Brent Council missed around 40 per cent of its performance targets in the back end of last year as the Covid-19 pandemic continued to impact on services.

The latest ‘scorecard’ presented to the council’s cabinet today (Tuesday, April 6), which highlights its record in meeting objectives set out in the borough plan, showed it missed the mark in 37 out of 94 categories between October and December 2020.

It was at least five per cent away from its target in 32 of these areas, and between 0.01 and five per cent in a further five, as all key priorities were affected.

The cabinet report noted income levels and customer-facing services had been heavily impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, while the council’s approach to housing and education had also taken a hit.

Targets around road repairs, licence applications and complaints procedures were also missed as reduced resources and the need to focus on essential services took their toll.

Cllr Margaret McLennan (Lab, Northwick Park), deputy leader of Brent Council, said the latest scorecard was “a tale of how the pandemic has hit [the council’s] objectives” and meant it “could not fulfil its full role”.

She acknowledged the number of red categories – those missed by five per cent or more – had increased to 34 per cent from 24 per cent at the same point in 2019 but stressed every effort was being made to turn things around.

Cllr Muhammed Butt (Lab, Tokyngton), leader of Brent Council, agreed the situation was tough but said he was optimistic of an improvement as Covid-19 restrictions ease.

“We’ve not been able to work as effectively as we’d hoped, but we’ve made sure the support needed is provided,” he said.

“As we come out of the pandemic, we can redouble our efforts and the reds will turn to green quickly.”