Delayed Reports

Looking through the reports to the Brent Council Executive, as well as the possible issues coming up, I am struck by how the previous Liberal Democrat / Conservative administration ducked so many difficult issues. The proposed Kingsbury Intergenerational Centre is one such, which will struggle to make the timetable before Central Government cuts its grant. Another, perhaps especially cynical example, is the Main Programme Grant. This is the process for making grant to various voluntary sector bodies around the Borough, including Brent Arts Council who turned up to the Executive to protest.

The Tory/Lib Dem administration ducked the issue by giving existing grantees a three month extension, and deferring the longer term decision to after the election. This was inconvenient for some of the organisations, which faced uncertainity over their funding. It was also bad for the organisations that will have their funding stopped, as the amount of money available to cushion them is much reduced. However, the Liberal Democrats evidently judged that it would be good for their election prospects to avoid any rows in the months up to the election.