Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Wallasey Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Patrick Sebastian 0151 691 8424 

Items
No. Item

37.

MEMBERS' CODE OF CONDUCT - DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PARTY WHIP

Members are asked to consider whether they have 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 the nature of the interest.

 

Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Minutes:

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 the nature of the interest.

 

Members were reminded that they should also declare whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

 

The following interests were declared:

 

Name

Nature of Declaration

Action

Councillor Wendy Clements

General – Personal and Non Pecuniary - By virtue of her employment in an early years setting.

Took part in the discussions, remained in the meeting.

Councillor Angela Davies

General - Personal and pecuniary – by virtue of her employment with partner organisation, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership Trust.

Took part in the discussions, remained in the meeting.

Councillor Chris Meaden

General - Personal - by virtue of her daughter's employment within the CYPD.

Took part in the discussions, remained in the meeting.

 

38.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 124 KB

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28 November 2016, and to receive the minutes of the Children’s Sub Committee meeting held on 14 December 2016.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Reference minute 25, Members’ declarations of interest. Councillor Angela Davies advised the Chair that she had in fact left the meeting whilst the matter ofthe review of services by Change, Grow, Livewas discussed and had not, as incorrectly recorded in the above minute, remained in the meeting.

 

Resolved - That subject to the above correction, the minutes of the last meeting of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, held on 28 November 2016, and the minutes of the Children’s Sub Committee meeting held on 14 December 2016, be confirmed as a true record.

 

39.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The Chair, having welcomed everybody to the meeting, suggested and it was agreed that item 5 on the agenda, Ageing Well in Wirral – Update on the Delivery of the Strategy be considered next, returning to the published agenda order thereafter.

40.

Ageing Well in Wirral - update on the delivery of the Strategy pdf icon PDF 134 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced Lucy Barrow (Head of Strategy) who was in attendance to present, and answer questions on, the topic of Ageing Well in Wirral and to provide an update on the delivery of the Strategy. Annette Roberts, Chief Executive, Community Action Wirral and Jamie Anderson, Chief Executive, Age UK Wirral were also in attendance to answer any questions arising from the report / presentation

 

Ms Barrow introduced the report of the Director of Health and Wellbeing that set out the shared partnership vision to improve outcomes for Wirral residents in line with the Wirral Plan 2020 Vision.

 

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee were informed that the Ageing Well in Wirral strategy was a 5-year, partnership strategy document, published in January 2016 which articulated the ambitions of the Wirral Plan People Priority and more specifically the ‘Older people live well’ pledge i.e. “We will support older people to live independently in their homes and help prevent social isolation. We will seek ways to show we value the experience and knowledge of older people and encourage more volunteering and mentoring opportunities within our communities.”

 

The report informed that the strategy had been led by Annette Roberts, Chief Executive of Community Action Wirral and that organisations from the public, private, voluntary, community and faith sector had been fully engaged and involved in shaping its development and that the production of the strategy was a fantastic example of what can be achieved in partnership.

 

Members were informed that, since publication, partners had worked together in new and innovative ways across Wirral to deliver the strategy. The key areas of focus for 2016-17 being to reduce social isolation and improve financial resilience.

 

The Head of Strategy’s presentation provided information on the five key priorities included in the Wirral Plan: Ageing Well in Wirral, with a summary of examples of actions delivered arising, namely:

 

Priority One – Being an active part in strong, thriving, local communities. Impact – Wirral Council and partners had knocked on over 2000 doors, spoken to over 500 residents, referred 174 people for further advice or support, prevented at least 6 people from being alone on Christmas day and set up a bereavement peer support group.

 

Priority Two – Enjoying a happy home life. Impact – By October 2016, 1529 adaptations had been fitted to homes, improving access and enabling residents to stay independent for longer.

 

Priority Three – Being emotionally and physically healthy. Impact – Active Wirral was successfully launched in Summer 2016. In February 2017 the campaign would focus on the Active Ageing strand.

 

Priority Four – Being financially secure. Impact – A set of Financial Tips for those 50+ was to be published in the Wirral View to increase awareness across Wirral of simple ways of maximising income and savings.

 

Priority Five –Having better access to the right information and support. Impact – Through the Wirral View the Council and partners are now able to reach households and businesses across Wirral. Working with partners the Council has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

41.

Safeguarding Children Annual Report 2015/16 pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced Kerry Mehta (Head of Safeguarding) and David Robbins (Business Manager, Wirral Safeguarding Children Board) who were in attendance to present, and answer questions on, the Safeguarding Children Annual Report 2015/16.

 

Mr Robbins presented information on the statutory functions and  objectives of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) as set out in Section 14 of the Children Act 2004, namely:

 

  • to coordinate what is done by each person or body  represented on the Board for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in the area; and

 

  • to ensure the effectiveness of what is done by each such person or body for those purposes.

 

Mr Robbins informed of the structure of the LSCB and the local background and safeguarding context for 2015/16 as follows:

 

  • Population of Wirral is 320,200 with 70,500 children and young people (0-18);

 

  • 22% of Wirral children live near or below poverty line. Almost all of these live between Wallasey, Birkenhead and Rock Ferry;

 

  • 2015-16 has continued to be a time of austerity and significant public sector change. Key ongoing challenge for partnership is to prioritise reduced resources with effective early help crucial;

 

  • High incidence of neglect and domestic abuse, and high numbers of children looked after remain a challenge; and

 

  • Children’s Services and WSCB both rated as Inadequate following Ofsted Inspection. Improvement Journey begun.

 

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee were then apprised of the LSCB’s progress against the following key priorities:

 

  • Safeguarding is Everyone’s Responsibility –ensuring that Children and Young People feel safe and are safe;

 

  • Child Sexual Exploitation – ensuring children and Young People have non-exploitative relationships;

 

  • Effectiveness of Early Help - the Needs of Children and Young People are Identified Early;

 

  • Domestic Abuse - Children and Young People live in Homes where they feel Safe; and

 

  • Radicalisation – that Children and Young People are not Radicalised.

 

Members paid particular attention to information presented on the Ofsted inspection of children’s services and the effectiveness of the Wirral Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) undertaken in July 2016, noting that both children’s services and the WSCB were judged to be inadequate 19 recommendations for improvement were made to the LA and that 7 were made for the WSCB. Including;

 

  • Review of governance; independence, influence and challenge; sighted on needs of privately fostered children and those placed in Wirral; notifications of serious incidents; accurate performance information; review of auditing; and

 

  • WSCB has developed an improvement plan and progress is reviewed at each WSCB meeting and through an improvement board and quarterly monitoring visits.

 

Mr Robbins informed Members regarding the WSCB Business Plan  for 2016-18 that included a number of priority areas, namely:

 

Priority One - Children in need of help and protection are identified and responded to at the earliest opportunity by services effectively working together.

 

Priority Two - Children are protected from sexual exploitation by a skilled workforce, and the wider community is equipped to understand and respond to concerns.

 

Priority Three - Children and Young People who are Looked After, including  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

Wirral Residents Live Healthier Lives; Tobacco Control and Alcohol Strategies pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Julie Webster (Head of Public Health) and Rebecca Mellor (Public Health Manager) introduced a report that set out the Wirral Residents Live Healthier Lives; Tobacco Control and Alcohol Strategies.

 

This report provided the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee with copies of the draft strategies developed to address tobacco and alcohol use in the borough as outlined in the Wirral Plan Healthy Lives pledge: “We want all of our residents to have a good quality of life and live healthy lifestyles in clean and safe environments”.

 

The Chair introduce Ms Webster and commented on the quality of the Tobacco Control and Alcohol Strategies produced under the leadership of Councillor Janette Williamson, Cabinet Member for Public Health

 

The Head of Public Health informed that both Strategy documents were currently draft versions, and had not yet been approved by Cabinet and that further work was required on both strategies to agree timelines and lead partners. The strategies were being presented to the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee for comment prior to agreement by Cabinet and publication.

 

The Head of Public Health stated that smoking remains the single greatest risk factor for poor health and early death in Wirral.  Smoking still kills and that the job of tobacco control remains of great importance when one in five deaths each year in Wirral is related to smoking.  Smoking is the principal cause of health inequalities and there are still young people starting to smoke every day.

 

She further stated that excess alcohol drinking also brings many challenges:

 

  • For the individual, regular drinking risks a future burdened by illnesses such as cancer, liver cirrhosis and heart disease, and a taste for alcohol can turn all too easily into dependence.

 

  • For families, alcohol dependence can lead to relationship breakdown, domestic violence and impoverishment. For communities, alcohol can fuel crime and disorder and transform town centres into no-go areas.

 

  • For society as a whole, the costs of alcohol consumption include both the direct costs to public services and the substantial impact of alcohol-related absenteeism on productivity and earnings.

 

Following the Head of Public Health’s verbal report, Members questioned Ms Webster on matters relating to the strategies that included working with licenced and off-licence premises, responsible retailers, the use of planning briefs for exclusion zones, cumulative impact studies and the sharing of data to support decision making processes.

 

Members commented on the use of education and most effective age at which to introduce the subject of the impact on health of smoking and drinking, and the differing levels of smoking and drink related health issues across different parts of the Wirral.

 

A Member commented on the removal of Magistrates controls on the matter of ‘Need and Cumulative Impact’ in relation to procedures when considering the licencing of premises / off-licences. It was noted that changes had been effected as a result of revision to section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed that clarification on the Council’s approach to ‘Need and Cumulative  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

43.

Community Pharmacy Scrutiny Review pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee introduced the report of the Scrutiny Review Panel that set out the findings and recommendations arising from a Scrutiny Review of Community Pharmacies. She informed that this particular review, arising from a Notice of Motion to Council (11 July 2016) from Councillor Phil Gilchrist, had been undertaken in a slightly different way i.e. through the holding of an ‘evidence day’, and had been completed in a timely fashion. Consideration would be made to using this method in future reviews.

 

The report informed that the People Overview & Scrutiny Committee agreed to form a task and finish group to undertake a review, but on the advice of NHS England, it was not practical to commence the review immediately as the Government had not, at that time, made a formal response to the consultation nor provided detailed proposals regarding the future contractual and financial arrangements for community pharmacies. Following a period of negotiation with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), the Government imposed a settlement. New arrangements were published by the Department of Health on 21 October 2016. As a result, an Evidence Day was held on 16 November 2016, including representatives from NHS England, Wirral Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Community Pharmacy Cheshire & Wirral Local Pharmacy Committee and Public Health (Wirral Borough Council).

 

The Chair expressed thanks to Councillors Angela Davies, Treena Johnson, Chris Meaden, Tony Norbury, Tom Usher, Tom Anderson and Phil Gilchrist for their contributions to the review, evidence gathering and preparation of the summary report.

 

The Committee noted the content and endorsed the recommendations within the Community Pharmacy Scrutiny Review, namely that:

 

Recommendation 1 – Monitoring the future impact of the new contractual and funding arrangements

It is recognised that the impact of the Government’s contractual and funding arrangements for community pharmacies is causing concern among the providers. As no local impact assessments of the new arrangements have taken place, the consequences of the policy change are currently unclear. Therefore, Wirral’s Health & Wellbeing Board is requested to keep an on-going brief over future developments in the local pharmacy market. Further data will be required to establish:

 

  • The number of pharmacies directly affected (by closure or merger);
  • The impact of changes in the market on any specific communities, particularly in light of the criteria for eligibility to the new Pharmacy Access Scheme not including any indicator of community deprivation;
  • The potential impact on other service providers, such as GPs.

 

Recommendation 2 – Integration of pharmacies within the NHS

As members welcome proposals to further integrate community pharmacies and pharmacists more closely within the NHS, Wirral CCG and NHS England are encouraged to further develop the principle of co-location between GP practices and pharmacies (or employment of a clinical patient-facing pharmacist). 

 

Recommendation 3 – Diversification of pharmacy services

As the GP Five Year Forward View gives a direct incentive to promote the use of pharmacies for specialised services such as the treatment of diabetes or deep vein thrombosis, Wirral CCG is encouraged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

44.

Budget 2017/18 scrutiny pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report from the Chair presented the work of People Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to pre-scrutiny of the 2017/18 budget proposals. A workshop had been held on 10 January 2017 for Members to explore in more detail the various budget proposals being put forward that fell under the remit of this committee. A report on the workshop was included as an appendix to the report. The Committee was requested to acknowledge this report as its response to the 2017/18 budget proposals to be referred on to Cabinet as part of its considerations in developing any budget recommendation to Council.

 

Members noted the report content that covered the 5 key service areas falling under the Committee’s remit namely:

 

·  Specialist Transport;

·  Public Health (Renegotiated Contracts);

·  Delivery of Social Care;

·  LCR Integration of Adult Safeguarding; and

·  Children’s Services Managing Demand.

 

The report appendix provided a summary of the budget proposals scrutinised and listed comments and suggestions of Members who had attended the workshop.

 

The Chair informed that Members could make suggestions for budget saving at any point in the process, and these would be fed into the consultation.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)  That the report and the Committee’s response to the 2017/18 budget proposals be noted; and

 

(2)  the report be referred to Cabinet as part of its considerations in developing any budget recommendation to Council.

 

45.

Policy Inform pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the January 2017 Policy Inform Briefing Paper that included an overview of ongoing and recent national legislation, potential implications for the Council, and emerging policies.

 

The Policy Inform Briefing Paper outlined the key features of the policies and legislation that had emerged from the Queen’s Speech 2016 and provided an update on the developments of recent legislation and highlights any emerging implications. The Policy Inform briefing also alluded to any potential implications for Wirral Council.

 

Resolved - That the contents of the January 2017 Policy Briefing papers be noted.

 

46.

Feedback From the Meeting of the Health and Care Performance Panel held on 7th December 2016 pdf icon PDF 138 KB

Minutes:

The Chair introduced her report that provided feedback regarding the key issues arising from the meeting of the Health and Care Performance Panel meeting held on 7 December 2016.

 

The report provided an overview of the National Framework for NHS Continuing Health Care (CHC) that placed a statutory duty on the NHS to administer the CHC process. The report further informed of discussions and emerging issues on this subject.

 

The Chair apprised the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the main body of the report topics namely:

 

  • Domiciliary Care – Overview;
  • Care Homes Scrutiny Review – review of recommendations;
  • Member Visits to Care Homes; and
  • Quality Framework and Performance Measures for the Health Sector in Wirral.

 

She informed that there had been good sign up from Members in support of these matters and that two training dates were being scheduled and that Members would be notified in due course.

 

Resolved - That the report be noted.

 

47.

People Overview & Scrutiny Committee - work programme update pdf icon PDF 108 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The People Overview and Scrutiny Committee noted the report of the Chair that updated members on the current position regarding the Committee’s work programme as agreed for the 2016/17 Municipal Year.

 

The report provided an update regarding progress made since the last Committee meeting held on 28 November 2016. The current work programme being made up of a combination of scrutiny reviews, standing items and requested officer reports. The updated report provided the committee with an opportunity to plan and regularly review its work across the municipal year. The current work programme for the Committee was attached as an appendix to the report.

 

The Chair informed the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee of key points to note within the report, namely:

 

·  That a scoping meeting for a Scrutiny Review to focus on the Re-provision of Respite Services had been scheduled for Wednesday 15 February 2017; and

 

·  A Scrutiny Review relating to Continuing Health Care (CHC) funding was due to commence, with a scoping meeting arranged for 9 March 2017. Members of this Task and Finish Group would be Councillors Moira McLaughlin, Wendy Clements and Alan Brighouse, and Mrs Karen Prior (Healthwatch Wirral).

 

Resolved – That

 

1)  the proposed People Overview & Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2016/17, be noted; and

 

2)  nominations for membership of a Task & Finish Group to undertake the forthcoming Continuing Health Care Scrutiny Review be provided to the Chair in due course.