The Brent Council's Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee met to discuss children's oral health, period dignity, and youth justice service delivery. The committee requested more data and committed to actions to improve services, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Here's a more detailed look at the key discussion points:

• Children's Oral Health
• Period Dignity in Brent
• The Impact of Youth Justice Service Delivery in Brent
• Other Business

Children's Oral Health

The committee reviewed children's oral health in Brent, noting that 43% of children in Brent experience some form of tooth decay by the age of five, which is double the average of local boroughs and the national average. While historically high, figures from 2022 showed a downward trend, contrasting with an upward trend in the rest of London.

Melanie Smith, Director of Public Health, explained that poor oral health was an entrenched issue, often stemming from parents' negative experiences with dental care. She said that the council had been working on this for almost a decade, prioritising early intervention and aiming to change attitudes towards dental visits.

Some councillors expressed concern that progress was slow, with only a small decrease in decay since 2022, despite efforts made over the past decade. Melanie Smith acknowledged that it could take a generation to reach desired levels, but progress was being made.

Discussion also covered support for looked-after children and primary school pupils. Melanie Smith said that the council was targeting supervised tooth brushing in nurseries and schools in the most deprived areas, with plans for universal supervised tooth brushing, but engagement with smaller nurseries and childminders was a challenge.

Other points raised:

• Strategies: The committee asked if the council had looked at what other boroughs, such as Merton, were doing to improve oral health. Melanie Smith responded that the council was participating in a community of practice in London and a north-west London oral health network to learn from others.
• Community Engagement: A councillor suggested focusing more on community engagement through organisations like Brent Community Matters and Brent's family hubs.
• Dentistry Access: Melanie Smith noted that there had not been easy access to child-friendly dentistry in Brent, and the council was working with the NHS to influence provision. She also highlighted the importance of fluoride application by dentists.
• National Issues: Councillor Charlie Clinton noted that many of the issues, such as diet and systemic NHS problems, were national, and asked why Brent was worse than other boroughs. Melanie Smith cited the intergenerational aspect of poor oral health and a particularly acute issue with access to child-friendly dentistry.
• Dentistry Contracts: Councillor Charlie Clinton asked if the council had inputted into the consultation on how the dentistry contract should change. Melanie Smith said that the council worked as a collective with North West London on the consultation.
• Targets: A councillor asked if there was a target or timescale for matching other boroughs. Melanie Smith suggested five to ten years to get closer to other boroughs, but matching England's figures would be difficult due to fluoridation.
• Brent Youth Parliament: Representatives from Brent Youth Parliament asked what the council was doing to support young people in Brent to become dentists locally. Nigel Chapman said that while dentistry training was not his area of expertise, A-level performance in Brent was higher than the national average, so many children leaving Brent schools were well equipped to access a dentistry training place. He added that the focus should be on making community dentistry an attractive job choice.

Recommendations included:

• A strong message to Brent parents about the importance of fluoride use.
• Sharing the output of work with other north-west boroughs in terms of input to the consultation.
• A career advisor to promote dentistry as a career.

Period Dignity in Brent

The committee received an overview of the Period Dignity Brent project, which provides free period products to residents. Councillor Mili Patel, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, explained that the project had evolved from the Poverty Commission in 2020 and aimed to tackle stigma and promote education around menstruation.

Tom Pickup, Policy & Performance Manager, said that the project provided free products across Brent sites, tackled stigma, and trained frontline staff. He added that there was a clear need based on the uptake of products.

Key points from the discussion:

• Language: The council had moved away from the term 'period poverty' to 'period dignity' to build a sense of empowerment and respect.
• Access: Products were available in council-owned buildings like family wellbeing centres, hubs, libraries, New Horizons, Sufra NW London, and Brent Food Bank.
• Engagement: Only 50% of possible organisations were engaged, and it was difficult to understand uptake levels due to data collection challenges.
• Stigma: Staff had expressed uncertainty about whether the right people were taking the products.
• Schools: All secondary schools that responded to a poll said they were taking part in the programme.
• Those not in education: The committee discussed how to reach young people not in education, with suggestions including family wellbeing centres.
• Cultural Perspective: The committee discussed how to tackle cultural stigma around menstruation.
• Young People in Care: The committee discussed whether products were given to young people in care or care leavers.
• Gyms: The committee discussed whether to put products in gyms.

Recommendations included:

• Developing a plan to incentivise the private sector to get involved.
• Asking young people for their opinions on the project.
• A more structured way of assessing the pilot and how lessons were being taken forward.

The Impact of Youth Justice Service Delivery in Brent

The committee received an overview of the impact of Youth Justice Service (YJS) delivery, outlined in the Brent Youth Justice Plan 2025-2028.

Nigel Chapman, Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Community Development, said that this was a successful story, particularly in a challenging environment. He reminded the committee that it was a review of local partnership work, not just the local authority's work.

Detective Superintendent Tony Bellis said that the Met had come a long way, with more awareness of safeguarding approaches and a more holistic approach to dealing with children and young people.

Sarita Kwofie, Head of Early Help, said that the service was still good, with a reduction in re-offending, custody rates, and first-time entry rates.

Key discussion points:

• Data: Councillor Charlie Clinton challenged the claim that re-offending rates were on a downward trend, noting that the green line on a chart showed an upward trend for the last three years. He also questioned the claim that first-time entrance had been falling for more than a decade. Sarita Kwofie acknowledged that there had been fluctuation over the past 18 months and that the report was based on last year's data. Nigel Chapman added that the COVID period had distorted figures.
• Disproportionality: The committee discussed the disproportionate number of black African and Caribbean males in the figures.
• Partnership: The committee discussed the partnership work around supporting individuals from a mental health and educational perspective.
• Gyms: The committee discussed whether to put them in gyms.

Recommendations included:

• Providing the data for 2024-2025.
• Providing an explanatory note on the methodology behind the data.
• Looking into job opportunities at Wembley Stadium.
• Sharing the data for 2024-2025.

Other Business

The committee agreed to take the remaining items on the agenda as tabled. The Chair paid tribute to Melanie Smith, who was leaving her role, for her many years of attendance and contributions.