Forum topic: Our Borough

Cabinet papers for next week contain sacks of detail, mostly financials but also other facts from a scorecard.  A number of these jumped out at me. Full papers are (always) on the councils web site - I google "Enfield council meetings"  then follow your nose. Here's a sample. Text is direct from the papers, the headings are my own.

RELATIVELY) GOOD

Our crime indicators show that total notifiable offences were down 1.2% on the previous 12 months, compared to an increase of 3.5% in London in the same period. Enfield recorded 86.2 total notifiable offences per 1,000 population between October 2023 and September 2024, this was the 13th lowest rate of the 32 London boroughs.

BAD

The Annual Population Survey estimates the proportion of adults smoking in the UK and uses a small sample of residents in each local authority to calculate prevalence. The survey estimates that Enfield has the 7th highest smoking prevalence in London. The estimated percentage of adults in Enfield (14.1%) who smoke is higher than London (11.7%) and England (11.6%) averages. We have been awarded a grant, from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities, to provide Stop Smoking Services. We are commissioning a provider for these services to start in January 2025.

BAD

In Enfield, 24% of children in Reception were classified as overweight or obese. This is higher than the London average of 20.9% and the England average of 22.1%. Furthermore, in Enfield 41.2% of children in Year 6 were classified as overweight or obese. This is higher than the London average of 37.8% and the England average of 35.8%. Enfield has the 7th highest prevalence of overweight and obesity in Reception and Year 6 pupils respectively out of the 32 London boroughs.

GOOD

The national permanent exclusion rate is 0.11% for all schools, the rate for Enfield is 0.01% which is the 3rd lowest in London and 6th lowest nationally. This is a result of the excellent work undertaken by the secondary behaviour support team. The national rate for suspensions for all schools is 9.33%, the rate for Enfield is 5.9% which puts us in the top quarter. For the eighth year running, Enfield recorded zero permanent exclusions in the primary phase. That is due to the dedication and commitment of the primary behaviour team, who working alongside schools can offer timely and effective support.

BAD

Enfield continues to face higher rates of unemployment (7.7%) than London (5.9%) and Great Britain (4.3%) averages.

WORRYING

The total council tax arrears as of the end of September 2024 was £36,975,794. As of end of September 2024, total business rates arrears from previous years were £14,580,883.