Minutes:
The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Cllr Matt Jenkins, Cllr Natalie McVey, Cllr Beverley Nielsen, Cllr Tom Wells, and Cllr Martin Allen.
The motion was moved by Cllr Matt Jenkins and seconded by Cllr Natalie McVey who both spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day. The following amendment was moved by Cllr Karen May and seconded by Cllr Marcus Hart and accepted as an alteration by the mover and seconder of the motion which therefore became the substantive motion:
“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all our lives. In particular, it has highlighted and exacerbated the existing health inequalities that exist within our society.
There are various areas where these effects are felt, often cutting across the council departments of health, adult care and children’s services.
Examples of the concerns are:
• The impact on children born during the pandemic
• School readiness of children on free school meals
• Worsening educational outcomes and risk for the most disadvantaged
• Impact on mental health
• All sectors of society that are socially and economically disadvantaged
This motion calls for this Council to request that all of the above issues are fully considered by the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”
In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:
· It was important to understand the health impacts of the pandemic on the residents of the county so that the Council could make the right decisions going forward. A scrutiny group should be established to undertake a cross-departmental investigation into the impact of the pandemic on the health of Worcestershire residents with a particular focus on health inequalities such as deprivation, low income and poor housing. Covid 19 had exacerbated the relationship between these inequalities and poor health. Particular focus was needed on learning disabilities, mental health, age, ethnicity, and Inclusion health groups such as the homeless and Gypsy Roma Travellers. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment was an important document that highlighted the fact that the impacts of Covid 19 had not been felt equally in Worcestershire. It was likely that the impact of the pandemic would be felt for many years to come
· The health impact of the pandemic on children born before or during the pandemic was not known. However, it had been recognised that there had been a negative impact on children of pre-school age in terms of impaired speech and language development. Young people had borne the brunt of the impact of the pandemic.
· The full impact on quality of life and the number of local residents suffering with long-covid was not known
· The scrutiny group was an ideal forum for local residents to share their stories about the impact of the pandemic
· The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Health and Well-being commented that Covid 19 had affected Worcestershire residents in many ways. There were some impacts that were not known or fully understood. The impact on areas of inequality had been compounded by occupational exposure of staff working in for example, the care, security, travel and hospitality sectors. Age, gender, social deprivation, pre-existing health conditions, smoking and disability were all factors in increasing the impact of Covid 19 on the health of residents. The pandemic had also had a severe impact on mental health. There had been positive impacts in terms of strengthening family bonds, a reassessment of priorities, less commuting to work and increased flexible working patterns. Locally, there had been an increase in civic participation and social cohesion. There had been a shift in the way local services had been provided. The Contained Outbreak Management Fund (COMP) had enabled Public Health to establish a number of qualitative covid impact focus groups, an in-depth ethnic research survey and a detailed covid impact survey. The findings which were due in March 2002 would support the Health and Well-being Strategy which would then inform the HOSC review
· The issue did really need a deeper dive and there was a concern that HOSC would not have sufficient capacity to do the subject matter justice
· The impact of the pandemic on the health of society was an emergency, particularly as it exacerbated pre-existing inequalities
· The Chairman of HOSC commented that a further scrutiny task group or member advisory group was unnecessary. The HOSC was the most appropriate body to look at this issue having already looked into a number of related issues
· The HOSC received input from district council partners which made it the appropriate body to look at this issue. In addition, if necessary HOSC could establish an appropriate sub-group
· The Cabinet Member for Education congratulated Headteachers across the county for keeping schools open throughout the pandemic in very difficult circumstances.
On being put to the vote, the motion which was agreed.
RESOLVED “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all our lives. In particular, it has highlighted and exacerbated the existing health inequalities that exist within our society.
There are various areas where these effects are felt, often cutting across the council departments of health, adult care and children’s services.
Examples of the concerns are:
• The impact on children born during the pandemic
• School readiness of children on free school meals
• Worsening educational outcomes and risk for the most disadvantaged
• Impact on mental health
• All sectors of society that are socially and economically disadvantaged
This motion calls for this Council to request that all of the above issues are fully considered by the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.”