried out since April, 120 fly tipping cases dealt with and 81 litter investigations carried out. The amount of waste going to landfill was down and a robust enforcement programme was in place to tackle fly tipping. She suggested Councillor Brown might encourage more of his local residents to recycle because the Alperton ward had one of the lowest levels of recycling in the borough. Councillor Brown stated that local residents were voicing their disgust at the amount of fly tipping and felt his question regarding adopting an invest to save approach had not been answered.