Agenda item

The Cabinet considered the findings of the Scrutiny Report on Increasing Physical Activity in Worcestershire. The details were set out in the report.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·         The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board introduced the Scrutiny report and commented that its main focus had been on policy development and in particular how things could be done differently to improve service provision. Some scrutiny work had been undertaken on the Olympic legacy and it was felt that a legacy had been achieved but not always in an obvious or visible way. The Task Group had looked at the National Walking Strategy and felt that the Council had an important role to encourage activity and prevent obesity. The Task Group had had valuable conversations with representatives from the London Borough of Camden and Suffolk County Council. It was recognised that the Council did not have responsibility for certain recommendations and therefore suggestions had been made where appropriate. It was requested that Cabinet Members reconsider their initial response to the members' divisional fund relating to the use of the fund for physical activity drawing on the support and advice of the Sports Partnership. The Council should encourage employees to be physically active and members should take a lead role

·         The Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board welcomed the recognition by the Health and Well-being Board that physical activity was a major issue. The Task Group had been impressed with the work of the London Borough of Camden in changing levels of physical activity and as a result an improved relationship with work. The natural environment was available and free for everyone to use. The Government's approach had changed from funding large venues to encourage participation in everyday activities. The biggest challenge was to encourage adolescents to take part in physical activity

·         The Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being thanked the OSPB for its report. He was generally supportive of the report. He considered that individual members had a better understanding of what was appropriate to spend in their local division and therefore the recommended 10% spend of Divisional Funds on physical activity was not accepted. It was also unnecessary to have a dedicated communications officer as existing communications staff would be able to respond accordingly. He was surprised that there was very little in the report about people acting on their own initiative to walk or cycle

·         It was important to encourage parents to take responsibility for their children's fitness as well as for themselves. Prevention was the key issue in tackling obesity

·         There were a number of different health walks, a park run and a Riverside walk to encourage people to take physical exercise. There were also local successful sportswomen in the county that provided good role models for the public

·         It was not possible to separate eating healthily from physical activity as both needed to work in tandem to have an impact on people's lives

·         It was up to the Sport Partnership to convince members how to spend their Divisional Fund

·         The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board concluded that he understood the concerns about the use of Divisional Funds and noted that there was a difference of opinion on the proposed recommendations. Encouraging members to work with the Sports Partnership was the key issue and requested that it be included in the members' induction sessions. It was more a question of improving the Council's communications in relation to physical activity rather than requesting a dedicated communications officer. Support needed to be targeted on those individuals that faced an obstacle to accessing the countryside. Health walks were important activities but he would like to see them targeted at young people

·         The Leader of the Council commented that his concern about the use of Divisional Funds was because it would set a precedent for the future. He would look at ways to increase awareness amongst members and link it into the member induction sessions.  He supported the general aim of the report.

RESOLVED: that

a)    the Scrutiny Report on Increasing Physical Activity in Worcestershire be received, together with the response from the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Members with Responsibility for Health and Well-Being, Transformation and Commissioning and Highways; and

b)    the Scrutiny Report's findings and recommendation be noted and the response of the Cabinet Members with Responsibility be adopted as the way forward.