The Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee of Brent Council met on Tuesday 24 February 2026 to discuss a range of important issues. The agenda included a review of the Council's arrangements for tackling fly-tipping and littering, a detailed financial forecast for the current year, and an annual report on complaints handling. The committee was also scheduled to receive updates on the scrutiny recommendations tracker and the committee's work programme for the upcoming year.

Fly Tipping and Littering in Brent

The committee was scheduled to review a report examining the effectiveness, performance, and future development of the Council's strategies for preventing, reporting, enforcing, and cleaning up fly-tipping and littering across Brent. The report was expected to provide details on performance, the reporting process through the FixMyStreet portal, and how these efforts are integrated into the street cleansing and waste contract with Veolia. An overview of the Don't Mess with Brent campaign and case studies of enforcement actions were also anticipated to be presented.

Quarter 3 Financial Forecast 2025/26

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to reviewing the financial forecast for the General Fund revenue budget, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), the Dedicated Schools Grant, and the Capital Programme as of Quarter 3 of the 2025/26 financial year. The report was intended to provide an in-depth overview of the HRA's financial position, including key risks and challenges. The forecast indicated an overall overspend against the revenue budget, the Dedicated Schools Grant, and the HRA. The report also included an update on the status of council-wide savings and prudential indicators for treasury management.

Complaints Annual Report 2024/25

The committee was set to receive an overview of Brent's performance in handling and resolving complaints throughout the 2024/25 financial year. The report was expected to detail the nature of complaints received by department, the top five issues of concern, and the outcomes of these complaints, including upheld, not upheld, partly upheld, rejected, or withdrawn cases. Separate reports were included for Adult Social Care and Children's Social Care statutory complaints, as well as an update on Housing Management Service complaints performance. A comparison of Brent's performance with other London boroughs, a breakdown of compensation paid over the last three years, and an analysis of the root causes of complaints were also scheduled for discussion. The report was also expected to highlight service improvements implemented as a result of complaint investigations.

Scrutiny Progress Update - Recommendations Tracker

This report was intended to present the Scrutiny Recommendations Tracker for the committee's consideration. The tracker summarises any scrutiny recommendations made to the Cabinet, Full Council, or external stakeholders, along with their implementation progress. It also includes suggestions for improvement and information requests made by the committee. Items are removed from the tracker once they have been actioned or rejected, with full responses provided by the relevant decision-makers.

Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee Work Programme Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee's work programme for the 2025/26 municipal year. This report serves as a flexible document that can adapt to the committee's evolving needs. The agenda indicated that there were no changes to the work programme to report at this time.