Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Adams, Dormer and Webb, and from Councillor Onslow (CMR for Education) and Liz Altay (Interim Director of Public Health).

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 19 July 2022.  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed in this agenda and on the website.

None.

(to follow).

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 29 June 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Board considered the draft Worcestershire Children and Young People’s Plan 2022-2024 (the CYP Plan).

By way of introduction, the Director of Children’s Services/Chief Executive of Worcestershire Children First made the following main points:

·       The CYP Plan was a strategic document which provided a framework setting out what would be delivered for all children in Worcestershire.  It aimed to support all children in the County not just those who were considered vulnerable.

·       The Plan took into account the priorities of the all-age Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (HWS) and the Integrated Care System (ICS).  The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the Healthwatch report into the impact of COVID-19 on Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing had also been considered as part of the development of the Plan.

·       Consultation and stakeholder engagement on the draft Plan had been mainly undertaken online due to COVID-19 restrictions.

·       The Plan was overseen by the Worcestershire Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership Board, a sub-group of the Health and Wellbeing Board.  The Governance chart on page 21 of the agenda showed how the Partnership Board linked to other bodies, including the four subgroups of the Board.  It was important to note the 2-way arrows between bodies indicating that feedback and reporting went both ways.

·       The Plan would be delivered by the four subgroups via a set of key measures that would be considered by the Strategic Partnership Board, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families.  The next report back would be in September.

Members were invited to ask questions and the following main points were made:

·       In response to the suggestion that a Plan covering two years did not allow much time for delivery, Members were informed that two years was felt to be long enough to allow action to be embedded and see some outcomes.  After two years there would be an opportunity to review the Plan as needed, looking at what had been achieved and what needed to be refreshed rather than a complete revision.  The Director of Children’s Services acknowledged that this opportunity for review could be communicated more clearly.

·       It was suggested that it was difficult for Board Members to comment on aspects of the Plan when no data or specific targets were included.  The Director of Children’s Services confirmed that baseline data was available and could be added to the plan as a starting point.  This could then be updated as outcomes were assessed.  The challenge had been to present the Plan in a simple user-friendly format.

·       Concern was expressed that the interlinked nature of the governance structure needed all partnership groups to deliver, and this could be seen as a risk.  It was confirmed that all areas required partnership representation due to the cross-cutting nature of the work and there had been consistent positive engagement across the whole system.  The membership of each partnership was listed in the Plan.

·       A Member acknowledged that inclusivity was important but suggested that it was unwieldy to have such a large partnership membership.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1268.

The Board considered agenda items 6 and 7 together covering all feedback from recent scrutiny panel discussions.

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Steve Mackay)

The Panel’s last meeting had included updates on:

·       the Council’s youth service, which was due to be recommissioned in April 2023.  A needs assessment had been undertaken to identify gaps, which would be addressed before the recommissioning process.

·       Support for children and families from Ukraine, covering education, safeguarding of unaccompanied children, healthcare and employment opportunities.

·       Performance information.  The Panel had noted that the number of referrals via the Family Front Door was now returning to pre-covid levels and, although the service still employed a high number of agency staff, retention rates were good.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Scrutiny Task Group (Cllr Steve Mackay)

Members of the task group had recently visited SOLAR which ran children’s mental health services in Solihull.  This was effectively a ‘one stop shop’ covering all children presenting with mental health issues at levels 1 to 4 and had been rated as ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Cllr Brandon Clayton)

The Chairman of the Board informed Members that he had been appointed as a Member of HOSC replacing Councillor McVey.

Members were informed that an additional meeting of HOSC had been scheduled for December.

At its last meeting, HOSC had discussed:

·       Patient Flow – An update had been received on progress relating to the recent scrutiny task group report and the ongoing situation.  Further updates would be provided at future meetings.

·       The Covid Vaccination Programme – Take up of first and second vaccine doses in Worcestershire was among the highest in the country.  Take up of the third dose was lower but still consistent with national levels.  Work to increase vaccination rates continued.  Although there had been an increase in the number of Covid cases in recent weeks, fewer patients were being admitted to hospital.

·       Health and Wellbeing Strategy Consultation – The Committee received feedback on the recent consultation exercise which had been successful in terms of the number of responses received.

·       Year End Budget Monitoring – An update in relation to the County Council’s public health budget had been received.

A Member of the Board expressed concern about waiting times in the A&E department at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, an issue which was regularly raised with him by members of the public.  The Chairman of HOSC reminded the Board about the scrutiny work which had been completed on this issue and noted that similar difficulties were being experienced nationally.  Plans to address the issues were in place but it would take time for improvements to be seen and HOSC would continue to monitor outcomes.

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Emma Stokes)

The Chairman provided feedback from the Panel’s recent meeting. 

The Panel planned to meet informally at Redditch Library in September, ahead of a formal meeting to discuss proposals for the library.  Comments and recommendations would then be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1269.

This item was covered under discussion of Item 6.