The Chair welcomed members of the Board to the meeting.

Members of the Board are asked whether they have any personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any application on the agenda and, if so, to declare them and state the nature of the interest.

Members were asked to consider whether they had any disclosable pecuniary interests and/or any other relevant interest in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

No declarations were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Paul Satoor, Councillor Janette Williamson, Councillor Tom Anderson, Councillor Wendy Clements, Louise Healey, Janelle Holmes, Dr Paula Cowan, Sir David Henshaw, Liz Bishop, Mike Maier, Karen Howell, Karen Prior, Michael Brown, Tim Welch and Alan Evans.

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2022.

Resolved – That the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2022 agreed.

The Chair reported that no public questions, statements or petitions had been submitted.

The Deputy Director of Strategy for Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust introduced a report which provided an update on the development of the Wellbeing and Opportunity Centre project and the Education Engagement Network project, both of which were part of the Towns Fund.

The Board received an update on the Wellbeing and Opportunity Centre project branded as ‘Joy’ and outlined the vision for a home for public and community organisations in a welcoming environment, located at the Treasury Annex site in Birkenhead. The engagement process was outlined to the Board, with residents and service users helping to shape what was needed, which would then be followed by a design phase before going back out for consultation to ensure the design met the expectations of residents before the submission of the full business case by June 2022.

The Principal of Wirral Met College provided a further update on the Education to Employment project, which followed a ‘hub and spoke’ model in conjunction with various partner organisations such as Birkenhead Library, the Probation Service, Forum Housing and the Care Leavers’ Centre. The intention was that the model would assist in pathways to employment and create a space that allowed support to be designed to cater to an individual’s needs based on their varying circumstances. It was intended that the hub would be located next to the wellbeing building.

The Board recognised the genuine co-production that had taken place as part of the projects and welcomed the collaborative working that had been undertaken to progress them to their current stage.

On a motion by Councillor Yvonne Nolan, seconded by Simon Banks, it was –

Resolved – That

(1)   the development of the Wellbeing and Opportunity Centre project and the Education Engagement Network projects and their potential for positive impact on the health and wellbeing of Wirral residents and the quality of integrated service delivery be noted.

(2)  A further update on the projects be provided a meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board in Autumn 2022.

The Assistant Director for Strategy and Partnerships introduced the report of the Director of Care and Health which provided an update on the development of the Integrated Care System and the consequential changes to NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as well as detailing the terms of reference of the recently established Wirral Place Based Partnership and the Joint Strategic Commissioning Board.

The Chief Officer for Wirral NHS Clinical Commissioning Group reported that he was due to take up the role of Place Director for Wirral following the formal establishment of the Integrated Care System on 1 July 2022 and reported to the Board the priorities for the Integrated Care Board including the transformation of the Wirral system following the pandemic and the development of partnerships and collaboration within the borough.

The Board acknowledged the role the Place Director could play in working alongside various areas of the borough including Children’s Services and Educational Facilities to improve health outcomes.

Resolved – That

(1)  the establishment of the Wirral Place Based Partnership Board and the Joint Strategic Commissioning Board Sub-Committee be noted.

(2)  the appointment of the Place Director for Wirral be noted.

The Chief Finance Officer, NHS Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) introduced the report which detailed the funding arrangements within the Section 75 Pooled Budget and sought to assure members that design principles were intended to enable the delivery of improved health and care outcomes for the Wirral population.

It was reported that the Wirral Pooled Budget was the largest in Cheshire and Merseyside at £240m, made up of £163m of CCG funding and £77m Local Authority funding and of which £56m was committed to the Better Care Fund. Attention was brought to the fact that the budget had almost doubled from the previous year, reflecting the trust between the CCG and the Council and the ambition to deliver on integrated care.

Assurances were sought on whether the fund would transfer into the Integrated Care System, where it was outlined that the 2022-23 fund still had to go through the CCG’s governance process for approval and would then be transferred to the Integrated Care Board on 1 July 2022.

Resolved – That the increase in the Pooled Fund from £127.2m in 2020/21 to £239.9m in 2021/22 be noted and endorsed.

The Director of Public Health introduced a report which provided the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for 2022 – 2025 and sought approval for its mandatory public consultation between April and June 2022. The timeline for the PNA’s publication was outlined with the final version to be submitted to the Board in September 2022 prior to its publication. It was reported that the previous PNA concluded that Wirral compared favourably against the national average and that given the regeneration of the borough, there was a need to ensure there was sufficient pharmacy provision to support the new housing.

Resolved – That

(1)  the draft Wirral Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (2022 to 2025) be approved for its required mandatory public consultation between April and June 2022.

(2)  the Director of Public Health be requested to produce a final report for the board in September 2022 prior to the mandatory publication of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment on or before 30th September 2022.

The Director of Public Health introduced a report which provided the Board an update on the work to develop a Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Wirral and an update on the activity of the working group established to produce the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

It was reported that the Working Group had met on 7 March 2022 and considered the priorities and recommendations identified in the Public Health Annual Report 2021 and the interim Marmot Communities report, and then developed early recommendations which were detailed within the report. The Board was informed of the consultation and engagement that had taken place with the wider population and specific interest groups as part of the work which would be circulated to members following the meeting.

The Board welcomed the level of co-production in developing a Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the impact it was hoped it would have in breaking the cycle of inequality.

Resolved – That the continued development of Wirral’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, based on the recommendations of the Public Health Annual Report 2021, be noted and supported.

The Head of Legal Services introduced the report of the Director of Law and Governance which provided the Board with its current work programme and gave opportunity to propose additional items for consideration at future meetings.

It was proposed that items from Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust on Social Value and the Trust’s 5 Year Strategy be added to the work programme, as well as an item from Cheshire and Wirral Partnership on the Community Health Transformation Service.

On a motion moved by Councillor Yvonne Nolan, seconded by Councillor Phil Gilchrist, it was –

Resolved – That the work programme be agreed, with the inclusion of additional items on Social Value, Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust 5 Year Strategy and Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Community Health Transformation Service.