There is likely to be little change in Brent Council's final budget compared with earlier drafts. Wednesday's meeting of Scrutiny Committee will hear a presentation on the Budget Task Group's recommendations.
A concern repeated from previous years is around accessibility, transparency and clarity. You may recall that they had argued for calling a cut a cut, rather than a saving last year.
In all there are 11 recommendations. ACE Brent (Action on climate and ecological emergency Brent who have been advocating for more joined up cross-department work on the climate emergency will be pleased with Recommendation 3 on a 'green budget'. Voluntary organisations will welcome Recommendation 4 that recognises if the Council signposts the sector to mitigate the impact of cuts it should first discuss with them how the mitigations will be delivered in practice.
There is similar common-sense in Recommendation 5 that advocates a strategic approach to income generation while warning of the dangers of over-commercialisation. It emphasises the importance of complicance with current policies on empty properties and business rates. Recommendation 6 suggests the renting out of Council meeting rooms for external use. There is still a shortage of such spaces to hire in Brent.
Campaigners for the retention of the New Millenium Day Care Centre will be disappointed that Reccommendation 9 advocates the retention of the building for community use but not as a Day Centre.
An imaginative flourish is Recommendation 10 that suggests a Community Impact Levy on Wembley Stadium tickets.
FULL REPORT
The Budget Scrutiny Task
Group makes the following recommendations to Cabinet. Budget Presentation and
Communications
Recommendation 1 –
Improvements to budget communications:
The Task Group acknowledge
the improvements that have been made to the consultation and engagement process
following the Budget Scrutiny Task Group Review 2023/24, but believes further work is
still needed to better communicate to residents what the vision, mission, aims and priority
protection areas of the upcoming Budget are. This also includes ensuring communications meet
agreed accessibility standards, such as writing documents in plain English in line
with the average Brent reading age. These revisions will help build a greater understanding of the
priority areas safeguarded in the proposals and enable residents to provide more
meaningful/influential consultation feedback. As an example the Task Group received evidence
that there was only one proposal from the Housing portfolio as the Council had made a
concerted effort to protect housing services and the most vulnerable; Although it
could be assumed that an area not featured in the proposals would be protected, such
information should be made clearer in the draft Budget for the lay person. The Task Group recommend
that the Council includes a concise, summary page in the Budget (and in future
budgets), adopting more accessible language which makes it clear what its vision,
aims, and priority protection areas are.
Recommendation 2 –
Developing clearer and concise proposals:
Some of the proposals are
generally vague and lack clarity around the possible impact(s) on residents and partners
(e.g. 2024-25 CR02, 2024-25 FR02, 2024-25 RS21, 2024-25 CHW03, 2025-26 CHW02 etc.) The
Task Group recommend that the Council review the proposals ahead of
publication of the final Budget to ensure that the final proposals and their possible
impact(s) can be clearly understood and are accessible to all Brent residents. This review
could be actioned collaboratively with a lay-panel (e.g. resident focus group) and in
future years by including additional questions in the consultation. These
suggestions could also help achieve recommendation 1.
Recommendation 3 -
Alignment with climate action commitments in Borough Plan 2023-27:
Building on the
recommendation made as part of the Budget Scrutiny Task Group Review 2023/24, there still needs
to be greater alignment between the draft Budget and the Borough Plan 2023-27, particularly
in relation to climate action. The Task Group appreciates changes being made to the corporate
reporting template to include a ‘Climate Change and Environmental Considerations’
section - this good practice should also be applied in the budget setting process.
The Task Group recommend that the Council adopt a ‘green budget’ which clearly
outlines the climate and environment implications of each proposal. This will assist
the Council in its urgent climate commitments, including the goal to become
Carbon Net Zero by 2030.
Stronger Partnership
Working with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS)
Recommendation 4 - Shared
Outcomes Framework:
Although the Council has
understandably prioritised protecting the VCS and frontline services over other areas in
its proposed budget, there is scope for stronger partnership working with the sector.
During the Stakeholder Session (please see section 3), VCS partners expressed concerns
that mitigations proposed in the draft Budget were centred around signposting to the
VCS, however there had been no discussion or collaboration around how these mitigations
would be delivered or achieved in practice.
The Task Group recommend
that the Council explores a shared-outcomes framework with the voluntary sector
for the benefit of residents/service users. As part of this work, the Council
should urgently discuss and collaborate with the VCS in relation to budget proposals that involve
them and/or may have an impact on their service provision.
This discussion could
build on the Task Group’s recommendation from the Budget Scrutiny Task Group
Review 2023/24 which suggested a collaborative strategy with the VCS to enable these
organisations to identify and secure new income streams.
A shared-outcomes approach
could avoid future service cuts, avoid service duplication and save the Council money
long-term. Additionally, it would ensure that a consistent dialogue is maintained with the VCS
throughout each financial year around issues like council budgets rather than the
current approach which has meant budget discussions with the sector take place after
proposals have already been drafted.
Income Generation
Recommendation 5 –
Establishing a strategic approach to income generation:
The Task Group commend the
Council’s creativity/efforts to generate additional income to bolster its finances, and
particularly welcomes proposals such as 2024-25 FR01, 2024-25 RS13, and 2024-25 RS14.
However, more could be done to generate even more income.
The Task Group recommend
that the Council develops a longer-term, strategic approach to income
generation (accompanied with yearly action plans) rather than focusing on piecemeal
proposals year to year. The strategy should include a robust monitoring process that
enables holistic working across all departments to create synergies for income
generation. Specifically, allocating a dedicated, cross- departmental resource to
work across the Council to investigate and identify additional opportunities
for income generation e.g. compliance with mandatory HMO licensing, compliance
with council tax on empty properties, and business rates evasion.
Establishing a longer-term
approach will help the Council to be more resourceful and self-sufficient in the absence of
large central government funding pots. Strategic interventionscould enable the Council to
address areas of improvement in its operations and recoup income that would have been
otherwise due, as well as identify new creative ways of generating income. The Task
Group however recognise a balanced approach must be adopted that ensures the
Council does not become over-commercialised and learns from local authorities that have
experienced financial difficulties (i.e. entered s114 territory2) due to certain commercial
choices.
Recommendation 6 –
Renting out Civic Centre meeting rooms:
The Task Group acknowledge
the efforts the Council has made to rent out spaces in the Civic Centre to generate
additional income, however believes there are additional opportunities that can be
realised. The Task Group recommend that additional space, specifically meeting
rooms, in the Civic Centre are made available for external hire given that staff no
longer work 5 days per week in the office. To complement this suggestion, some council
meetings could be moved outside of the Civic Centre to be held in other community
assets in the borough.
Not only could this
recommendation generate additional income, but it could provide residents and businesses
with office space and workspace solutions in the heart of the borough. It could also
encourage members/officers to increase their use of other community facilities in the borough
and spread the Council’s visibility more equally throughout the borough.
Recommendation 7 –
Implementing additional shared service arrangements:
The Council’s efforts to
generate additional income by offering shared services to other local authorities are welcomed.
Notable examples include proposal 2025-26 CYP04 which intends to sell additional
respite bed nights to other local authorities at the Ade Adepitan Short Break Centre. Another
instance is the formation of the Shared Technology Services (STS), an IT shared service
for the councils of Brent, Lewisham and Southwark, whereby Brent is the host borough
for the service. The Task Group recommend that the Council explores further
opportunities for shared service arrangements, learning lessons from its current
arrangements and from good practice of the shared service models that already exist across
the country.
It is acknowledged that
there is not a single model that suits all councils, localities, or types of service provision, and
that this recommendation will take time to scope out. However, if delivered effectively, the
Council would be able to generate additional income, reduce duplication, potentially
increase investment in services, and reimagine services to better meet the needs of residents.
Lobbying and Advocacy
Recommendation 8 -
Housing Subsidy Loss:
Although the Task Group
welcomes the increase to Local Housing Allowance rates via the Autumn Statement 2023,
further pro-active work could still be carried out with neighbouring local authorities, London
Councils, and the Local Government Association (LGA) to seek reform to the Housing
Benefit Subsidy rules. The Task Group recommend that the Council works with the
above mentioned associations to lobby for positive change to the Housing Benefit
subsidy rules which currently caps the amount the Council can claim back from the
Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) to 90% of the 2011 LHA rates per household
for TA provided, and which places financially onerous restrictions on the types
of TA the Council can provide to be eligible for housing benefit subsidy. Such reform would enable Brent to significantly
reduce its overspends, and to have access to a
wider pool of affordable temporary accommodation to deal with increased demand in
homelessness.
Recommendation 9 –
Retaining use of New Millennium Day Centre
The Task Group accept that
alternative provision will be put in place to mitigate the impacts of ceasing use of the New
Millennium Day Centre. It would nevertheless be disappointing to lose a vital space in the
borough that brings local communities together and which allows the Council to achieve its
'Borough of Culture' legacy ambitions. The Task Group recommend that the
Council explores options to retain the building for community use.
Recommendation 10 –
Wembley Stadium: 'Community Impact' Ticket Levy:
The Task Group welcome the
financial contributions made by Wembley Stadium towards the Council’s event day
management costs (e.g. cleansing and waste management, highways management,
enforcement etc.), however recognise that these contributions do not cover the full extent of
the costs incurred by the Council for its operations on event days.
The Task group recommend
that the Council explores options with the Stadium for a ticket levy, whereby the
Council receives a proportion of each ticket sale in order to fully recover costs
incurred or to provide for further enhancement of the Council’s event day operations.
Recommendation 11 -
Delegation of budgets and decision making to Brent Integrated Care Partnership (ICP):
The Task Group note that the
success of many of the proposals are dependent on effective partnership working with
health partners (e.g. 2024-25 CHW01, 2024-25 CHW03, 2025-26 CHW03, 2025-26 CYP06 etc).
It was heard that the established working arrangements and governance in the Brent ICP
provide opportunities for closer working between the Council and NHS partners. These
working arrangements have enabled health funding to be transferred to Adult Social
Care to support residents and the local health and care system.
However, the Task Group
understand that the centralisation of decisions on NHS budgets away from the borough to
North West London Integrated Care Board (NWL ICB) has reduced the ability of the
Brent ICP to address local needs and may have increased future demand on the system. For
example, in accordance with ICB processes, the ICP has submitted robust
business cases for paediatric continence services, nursing provision for children in special schools,
and to manage pressures on CYP and adult mental health services. All of these
business cases are still awaiting a decision after many months, while need continues to increase.
The Task Group recommend
that the Council continues to advocate and make the case to NWL ICB for both
a better alignment of NHS resources to population need and for an increased
delegation of budgets and decision making to Brent ICP.
Not only would devolution to
place allow for more effective collaboration between the Council and local health partners
but it would also allow for implementation of service change at greater pace. Additionally,
the Task Group is of the view that the ICP is better able than NWL to tailor services to
the needs of Brent’s diverse communities with greater flexibility to respond to changing needs or
circumstances.
