BUILDING A BETTER BRENT

Councils provide so many services that it is not always easy to keep up to date with what has been happening. Here we take a quick look at some of the council’s major achievements over the past few years

EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED • Brent Start, the adult education college, has supported over 3,000 residents this academic year, with an achievement rate of 93.7%. Read more about the new Brent

Start building on page 6. • O nly 1.4% of the borough’s 16-17 year-olds are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

A BOROUGH WHERE WE CAN ALL FEEL SAFE, SECURE, HAPPY AND HEALTHY • The ‘Bright Futures’ project has exceeded its target with 43 ex-offenders supported, 10 of whom have been supported into work. •In 2019/20, the New Accommodation for Independent

Living (NAIL) programme identified and delivered 8 schemes and 149 units of accommodation, providing high quality accommodation for a range of vulnerable people.

Building a better Brent

A CLEANER, MORE

CONSIDERATE BRENT • The council has planted 1,033 trees in the borough – four times as many as last year. Existing tree cover, levels of poverty and air quality are all factors in where new trees are planted. • The council declar ed a climate and ecological emergency in July 2019, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030.

STRONG FOUNDATIONS • There were over 8,000 visits to community hubs in 2019/2020. Of 8,229 visits to community hubs, 7,526 queries were fully resolved at point of contact – almost 90%. • The council distributed over £3.6 million in grant funding to local people this year, through initiatives such as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which is funded by developers building in Brent, and Love Where You Live.

A FUTURE BUILT FOR EVERYONE • This year Brent Council began a two-year programme of footway repairs costing £20million. 35 projects have been completed, with another 17 set to come. • This year there wer e: • 35 new properties built by the council and let to homeless households. • 242 new aff ordable homes generated in the borough • 62 properties pur chased for use by i4B, the company set up by the council to provide affordable accommodation.