Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair at the outset, nominations were sought to chair the meeting.  It was proposed and agreed that Josie Wragg would take the chair.

Resolved –  That Josie Wragg be elected as chair for the duration of the meeting.

(Josie Wragg in the chair)

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary or other Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Section 4 paragraph 4.6 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed.

None were declared.

Resolved –  That the minutes of the meeting held on 26^th March 2019 be approved as a correct record.

(Dr O’Donnell joined the meeting)

An Action Progress Report was received that updated the Board on the recently completed and outstanding actions from previous meetings:

The following updates and actions were noted:

·  The Task & Finish Group established to take forward the work on the TVP drug diversion programme had not yet progressed and would report back to a future meeting.

·  The proposed item on the Council’s revised Leisure Strategy would be provisionally scheduled for September.  The focus would be on maximising the opportunities to increase activity following the investment in leisure facilities.

Resolved –  That the Action Progress Report be noted.

(Lisa Humphreys joined the meeting)

The Board received a presentation from Josie Wragg that updated on the recent visit by a delegation from Slough to Wigan Council to learn more about the Wigan Deal.

The Deal was an informal contract between the Council and local people and organisations which included a series of pledges covering issues such as recycling, social care and engagement.  The Wigan Deal was founded in a similar set of challenges as those faced by Slough, and most localities, with rising demand for services and reduced central government funding.  It had a strong emphasis on involvement and engagement, working ‘with’ residents and partners to improve the Borough and maximise the resources available for services.  The Board particularly discussed the work undertaken to involve staff in the process of transformation and the work done in Wigan to empower staff in partner organisations and promote co-location to align services was an approach already underway in Slough.  The role of Wigan’s Health & Wellbeing Board was also discussed and the potential lessons to be learned in Slough in focusing on its core purpose. 

The Board generally agreed that Slough’s direction of travel and ambition were similar to Wigan’s and that the learning points would be important to accelerate progress in the future.  It was also agreed that there were specific local challenges which would mean the model in Slough would be different and that knowing and understanding Slough’s population and demographics would be key to making it work in the Borough.  Several Members commented on the importance of improving communication between partners and developing a common narrative and message to promote a more coherent approach.

It was recognised that there was a significant amount of excellent work being done locally but it was not packaged into an overarching ‘Deal’ as in Wigan.  Alan Sinclair updated the Board on the work the Health & Social Care Partnership had begun in this regard and funding had been identified to bring in capacity to help define the strategy, actions and governance arrangements to address health inequalities and the wider determinants of health.  It was agreed that the scope of this work would be circulated and there would be a discussion at a future meeting of the Board.

Resolved –  That the feedback from the visit to Wigan Council be noted and the lesson learned be incorporated into the approach being developed in Slough.

(Councillor Pantelic joined the meeting but did not participate as a member of the Board as she had not yet signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office following the Borough elections held on 2^nd May 2019)

A report was considered that provided a summary of the current commissioning and provider arrangements for sexual health services in Slough.  The Board noted the range of ongoing challenges and the broad range of collaborative work being undertaken to improve sexual and reproductive health.

The key objectives of the work to improve sexual health were to reduce rates of sexually transmitted infections, reduce unintended pregnancies, reduce under 16 and under 18 conceptions and reduce onward HIV transition.  The Board noted the range of services that were available locally and the ongoing work to review and recommission provision.  Members discussed the main challenges in Slough relating to cultural issues and the stigma sometimes associated with poor sexual and reproductive health.  They were the lower rates of HIV detection and higher rates of abortion and repeat abortion and relatively lower rates of uptake of certain contraceptives resulting in associated inequalities for poorer black and minority ethnic women.

The Board discussed a wide range of issues and commented that the data was for 2015/16 and it would be useful to see the trends to get a sense of the progress being made in Slough.  There was a data lag therefore Members discussed if there was any recent or proxy data available to see a more up to date position.  It was also suggested that more targeted information on the challenges identified on HIV late diagnosis and abortion rates would help the Board understand the challenges faced in Slough.  Dr O’Donnell highlighted a number of issues regarding the flow of information between sexual health service providers and primary care and highlighted the importance of increasing the engagement with GPs where possible.  The Board agreed to receive a follow up report at the next meeting in July that provided further information on the data and other issues raised.

Resolved –

(a)  That the report be noted.

(b)  That a follow up report be considered at the next meeting on 17^th July 2019 covering the points raised above.

The Board considered a report that set out the recommendations of the Health Scrutiny Panel Disability Task & Finish Group which had been carried out along with Slough Healthwatch.  The group had been chaired by Colin Pill and the scope of the review had included information and awareness, access to transport, highways, parking and services such as GP surgeries and leisure facilities.

There were seven overarching recommendations detailed in paragraph 5.3 of the report and there would be a supporting action plan to be considered by the Health Scrutiny Panel in June before being recommended to the Cabinet.  Colin Pill summarised some of the key findings which included the varied practice taken by GP surgeries in terms of disability access and the information available to publicise what was available.  It was brought to the Board’s attention that there had been an issue with parking for Slough Community Transport vehicles recently and this would be picked up by the relevant parties outside of the meeting.  Alan Sinclair commented that Officers had already explored the feasibility of delivering the recommendations and the majority could be achieved without significant new money being identified, although some would require investment such as making all bus stops disability friendly.  It was also noted that the Cabinet had agreed funding for a new disability access guide in Slough and this would be launched on 14^th May 2019.

The Board welcomed the report which it was agreed provided a range of sound recommendations that would improve disability access to buildings and services in Slough.

Resolved –  That the Health Scrutiny Panel’s Disability Task & Finish Group report be noted.

The Council’s Service Lead for Strategy & Performance introduced the Slough Wellbeing Board Annual Report 2018/19.  The report summarised the key activities and areas of work over the past year including the various campaigns and strategic work undertaken.

The Board agreed that the Annual Report was a useful overview of the progress made over the past year and it was agreed to recommend endorsement to full Council at the next available meeting in July.

Recommended to Council –  That the Slough Wellbeing Board Annual Report be endorsed.

The Council’s Service Lead for Strategy & Performance introduced a report that recommended approval of the Board’s terms of reference.

The terms of reference had been revised following the discussion at the last meeting which included making the objectives of the Board more prominent.  It was noted that there were a significant overlap in membership with other bodies such as the Safeguarding Executive Board and it was proposed and agreed that they be asked to consider this matter and make any recommendations back to the Wellbeing Board.

Members highlighted that more work was needed on how the Board heard the voices and feedback of local people in shaping health and wellbeing services as this was a stated objective.  The Council was undertaken a Transformation Programme that had a strong theme about understanding customer insight and it was agreed that this issue be addressed through that workstream with a report on how to take this forward coming to a future meeting of the Board.

Resolved –

(a)  That the Terms of Reference as at Appendix A to the report be endorsed.

(b)  That membership be kept under review with proposals be brought to a future meeting of the Board.

(c)  That the Slough Safeguarding Executive Board be asked to make recommendations as to how the Wellbeing Board could add value to partnership working.

The Forward Work Programme for future meetings was considered.  Several items had been agreed earlier in the meeting which were summarised as follows:

·  ICS and place based working to be added for July 2019.

·  Urgent care update at a date to be confirmed.

·  Follow up report on sexual health services to be added for July 2019.

·  Proposals from Safeguarding Executive on ways of working/terms of reference for July 2019.

The following further items were agreed:

·  SCST PAUSE programme to be added for September 2019.

·  Revised SBC Leisure Strategy to be added for September 2019.

·  Mental Health and Early Years to be added to the list of unprogrammed items.

Resolved –  That the Forward Work Programme be agreed subject to the above amendments.

Resolved –  That the Members’ Attendance Record be noted.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 17^th July 2019.