Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Guildhall, Bath. View directions

Contact: Mark Durnford  Email: mark_durnford@bathnes.gov.uk 01225 394458

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Items
No. Item

77.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

 

78.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURE

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 5.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

 

79.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Paul May and Councillor Dine Romero, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Communities had sent their apologies to the Panel.

80.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

 

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest, (as defined in Part 4.4 Appendix B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

 

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Gerry Curran declared an other interest with regard to agenda item 8 ‘Cabinet Member Update’ as he is an employee of HCRG Care Group and his partner works for Bath Area Play Project (BAPP).

81.

TO ANNOUNCE ANY URGENT BUSINESS AGREED BY THE CHAIRMAN

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was none.

82.

ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC OR COUNCILLORS - TO RECEIVE STATEMENTS, PETITIONS OR QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE BUSINESS OF THIS MEETING

At the time of publication no notifications had been received.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were none.

83.

MINUTES; 17th January 2023 pdf icon PDF 924 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman asked if it was known how much of the £50m funding B&NES had been allocated to allow for international recruitment relating to care home staff.

 

Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services replied that she would try to find out and respond to the Panel.

 

The Chairman informed the Panel that the additional £5,000 for SACRE had been granted as part of the Council’s budget setting process.

 

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chairman.

84.

Cabinet Member Update

The Cabinet Member(s) will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Alison Born, Cabinet Member for Adult Services addressed the Panel and highlighted the following areas from her update report. A copy of the update will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

 

Death Rate in Local Care Homes

 

Figures published on the second wave of Covid infections showed B&NES to be an outlier in that a high proportion of local Covid deaths occurred in care homes with a low proportion occurring in hospital. This was investigated by Public Health and Prevention who identified:

·  During the second wave, B&NES had a lower rate of cases of COVID-19 and a lower death rate than the England average

·  Nearly all deaths from COVID-19 in B&NES during the second wave occurred in either a care home or hospital, with a small number occurring at home. 

·  The rate of deaths in local care homes was higher than the England average

·  The rate of deaths at the Royal United Hospital was lower than the England average

For some years B&NES has been ahead of many other areas in ensuring that care homes are well supported by a dedicated GP service and that proactive work is done with care home residents, to plan choices for care and treatment in the event of a future severe illness. This has enabled more people who chose to, to have a dignified death at homeand has reduced the number of admissions to hospital where treatment is unlikely to affect the outcome.

This resulted in emergency admission rates from care homes to hospital being much lower in B&NES than in neighbouring areas for a number of years prior to the pandemic and that continued during the pandemic.

The above information confirms that the overall death rate from COVID in B&NES has been lower than average.

To supplement this analysis, the public health team also commissioned an independent Applied Research Collaboration, ARC West to undertake additional research in local care homes to identify any factors that were associated with COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The findings of the ARC research have been delayed to allow for further staff interviews to take place, in the meantime, an interim report is available on the B&NES Strategic Evidence Base Document Library.

 

B&NES Managed Care Homes

 

There is a comprehensive action plan to address the concerns identified by the CQC relating to Charlton House and good progress is being made but I thought it would be useful to share some of the issues identified in a recent report by Care and Support South West which summarised the challenges that providers across the South West (and indeed, the rest of the country) are facing. These include:

 

  • Problems recruiting and retaining staff with local turnover rates far exceeding the national average of 15%. This is a particular problem for management and clinical lead roles.

 

Cabinet Member Briefing (Cllr Born) March 2023 pdf icon PDF 219 KB

Additional documents:

85.

B&NES, SWINDON & WILTSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (BSW ICB) UPDATE

The Panel will receive an update from the B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) on current issues.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Laura Ambler, BSW ICB Director of Place Bath and North East Somerset addressed the Panel, a copy of the update will be available as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary is set out below.

 

Development of BSW Integrated Care Strategy

 

The BSW Integrated Care Strategy is an important document which sets out what improvements BSW Together Integrated Care System partners will deliver for local people including tackling health inequalities and delivering better, more personalised services.

 

It draws on elements from individual strategies that already exist and, while the ICS does not intend to replace those strategies, it will provide a summary of how these different elements will work together.

 

The strategy is under development at the moment but there is a lot of consistency in the themes emerging from other strategies across the area, including tackling inequalities, prevention and wellbeing, development of communities, addressing environmental issues and looking at the wider factors that contribute to health and wellbeing such as housing, education, social mobility, income and employment.

 

In January, the draft strategy was presented to members of local VCSE sector umbrella group 3SG and the Bath Area Forum. Active engagement took place at both events with audience members with participants saying they looked forward to working with BSW ICB and having an ongoing meaningful dialogue beyond the creation of the strategy.

 

The Integrated Care Strategy is being developed on behalf of the Integrated Care Partnership and will be presented for formal adoption in Spring 2023. The document will continue to remain ‘live’ and engagement with partners will continue on the strategy after it has been published.

 

The Implementation Plan, which is also known as the Joint Forward Plan (JFP), is due to be published by 30th June 2023.

 

Public engagement update

 

BSW ICB’s core values reflect that the organisation is committed to ensuring the voices and opinions of local people influence key decisions and helps to shape services across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

 

Patient and public engagement groups bring together members of the public, carers, and representatives from voluntary organisations and local Healthwatch organisations to hold the ICB to account for how it involves local people in the design and commissioning of local health services.

 

In Bath and North East Somerset, the Your Health, Your Voice group meets every two months.

The group in B&NES is encouraged to inform and support the ICB's engagement with the wider public by advising on different approaches and groups we should consult with. We are reviewing with the group how we can further co-develop the role, reach and participation in this forum.

 

In addition to this, BSW ICB operates the Our Health, Our Future Citizens Panel to further help engage with local people and get their views on health and care issues.

 

The online panel is made up of a representative sample of the population from across our region. Panel members take part in regular surveys throughout the year.

 

Full reports of every survey are made publicly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

BSW ICB Report - Tuesday 14 March 2023 pdf icon PDF 389 KB

Additional documents:

86.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Panel Feedback Report pdf icon PDF 186 KB

All CAHW Panel members were invited to a briefing on the draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy on Mon 27 February 2023. Members were provided with an overview of the strategy and then given the opportunity to provide comments before its consideration by the Health and Wellbeing Board on 14 March 2023.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Policy Development & Scrutiny Officer introduced the report. He explained that all Panel members were invited to a briefing on the draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy on 27th February 2023. He said that they were provided with an overview of the strategy and then given the opportunity to provide comments before its consideration by the Health and Wellbeing Board which would take place later in the afternoon of 14th March 2023.

 

Councillor Joanna Wright commented that she welcomed that housing data had been highlighted in the feedback report. She said that she would still like to see that online safety, especially for children and young people, be addressed as the work of the strategy progresses.

 

The Director of Public Health replied that it is difficult to find the balance between devising a strategy and its implementation and that therefore work on certain elements remain ongoing. She thanked Councillor Wright for her comments.

 

Councillor Andy Wait asked how many people had taken part in the public consultation.

 

The Director of Public Health replied that she did not have that information to hand, but could provide it to the Panel in due course. She added that an online survey had been in place as part of the consultation and that third sector involvement had been gathered through a series of focus groups.

 

The Chairman commented that he felt that the four priorities identified in the strategy were very appropriate. He added that he welcomed schools becoming more involved in gardening / nature work as suggested in the briefing by Councillor Malloy.

 

The Director of Public Health replied that the breadth of the priorities was significant to the work of the strategy. She added that the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) would recognise Mental Health needs across the Council.

 

The Panel RESOLVED to;

 

i)  Thank the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and

Communities and the Director of Public Health for the briefing

 

ii)  Note the summary of the briefing.

87.

Serious Violence Duty pdf icon PDF 307 KB

Following a Children, Adults and Wellbeing Scrutiny Day in January 2021 to consider local readiness, national guidance for the introduction of a Serious Violence Duty was eventually issued in December 2022. This report presents an update on arrangements being made for the Local Authority to fulfil the Duty.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services introduced the report to the Panel and gave them a presentation. The presentation will be attached as an online appendix to the minutes and a summary is set out below.

 

Serious Violence Duty

 

·  On 31 January 2023, the Duty commenced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022

·  Requires specified authorities (Local Authorities, Fire and Rescue, Probation, Police, Youth Offending Teams and Integrated Care Boards to collaborate to prevent and reduce serious violence

·  Makes tackling serious violence an explicit priority for Community Safety Partnerships

 

What is already in place?

 

·  Avon and Somerset ‘hub and spoke’ Violence Reduction Unit - Police and Crime Commissioner working with 5 Local Authorities - Focusing mainly on so-called ‘street crime’

·  B&NES Youth@Risk Strategy and 6 Protocols (2019)

·  Delegated funding until March 2025

·  Multi-agency meetings under the B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership

 

What does the Duty require?

 

·  By 31 January 2024, a multi-agency strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence 

·  A public health approach, based on a theory of change and including clear lines of accountability

·  Annual review and monitoring and evaluation of impact

·  Some particular expectations – Local Authorities to support prevention and early intervention activities

 

What is a public health approach?

 

·  Violence is preventable

·  No one sector has the solution

·  Focus on root causes

·  5 Cs – collaboration, co-operation, co-production, counter-narrative, community concerns

 

How will we measure success?

 

·  The three national metrics are:

o  Homicide rates

o  Hospital admissions for knife or sharp object assault

o  Police-recorded knife crime

 

Next Steps

 

·  17th March: Review model and funding and roles and responsibilities of hub and spokes

·  23rd March: Update Serious Violence Steering Group

·  31st March: Notify Home Office of preferred approach

·  4th April: B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership Executive review definition and governance

·  Ongoing: Promotion of the Duty, working with Crest Advisory, continuing work of the Violence Reduction Unit, updating Youth@Risk Strategy and strengthening children’s and community participation.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman asked if with the introduction of the Serious Violence Duty for local authorities in January 2023, will Banes make any changes to its strategies towards violent crime. She said that in the report, it states it will build on existing arrangements and asked if these could be explained.

 

The Head of Young People's Prevention Services replied that the only relevant strategy we have at present (B&NES Youth@Risk Strategy 2019) will need to be updated to become an all-age strategy in light of the Duty, although a focus on children and young people remains. She added that the Duty really challenges us on what it means to embed a Public Health approach and so we will need to take a longer-term view, probably across generations.

 

She said that although peer on peer (or child on child) violence remains a concern, we need to strengthen our contextual safeguarding approaches in the face of exploitation and embed trauma informed and trauma recovery work. She added that we are also challenged to co-produce our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

Serious Violence Duty CAHW PDS Presentation 14.03.23 pdf icon PDF 464 KB

Additional documents:

88.

Education Performance 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 202 KB

This report provides the Panel with an overview of early-years & school education performance in the academic year 2021-22, including information on school attendance and exclusions. This is an updated paper with validated data that follows the report presented to the Panel in November 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Education & Safeguarding introduced this report to the Panel and gave them a presentation. A link to the presentation is contained within the report and a summary is set out below.

 

He said that there was a lot to be positive about the results that had been achieved, but he also acknowledged that there was further work to be done in relation to specific groups of young people.

 

Pupil Numbers

 

·  There were 32,230 pupils in 91 schools in B&NES as of January 2022, a slight increase (1.2%) from 31,857 in 2021.

 

·  Of these, 86% were attending state-funded schools (Primary, Secondary and Special schools).

 

·  As of January 2022, 14% were attending independent schools, over twice the national figure (6.5%).

 

Pupil Characteristics & Educational Inequalities

 

The profile within B&NES by pupil characteristic is broadly similar to the national picture (see table). However, the FSM cohort in B&NES is smaller in each Key Stage (e.g. 19% in B&NES compared to 25% nationally for KS2). B&NES also has a slightly higher proportion of girls at EYFS (51%) compared to nationally (49%) as well as slightly higher SEN EHCP cohorts at KS2 and KS4 compared to national (5% vs 4%).

 

In 2021/22 the national disadvantage gap index increased to their highest levels since 2012 for both KS2 and KS4 suggesting that disruption to learning during the Covid-19 pandemic had a greater impact on disadvantaged pupils.

 

Early Years Foundation Stage

 

In 2021/22, 71% of children had a good level of development in B&NES. This is higher than both the South West (66%) and England (65%) values. 70% of children in B&NES were at the expected level for all 17 ELGs, again higher than both the South West (65%) and England (63%) values.

 

In 2021/22, on average, children were at the expected level in 14.9 out of the 17 ELGs in B&NES. This is higher than the South West (14.4) and England (14.1).

 

There was a 28% attainment gap between children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and those not known to be eligible for FSM in B&NES, with 47% of the FSM cohort achieving a GLD compared to 75% of those not known to be eligible. This is wider than the same gap observed nationally (20%), which appears to be driven by the higher proportion of pupils achieving a GLD in the non-FSM cohort in B&NES compared to nationally (75% vs 69%), whereas the proportion of pupils in the FSM cohort achieving a GLD is slightly lower in B&NES than nationally (47% compared to 49%).

 

Phonics Screening

 

In 2021/22, 78% of pupils in B&NES met the expected standard of Phonics screening. This is higher than both the South West (75%) and England (76%). Results are lower in 21/22 in B&NES and nationally compared to pre-pandemic levels (82% in 2017/18 and 2018/19).

 

KS1

 

Attainment at KS1 has decreased in all subjects compared to 2018/19 both in B&NES and nationally. In 2021/22:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

89.

Panel Workplan pdf icon PDF 142 KB

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting officers.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman asked if Panel members had any items to suggest to be placed on their workplan. He added that such items could then act as a guide for members and officers to work from following the Local Elections in May.

 

Councillor Joanna Wright proposed future reports on Excess Deaths and Online Safety.

 

Kevin Burnett said that they had earlier agreed to receive an update on the Serious Violence Duty in September 2023.

 

Councillor Liz Hardman proposed a future report on local dental provision.

 

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty proposed a future report on homelessness and the Council’s responsibility.

 

Councillor Hardman wished to thank the Chairman and the Vice-Chair for all their work over the past four years and for allowing Panel members to ask a fair number of questions at their meetings.

 

Councillor Gerry Curran announced that he would not be standing in the upcoming Local Elections and said that he was proud of the good work the Panel has done as it covers a lot of the big issues within the Council.

 

Councillor Michelle O’Doherty thanked the Democratic Services Officer for his work and support to the Panel.

 

The Chairman thanked all officers that had contributed to the work of the Panel.

 

The Panel RESOLVED to note the proposals that had been made for future reports.