Agenda item

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 reported to Cabinet on 22 September.

With reference to performance information, there was nothing to report to the Board on this occasion.  However, the Panel intended to consider the current suite of indicators to ensure they remained relevant.

Work Programme and Cabinet Forward Plan

The Board noted the Work Programme and Cabinet Forward Plan.  No comments were made.