Brent Council Tax to rise 6% to £1924.45 for Band D, council rents up by 7%, district network energy up by eye watering 196%

 Brent Cabinet will be putting forward a budget to Full Council which includes an overall Countil Tax increase of 6%, equating to £109.20 increase on a Band D property to £1924.45. The amounts for all the bands are shown below:

Recognising that the rise will hit residents the report to Cabinet outlines current support:

While it is acknowledged that increasing Council Tax will be difficult for some households, it should also be recognised that the Council continues to invest in the Council Tax Support scheme, which provides over £32m of support for around 28,000 households who are financially vulnerable. This support will be supplemented in 2023/24 from the Government’s £100m Council Tax Support Fund, which will enable Brent to reduce bills for Council Tax Support claimants by up to a further £25. In addition, the Council’s Resident Support Fund has made available additional funds for residents who are having difficulty due to unforeseen financial circumstances as a result of COVID-19 and the cost of living crisis.

The Council Tax increase includes an increase  of 4.99% (the government maximum) by Brent and 9.7% by the GLA.

 

Council Rents Rise by 7%

The Council will be raising council rents by 7% as set out below:

The rents for residents of the former Stonebridge HAT, now managed by the Hyde Group also rise:

 The gross rent for NAIL (New Accommodation for Independent Living) includes service charges and rises by 7%.

 

 

Service charges - some increase by up to 100%
 

 Rent of course is not the only charge to tenants. There are additional charges which vary according to the accommodation with, for example, some of the new properties having a concierge.

There is no increase for grounds maintenance, laundry and TV ariel but other charges rise, particulalrly those hit by the energy crisis. The heating and hot water rise is actually more but has been capped by the council at 100%.

 

 

District Heating Network in South Kilburn charges up by 196%

Wembley Matters has previously reported on concerns over District Heating Charges in the light of surging energy costs. The rise in tariffs justifies the concern.

 

 'Savings' NOT 'cuts'?

The Scrutiny Committee's Recommendations LINK  are included on the agenda but do not appear to have affected the report, which is not surprising given the time scale. Cuts by the Labour council are still referred to as 'savings' although the Tory Chancellor does make cuts:

The additional resources provided in the provisional local government finance settlement have resulted in a reduction in the savings requirement for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to £21.0m, profiled £13.5m in 2023/24 and £7.5m in 2024/25. This enables the deferral of £4.5m of the savings previously identified for 2023/24 to be deferred to 2024/25. Based on current estimates, this leaves a budget gap of £3m in 2024/25. However, this settlement also deferred many of the spending cuts that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had set out as necessary in his Autumn Statement to return the nation’s finances to a sustainable position over the medium term. Therefore, it remains likely that further savings will be required from 2025/26 onwards and this will be kept under review and reported to Cabinet throughout 2023/24.

 

School budget deficits and potential staffing cuts

School budget funding comes directly from government according to a formula and for local authority schools is distributed via the local authority based on decisions by the Schools Forum. Academies and Free schools received funding directly from the government.The budget report notes the difficulties some schools are currently facing previously covered on Wembley Matters.  This will result in staff cuts and there is a possibility of school amalgamations or reductions in forms of entry:

The number of Brent schools experiencing difficulties in 2022/23 has increased with 67% projecting an in-year deficit. 23% of these schools’ plan to use over 50% of reserves to balance their budgets in 2022/23. Schools are feeling the impact of rising inflationary costs, including increases in energy prices alongside teachers’ pay increasing by 5% in 2022/23 and starting salaries rising by 8.9% to £30k. A number of Brent schools are also experiencing falling rolls and as a result have had significant reductions in funding. This is requiring schools to make strategic decisions to mitigate the impact of this, including the consideration of staffing restructures. Alongside measures to support schools, such as capping admission numbers, the Local Authority has established a School Place Planning Working Group to review the sustainability of provision in primary planning areas.

 

Use of Strategic Infrastructure Levy for major projects

The amounts allocated are not  listed here but I will endeavour to find more details. I am particularly interested in the allocation to the College of North West London for its new building in Wembley Park which followed a deal with the council.

S106/Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will be utilised to undertake major infrastructure projects meeting the conditions or terms for funding. The capital programme includes CIL funded schemes totalling £46m. The total CIL allocation includes contributions towards the fit out cost of 3 medical centres, a new facility in Wembley for the College of North West London, the new Morland Gardens educational facility, a new pedestrian and cycle bridge in Alperton and contributions towards community facilities in Stonebridge, Preston Community Library, Learie Constantine Centre and Brent Indian Community Centre

 

Full Council Decision

Given the top down nature of the Cabinet system of local government  and the huge Labour majority, adoption of this budget by Full Council is inevitable.  The Tory and Lib Dem groups may put forward alternatives and they will be voted down.

 

FULL DETAILED OFFICERS' REPORT

First Port attempt to justify leap in service charges at Quadrant Court, Wembley Park

Management agents First Port have responded to residents' concerns LINK over increases in service charges with a Q&A seeking to explain how they arrived at the increases at Quadrant Court.

They quote an increase of 7% but also recognise that this does not include several major items of additional expenditure.  They do not discuss what one what resident described as the 'rocketing' charges they pay for the maintenance of the Wembley Park estate, now costing their residents at least  £100,000 a year.

The 'all-in' Tipi style private rental build by Quintain, supported by Brent Council, leaves room for increases in broadband, utility, maintenance and concierge  charges, over and above the basic rent, with residents tied service charges based on whatever deals the management agents arrange.

This is the Q&A sent to Quadrant Court residents (Click bottom left to enlarge):

Forum and Quadrant residents face huge service charge increases

Forum House at the weekend

Residents of Forum House and Quadrant Court, two of the first Quintain developments at Wembley Park face service charges of 47% according to well informed sources. First Port who manage the development spokesperson  denied the figure this morning and told me that the increases were actually 2.7% for Forum House and 5.1% for Quadrant Court.  He added that First Port had only been agents since April 2017 and the amount depended on what baseline was being used.

Forum House is presently undergoing works for removal and replacement of cladding following the Grenfell fire but the spokesman said that as the buildings were also most 10 years old that maintenance  would be needed anyway.

Forum and Quadrant are different from the later Tipi developments in that they are mixed tenure including housing provided by Genesis and Family Mosaic.  Clearly the increases will be less affordable for housing association tenants.  There are fears that the increases have been made to bring charges in line with Quintain's latest developments.

First Port is holding a site surgery today and in apparent contradiction of the spokesperson admit that the increase is 'significant' this year. I have sought clarification from First Port. The discrepancy may be due to the fact that First Port is switching from a financial year budget to a calendar year, charging 5% more during the period of adjustment for only a 9 month period.

The Development Manager of the develpment meanwhile does not seem to deny the extent of the  service charge increase but justifies it on the following grounds:

We are adjusting the budget to the real expenses of the development and the necessary works that have to be carried out as per examples below:

-          Fire equipment: A provision for ad hoc works including a replacement of the fire panel, replacement of fire doors and magnetic locks. As these are required ad hoc works for this year only so we anticipate a lowering of this cost line year.

-          Electricity: This budget is previous years metered usage, however we have now procured a contracted rate through First Port bulk purchasing. We will be able to achieve rates which are well below normal domestic rates and highly competitive against commercial tariffs. We have carried out a comprehensive assessment of the lighting on site and were aiming to replace current lighting with LED equivalents as part of the major works being carried out in order to reduce energy costs over the long term. Due to funding we are unfortunately unable to do this at present, however it will be undertaken in the near future.

-          Reserves: We plan to appoint a chartered surveyor to carry out a detailed Asset Management Plan for the development to ensure that future annual collections are set at sufficient levels to fully provide for all future major works and that collections are allocated to the correct schedules. We have however budgeted for an estimated required amount to be allocated to reserve funds.

-          Cleaning external areas: This is budgeted in for inner court yard cleaning, including all paving, section walls inside, steps etc. (steam and chemical). Also perimeter clean outside areas including pavement sections, plant surrounds, reception entrance.

-          Window cleaning: We have made provision for the external cleaning of windows and balconies throughout the development. This has not been budgeted previously but is needed enhancement that will deliver a much improved appearance to the scheme.

-          Building, Terrorism, Property Owner Liability Insurance: Provision for insurance for period 30 Sept 2018 to December 2018. This has previously been separately recharged to residents in the form of an additional levy.

-          Lifts: We have based our budget figure on actual previous expenditure allowing for 4 passenger lifts, this covers the relevant maintenance contracts, lift telephone lines, lift insurance and ad-hoc repairs should they be required. Our budget allows for our premium service lift contract which we are able to procure at a lower than usual rate via the Quintain Wembley wide agreement. This also incorporates the outstanding aesthetic repairs to all lifts.

-          Ground maintenance: We have allowed for a provision for an annual grounds maintenance contract and the regular  maintenance of the irrigation system as well as improvements to the landscaping in the budget.