BrentOur Future2010 – 2014

One BoroughOne CommunityOne Council

www.brent.gov.uk

It is with immense pride and excitement that I write thisintroduction to our borough strategy, Brent – Our Future,2010-2014. During the election campaign we promised thatour administration would be ambitious, responsible, prudentand fair. This strategy encapsulates that approach!

Despite the extraordinary nature of the times and theunprecedented cuts in public funding we remain true to ourambitions, to our fundamental belief in the value of publicservice, our absolute commitment to making the lives of localpeople better and to concentrating our services to protect thepoorest and most vulnerable.

This is a progressive strategy from a progressive administration.It commits the council and its partners to an unashamedlyreforming agenda for the services we provide, taking bold anddecisive action to improve and renew our service offer and effectmajor improvements to the physical environment. We willremain true to green beliefs using our tenure in office to makereal and lasting change which benefit future generations.

We know that over the next four years we are going tohave to deliver council services in a much smarter fashiontaking cost out of how we do things and make efficienciesto protect the taxpayer.

However everything we set out to do is clearly set in thecontext of improvement of what we do now and providingus with a secure platform for success when the financialcircumstances improve.

This is a strategy I can wholeheartedly commend toresidents, members and staff. What this strategy doesis combine the practical with the daring, and soliddelivery with hope. We aim to be the very bestplace in London to live and work. This strategyis aimed at getting us there.

Cllr Ann JohnLeader of the Council

Leader’sforeword

Over the next four years, it will be the job of all council staff to deliver thevision and priorities contained within this document. Working with our manypartners in the public, private and voluntary and community sectors, we arecommitted to creating a future for Brent that is prosperous, sustainable andenables our residents to improve their quality of life.

The programme set out within this strategy is ambitious yet realistic. Whilelocal government is facing unusually difficult times, this has not diminishedour determination to respond to the aspirations of local communities andprovide high quality public services.

We are undoubtedly entering a period of significant change which will requireinnovation, resilience and resourcefulness from all staff. We will have fewerresources and will need to use those we have creatively and wisely. But greatopportunities also lie ahead with the creation of the new Civic Centre and aprogramme of major regeneration projects across the borough.

This process of change is already well underway with the One CouncilProgramme and the restructuring of council departments. These changes willcreate an organisation with a sharper focus on customer service and localpriorities, better capacity to implement major projects and more efficientinternal procedures. Most importantly, our services and structure will bebetter suited to implementing the new Administration’s policy priorities andachieving better value for money.

A critical element in the successful delivery of this challenging agenda willbe strong officer-member relationships and robust decision-making. Staff willwork closely with elected members and be open, transparent andaccountable for the delivery of the Administration’s programme. We will useour professional skills and local knowledge to provide the best possibleservices to Brent residents.

Brent – Our Future, 2010-2014 is a positive and confident agenda whichprovides a clear direction for the organisation and the borough.It is now our task to rise to the challenge and make this vision a reality.

Gareth DanielChief Executive

ChiefExecutive’sintroduction

Our vision Brent will be a thriving,

vibrant place, where our

diverse community lives

in an environment that

is safe, sustainable and

well maintained.

All our services will

enable local people to

fulfil their potential and

improve their quality of

life. Public resources will

be used creatively and

wisely to produce lasting

benefits for our residents

and the borough.

Our commitment

to reducing poverty,

redressing inequality

and preventing exclusion

will be at the heart of

all our actions.

One boroughCreating a sustainable built environment thatdrives economic regeneration and reduces poverty,inequality and exclusion.

One community Providing excellent public services which enable peopleto achieve their full potential, promote communitycohesion, and improve our quality of life.

One council Improving services for residents by working with ourpartners to deliver local priorities more effectively andachieve greater value for money from public resources.

Our strategicobjectives

Brent is a place of contrasts. Home of the iconicWembley Stadium, and Wembley Arena and thespectacular Swaminarayan Hindu Temple, ourborough is the destination for thousands ofBritish and international visitors every year. Brentis served by some of the best road and railtransport links in London and the area isaccustomed to the successful staging of majorevents. We are a 2012 Olympic borough and areworking closely with the national OlympicCommittee and our local partners to ensure thisevent leaves lasting economic benefits for ourresidents and our borough. We have awardwinning parks, outstanding schools, a great nightlife and a reputation for fostering andcelebrating community cohesion. Our populationis young, dynamic and growing. Our long historyof ethnic and cultural diversity has created a placethat is truly unique and valued by those who liveand work here.

However despite these strengths Brent is rankedamongst the top 15 per cent most deprived areasof the country. This deprivation is characterised byhigh levels of long-term unemployment, lowaverage incomes and a reliance on benefits andsocial housing. In our priority neighbourhoods theimpact of the recession has seen unemploymentincrease above nine per cent. Children and youngpeople are particularly affected with a third ofchildren in Brent living in a low income householdand a fifth in a single-adult household. Theproportion of our young people living in acutedeprivation is rising with a growing disparitybetween the educational achievements of somechildren in comparison with a rising boroughaverage. Living in poverty generally contributes topoorer health, wellbeing and social isolation. Thestatistics show that people on low incomes aremore likely to have a life limiting health condition,take less exercise and have a shorter life.

Tackling these issues underpins the ambitionsand commitments that are set out in thisdocument. Our objective is to lead the physicalregeneration of the borough to enable all sectionsof the community to participate in, contribute to,and benefit from the future success of Brent.

Brent today

These issuesunderpin ourambition andcommitment.

59%of the population inBrent is from blackand ethnic minoritybackgrounds.

36%of the population isaged 20-39 and 23%are 19 or under. 16%are aged over 60 years.

15%of the adultpopulation haveno formalqualifications.

Average annual earnings are

£27,248– the third lowest in London.

20%of households havean annual income of£15k or less.

Average house prices are the

8th highestin London at £309, 819.

Only15.8% of adultsundertake physicalactivity for 3 x 30minutes per week– the second lowestlevel in London.

Some facts…

One borough

Our borough has great potential for economicregeneration. We benefit from excellent transport linksboth into central London and out to the wider sub-region. With the international visitor destination ofWembley Stadium located at our heart we are ideallyplaced to promote Brent as a place to do business andattract new investment into the borough.

The council is leading this drive with the creation ofthe new Civic Centre within the Wembley regenerationarea. This unique building will provide a world classpublic facility. It will be the most environmentallysustainable public building in the country, offeringaccessible community services and much needed spacefor arts and cultural events. Bringing together councilactivities, along with our partners, into one modernbuilding will enable us to provide better customerservices while significantly reducing our property andadministrative costs. These savings mean we can createan outstanding community asset for the future whilestill making better use of our public funding. Ourinvestment in the Civic Centre will act as a catalyst forgreater private sector investment with major retail,leisure and commercial developments coming into thearea over the next four years.

To enhance access to council services in the south ofthe borough we will be redeveloping Willesden GreenLibrary with more community facilities, a customerservice point and a better library. In addition to thesetwo public buildings we will create three further multi-use council contact points to ensure that all parts ofthe borough are well served. We will also be workingwith the voluntary sector to develop a resource centrefor local community and voluntary groups.

Brent’s Local Development Framework identifies fivekey growth areas across the borough. These includeSouth Kilburn and Church end which we willtransform by working with the private sector to createopportunities for more business, retail, housing andenvironmental improvements. Through the positivereputation we have already established withdevelopers, vital new investment will be brought intothese areas. In consultation with local resident’s wehave agreed plans to tackle the poor environment andair quality along the North Circular. These plans willinclude redesigning local housing and making betteruse of open spaces to minimise the impact of trafficon peoples’ daily lives.

We will use these regeneration projects to enhancethe local skills base of Brent residents, supporting localemployment and training wherever possible. Poortransport services to some parts of the borough act as abarrier to employment and we will work with partnersin Park Royal to improve transport services to the area.

In addition to regenerating the physical environmentexisting local businesses are of course crucial to theeconomic future of the borough. We already havegood relationships with many of our small and mediumsize firms, and are working with our EmployersPartnership to coordinate the business support availableto grow local enterprise. The 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games is a great opportunity to promoteBrent as a destination and we are working with localbusinesses to enhance the employment and tourismopportunities from Brent being an Olympic venue.

Our local town centres provide vital services andamenities within their neighbourhoods. We want towork with local traders to improve their viability bycreating a better mix of retail and leisure businesses,providing free parking for the first hour andimproving public transport services. We will work withCamden Council to develop plans to improve KilburnHigh Road as a shopping area.

Driving economic opportunityand regeneration

A unique building… a worldclass public facility… the mostenvironmentally sustainablepublic building in the country.

Our regeneration plans will be delivered within thecontext of creating a sustainable economic and socialenvironment which provides residents with the servicesand opportunities they need, while protecting thequality of our environment for the future. For thisreason we are concentrating our growth within areasthat have good public transport access, have thecapacity to accommodate growth and are in needof regeneration.

Environmentally we will lead by example and aim toreduce our CO2 emissions by as much as 25 per centby 2014. This will be achieved by improving energyefficiency in council buildings, encouraging the use ofpublic transport, minimising business travel,promoting car clubs and cycling facilities and usingalternative sources of energy. The council will workwith partners to implement our Climate ChangeStrategy so that the whole borough is prepared for itseffects and local communities are kept informed.Where possible we will make sustainable choices inour purchasing of goods and services and promotethe work of the Brent Fairtrade Network.

Protectingour environment

Making green choices is very important to manylocal people and we want to make it easier for themto do this. A Brent ‘Green Charter’ will be developedsetting out how we can work together to protect ourenvironment. One key objective is reducing theamount of household waste we all create and our aimis to increase the proportion of waste that getsrecycled or composted to up to 60 per cent by 2014.We will improve the range of items that can berecycled in the collection service and make it easierfor people living in flats to recycle by providing morebring sites with mixed collections. More of ourresidual waste will be treated to reduce the amountthat is sent to landfill. Bulky items will be collectedfree of charge and where possible these items will bereused or recycled. Our residents parking permits willencourage people who choose cars with loweremission levels by using the polluter pays principle.

Everyone deserves to live in a clean and wellmaintained neighbourhood. Clean streets, free ofnuisance cars, graffiti and dumped rubbish will be thenorm. We will prosecute those individuals that do notrespect our shared environment and spoil our streets.

Brent residents value their parks and open spaces.We will protect our parks by improving theirbiodiversity and most importantly enabling people touse them safely with improvements to the wardensservice. New sports and physical activities, particularlyfor older people, children and young people will beavailable in local parks and more multi-use gamesareas will be provided in suitable spaces. Overall ourdevelopment plans aim to increase the amount ofmaintained open space within the borough.

We are continuing to enhance the public realm,improving the state of our roads and pavements, andincreasing road safety, particularly where it affectschildren. In addition the council will lobby the Mayor ofLondon on strategic transport issues which matter toBrent, including high-speed orbital bus based servicesconnecting outer London town centres.

A key objective is to reduce theamount of household wastewe all create…

While there is no quick solution to meeting allthe housing need in the borough we provide arange of services that help to prevent peoplelosing their homes, address inequalities and offeralternative solutions. We will continue to reducethe numbers of families who are in temporaryaccommodation through our partnership workwith registered social landlords and the privaterented sector. Working with private landlordsto improve the quality of rented accommodationand bringing unused property back into use willbe part of our overall strategy to create a bettersupply of affordable housing in Brent.

As in many parts of London housing in Brent isexpensive and in short supply. With a lowaverage income in the borough and with the costof housing well above the London average manypeople find it very difficult to afford suitableaccommodation. Being in need of housing has aserious impact on people’s job prospects, theirhealth and sometimes their family relations.Homelessness affects the most vulnerable peoplein our community and frequently leads toisolation and exclusion.

One of the core principles of our HousingStrategy is to create more housing within ourgrowth areas at Wembley, Alperton, SouthKilburn, Church End, Burnt Oak and Colindale.Over the next four years we will provide 4500new homes in the borough and 50 per cent ofthese will be designated as affordable. There is aparticular shortage of family sized housing in theborough, which we need to protect throughlimiting the conversion of larger properties intoflats. We will also ensure that 25 per cent of allnew build properties are suitable for families.

Greater access toaffordable housing

St Mungo’s Pound Lane whichopened this summer offersaccommodation for 85 homelessmen. The centre, developed inpartnership by Brent Counciland the housing charitySt Mungo’s, also offers accessto employment training.

Increasing sports, leisureand cultural facilities

One of our top priorities is to build more highquality sports and leisure facilities. Our ambitionis to have a new third swimming pool serving thenorth of the borough and to redevelop andimprove the centre at Bridge Park. Many peoplein our community are unable to enjoy the healthand wellbeing benefits of an active life stylewhich includes regular exercise. This is due to thelack of local facilities. 52 per cent of ourpopulation never undertake any exercise and theimpact of this can be seen in growing levels ofhealth inequalities and obesity. We must tacklethis problem working with local health providersand the community to provide accessible sportsfacilities and services for all age groups.

Our joint Sports and Physical Activity Strategysets out a programme of partnership work toincrease the numbers of people taking part inregular exercise as well as provide practicalsupport to local sports clubs andschools. These actions areclosely linked to our responseto the 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games. Wewill use this global eventto promote the widerhealth and communitycohesion benefits fromparticipation inboth individualand club sports.

Our 2012 Action Plan also looks beyond thesporting benefits and includes projects that willtrain volunteers to gain new work skills andaccess job opportunities, support young learnersto be inspired by the Olympics, Paralympics andcultural events that will showcase Brent at itsbest. In the build up to the Olympics we willimplement the 2012 Action Plan to securemaximum employment, health and communitycohesion benefits are delivered and sustained inthe borough.

Brent is unique in its cultural diversity. This isreflected in a rich and dynamic cultural heritagewhich is celebrated and shared through ourpopular festivals programme and a myriad of localcommunity events. We want to build on thisfoundation to support the growth of arts andcultural industries in Brent and encourage morepeople to engage with local arts projects. Culturalactivities make a significant contribution to thelives of local people, fostering cohesion, supportingachievement and reducing exclusion. Our CulturalStrategy sets out actions to provide better venues

for arts and community events, attract morefunding for local cultural facilities and ensure allparts of the community can take part.

As part of our approach to neighbourhoodservices we will undertake a major review of

our libraries service with the aim of creatinga network of modern and fit for purposelibraries, in high quality buildings, atconvenient locations across the borough.These will not only provide library services

but act as contact points with access toa range of information, ITfacilities and public services.The model will be oursuccessful Kingsbury Plus which

has both increased libraryusage and made it easierfor local people to get theservices they need.

One community

We have a comprehensive range of employmentservices in place to prepare and support people intolocal jobs. Whether it is help with making anapplication or additional language skills over 1000local people have successfully got into employmentthrough Brent in2work. We will focus on thosepeople who have been out of the labour marketfor longest and provide them with the right skillsand experience to gain employment. We willprovide specialist support to people with a disabilitywho wish to find employment. By working withlocal employers to identify the type of skills theyneed our programmes help local people make thatall important first step into a job.

Raising local employment is a critical part of ourambition to reduce poverty and inequality inBrent particularly for our most deprivedcommunities. Our aim is to reduce the numbers ofpeople claiming out of work benefits to theLondon average and raise the income level to atleast the London average by 2014. Together theseactions will reduce the numbers of householdsliving in poverty to 16 per cent by 2014.

Brent is one of the country’s most deprived areasfor employment and income. In our priorityneighbourhoods unemployment is over nine percent while the borough average is also above thatof London. Many people who are in employmentstill have a low income and during this time ofeconomic recession many individuals and familiesare financially vulnerable or already living inpoverty. We know that living in povertycontributes to poorer physical and mental health,excludes people from their community and reducesthe chances of children doing well at school.

Our plans for the physical regeneration ofBrent will bring new job opportunities into theborough and we want our residents to accessthese jobs, to improve their own prosperity andbenefit from a thriving local economy. We alsowant them to be better equipped to compete forjobs across London.

Reducing worklessnessand low incomes

Raising local employmentis a critical part of ourambition to reduce povertyand inequality in Brent .

The College of NorthWest London is leadingthe way in technicaltraining…

Supporting childrenand families

We know that the earlier in a child’s life support isprovided the better they will do in the future. Allchildren deserve the best start in life within a strongand safe family environment. Our programme oflocality services and children’s centres are workingwith families to provide the right kind of help duringthose first crucial years of a child’s life. We will investin our early years services and increase access tochildcare to make sure that families are able to take-up employment or training opportunities more easily.

Keeping children safe and protecting those that aremost vulnerable is a critical responsibility of all localauthorities. Working with our partners on the LocalSafeguarding Board we will strengthen our role as‘Corporate Parents’ making sure that our earlyintervention services identify, protect and support anychild at risk. We will respond quickly and appropriatelyto the needs of all children and where it is in theinterests of the child to be looked after by theauthority we will provide a stable, consistent andcaring environment.

A good education is the foundation for future success.The educational achievement of Brent’s children andyoung people has improved dramatically in the pastdecade and our ambitious young people have examresults amongst the top performers in London. Thequality of teaching in our local schools is high with 65per cent of our schools being judged as good or aboveby OFSTED. We will work in partnership with localschools to deliver an excellent education for all childrenin Brent and reduce the gap in attainment that existsfor some ethic groups. Our challenge is to supportthose children that find it most difficult to succeededucationally, either because they need extra assistancewith learning or because the circumstances of theirlives are difficult. Through specific support programmesfor children looked after by the local authority, thosewho have special educational needs and children withdisabilities, we will ensure they are able to achieve theirfull educational potential.

Demand for school places continues to increase andour schools are already oversubscribed. Our aim is tobuild at least one new secondary school and one newprimary school in areas with high demand as well asexpanding capacity at our existing schools wherethere is the potential. We will lobby centralgovernment for the necessary resources to build newschools, expand our existing schools and re-builddilapidated facilities.

All Brent schools now have a range of extendedservices that support pupils learning and focus onproviding children with the additional help that theysometimes need to do well at school such as homework clubs, language support and mentoring. Theseextended services also provide vital neighbourhoodsports, arts and cultural activities. All Brent schools willachieve accreditation as ‘Healthy Schools’ promotingsensible eating and regular exercise as part of apreventative approach to health and wellbeing forchildren and young people.

Our challenge is to support those children that find it most difficult tosucceed educationally, either because they need extra assistance withlearning or because the circumstances of their lives are difficult.

Enabling youngpeople to thrive

Twenty three per cent of the population in Brent isunder 19 years of age. Young people have beenparticularly badly affected by the economic recessionwith many finding it increasingly difficult to gainemployment or access appropriate further education.We need to ensure that we support these youngpeople during their transition to adulthood withbetter careers guidance and ensuring they have accessto effective education and training provision at age14-19 within our schools, colleges and other trainingprovider organisations.

A lack of suitable activities for young people in ourneighbourhoods is often raised as a concern byresidents. We are addressing this through developingneighbourhood projects as part of our Ward Workinginitiative often in collaboration with voluntary groupsand schools. Our sports service works closely with localclubs and groups to deliver activities for young people inparks and sports centres. However we recognise thatwe can do more and will be reviewing our youthservice to ensure that all parts of the borough haveaccess to a relevant and engaging range of activitiesfor young people. Information about the youthactivities provided locally needs to be more easily andwidely available. We are working with young peopleto continually improve our dedicated young people’swebsite, Bmyvoice, to make sure they can find outwhat is going on in their neighbourhood, as well asgiving them better information about other publicservices that can provide them with support andadvice.

The Child Health Support Team’sMind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do-it(MEND) programme is just oneof the ways Brent Council helpsthe borough’s youngsters to makeinformed choices about thelives they lead.

Greater personal choice andindependence in adult social care

With growing demand for adult care services it isvital that we use our resources wisely to provide thebest care options for local people. In collaborationwith other local authorities in west London we areworking to maximise the purchasing power of ourbudgets through joint procurement arrangements andshared service models.

Staying active and participating in the localcommunity prolongs health and wellbeing andreduces isolation. Our range of sports, cultural andleisure activities are designed to improve the physicalfitness, mental wellbeing and social inclusion of allour residents. Helping people to lead an active life is akey component to maintain independence andprevent the escalation to more serious levels of need.

Many people at some point in their lives will requireadditional care to maintain their quality of life andindependence. For some this can be a short intensiveperiod of help, for others with a critical illness ordisability it can be more long-term. Our services foradults are designed to give people more choice aboutthe type of care they receive and to retain anindependent life style for as long as possible.

We will encourage more of our social care clients touse direct payments as a way of having more choiceand control over the services they receive, whileworking with our partners in the voluntary sector todevelop a range of suitable options that reflectcultural preferences. Our staff will provide advice andguidance on making the best choice for eachindividual client depending on their personalcircumstances.

“Direct payments is the bestthing that ever happened toour family… everyone whois eligible should take it up.”

Our fully comprehensive reablement service willsupport people to return to independence moresuccessfully after treatment and avoid unnecessaryhospital admissions in the future. Working with ourcolleagues in the health sector we will reduce thenumber of people whose transfers from hospital aredelayed by not having suitable intermediate carepackages in place to help them return home.

When people decide to use care services provideddirectly by us, they will receive a modern service thatbetter reflects their aspirations and wishes.We will improve the buildings and facilities for our daycare and residential homes and increase the efficiencyof our transport services. Relatives and friends providevital support to many of our social care clients.When putting in place care packages we will alsoassess the impact on carers and their need forassistance to maintain a good quality of life whilecaring for their relative or friend. Our assessmentprocess will be streamlined to give people a decisionmore quickly and we will review our charging policyto ensure that it is fair.

Brent carerMrs Bravette

Although Brent is now a safer place, residents still expressconcern about crime levels. Through the Safer NeighbourhoodsTeams we are working with the police to provide local peoplewith more influence and information about how theirneighbourhoods are policed.

Reducing crime andthe fear of crime

Protecting the public from crime and reducing the fearof crime is one of our highest priorities. Despite anoverall decrease in crime of over 20 per cent in recentyears, there are still some parts of the borough whereviolent crime, including knife and gun crime, is aconcern. We will focus on reducing gun crime throughmore intelligence led approaches in high risk areas andengaging with the communities most affected. Workingwith the police, we will focus on preventativeprogrammes in schools engaging children, youngpeople and their families to understand the socialimpact and consequences of violent crime. Violence inthe home frequently leads young people to develop awider acceptance of violence in all forms. Ourprogrammes to reduce domestic violence, which is asignificant proportion of all violent crime in Brent, willsupport victims and their families to escape from violentsituations and put in place alternative solutions.

Working with the Safer Neighbourhood Teams wewill reduce residential burglary by targeting knownburglary locations, increasing advice and support onhome security and focusing on known repeat offendersto prevent future crimes. Our range of local wardprojects designed to reduce anti-social behaviour arepopular and successful. These targeted initiatives createalternative options for young people, tackle problemlocations that encourage anti-social behaviour and usethe right level of deterrent measures to prevent re-offending. 85 per cent of resident’s are happy withhow we have dealt with anti-social behaviour in theirarea and as a result the number of young peoplecoming into the criminal justice system has reduced.We will focus this preventative work on those youngpeople most at risk of becoming an offender andsupport them to make better choices for their futures.

The incidence of brothels and prostitution is anemerging issue in Brent and one which we aredetermined to tackle. Following an innovative researchproject into this disturbing issue the police and otherpartners have agreed a set of protocols that will makeidentifying women who have been trafficked orpressurised into prostitution easier. We will lobby localnewspapers to stop the advertising of sex services andpromote charities that assist women to exit prostitution.

Drug and alcohol abuse, while not a widespreadproblem in Brent, is an acute and persistent problemfor some individuals and can lead to criminal activityas a means of funding a drug or alcohol addiction.The completion of treatment and the successfultransition to a new life style are key to preventingrepeat offending. We will improve the supportavailable to people completing treatment and helpthem to lead a life that is drug and alcohol free.

Although Brent is now a safer place, residents stillexpress concern about crime levels. Through the SaferNeighbourhoods Teams (SNT’s) we are working withthe police to provide local people with more influenceand information about how their neighbourhoods arepoliced. The SNT’s work with the Ward Panels andneighbourhood watch to coordinate the work of thePolice Community Support Officers on the streets.High visibility policing is central to our approach tostopping street crime and helping to reduce the fearof crime felt by local people.

Ann Ring, manager of BrentNeighbourhood Watch.

Addressing health inequalitiesand the gap in life expectancy

planning and design policies will make it easierfor people to include exercise in their daily liveswith more cycle routes and safe foot paths.

Smoking is the single greatest cause ofpreventable illness and death. While smoking hasdecreased overall, in some wards in Brent 25 percent of people still smoke. We aim to reducesmoking further by delivering our programme ofpractical help and advice to quit smoking andmaking sure that young people don’t start byimplementing robust systems to tackle theavailability of tobacco to them.

Take up of routine screening for cancers andimmunisation rates are low amongst somecommunities. We must encourage people to usethese valuable preventative services with moreinformation on the availability of primary careservices and better access to GP’s. Brent has aparticularly high level of people contractingtuberculosis. Early diagnosis of this condition isimportant for effective treatment, so regularscreening for those who are most susceptible tothis illness is critical.

Changes to the way in which primary healthcare and hospital services are provided in Londonare likely to take place in the coming months.The council will work with Brent GP’s to ensurethat the new process for commissioning localhealth services reflects the diverse and specificneeds of the local population.

People who enjoy the best health in Brent canexpect to live nine years longer than those whoexperience poor health. This stark difference inlife expectancy across the borough is the resultof the significant inequalities in health andwellbeing experienced by residents in our mostdeprived wards compared to the most affluentparts of Brent. Across a range of healthconditions such as heart disease, obesity, cancers,diabetes and respiratory conditions communitieson lower incomes are disproportionatelyaffected. Health and wellbeing is frequentlydetermined by an individual’s quality of life andcircumstances. Poor housing, air quality, diet andpoverty are all contributory factors. Workingwith local health service providers we havedeveloped a set of coordinated plans that willdecrease the gap in life expectancy and reducethe inequalities in health and wellbeing. TheHealth and Wellbeing Strategy focuses on twoobjectives, improving the wider environmentissues that impact on health and supportingpeople to adopt healthier life styles.

By delivering our ambitions to regenerate theborough, reduce unemployment and improvehousing provision we will address many of theunderlying causes of poor health. Ourenvironmental health service is focused onprotecting and promoting public health withinitiatives to improve air quality, enforce foodstandards, reduce obesity and control tobaccouse. By improving Brent’s environment, tacklingcrime and anti-social behaviour and encouragingachievement we will make a significantcontribution to securing longer, healthier livesfor our residents.

As well as providing the right environment weneed to make it easier for people to makehealthy choices in their lives. We aim to build atleast one new swimming pool serving the northof the borough and run more local sports eventsin parks and local venues. Our sports centresprovide a range of activities for all abilities andages that will improve physical fitness and helpin the management of weight. All of our schoolsare working towards being accredited as ‘HealthySchools’ and we run intensive support projectsfor families wanting to improve their diet andfitness as part of tackling childhood obesity. Our

One council By ensuring that their involvement

can make a difference to the place theylive we aim to encourage residents to

participate in the democratic life of Brent.

Consistent engagementwith local communities

reviewing and developing council policies andprovides constructive challenge to the Executiveand partners. It can also look at other matters ofconcern such as policing, health services or aparticular local issue such as fuel poverty. We willencourage residents from all sections of thecommunity to engage with and participate inoverview and scrutiny. To do this we will focus onthe issues that matter to local people, holdmeetings out of the town hall when possible, workwith partners and voluntary groups and publiciseour work as widely as we can.

The building of our new Civic Centre willprovide the perfect venue for more people toparticipate in local democratic debate. With themove to the Civic Centre we will considertelevising Council meetings and our citizenshipceremonies via the internet.

Our engagement and consultation activities willtake into account the need to reflect the diverseneeds of our population and seek out the views ofall sections of the community. We are workingtowards achieving ‘Excellence’ level of the nationalequalities framework by 2012. Through ourapproach to addressing and reflecting diversitywithin our service planning and employmentpractices we will become a beacon of best practicefor ensuring equality of opportunity.

We will empower local people by providing moreopportunities for them to engage with localelected members on decisions affecting their areaat ward forums. Our new Brent wide EngagementStrategy sets out the ambition of the council andpartners to inform, consult, engage and involveour communities in all aspects of service provisionfrom design through to delivery. To achieve this wewill provide a variety of opportunities to engagewith officers and members and ensure that allcommunication and information materials arewritten clearly and simply. The Brent Magazine willbe distributed to households regularly containinginformation on available services and consultationevents. Working with our partners we will makethe best use of consultation information and sharethe results with local communities. Our regularResidents’ Attitude Survey and Citizen’s Panel willbe used to measure residents’ satisfaction with thearea and local services and we will respond to theconcerns raised.

Our Ward Working initiative focuses onmembers working in their communities to addresslocal priorities and improve the way services aredelivered on a neighbourhood level. Each wardhas a budget to spend on community led projectsand the environmental improvements that mattermost to local residents. We will ensure thatresidents have regular feedback about what ishappening in their area through ward bulletinsand the opportunity to influence neighbourhoodpriorities. By ensuring that their involvement canmake a difference to the place they live we aimto encourage residents to participate in thedemocratic life of Brent.

The council website is a popular source ofinformation on services and events. Increasinglypeople expect to be able to access more servicesvia web technology. We will put moretransactional services onto our website to make itquicker for users to get the response they needat a time that is convenient to them.

Overview and scrutiny is a member led processindependent of the council’s decision makingfunction that looks at the performance of BrentCouncil and partner organisations in the boroughto ensure that they deliver good quality services tolocal residents. The overview and scrutiny functionenables our members to become involved in

Achieving organisational efficiencyand service improvement

We are undertaking fundamental changeprojects in our mainstream services such as adultsocial care, children’s social care, waste collectionand street cleaning that will enable us to providebetter services, increase our performance andreduce the costs. By implementing our OneCouncil programme we will be better placed toprotect the vital public services that many peopledepend on, while still maintaining a fair balancebetween taxation and spending.

As part of our approach to efficiency we areworking with our public and voluntary sectorpartners to identify how we can collectivelymake best use of all public spending in Brent.The aim of having an area based focus on ourexpenditure, rather than a single organisation,is to eliminate duplication, explore howinvestment in preventative services couldrelease savings and find ways that we canshare facilities or support functions.

Although we recognise resources will be tightwe have not lowered our performance targetsand still aim to have 85 per cent of our indicatorswithin the top two quartiles of performance by2014. We will measure our achievements againstthe views of local residents and our objective isfor 90 per cent of residents to be satisfied withtheir area as a place to live and 85 per cent to behappy with how the council runs the local area.

The next four years will be challenging and attimes difficult for our staff. We will be a smallerorganisation but we will also be more effectivewith more of our resources focused on respondingto the needs of our residents. We will support ourstaff by providing high quality training that givesthem the skills they need to excel as part of amodern, public service organisation. All staff willbe given the opportunity to contribute todiscussions and decisions on how we implementour change programme and they will be kept wellinformed through staff forums, briefings and theintranet. Individual appraisals and developmentplans will ensure that good performance isrecognised and rewarded. In return staff willobserve the highest standards of conduct,maintaining our commitment to excellence ineverything we do and serving the public.

The whole of the public sector is facing anunprecedented reduction in the level of centralgovernment funding for local services over thenext four years. With the level of demand formany services increasing, and the population inurban areas such as Brent expanding, we willinevitably be faced with making some hardchoices. However a difficult financialenvironment should not be used as the excusefor mediocrity and poor service standards. It isnow that we need to be most innovative,ambitious and creative to turn this challenge intoan opportunity to reinvent how we deliver publicservices in the future.

Our One Council programme has been carefullydesigned to target reductions in the operatingcosts of the council so that we can deliverefficiency savings while minimising the impact onfront line services to the public. The programmewill reduce our expenditure on property,consolidate our support functions and redirect agreater proportion of our staff and resources todirect service delivery. We will make maximumuse of new technology to reduce the costs ofinternal business processes and review all ourexternally procured contracts to ensure value formoney is being achieved. These actions mean wecan redesign our customer contact arrangementsmaking sure that more enquires and requests forservice are resolved on the first contact.

Brent – Our Future 2010 – 2014© Brent Council 2010 BDU 6310