Kingsbury and Kenton resident forum, Brent Connects

The next Kingsbury and Kenton resident forum, Brent Connects, is on Weds 22rd June the day before the EU referendum. It will be held at Kingsbury High school, the Lower School in Bacon Lane and will start promptly at 7pm.


Council Leader, Muhammed Butt and Deputy Leader, Margaret McLennan would like to meet residents at the forum to hear their issues first hand and will take the opportunity to talk about the council’s vision for the borough. This is an excellent opportunity to put the two Cabinet members on the spot about the issues that affect you as a resident of Fryent. They will be discussing: how the council can improve the way it works, what the council is doing well and will be exploring what residents want to see happen in the future to make Brent a better place to live, work and play.
Do you have an issue that you want discussed, now is your chance?

Councillor Ketan Sheth, Chair, Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and councillor Matt Kelcher, Chair, Brent Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be discussing ways of making scrutiny count in Brent. Effective scrutiny is a vital part of local government and helps to improve decision-making, service provision and cost-effectiveness.

It’s Time to Talk is a campaign which aims to empower residents and community leaders to talk about difficult issues. We will be discussing a planned event in July to encourage attendance and promote the need for communities in Brent to come together.

Please come along either to have your say or just listen to local issues that affect you and other residents.

Please note the venue is the lower school in Bacon Lane, make a note in your diary now to come along.

Fryent Councillors

Brent Connects - Kingsbury and Kenton Forum

The next meeting of the Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects will take place on Wednesday 3rd Febuary at 7pm. The venue will be Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave. NW9.

The main item for discussion is likely to be Brent Council future budget and wether the Council should increase Council Tax as Government Chancellor George Osborne is suggesting or make further cuts to services to residents.

These decisions affect you and your opinion is important, please try and come along and listen and take part in the debate.

Fryent Councillors

Should Brent Council increase Council Tax?

This is the question that your Councillors will have to consider over the next few months. Should the Council increase Council Tax by more than the permitted 2% to 4% or more? A Council Tax increase of 2% generates approximately £1.8 million pounds. This level of increase would cost a band D resident £21 or just over 40 pence per week.  The Government have ruled for many years that Council tax increases above 2% without a local referendum would not be allowed.

In Chancellor Osborne recent Autumn statement he is now encouraging and allowing Councils to increase Council Tax to pay for the care costs of the elderly. The elderly population is growing as their life expectancy grows but this puts additional burdens on Council spending. 

Brent Council tax has been frozen for the last 6 years - no increase since 2009.

Your Fryent Councillors have argued for an increase in previous years because our base budget is years out of date. The Government has given the Council 1% in the past to freeze Council tax but this has not kept pace with funding additional or even existing services.

This is not an easy decision, we realise that it will impact some residents adversely. The Council will have to review its Council Tax support scheme to protect the most vulnerable residents. The Council will still have to make cuts and make huge savings because of continued Government austerity measures.

So why should Council Tax increase? Any public service has to be paid for - if the Government reduces the grant it previously gave to the Council the money has to come from somewhere. Brent has cut £145 million from its budget - this is money the government has taken away from Brent residents over the last 4/5 years. Brent has made efficiencies, transformed services, shared services with other boroughs, cut jobs and some services and increased and added new charges, the payment for collecting Green waste , is an example. The cuts are so severe that the Council is now faced with cutting services which will adversely affect people lives, particularly the elderly housebound, residents with a disability, and environmental services such as street cleaning and repairing pot holes.

You can have your say, either post a comment on this blog or come to the next Kingsbury and Kenton Brent Connects. It takes place on Wednesday 3rd Feb at Kingsbury high School, Prince Ave, Kingsbury And starts at 7pm.

Your views are important - be part of the discussion.

Cllrs George Crane, Ruth Moher and Shama Tatler.  

Kingsbury and Kenton Forum - Brent Connects

The next meeting of Kingsbury Brent Connects will take place on Tuesday 3rd February 2015

The venue will be Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave, NW9
The meeting starts at 7.00pm

This meeting is really important as it gives Fryent residents the opportunity to quiz Council Leader Muhammad  Butt on the planned 54 million pound savings on the Council Budget over the next two years.  

You can read the background to the proposals in the report that the Executive Councillors considered in December 2014. http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/documents/b8067/Budget%20report%20and%20appendices%20Monday%2015-Dec-2014%2019.00%20Cabinet.pdf?T=9

Brent Council Leader Cllr Mo Butt said "I want to be as open and transparent as possible, no Labour Councillor wants to make these cuts. However Labour did not win the General election and the Government is reducing the amount of money Councils can spend, we are were we are."  

In real terms, funding for local government has fallen by 43 per cent from 2010/11 to 2015/16 (Source: House of Commons research paper 14/43, September 2014). In Brent this means that the Council has cut 89 million pounds since 2010 and is now facing a further reduction target of 54 million over the next 2 years.

This is also made worse by the freeze on Council Tax for the last 5 years. Whilst this has been good news for Council Tax payers it has meant that the income to the council has been lost. This is probably close to 8 million pounds since 2010. Is it time to pay more Council Tax that can be spent on maintaining some services.? It would be really good to hear residents views.

The meeting will also hear about A&E services at Northwick Park Hospital.

Please try and come along next Tuesday.

George Crane

Fryent Councillors

Kingsbury and Kenton - Brent Connects

The next Brent Connects public forum covering Kingsbury and Kenton will be on:

Tuesday 4th November at 7.00 pm.

The meeting will be held at:

Sattavis Patidar Centre,

Forty Lane junction with The Avenue,

HA9 9PE  

The following items will be discussed at the meeting:

·         Further to the council’s launch of the Brent Borough Plan 2015-19, the meeting will feature an interactive session on emerging priorities for the new Borough Plan. We want your views on how local public services should evolve to help us plan Brent’s future

(See our blog item from Sunday 5th Oct) 

·         There will be a review of the Fryent and Queensbury Week of Action

·         An update on Community Payback

Action points from the previous meeting are on the Bret Council website:

http://brent.gov.uk/your-community/brent-connects/brent-connects-forums/brent-connects-kingsbury-and-kenton/

Fryent Councillors

Kingsbury and Kenton - Brent Connects

The next meeting of the Kingsbury Brent Connects will be held on Wednesday 16th July at the Oshwai Centre, 366 Stag Lane - close to the old Library. It will start at 7pm sharp.

An item on the agenda includes a consultation on draft Planning policies - come and have your say. The Council is keen to prevent too many takeaway, betting shops, pawnbrokers, and payday lenders in our town centres. If you can`t get to the meeting check out this link:
http://brent-consult.objective.co.uk/portal

Other items will include a discussion on Community Infrastrcture Levy - how should Brent spend money it receives from developers when they approve planning applications.

The Forum will also need to select a local representative to the Brent Safer Neighbourhood Board.

The usual Soapbox item is included and refreshments are available during the break and it`s an opportunity to meet your local councillors. I am sorry I can`t make it that night but hopefully Ruth or Shama will be able to attend.

Cllr George Crane
Fryent Councillor

Brent Connects - Kingsbury and Kenton Forum

The next meeting of Brent Connects, Kingsbury and Kenton will be held at a new venue on Tuesday 23rd July at 7pm.

The new venue will be the Oshwal Ekta Centre, 366 Stag Lane, Kingsbury NW9 9AA

We will post a blog nearer the time when the agenda has been decided but make a note of the date now.

George Crane
Fryent Councillors.

Brent Budget - Discussion

Local people are being invited to attend one of two public meetings about Brent's budget proposals for the forthcoming financial year.

The Brent Connects budget discussions will outline the difficult choices facing local government in the current economic climate and the council's proposals to continue making Brent a fairer borough and promote economic growth during 2013/14.

Local people will have the opportunity to question, and raise issues of concern, with Brent Council Leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, and members of the council's Executive.

Both meetings will take place in Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley, HA9 9HD on:

·         Monday, 4 February, 2:30 - 4:30pm, in Committee Rooms 1, 2 and 3

·         

     Thursday, 7 February, 7 - 9pm, in Paul Daisley Hall.

Anyone can attend. No booking is required. 

Fryent Councillors

KINGSBURY AND KENTON AREA FORUM - BRENT CONNECTS

Come and discuss the local issues that concern you at your next meeting.

Kingsbury High School, Princess Ave   10^th October Starting at 7.00pm

Your Area Forum is changing and in future it will be known as Brent Connects Kingsbury and Kenton.

Why is it changing? The aim is to get more residents engaged with what’s happening 

in their local community. They will be more interactive, feature “Question Time” style sessions.

Fryent Councillors said ”It is vital that we listen to local people and get more people involved and in what’s going on in their local area.”