Brent Council takes another step towards becoming a business

 Brent residents have got used to being called ‘customers’ by our council but a new report on 'Income generation' going before Scrutiny Commitee LINK shows how Brent Council is becoming a business as a way to generate income to counteract government cuts to its funding.

The market advertised below  is just one of its initiatives. The annual Brent Fireworks Display has this year been  moved from Roundwood Park in the south of the borough.  The report makes clear that this is partly because of the income generation opportunity offered by a move to Wembley Park:

We aim to use our facilities in the Civic Centre on Event Days to generate income for the Council. This could be from holding corporate hospitality to having market stalls in the foyer. There is also an opportunity to partner with Quintain to have markets on their land on some kind of profit share basis. We would seek to charge stall holders a fee and there is an option to receive a percentage of any income generated. 


For example, the Civic Enterprise Team are currently implementing ways to generate income at the Council’s annual fireworks celebration, to be held on 6 November 2016. The event is moving from Roundwood Park to the Wembley Park area and the event is expecting up to 25k people to attend. We will be holding a Christmas market in the Civic Centre, with stall holders selling food, drink and crafts in the Grand Hall and Boardrooms. There will also be cultural and children’s activities.

The council also has its eye on generating income through letting out our parks  and open spaces for income generating events:

We are also exploring the potential to hold large scale events in parks aiming for audiences at a minimum level of 2000 people. Brent have a lot of beautiful parks and the most appropriate park to the type of event would be chosen. For example Roundwood and Gladstone parks have capacity to hold events and good transportation links. Income would be generated from selling of tickets, sponsorship of goods, advertising and stall holder fees. Corporate hospitality packages would also be offered to appeal to different markets and offer differential pricing. 


These events should also attract visitors from outside of Brent enabling us to showcase our vibrant mix of cultures and enhance our promotion of community cohesion. Should we be able to generate income from initiatives such as green gyms and exercise classes in parks we will also help to deliver improved health outcomes by keeping residents fit, healthy and active. This will contribute towards lowering the pressure on demand-led budgets. A key priority for Brent 2020. 


An additional plan is to hire out Brent parks for weddings and the report notes:

There is a lucrative market in weddings. There is a great opportunity to offer weddings in parks and there are no competitors offering this in West London. We will also offer packages including wedding planning services and registration.

Most of our primary schools come under Brent Council oversight and currently they ‘buy into’ council services.  Now it is not just a matter of the income paying for the service but also perhaps making a profit from them:

As part of income generating activity and adding value to Brent schools we are working closely with schools to develop a new product portfolio based on their needs and requirements. This project will enable us to contribute to raising educational standards in Brent and generate income at the same time. 


The council is also keen to sell advertising space on its building and other assets.  Extending advertising on 7 new sites could make a significant aesthetic impact on the borough.

The council’s plan to turn itself into a lender for small business is likely to raise a few eyebrows, not least because of the interest rates it envisages:

This idea is for the Council to provide financial investment to support Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The model proposed provides a safe way to receive return on investment and seek to develop one of Brent 2020 priorities for business growth. This initiative supports the economy and employment opportunities in Brent by lending SMEs finance through a crowdfunding organisation on a fixed interest rate (currently at 7.2%) return to Brent Council. The model provides a guaranteed return which covers the risk of bad debt. An approximate fee of 3% is incurred annually to the Council with the model. Initially the proposal is to have up to £200k available for business to apply for an amount. A benefit of this initiative is that the Council would receive a better rate of interest than a saving account but also by supporting business growth we can support regeneration of the borough by seeking to increase employment opportunities thereby helping to reduce the number of businesses failing, reducing unemployment rates and a reliance  on benefits.

There are a host of other proposals in the document that includes raising the cost of  parking in the Civic Centre's underground car park and letting out more office space within the building to other bodies as well as hiring out space in the library and foyer.

The Council is already committed to setting up a Housing Management Agency and its own Bailiff  force now it appears it will be an advertising agency, events organiser, markets organiser and bank!

Brent Central hopeful calls for Labour to embrace entrepreneurship

Sabina Khan promised something different as a candidate for the Brent Central Labour nomination and her  post on Progress on-Line LINK is certainly that.

Writing as a 'businesswoman and Labour activist' she calls for Labour to embrace entrepreneurship to harness the energy and creativity of youth:

There is another way to approach this. It involves making use of the third sector and social enterprise to promote collaborative working with communities to offer a practical vision for young people to engage in the world of work. By establishing a single national social enterprise operating across the country, funded and supported by central government, with the remit to help young entrepreneurs in turning their ideas, passion and creativity into businesses generating income and profit and a livelihood for them.

In addition this would support community groups to focus on developing young people as potential entrepreneurs. If a young teenage mother has a passion and talent for clothes and fashion, the community group should have the tools and support in place to spot the opportunity and encourage her to pursue her passion through the social enterprise. This government-backed enterprise would utilise the services of industry specialists, able to help and develop people and their ideas based on their own knowledge and experience of starting and running businesses. This last point is important as it needs to be a body seen to be competent and being able to ‘walk the walk’ in delivering in its goals.

It is often said that the best ideas and successful businesses arise during hard times.  Labour needs to position itself as the party of choice for young people by offering hope and a vehicle for their aspirations through innovative models such as this. By implementing this entrepreneurship scheme in conjunction with Labour's youth job guarantee, this will offer a real chance for everyone which breaks away from the idea that jobs are made only within the confines of existing businesses. Labour should commit itself to helping young people start their own businesses in this way.

There is only one comment so far on the article but the individual concerned seems to be well aware of Sabina's ambitions:

I can tell from your article you are a no non sense person and an Innovative Leader. Please take my word and do - become a politician. Britain needs people like you.

I felt the conviction, passion, attitude and strenght when I read your article and hope your idea can become a policy for the next Labour Goverment.

If I was eighteen years old or parents of an eighteen year old and you were my Member of Parliament candidate or your policy was on the table I will vote for you any day because I know you will make a difference to my life.

Wet and dangerous welcome to 'Destination Wembley'

Leader of Brent Council, Muhamed Butt, told fellow members of the Labour Councillors' Business Network this morning about his plans for 'Destination Wembley'.

I hope councillors and business people from other parts of the country did not arrive via the Wembley Central station 'gateway'. The photograph above was taken at the foot of the steps on the southbound Bakerloo/Overground platform on Saturday.

Visitors to Wembley, already confused and bewildered by the closure of Wembley Park station and the lack of Jubilee and Metropolitan line trains, found themselves splashing through pools of water, avoiding mops and buckets and dodging drips as they squeezed on to the over-crowded platform.

Not a great advertisement for 'Destination Wembley' I am afraid.

Brent forms Waste Warriors team to beat fly-tippers

Following an increaser in fly-tipping this year Brent Council is to create a 'Environmental Crime Prevention Team' to tackle graffiti and fly-tipping. There will be a refreshed focus on waste enforcement, dealing particularly with fly-tipping and business waste.

A report going before the One Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee on December 5th admits that one reason for the increase in fly-tipping is the 'council's new household waste collection arrangements that restrict the volume of waste that is collected'.

The council no longer collects additional sacks that are left next to the bins. They say 'this has led to residents dumping excess/uncollected waste on footpaths and near litter bins in some areas'.

A second reason is to do with the street cleansing cuts introduced last year. The report says that less frequent sweeps mean items are left for longer and more likely to be reported.

A third reason is increased commercial waste disposal charges which has led to 'dumping by unscrupulous trades who wish to avoid these charges'. The report notes that commercial waste disposal cots rise each year and 'can be particularly burdensome' for small and medium-sized businesses in difficult economic times.

If the 'no side collection' rule is causing more fly-tipping there is likely to be pressure from some quarters for this rule to be relaxed. 

These impacts were predicted by campaigners at the time the new recycling system and street cleaning cuts were introduced last year.

The immediate impact of the £2m cut in street cleansing has been addressed through various measures including paying particular attention to known problem areas and 'bespoke' arrangements around very difficult areas such as Harlesden town centre. Veolia have now introduced a 'recycling pick-up of waste dumped in town centres which ensures a second additional early morning clearance in those areas.  A concerted anti-litter campaign is being considered.

On a more optimistic note  the council claim that the measures they have taken to increase recycling have resulted in an average of 45% for 2012-13 compared with 32% in the same period last year. The target is 60%.