Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Patrick Sebastian  0151 691 8424

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Items
No. Item

30.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received Councillors Gerry Ellis and Samantha Frost, and from Karen Howell, Chief Executive Wirral Community Health NHS Trust and Karen Prior, Chief Officer Healthwatch Wirral.

31.

MEMBERS' CODE OF CONDUCT - DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

Additional documents:

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 declarations were made.

 

Councillor Chris Meaden

Personal interest by virtue of her daughter’s employment within the NHS.

Councillor Christina Muspratt

Personal interest by virtue of her daughters’ employment within the NHS and as a GP.

Councillor Sharon Jones

Personal interest by virtue of her employment within the NHS.

Councillor Tony Norbury

Personal interest by virtue of his daughter’s employment within Adult Social Services.

Councillor Joe Walsh

Personal interest by virtue of his daughter’s employment within the NHS.

Councillor Tony Cottier

Personal interest by virtue of his daughters’ employment within the NHS.

Councillor Phil Gilchrist

Personal interest by virtue of his role as a Governor appointed to the Cheshire and Wirral NHS Partnership Trust, and as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Councillor Mary Jordan

Personal – by virtue of employment within the NHS; and involvement in Incubabies, a charity raising funds for the neonatal unit at Arrowe Park; and her son’s employment as a GP.

Councillor Adrian Jones

Personal – by virtue of marriage to Councillor Christine Jones (decision taker and Call-In witness).

Councillor Jerry Williams

Personal - By virtue of his membership of Merseytravel Committee of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

 

32.

CALLED-IN BUSINESS - Wirral Health and Care Commissioning Pooled Fund Arrangements pdf icon PDF 54 KB

To consider the decision taken by the Joint Strategic Commissioning Board (Cabinet Committee) on 16 October, 2018 relating to ‘Wirral Health and Care Commissioning Pooled Fund Arrangements’ which has been called-in in accordance with Council Procedure Rule / Standing Order 35.

 

The following papers are attached:

 

·  Call-in meeting procedure;

·  The Call-in Notice;

·  Minute Extract – JSCB, 16 October, 2018;

·  The report considered by the decision maker.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Chair’s Opening Remarks.

Prior to the commencement of business, the Chair informed the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, visiting Members of the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Officers and members of the public on the reason for the meeting, and how the meeting’s business would be conducted.

 

The Chair further informed that a series of speakers would be given set amounts of time to present information and evidence on the subject of the Wirral Health and Care Commissioning Pooled Fund Arrangements and that witness statements would be taken in the order detailed in the agenda papers. Time would also be allowed for questions and responses, and once final statements had been delivered, the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee would debate the matter.

 

For clarity, the Chair also advised the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee that any points of order raised by Members during the meeting would require reference to the relevant supporting Standing Order within the Council’s Constitution.

 

Explanation of Call-In by the Lead Signatory.

Councillor Kate Cannon set out the reasons for bringing this matter before the Adult Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. She informed that it was her view that inadequate, limited or no consultation had taken place with the electorate, and questioned why proposals for the Pooled Fund Arrangements were judged to be in the best interests of the Wirral residents.

 

Councillor Cannon believed that the decision taken was undemocratic - stating that the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was not an elected body - and requested that the matter also be referred to the Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee and/or referred to experts to look at the contract in detail. Councillor Cannon requested that she be allowed to share a document containing information relevant to the matter under consideration, and with the consent of the Chair and Members of the Committee this was agreed. The Chair suspended proceedings for five minutes to allow Members opportunity to review the document contents.

 

Overview and explanation of the decision taken by the relevant Cabinet Member.

Councillor Chris Jones, Cabinet Member Adult Care and Health set out the background to the decision, taken by Members of the Cabinet Committee and the CCG Board, sitting in common as the Wirral Joint Strategic Commissioning Board (JSCB).

 

Councillor Jones explained that the decision was planned for to deliver the best possible services for residents, given the budgetary restraints imposed from Central Government. The associated service redesign would allow patients / service users to tell their story once - enabling money to go further i.e. a better return on investments, and how suggestions that the plan supported privatisation of the NHS was ludicrous. She added that NHS and Social Care Staff agreed that the integration of care (and joined-up funding) was needed, particularly when it came to those with disabilities.

 

Members of the Committee questioned Councillor Jones, in particular regarding the absence of opportunity to scrutinise the documentation relating to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.