Issue - meetings

To receive a presentation giving an update on health inequalities as requested by the Board at its meeting on 26 June 2018.

10:35am – 25 minutes - Paul Scott

The Chair invited Paul Scott (Associate Director of Public Health Public Health Department, B&NES) to give a presentation.

Paul Scott gave a presentation (attached as Appendix to these minutes) where he highlighted the following points:

• What are health inequalities?
• Health and Wellbeing – the things that affect it
• Inequalities at the start of life
• How circumstances, not initial intelligence of children create differences
• Health comparisons (obesity, smoking, life expectancy) between more deprived and least deprived areas
• What causes the extra deaths in the most deprived parts of B&NES?
• National context
• Income inequality diagram
• Marmot Review 2010: the current policy basis for reducing health inequalities
• What are we doing to address health inequalities in B&NES?
• Do we have a strategic approach?
• Time needed to deliver outcomes from different interventions
• Where does an addressing health inequality sit in B&NES?
• Implementing Chapter 2 of the NHS Long Term Plan
• A matter of justice – Local Government’s role in tackling health inequalities
• Inequalities in education and attainment
• Inequalities and employment
• Environmental inequalities
• Inequalities and housing
• Inequalities and behavioural risks
• Where next for this work?

The Chair thanked Paul Scott for his presentation by highlighting the importance of the subject, and the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board in reducing health inequalities in B&NES.

Councillor Rob Appleyard asked if there were any information/statistics on a take-up of free school meals from those who were eligible.

Mike Bowden responded that there was no information on a take–up of free school meals.  Free school meals have been promoted to those who were eligible.  Higher use of free school meals would benefit the schools in terms of getting the funding for resources.  The real challenge was in narrowing the gap between those who were eligible for free school meals and those who were not eligible, in terms of their educational attainment. 

Paul Scott added that there was no local indicator on the school meals take-up but that was something that Local Authority could look at.

Jo Scammell expressed her concerns on the gap in terms of the educational attainment in the area and asked if there were any reasons for these anomalies.

Mike Bowden responded that it was a challenge to understand the reasons behind the large gap in terms of the educational attainment.  B&NES was probably in the bottom 5 areas in the country in terms of the educational attainment gap yet at the same time high percentage of the early years settings were marked as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.  Local Authority would have to work with early years to narrow that gap, although there was no simple solution on that matter.

Paul Scott added that some schools in London area were faced with the same challenge, so this was not unique just for B&NES area.

It was RESOLVED to note the presentation and ask Paul Scott to come back with another update on Health Inequalities in 12 months’ time.