Agenda and minutes

Moved by M Smith, Seconded by L Buckley and

Resolved:

That Councillor P Sexton be elected as Chair of the Board for the ensuing year.

Councillor P Sexton in the Chair

Moved by J Robinson, Seconded by C Cunnington-Shore and

Resolved:

That M Laing be appointed Vice-Chair of the Board for the ensuing year.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Bell and L Hall, A Healy, S Jacques, M Laing and S White.

G Wilson substituted for A Healy and M Smith substituted for L Hall.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 May 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources, Durham County Council.

The Board received an update presentation from the Strategic Manager (One Point/Think Family Service), Karen Davison and the Strategy Team Leader, Debra Kitching on the work of the Poverty Action Steering Group (PASG) and Child Poverty Working Group (CPWG) (for copy see file of minutes).

Councillor T Henderson entered the meeting at 1.35pm

The Strategic Manager (OP/Think Family Service) explained that the Poverty Action Strategy and Action Plan had been refreshed, as had the Child Poverty Plan on a Page to reflect the system wide response required to reduce poverty.  It was noted that Members of the Board were given a background in relation to the Strategy and noted that child poverty continued to rise in County Durham with 27.3 percent of children under 16 estimated to be living in relative poverty and 25.1 percent in absolute poverty.  The Board noted the four objectives in relation to the Poverty Action Plan 2022-26:

•        Objective 1: Use intelligence and data to target support to low-income households

•        Objective 2: Reduce the financial pressures on people facing or in poverty

•        Objective 3: Increase individual, household and community resilience to poverty

•        Objective 4: Reduce barriers to accessing services for those experiencing financial insecurity

It was added that a number of actions were aligned to each objective, with timescales for completion ranging to March 2025.

Members noted the ongoing consultation, ending 26 August 2022, with questions for discussion being:

1.       Are these the right objectives?

2.       Where are the gaps/what more do we need to do?

3.       Are there any groups of people missing?

It was noted that the next steps included:

•        May-August 2022      - consultation with key partners and stakeholders

•        September 2022        - strategy and action plan finalised

•        November 2022         - Cabinet approval

•        November 2022         - delivery

The Chair thanked the Officers and asked the Board for their questions and comments.

Councillor T Henderson noted there were ever increasing financial pressures on our residents and staff and asked what information was available to support residents maximise their income and how Councillors could support that work.  The Strategic Manager noted the one-stop web page on the Council website, ‘help with your money’, and information for residents and staff working with children and young people was shared regularly as best practice.

L Buckley welcomed the focus on the issue, noting media reporting the North East having the highest child poverty in the UK.  He noted the need to align with economic strategies in order to lift people out of poverty.  He noted local grants as a good example and added that aspiration and belief were important for children and young people, noting many local examples and that they highlighted how to reach out to young people and the need for mentoring.  He noted that how the Plan was ‘sold’ was key. 

The Strategic Manager (Partnerships), Andrea Petty asked if the Board were seeing any increase in demand for services across the County due to the cost of living  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Presentation of the Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services, Durham County Council. 

The Board received an update presentation from the Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services on the future of Adult Social Care Reform Assurance (for copy see file of minutes).

The Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services outlined the Adult Social Care reform and assurance framework to be implemented from April 2023, noting a return to a ‘CQC style’ inspection of the whole social care system, including the Health and Wellbeing Board.  She highlighted concerns in relation to a funding gap that were shared across the system, with a potential for £10billion more costs for Councils than the Government estimates, with a ‘fair cost of care’ cap to be introduced from October 2023.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services and asked the Board for their comments and questions.

Councillor T Henderson asked what was being done to reflect the voice of adults with lived experience across the adult social care sector.  The Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services noted that as much as possible was being done in services, such as the Children and Young People’s Services, with the Corporate Director, John Pearce and his team.  She added that within Adult and Health Services there were a lot of different aspects in place, working towards a collaborative approach and to listen to the voice of lived experiences and to demonstrate this.  She added that identifying gaps and areas where people were struggling were priorities.  The Strategic Manager (Partnerships) noted the Health and Wellbeing Board was part of the framework and asked how the Board could get ‘match fit’.  The Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services noted in Autumn more details were expected in relation to the framework and work was ongoing within Adult and Health Services in terms of data, listening to the voice of those lived experiences and self-assessment.  She added that at the next few meetings feedback could be given and when an inspection was to take place then the Board could be prepared ready to respond.

Resolved:

That the report and presentation be noted.

Joint Presentation of the Director of Integrated Community Services and the Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services, Durham County Council.

The Board received an update presentation from the Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services on Health and Social Care Integration (for copy see file of minutes).

The Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services referred to the national context and the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Service (ICS) / Integrated Care Board (ICB) and gave a brief overview of an event which took place on 24 June which was useful for the work with the ICS to co-produce the Joint Committee for Durham, through which the relevant statutory bodies delegate decision making on specific functions/services/ populations to the Joint Committee.  She referred to County Durham Care Partnership developments, noting ten integration projects continuing to be delivered, and agreement for two new joint posts in Mental Health and Learning Disabilities.

The Executive Director of Place Based Delivery (Tees Valley & Central) North East & North Cumbria ICB, David Gallagher noted there was a lot going on nationally, a lot of policy and a lot of work in County Durham in response, looking after local people.  He noted the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) had been dissolved, however, work would build upon the previous strong relationships.  He added the vast majority of CCG staff would transfer to the ICB and that would help in terms of building on those excellent relationships.  He added he felt County Durham was in a very good place moving forward. 

The Chair thanked all those involved with the former CCGs for their work and attendance at the Board, especially Dr S Finlay, Dr J Smith, F Jassat and N Bailey and agreed to write to them on behalf of the Board.

a)   Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2021-22: Report of the Corporate Equality and Strategy Manager, Durham County Council.

b)   Better Care Fund: Report of the Strategic Programme Manager Integration, Durham County Council.

The Board received an update presentation from the Strategy Team Leader, Angela Harrington on Annual Performance in respect of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) and an update from the Strategic Programme Manager Integration, Paul Copeland in respect of the Better Care Fund (BCF) (for copy see file of minutes).

Councillor T Henderson asked for clarification in terms of how COVID deaths had impacted on the life expectancy calculations and what that meant for future calculations.  The Strategy Team Leader noted that ‘healthy life expectancy’ did not equate to ‘life expectancy’ and noted that healthy behaviour had other benefits in terms of improved quality of life.  She outlined that life expectancy nationally during the COVID-19 period had saw the largest year-on-year drop since 1981. 

She added that at the Local Authority level, three year’s worth of data was pooled and the last data set was for 2018,19,20 and therefore contained around nine months of data relating to the pandemic period. 

She explained that on local data it did not seem as pronounced as national trends, though once data had been refreshed for the next three year period, it would continue to be tracked.

The Chair asked as regards the eight percent reduction in care home admissions and asked if this was due to a change in perception as regards supported living, or just as a result of the pandemic.  The Strategic Programme Manager Integration noted that culture had changed care in the home environment which was more prevalent.  He noted there were also options such as ‘extra care’ as a level in between in the home and residential care.

Resolved:

(a)         That the key messages and detailed analysis relating to the JHWS key objectives be noted;

(b)         That the Board consider where further action may be required to improve specific outcomes.

(c)         That the contents of the BCF Performance report be noted.

(d)         That the Board receive future updates in relation to BCF performance.

Report of the Head of Partnerships and Community Engagement, Durham County Council.

The Board received a report from the Strategic Manager Partnerships relating to the Health and Wellbeing Board Annual Report 2021-22 for agreement by the Board (for copy see file of minutes).  The Chair noted the thanks of the Board to all partners for all of their hard work over the last two years.

Councillor T Henderson asked how we could share all of the good work with our partners.  The Strategic Manager (Partnerships) noted there would be promotion through partners’ executives and there would be a press release when the report was presented at Cabinet.  The Corporate Director of Adult and Health Services noted the Mental Health Alliance to attend in future to give feedback to the Board.

Resolved:

(a)         That the Health and Wellbeing Annual Report 2021-22 be agreed.

(b)         That the timeline and next steps outlined in the report be noted.

Presentation of the Director of Public Health, Durham County Council – for information only.

The Board noted a presentation from the Director of Public Health on the following public health campaigns (for copy of presentation see file of minutes).  The Board noted that questions could be directed to the Director of Public Health should any members require additional information on the key campaigns.

Resolved:

That the information contained within the presentation be noted.