Issue - decisions

(1)        The following Motion submitted by the Conservative Group, was declared LOST and not approved:

 

“Measures to tackle Flooding in Brent

 

In the past few years, flooding in Brent and other areas is getting more frequent and severe. Whilst this is partly due to climate change and global warming, it also reflects the massive level of regeneration, development and building on green and brown fields sites which is detrimental to the drainage of rainwater and it is felt future planning policy must reflect.

 

We are losing more green and open spaces which used to soak up the rain water. The Council’s policy of tarmacking footpaths also does not allow water to permeate in the ground. Just a little rain and we observe streams of water flowing on the roads and pavements.

 

We notice that flood water collects in low lying areas and does not recede for a few days after it rains which means that in the current situation more frequent and severe flooding will take place. 

 

We appreciate that Brent alone cannot stop global warming and climate change and recognise that the borough has a Flood Risk management Strategy in place, however we can take further steps to mitigate the consequences and protect our residents’ lives and property.

 

As a result this Council calls on Cabinet to:

 

1)          Reverse the policy of tarmacking the footways and replace with paving slabs and bricks which allows more water to soak in the ground, especially in known flood risk areas;

 

2)          Reverse the policy of large scale developments which are reducing the green open spaces and making Brent a concrete jungle;

 

3)          Implement a regular gully cleaning and leaf collection program, especially in the flood prone areas;

 

4)          Implement a regular program of inspecting all drains and gullies in areas identified as flood risk and repair as necessary and the Council’s responsibility, including Brent’s brooks and rivers;

 

5)          Introduce a policy that makes it’s illegal to concrete over the whole of a rear garden as this also impedes the draining of rainwater.  We suggest a maximum of 20% of the rear garden can be paved or concreted over.

 

If Brent is serious about global warming and climate change and wants to protect its citizens now and for future, it's the least it can do.”

 

(2)    The following Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrats Group was unanimously AGREED:

 

“Holding Housing Associations to Account

 

The Council notes:

 

Many Brent residents live in properties managed by Housing Associations. They may be Housing Association tenants, leaseholders or shared owners.

 

The number of residents who will live in properties managed by Housing Associations will continue to grow in the coming years, as more large tower blocks and Housing Association managed units are approved and built in our borough.

 

Housing Associations were originally set up as charitable, non-profit making organisations, with the aim to provide low cost housing for people.

 

In recent times, as Housing Associations have grown in number and as their stock has vastly increased, their original focus seems to have been lost as they now seem to be driven by profit and the desire to continuously increase their stock.

 

As Elected Members we are often made aware of issues within buildings managed by Housing Associations, whether in individual properties or in communal areas.

 

The communication between tenants and Housing Associations is poor, resulting in long periods of time passing before issues are identified and resolved.

 

There is a distinct lack of accountability when it comes to Housing Associations, and leaseholders, tenants, shared owners, often feel their concerns are ignored.

 

Ever increasing Service Charges continue to cause financial misery to many in our borough.

 

Frequently, Service Charge bills are not explained in detail to residents, as should be the case and scrutinising huge increases in bills is often complicated, meaning many experience financial hardship without fully understanding where their money is going.

 

Building repairs identified in individual homes and communal areas often take unacceptably long to rectify, despite residents paying vast Service Charges and most Housing Associations having considerable amounts in reserves, to deal with building defects and similar issues.

Essential building repairs are not prioritised, comprising the health and safety of residents, or causing real obstacles for people with disabilities or impairments.

 

Housing Associations rarely review the work of their contractors, resulting in issues reoccurring for no reason. In the long run this costs tenants more.

 

This Council believes:

 

1.          Housing Associations must be held accountable and deliver for their tenants, some of whom are vulnerable and have specific housing and care needs.

 

2.          That Housing Associations have both a legal and moral duty to ensure that their tenants’ needs are met and all issues are addressed in a timely manner.

 

3.          There is often a distinct lack of communication between Housing Associations and their tenants, which fuels the frustration many feel.

 

4.           It is difficult for tenants to make complaints when issues persist and are left unresolved as it is hard to know who within these bureaucratic organisations is responsible for different issues that arise.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

1.          Exert our influence to demand better for residents who are currently experiencing issues with their Housing Association

 

2.          Collate a directory of useful contact information of all Housing Associations who have stock in our borough, in order for Elected Members and Officers to be able to better support residents who have ongoing problems with their Housing Association.

 

3.          Help signpost residents to their specific Housing Association officer who would be best placed to help resolve ongoing issues in their homes or communal spaces in their building.

 

4.          Organise a roundtable with all Housing Associations who have stock in Brent in order for a frank and open conversation to take place between Elected Members and representatives from Housing Associations about ongoing issues within their stock.

 

5.          Review our relationship with Housing Associations who have significant issues, particularly those who do not address buildingdefects withintheirexistingstock.

 

6.          Support local people in holding their Housing Association to account by seeking to democratise the relationship between tenant and Housing Association through setting up Resident Associations where in public meetings issues can be raised and actions determined.”

 

(3)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“Our Home Our Vote

 

The Council notes:

 

§    The Elections Bill has passed Royal Assent. The Bill when enabled will introduce a number of measures which will impact electors and local authorities including mandatory photographic voter ID, overseas voting, and voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens.

 

§    Election officials say they have not had enough time to prepare for voter ID and are worried that thousands of people will be turned away from polling stations. Labour Party MPs have raised concerns regarding voter suppression, since six of the Government-accepted IDs are specifically targeted at older people, while almost none are aimed at younger people.

 

§    In Brent, 169,000 residents were born abroad, and across London over 12% of residents are from the European Union.

 

§    They live, work, study, make use of public services, and call London their home. Many of our foreign-born residents from EU and Commonwealth countries can vote in our local elections. However, approximately 377,000 Londoners that were born in non-EU and non-Commonwealth countries cannot vote in our elections.

 

§    Scotland and Wales implemented residence-based voting rights where all residents with lawful immigration status have the right to vote in local and devolved national elections.

 

§    A poll conducted by Number Cruncher showed that 63% of people agree that all residents with lawful status in the UK should have the right to vote in local elections in England and Northern Ireland.

 

The Council welcomes:

 

§    That 37% of Londoners are born outside of the UK and that the voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens with pre-settled and settled status who entered the UK before 2021 will be maintained.

 

§    That the London Assembly passed a motion in support of residence-based voting rights on the 11th of November 2021 and that various organisations in the democracy and immigration sector have signed a joint statement in support of the “Our Home Our Vote” campaign for residence-based voting rights.

 

The Council expresses concern that:

 

§    EU citizens who enter the UK from 2021 and are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, or by ‘bilateral treaties’ covering voting rights, will not have voting and candidacy rights in local elections from 2022. This will create an unequal situation where some EU citizens will have the right to vote where others will not.

 

§    Brent Council also expresses concerns that the democratic rights to vote in local or national elections will impact many minority groups once voter ID is implemented through the Election Act;

 

§    We fear this complexity in voting eligibility will cause confusion and will reduce voter turnout in London elections, undermining the effectiveness of projects such as London Voter Registration Week working to improve voter registration.

 

The Council will commit to:

 

§    Increasing its efforts to encourage eligible voters to register to vote in advance of future elections. For instance, but not limited to, including information about voter registration and eligibility in council tax letters, council social media communications and the Brent Magazine.

 

§    Brent Council will work closely with organisations and charities operating across our borough to ensure that the information about local election voting rights reaches as many EU citizens as possible that call Brent home.

 

§    Ask that the Leader of the Council write to Andrew Stephenson, Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities requesting that the right to vote be extended to all residents in local elections in England and Northern Ireland.”

 

(4)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“Backlog Britain: Waiting for Care

 

This Council notes:

 

All across the United Kingdom the country is facing backlogs across public services. In the past few weeks, we have seen that these delays can have tragic consequences – with a bottleneck in processing asylum applications, leading to deplorable conditions at Manston in Kent.

 

However, right now across the health sector, with staff leaving the industry in their droves and nurses balloting for a strike for the first time ever; we are seeing even greater delays to accessing healthcare:

 

§    There are some 6.7 million people waiting for routine hospital treatment the highest level since records began 15 years ago. Hospitals, meanwhile, are full of patients who cannot be discharged owing to a lack of care-home beds or community services to support them. This in turn means that nationally almost 700,000 people have waited more than 12 hours in A&E in the first seven months of 2022, with ambulances queuing outside hospital doors for hours.

 

§    The NHS is the Labour Party’s proudest achievement – a gift from Nye Bevan to the country which has lasted 74 years. The NHS is a source of national pride, but this year it is facing another balancing act, with spiralling demands for care; while thousands of positions are vacant. As a result, there are now 1 in 9 people in England on hospital waiting lists, with people dying while waiting for care.

 

§    The Health and Social Care Levy was put forward as a means to “fix” social care by providing sustainable funding to the sector. There have been no new announcements from government on what will replace the £13 billion it would have offered.

 

§    Figures from the NHS reveal that last month 7,953 people had to wait more than four hours for emergency care at A&Es in London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. In North West London, there are now 247,296 residents on the waiting list for care, up from 175,291 just a year ago and the highest number in London. There are 6,225 residents waiting over a year for routine operations.

 

§    At the same time many NHS trusts are supporting their staff through the cost of living crisis by food banks on site, providing salary advances and free school uniforms to the children of NHS staff.

 

§    The NHS Confederation has made an unprecedented intervention, highlighting in an open letter the link between fuel poverty and demand on NHS services, stating that Britain “is facing a humanitarian crisis. Many people could face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions.”

 

§    Further on 9^th November 2002 NHS Confederation stated that “ If social care reforms are delayed by another year, this will only serve to exacerbate the bottlenecks across local services and harm patients “

 

§    Around 1 in every 10 dentists in England quit last year, leaving 4 million people unable to access an NHS dentist with some parts of the country now described as ‘dentistry deserts’, because remaining NHS dentists aren’t taking on new patients. The British Dentistry Association, emergency teeth extractions are now the most common reason for children to go to hospital.

 

§    Data from the NHS reveals that in the past year, 23,434 GP appointments in the North West London Integrated Care System were held over a month late, as patients struggle to see a GP when they need one.

 

§    That there is a six to eight week wait to access the local Long Covid service based at Central Middlesex Hospital.

 

§    Public satisfaction with GP services has fallen from 77 per cent in 2010, to just 38 per cent now, the lowest level since the survey began in 1983. A BBC Panorama investigation in June found that unqualified staff at Operose Health practices, the UK’s largest GP chain, are seeing patients without the required clinical supervision and support.

 

This Council believes:

 

§    That Brent owes a huge debt of gratitude to health and social care staff that continue to tirelessly work for a health service that keeps us healthy and has saved lives across the pandemic. However, it also clear that successive governments over the last decade have presided over the deterioration of services, creating some of the backlogs we see today. 

 

§    Public services are a public right, but residents in Brent are facing huge delays for the most basic care. The NHS and universal public services need a new deal, if the social contract that bonds citizens and governments, can continue.

 

§    We need a real plan to get waiting lists in hospitals, primary care and dentistry under control. At present there is a golden thread of delay, decay and dither leading back to the Conservatives. Previous governments have reduced waiting times in hospitals from 18 months to 18 weeks.

 

§    That if Brent residents cannot afford to heat their homes and cannot afford nutritious food, we will face a new public health emergency; increasing the strain on our local hospital admissions further.

 

§    Local government has shown that with the right funding, it has a part to play in promoting and protecting the health and well-being of the public, and supporting the NHS in alleviating the demand for services.

 

§    In Brent we are proud to have our own Brent Health Matters programme which has:

 

o      Established a public health prevention team, recruited from our community with lived experiences of what makes Brent, Brent.

 

o      Worked hand in glove with our multi-faith groups to reach a wide range of stakeholders across Brent, to address entrenched health inequalities.

 

o      Been at the heart of a public health outreach campaign: coordinating diabetes screenings, organising pop-up Covid-19 vaccination sites; and working now with our community groups to increase vaccination uptake.

 

This Council resolves:

 

§    As part of the campaign to ensure that healthcare for Brent residents is properly funded, working alongside patient voice groups, to press the case for equitable NHS funding across the new North West London Integrated Care System (ICS).

 

§    To reinforce the Brent Health Matters programme, taking forward transformational projects to reverse the health inequalities the pandemic exposed. We will facilitate more outreach sessions across Brent’s communities, such as our diabetes prevention events and our mobile dentistry sessions.

 

§    To bolster our communications campaign across all channels, with a new multi-language information booklet setting out what support is available is available to residents struggling with the cost of living, energy and food poverty.

 

§    To provide ‘Warm Places’ a network of spaces where Brent residents can come together to stay warm and receive additional support and advice to alleviate poverty – helping to ease pressures on the NHS.

 

§    To support a national campaign as outlined by the NHS Confederation in support of the action that is so desperately required to address the dearth of adequate social care provision, including introducing a minimum wage for social care staff. Social care is about so much more than alleviating pressure on the NHS, but without action to address the lack of capacity in social care, the NHS will continue to experience huge delays in discharging medically fit patients from hospitals.

 

§    Request that the Leader of the Council write to our local MPs requesting that the backlog in healthcare services and health inequalities in Brent is raised in Parliament; and for those MPs to meet with interested councillors in facilitating discussions.”

(1)       Following the approval of an amendment moved by the Labour Group in relation to the original Motion submitted by the Conservative Group, the following Motion (as amended) was AGREED:

 

“Kingsbury Curve

 

Residents living either side of the Jubilee line between Kingsbury and Wembley Park have to put up with the excruciating noises when the trains go past on what is known as the Kingsbury Curve.  Following the return of Night Tube services on the Jubilee line, a speed restriction has been applied during Night Tube services.

 

The noise is so bad that it can be heard in people’s homes even with all the windows shut!  The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that noise exposure levels should not exceed 70 dB over a 24-hour period, and 85 dB over a 1-hour period to avoid hearing impairment. Residents have suggested that this section of the track regularly exceeds these levels.

 

The track has been there for around 90 years, yet it is only in the past 4 years that these noises have started which coincided with the removal of trees and shrubs from the bank together with replacing the sleepers with concrete ones and relaying the track.

 

TfL are aware of the problems and work continues to find the right solution but it is anticipated that it will be a long-term piece of work. TfL have conducted trials over the summer period and are reviewing whether a small reduction in speed could be applied to all trains in this section of the track without adversely impacting the service we provide to passengers. However, speed restrictions are implemented sparingly given the impact on timetables across the entire Jubilee line.

 

We appreciate that residents have raised multiple concerns about the impact of the noise on their wellbeing and their quiet enjoyment of their home. They cannot fully enjoy their gardens in the summer or leave their windows open and children struggle to study because the noise is a serious distraction.

 

This Council is asked to recognise:

 

The legal duty it is under to take such action to enforce those who create excessive noise, whether that be by loud parties, music, cars revving their engines, or even night time deliveries, duties which this Council does its best to carry out.

 

It’s duty to protect its residents from this intrusive and excruciating noise.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

 

To request that TfL work with residents and Brent Council to address the noise concern with a robust engineering-led procedure to prioritise works as quickly as possible.

 

To request that TfL provide residents with a named contact, with ready access to experts that are working to tackle the root cause of noise. This involves visits to residents' homes to measure noise levels both before and after any work is undertaken.

 

To request that TfL explore measures to mitigate the impact of the noise over the Christmas holidays.

 

To lobby the Secretary of State for Transport for additional capital investment to upgrade and improve the infrastructure that helps keep London on the move such as the track on the Kingsbury curve.”

 

(2)    The following Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrats Group was unanimously AGREED:

 

“Ending Heartless ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’

 

This Council notes:

 

That the Cost-of-Living Emergency declared at our last Full Council meeting will have a huge impact on all who live in Brent, including many here who are unjustly excluded from any financial or legal support from the state. 

 

There are a growing number of people in our Borough who, through no fault of their own, are unable to access the help they desperately need. This number will almost certainly increase as we approach what will be an unprecedented and difficult few months ahead.

 

Elected Members and Council Officers are currently effectively prevented from supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community, because of Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which states that a person will have ‘no recourse to public funds’ if they are ‘subject to immigration control’.

 

The restrictions in this section of the law do not recognise the reality on the ground, which currently means we have individuals sleeping rough outside our very own Civic Centre and elsewhere across Brent.

 

‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ restrictions have pushed migrants and their families into severe poverty and in some cases homelessness.

 

The limitations in our ability to support individuals with ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ and the need to apply further political pressure on the Government to act.

 

The commendable efforts of the voluntary, charity sectors and many in our community who seek to give individuals who currently have ‘no recourse to public funds’ the support they need, whether by offering shelter, food or legal advice.

 

The Council calls on the Government to:

 

1.             Reduce the risk of people experiencing destitution and acknowledge that the current laws around eligibility for financial and legal assistance means that we are leaving far too many without any help at all 

 

2.             Ensure that no one is excluded from social services’ support which operates as a short-term safety net

 

3.             Urgently suspend ’No Recourse to Public Funds’ conditions in order to offer needed assistance to people who are currently ignored by the state

 

This Council resolves to:

 

1.             Work in a cross-party way to lobby the Government to remove the heartless ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ restrictions on migrants and their families

 

2.             Immediately ask the Leader of the Council, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group to sign an open letter to the new Home Secretary and Ministers in the Home Office highlighting our local authorities’ huge concerns about the number of people with ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ being pushed into acute poverty and therefore requiring immediate financial assistance

 

3.             Make public the number of known individuals in our borough who are currently barred from any support whatsoever, due to them not having ‘Recourse to Public Funds’, as a way of highlighting the extent of the problem we face

 

4.             Further strengthen the Council’s relationship with the voluntary and charity sector and community groups who are already giving support to individuals who have ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’, by inviting them to the Refugee Summit (as agreed at the July 2022 Full Council meeting) in order to establish ways the Council can also intervene and offer any resource we have to help with the work that they do

 

5.             Work with Praxis and other similar organisations, who have expertise in supporting people with ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’, to develop an easy access document, which consolidates all possible avenues of help (largely in the voluntary and charity sector) that can be distributed across the Council to make it easier for Elected Members, Council Officers and others to offer the best possible advice and guidance when approached for help

 

6.             Produce a similar public document that the Council will make available to all interested groups in the community and voluntary and charity sectors, that can also be shared on the Council website and online channels.”

 

(3)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“A Place to Call Home: Safety and Security for tenants during the cost-of-renting crisis.

 

Full Council notes:

 

1.             London is one of the most expensive places to rent in Europe, while Brent is the second most expensive outer-London borough.

 

2.             Rents have risen three times faster than wages since 2010 and continue to rise, by 15.8% in the year to May 2022. The London Renters Union branch in Brent is regularly seeing rent increases of 30%, 40% or even 50%, contributing to the cost of living emergency and pricing residents out of the borough.

 

3.             Brent has also seen a significant dent in first-time buyer affordability, with the average price paid up by more than double the national average. Those buying their first home in the borough now pay a huge £89,753 increase compared to pre-pandemic market values.

 

4.             People under 30 are facing a growing cost-of-renting crisis. According to recent reports, 4 in 10 of this age group are now spending more than 30% of their pay on rent.

 

5.             In Brent there are over 22,880 households containing 53,644 individuals that remain on the housing waiting list, with an average waiting time for a 3-bedroom council property typically over a decade.

 

6.             Brent Council is continuing to tackle the demand for affordable homes by increasing supply, with a target of 5,700 affordable homes to be built by 2028, of which, 1,700 will be built by the Council.

 

This Council further notes:

 

1.             While the government has rejected calls for intervention, rent controls are common practice in Europe, both regulating the initial rent that landlords can charge, and the rate of rent increase within tenancies.

 

2.             Brent Labour has made a commitment on behalf of renters to use its voice to call upon the government to introduce new legislation to regulate rent increases, strengthen enforcement and improve the energy standards of the rental sector.

 

3.             That the government is consulting on capping rents for council and housing association homes to prevent them from rising significantly. Although welcome, it will come at significant cost to councils and registered providers that will absorb the brunt of inflation, with no funding announcements made by government to match the steep shortfall in income.

 

4.             Like inflation, energy bill increases serve only to impact residents that are already struggling in some of the worst housing conditions.

 

This Council believes:

 

1.             That the pandemic has shown that regulating the actions of landlords is a political choice and they can be regulated for the public good at times of crisis.

 

2.             Without intervention in the private rented sector, rents will continue to rise causing economic hardship, instability and homelessness for tens of thousands of Brent residents.

 

3.             The government must rethink mechanisms to regulate the cost of rents and ensure that low and middle income tenants do not have to spend more than a third of their income on rent.

 

4.             The Renters Reform Bill is an essential piece of legislation for renters' security. In order to meet its aims, rent rises within tenancy must be limited so that landlords cannot evict through massive rent hikes.

 

5.             As energy bills soar, private tenants’ right to a warm home should be protected and landlords should be required by the council to meet the legislation relating to energy efficiency.

 

This Council resolves to:

 

1.             Publicly support the Mayor of London’s call for a two-year rent freeze within the private rented sector and the introduction of rent controls to help ease the cost of living crisis facing Londoners.

 

2.             Work with the Mayor of London to make the case for Brent to participate in the “right-to-buy-back” scheme – and help bring more properties back into public ownership.

 

3.             Create a new Private Renters Strategy, mapping out the council's approach to enforcement, our support available to tenants; and our plans to bring more of the 2,734 empty properties in Brent back to the market.

 

4.             Work with London Renters Union and Advice for Renters to support the case for a borough-wide selective licensing scheme covering the 40,000 PRS properties in Brent that would drive up standards.

 

5.             Urge the new Secretary of State to expedite the commitments to renters in the recent white paper, including: the removal of Section 21 evictions, the introduction of a rental sector ombudsman, the outlawing of discrimination against benefit claimants, and the application of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time.”

 

(4)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“Transport for London Funding

 

This Council notes:

 

1.          With Brent residents currently facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis, as well as a climate emergency, it has never been more important that residents can access an affordable, green and publically funded transport network across our capital.

 

2.          London is the only major city in the world that does not consistently subsidise its public transport. TfL relies upon passenger fare income to fund seventy-two per cent of its costs. By comparison, fares income covers only thirty-eight per cent of transport network costs in New York and in Paris, with public funds providing the remainder.

 

3.          This is largely down to the fact that the Government took the decision, in 2015, to remove TfL's £700 million annual operating grant from April 2018 onwards. As a result TfL has faced a 37% cut to their budget in just five years.

 

4.          The root of TfL’s financial problems is the pandemic. Before the pandemic, TfL’s finances were in good health and it was on track to record an operating surplus for the first time in TfL’s history.

 

5.          The Mayor of London has stood up for our capital during a tough month of negotiations with a zombie government to find a new funding settlement. He has successfully fought to ensure TfL no longer faces moving into managed decline.

 

6.          However, the government has been clear that its war against London is not over. Ministers are still refusing to provide enough funding for our transport network, which will likely mean TfL will be forced to increase fares in the future and proceed with some bus cuts. If this happens, Londoners should know that it will only be the government that’s to blame.

 

This council believes:

 

1.          A sustainable funding deal for TfL is an essential component of any pandemic recovery programme, it supports the growth of jobs, housing and community wealth; and crucially reduces carbon emissions in the capital by taking cars off of the streets.

 

2.          That TfL desperately requires new funding sources, taking inspiration from other global cities that have raised additional revenue through land value capture and emission charges.

 

3.          It is inexcusable that of the funding announced there is no new monies to expedite the delivery of new rolling stock on the Bakerloo Line, with the oldest trains in use in the United Kingdom. It could also jeopardise potential funding for the new West-London Orbital line, a shovel-ready new Overground line that could transform regional transport connections.

 

4.          It is a travesty that TfL has been forced to propose the scrapping of 22 bus routes and a service reduction on almost 60 more. In particular, the removal of the number 16 and number 31 route will severely impact residents in Brent.

 

5.          Brent’s Labour Council has always worked to support residents with cheap and sustainable travel options. The implementation of School Streets, publishing of a Climate Emergency Strategy and ongoing provision of the freedom pass for residents show our commitment to supporting active travel and providing accessible transport options for every resident.

 

6.          A decrease in the funding made available by TfL to London boroughs will negatively impact our residents and our ambition to keep Brent on the move.

 

This council therefore resolves:

 

1.          To request that the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change write to Transport for London’s Commissioner Andy Byford expressing this chambers opposition to the scrapping of 22 bus routes, including the number 16 and number 31; and the reduction of provision more generally.

 

2.          To voice its opposition to unsustainable funding arrangements for TfL, calling upon the incoming Secretary of State for Transport to close the funding gap once and for all, during the next round of negotiations.

 

3.          To request that each respective Group Leader considers writing to local branches of ASLEF, RMT and Unite showing support for their industrial action against the impact on jobs, terms and conditions of these proposed cuts.”

(1)        Following the approval of an amendment moved by the Labour Group in relation to the original Motion submitted by the Conservative Group, the following Motion (as amended) was AGREED:

 

“Pollution of the Wealdstone Brook

 

The Wealdstone Brook, which runs in open water, starts in Harrow, runs through Woodcock Park in Kenton and then into Wembley past all the new developments around the stadium before reaching the River Brent, has been heavily polluted with untreated human sewage and toxic chemicals for some considerable time.

 

The Wealdstone Brook has nothing living in it – it is effectively a dead river.  The toxic smells which have come from liquids evaporating at low temperatures from the Brook water are nauseating and residents who live close to the Brook or have been walking close to the Brook in Woodcock Park, have been feeling physically sick as a result of these noxious odours.

 

Thames Water, who have been investigating the sources of the pollution, have admitted liability for cleaning up the pollution.  They have agreed that the pollution of the Wealdstone Brook is one of the worst they have come across but as a result of the shared responsibility for the maintenance of the Brook as it passes through Brent, Brent Council and the Environment Agency must also share some of the responsibility.

 

As a result the residents living nearby have expressed their disgust at the state of the Brook and this council considers that Thames Water should have acted with greater urgency once it had reports of untreated human sewage, toxic gases and smells vaporising from the water of the Wealdstone Brook.

 

This council notes that almost £19bn was paid out in dividends to shareholders in the nine major water companies operating in England between 2010 and 2021.

 

This Council therefore resolves:

 

To do whatever is necessary and within the Council’s power to ensure that the water in Wealdstone Brook is cleaned up.

 

To ask the Leader of the Council and the Leaders of the Opposition Groups to write to the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, to call for additional support for Brent Council to respond to the pollution in Wealdstone Brook and enforce the principle of the ‘polluter pays’.

 

To support the Labour Party pledge of common ownership of water services to unlock the desperately needed investment in water infrastructure and create services that are run on behalf of consumers, not shareholders profit.

 

To do what the Council can toensure that the agencies concerned take the necessary steps to detect and rectify all wrongly connected foul sewers which run into the Brook and to put them right at no cost to Council tax payers, in Brent.

 

To seek legal opinion as to whether legal action can be taken against the agencies that have responsibility for ensuring that the Wealdstone Brook is free of pollution if there is no immediate rectification of the problem.

 

To ensure in light of a serious risk to public health and as a matter of urgency the necessary actions are taken as soon as possible to put the foregoing into practice.”

 

(2)        Following the approval of an amendment moved by the Labour Group in relation to the original Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrats Group, the following Motion (as amended) was AGREED:

 

“Support for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

 

This Council notes:

 

That refugees and asylum seekers are human beings who deserve our full respect and support. 

 

The way in which Boris Johnson’s government talks about and presents refugees, who face their plight through no fault of their own, is deeply un-British, offensive and shameful.

 

Our own borough is home to people from all corners of the world and all wish to make a valuable contribution to our international community.

 

Brent is welcoming of refugees and asylum seekers.  The collective leadership of every councillor is essential in ensuring that refugees who arrive in our community have access to needed support and are given the basic opportunities afforded to all in order that they can contribute to society.

 

Organisations like Care 4 Calais, English for Action, Salusbury World, Young Roots, amongst others, are doing crucial work in our community to help settle refugees and offer basic support, whether through English classes that they run or by seeking to address the immense mental trauma many refugees have and are experiencing.

 

The Brent Labour Manifesto promised that under Labour leadership, Brent Council will stand “ready to support refugees fleeing war in any way we can”.  With the help of our outstanding voluntary sector and local residents, Brent has already given sanctuary to 154 people under the Homes for Ukrainians Scheme.

 

This Council believes:

 

In the UN Refugee Convention statutes that give right to any individuals seeking asylum.  We believe that Brent has a moral duty to help those fleeing war and persecution.  We continue to support the Alf Dubs amendment to the 2016 Immigration Act to allow unaccompanied child refugees in Europe to reunite with family members here in the UK after Brexit.

 

This Council therefore calls on the government to:

 

1.          Drop its shameful, un-British Rwanda policy.  The Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has set out the Labour Party position that “it is not a long term plan; it is a short term stunt and government gimmick.”

 

2.     End the hostile environment pursued by successive Conservative Governments that seeks to criminalise people who have been forced to flee their homelands through no fault of their own.

 

3.     Reverse the cuts to legal aid that have disproportionately affected those on lower incomes, BAME groups and women as well as refugees.  The legal aid and family reunion system requires urgent reassessment and significant reform, with refugees denied justice due to drastic legal aid cuts.

 

4.     Acknowledge asylum seekers are making dangerous, tragically, all too often, fatal journeys across Europe to seek sanctuary and safety and therefore must allow asylum seekers the legal right of passage into the UK.

 

5.     Give refugees and asylum seekers the ability to play a full part in our society and economy by giving those who arrive in the UK a right to work quickly under defined and reasonable terms.

 

This Council also resolves to:

 

1.     Immediately establish and publish a directory of ESOL provision within our borough on the Council website and also provide easy access benefit and other advice to those who need it.

 

2.     Continue the award winning work of Brent Start which provides affordable training, including ESOL and English Language courses to over 8,000 learners a year.  This Council continues its commitment to investing £43m into creating a new state of the art adult education centre at Morland Gardens – enabling many more ESOL learners to benefit from the Brent Start service.

 

3.     Make representations to London Council as the body responsible for the Freedom Pass, to consider extending free bus travel to asylum seekers through the existing payment card system.

 

3.     Organise a Brent Refugee Summit by the end of this year (2022), bringing together organisations, mainly in the voluntary sector, who are currently working to support refugees and asylum seekers locally. This will show a united and concerted effort from this Council that people who arrive locally are welcome here and that Brent will play our part in helping to settle people who given the tools will make hugely valuable contributions to our borough - as those who came before them always have.”

 

(3)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“A Food Justice Strategy for Brent

 

Full Council notes that:

 

We are seeing a national food poverty emergency borne out of political choices and systemic failings from successive governments since austerity began in 2010. Recent Food Foundation data has recorded 7.3 million adults and 2.6 million children in UK households going without food or physically unable to get food in the past month

 

a)          Food poverty should never be seen as inevitable: from 1997 to 2010 poverty reduced significantly,[1] showing that with sufficient political willpower these issues can be tackled.

 

b)          The UK is in the midst of an economic recession, compounded by a cost-of-living crisis as energy bills soar, and the end of the £20 uplift to benefit payments.  Food aid organisations are already far busier than before the pandemic, and they are braced for a steep rise in demand in the months ahead.

 

c)          The result is an increasingly institutionalised food aid infrastructure, effectively now part of the welfare system.  This system is subsidised by the public to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds in Brent alone.  Food aid organisations act as a critical safety net for anyone unable to make ends meet – including those receiving all the benefits they are entitled to and many who are in work and still experiencing crisis.

 

d)          The long-delayed Government Food Strategy was lauded as the plan to help address this growing crisis.  It was supposed to lay out a vision for how we create, enhance, and protect sustainable food supplies. However, even the government’s own lead advisor Henry Dimbleby, whose review of Britain’s food system formed the basis for the document, said the White Paper did not amount to a strategy and could mean even more children going hungry.

 

e)          The pandemic disproportionately impacted Black and racially minoritised communities in Brent.  It underscored the injustice of food poverty for thousands of residents across the borough who were dependent on food banks and other forms of charitable food aid (including food parcels and vouchers from the council) for their day-to-day survival.  As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a mushrooming of newly established food banks, and other forms of food support for vulnerable people provided by mutual aid groups, businesses and faith groups many of which still remain active.

 

f)            Brent Labour stood on a local election manifesto to develop a ‘Right to Food’ pledge to confront spiralling food poverty by bringing together existing food aid organisations, growers, and other stakeholders to address rampant inequalities in accessing affordable, culturally appropriate, nutritious food in Brent.

 

g)          A Brent Right to Food Summit was held in March 2022 at Cardinal Newman Catholic College with the participation of multiple Borough stakeholders, including Sufra NW London, Granville Community Kitchen, Brent Growers and Brent CVS.  The Summit clearly reflected widespread concern over the urgency of tackling the ongoing food emergency, both nationally and locally in Brent.

 

Full Council also notes the work that is already being done to address food insecurity across Bent, including:

 

a)          The appointment of Brent Council’s Food Justice Cabinet Champion.

 

b)          The commitment in Brent Council’s recent Health and Wellbeing Strategy to ‘work with partners on a food strategy’ for our Borough.

 

c)          The identification in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy of potentially positive food-related initiatives, ranging from healthier catering commitment to rolling out Incredible Edible schemes; diabetes prevention programmes, and guaranteeing a fair job for a fair wage across the food sector.

 

d)          The publication in July 2020 of the Brent Poverty Commission’s Report which included sections on food poverty, recommending that the Council ‘supports the future sustainability of food aid agencies in the borough including by further developing community garden schemes’.

 

e)          The continuing efforts by local mutual aid groups, the Brent Food Aid Network, Growing Brent, among countless others to mitigate food insecurity across our Borough.

 

f)            The celebration in March 2022 of a Brent Food Summit aimed at identifying the various solutions and coordinating effective responses to the food injustices in the Borough.

 

Full Council therefore resolves to:

 

a)          Declare Brent a Right to Food Borough, joining other local authorities across the country calling for the Right to Food to be enshrined into national law.

 

b)          Request the inclusion within a Cabinet Member portfolio of responsibilityfor co-developing a Brent Food Justice Strategy with representatives of local food security stakeholders, aimed at addressing the structural causes of food poverty and inequality in Brent.

 

c)          Strive toward a Brent without food banks, where food aid is drastically reduced to an emergency response to crises through ‘cash first’ solutions such as the scaling up of welfare advice services across the borough, as well as improved access to welfare assistance grants, school meals and supermarket vouchers for anyone in need.  We want an end to normalising emergency food aid as a routine form of addressing food insecurity.

 

d)          Support existing food aid providers through the allocation of land and suitable premises to establish or improve access to urban agriculture, community food gardens, social supermarkets and community kitchens among other initiatives; and ensure market space is available – especially in or near areas of deprivation – to distribute nutritious, affordable and culturally-appropriate food to local residents

 

e)          Work towards a ‘Right to Food’ dimension when formulating policy so that food becomes part of the Council’sdecision-making equation.”

 

(4)    The following Motion submitted by the Labour Group was AGREED:

 

“Zero Hours Justice Campaign

 

Full Council notes:

 

1.          The use of zero-hour contracts has risen over the last decade, meaning there are an increasing number of workers who do not have a guaranteed number of working hours each week.

 

2.          In Brent, it is estimated that of our residents in employment, nearly 30% are in roles which are low-paying and earn less than a living wage.

 

3.          There are very few roles in which zero hours contracts suit the worker. For the majority, such contracts nearly always provide one-sided flexibility in favour of the employer.

 

4.          Workers on zero-hour contracts face financial insecurity as a result of:

 

a.           the insecurity of not knowing how many hours they are working from week-to-week and, sometimes, from day-to-day;

 

b.           getting too few hours to financially make ends meet;

 

c.           spending money to be able to work and then being out-of-pocket when hours are cancelled (travel costs, childcare costs etc.);

 

d.           getting hours at the last minute and having to make urgent arrangements for childcare or other caring responsibilities, or cancel social plans; and

 

e.           the fear of refusing hours lest it results in fewer hours being offered, or bullying and harassment from the employer.

 

5.          Brent Labour stood on an election manifesto pledge to campaign for a new deal for workers’ rights, including the cessation of fire and rehire and the right to regular hours of work.

 

6.          Brent Council uses the commissioning process to ensure that providers never need to make use of exploitative zero hour contracts. Like most local authorities though we make use of time limited contracts to bring in specialists or agency workers with specific skills when we need to boost our workforce.

 

Full Council believes:

 

That despite the government promising on numerous occasion new legislation to provide better security for workers on zero-hour contracts, it has failed to do so. At present, the council is unable to legally enforce against such working practises.

 

That good work should equal good pay and the right to regular hours of work. As an anchor institution Brent Council is proud to be a local employer that does not and will not use zero-hour contracts.

 

That this Council should support the work of Zero Hours Justice, an organisation which seeks to end exploitative zero-hours contracts by providing help for workers on such contracts, and supporting businesses and other organisations that either do not use zero-hours contracts or only do so in accordance to minimal criteria.

 

Full Council therefore resolves:

 

(1)    To lead by example, reaffirming our commitment to our workforce to provide security, prosperity and respect in our employment; and work towards a zero-hours Justice Accreditation.

 

(2)    Never to unilaterally impose any zero-hour contracts on our directly employed staff.

 

(3)    To continue working with our suppliers and providers to ensure employment rights are followed; and discourage any indirect zero-hour contracts via agency or third-party contractor.”