Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

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

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Onkar Saini and Joanna Wright.

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.

Cllr Liz Hardman stated that she had visited St Michael’s Primary School to see the music project that was the subject of items from the public.

Rebecca Mellor, Head, St Michael’s Junior School, Twerton on the visible impact and benefits of musical instrument teaching at St Michael’s.

Jon Gore from the Orchestra of Everything Foundation on the work of the OOE Foundation in B&NES.

Becky Mellor Head of St Michael’s Primary School, Twerton and Jon Gore, Orchestra of Everything presented a statement about a pilot project which had been taking place to bring music tuition to children in underserved communities and had resulted in an increase in the resilience and confidence of pupils across the curriculum.  They asked for the panel’s support in identifying future funding opportunities when the current funding ended in November 2025. 

Panel Members asked questions about the project and received responses as follows:

1.  Cllr Hardman: Educational attainment gaps are widening for disadvantaged children and 70% of children at this school are in receipt of free school meals.  This project has been beneficial in approving attendance at the school.  What is the reason for the impact and what parts could you continue without funding?  The project has enabled teachers to build their confidence to run music sessions and so we could continue with group sessions, but without future funding we would not be able to deliver individual tutoring and so there wouldn’t be the same level of impact.  The success of the project was due to a combination of the enthusiasm and support from both the charity and the staff at the school.

2.  Cllr Auton: Do you accept donations of musical instruments?  Yes, this would be welcomed. 

3.  Cllr Mansell: there may be music charities that will be willing to support the project?  The Chair suggested that members of the Panel contact any organisations that may be interested in supporting this project.

4.  Cllr Crossley: what is the policy of the MAT re-music and this the project?  The Bath and Wells MAT recognised this work, but support was focussed on curriculum rather than extra-curricular activities.  There was a national focus on outcomes in reading, writing and maths in line with the inspection framework for schools.  This project was more about the development of character, similar to participation in sporting activities.

5.  Cllr Hardman: were there opportunities for pupils to continue once they moved into Year 7?  There was work going on with the Southside Project and local police to develop a further pilot project for older children, but this was likely to be based in youth clubs rather than an education setting.

Following a request from the panel, Cllr May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services undertook to investigate options to secure future funding for the project and to report back to a future meeting.

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

The Chair will verbally update the Panel on the work of its Targeted Early Help and Prevention Task Group.

The Chair/Vice-Chair gave an update as follows:

1.  The Task Group had now met twice, and it was clear that the work of the Panel mirrored the work the Government wanted Councils to be doing around family help.

2.  At the last meeting, the group heard from Paula Sumner, Assistant Director – Children’s Transformation and Pheobe Holland, Assistant Director for Children and Young People about the transformational work they were doing around the whole family approach and wraparound support “family first partnership”. 

3.  The Group was asking for regular updates and to make sure it could add value and provide steers. 

4.  One of key concerns was whether the £400k resource that has been allocated was enough to ensure that families had access to support.  It was noted that this was additional money to build on what was already in place.

5.  The Panel had discussed integrated front doors, the use of technology and ensuring there was no duplication in the system.

6.  The next step was to look for examples of best practice in other local authorities across the country.

7.  The next meeting would have early sight of the business case that the team are putting together.

The Chair invited members not on the group to contact her if they had any views.

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

Youth Trailblazer Scheme

Cllr May welcomed officers from the Business Growth and Skills Team to update the Panel on the Youth Trailblazer scheme as follows:

-  The scheme was a national pilot initiative that supported young people aged 18–21 who were not in education, employment, or training (NEET).  In B&NES, the scheme had been extended to include 16 & 17-year-olds.

-  The scheme was open to all young people in B&NES but there was a particular focus on rural areas where lack of transport had been identified as restricting opportunities for young people.

-  The team was trying to support as many young people as possible with a range of projects such as support with interviews and free bus passes.

-  The support of the Panel was requested to promote the scheme and make links in communities.

Panel Members asked questions about the scheme and received responses as follows:

1.  Cllr Hardman - How do you define rural?  Would Paulton qualify?  Yes, although the scheme was open to all young people, there was a particular focus on areas outside the urban areas of Bath and Keynsham.

2.  Cllr Hardman - Do you have any timetable of events?  WECA will be marketing the scheme, and we weren’t able to publicise in advance of securing the funding in April.  Since then, we have been going out to speak to local communities to publicise the scheme.  Events include mock interviews planned for September.  We have a target to secure 100 work placements.

3.  Cllr Harding - What work have you done in Chew Valley?  It would be useful for the team to publicise the scheme with Parish Councils.  There had been engagement with Chew Valley School and the team had met with young people whose transition plans had not worked out as anticipated.  Cllr May undertook to pick up the point relating to Parish Councils.

4.  Cllr Harding - What other options were available for young people in villages with limited public transport?  We have listened to feedback from young people, and we are looking at putting on a minibus to attend the mock interviews and also considering options around e-bikes and moped training.

5.  Cllr Auton - As well as transport, there is a lack of local employment opportunities, e.g., in Midsomer Norton where a lot of residents commute to Bristol or Bath for work.  Have you worked with Youth Connect South West?  We are engaging with local employers and building on existing relationships.  We are also working with key partners including Youth Connect South West to add value to what they are doing to support young people.

6.  Kevin Burnett –Who will evaluate the success of the project and how will this be done?  The scheme will be evaluated by the DWP.  There is a detailed plan for evaluation including a target of engaging with 250 young people, 100 employers to offer work tasters/placements and referring young people on for mental health support recognising that this can be a barrier  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

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

The Panel noted the report and presentation that had been circulated with the agenda papers and raised the following questions which were answered by Val Scrase, Regional Director of HCRG and Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place, B&NES BSW ICB):

1. Cllr Hardman – I’m concerned about the large cluster arrangements for ICBs.  How will you focus on day-to-day care?  ICBs have been directed to reduce running costs and to look at clustering.  BSW has now formally been recognised as a cluster with Dorset and Somerset but there will be a focus on maintaining day to day operations.  Any formal changes in governance will require legislation.  There was guidance that ICBs would still be responsible for winter planning but there was an expectation that ICBs identify how they will reduce operational running costs by the end of quarter 3.
2. Cllr Pankhania – are you being clear that ICB clustering arrangements are taking place to save money?  We have been clear that ICBs have had a directive to make these changes to cut costs and there will be redundancies as a result.
3. Cllr Hardman – Residents have advised me that the RUH appointments system is not working; people are not receiving notification of an appointment until the day of the appointment and there was no coordination between different departments.  This concern will be fed back.
4. Cllr Pankhania – I agree that there is a lack of co-ordination in organising appointments.  Appointments are sent out at the last minute and phone calls from patients trying to rearrange are left unanswered.  As part of the new contract there will be a digital front door and an opportunity for patients to manage their own appointments if they are able to do so.  Alongside this there will be a care co-ordination centre and neighbourhood teams to allow for direct contact for those who need it.
5. Cllr Pankhania – there is a concern that the non-digital service will be wound down.  Will there be an independent audit for this service?  We will have care co-ordination centre and care navigators as part of the model in addition to the digital front door.  There will be an assurance process by commissioners. ICB and the 3 Local Authorities.
6. Cllr Hardman – is there any data about Health Passports?  I will bring this back to a future meeting with case studies.
7. Cllr Auton - How are you engaging with minority communities in relation to the Health Passports? What is your definition of a minority community?  We have focussed on people with learning disabilities, autism and the traveller and gypsy community.  We recognise it can be used as a template for good practice and so would appreciate feedback if any other minority communities will benefit.
8. Cllr Auton - How will you engage with 40-year-olds around health checks?  This followed a campaign in June and there will be feedback at a later date.
9. Cllr Auton – in relation to the Big A&E survey, how do the statistics about people going  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

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.

The Chair introduced the item and referred to the following items that were already on the workplan/had been raised at this meeting:

September (adults)

-  modern slavery

-  ICB pharmacy strategy and dental care - criteria to assess pharmaceutical needs assessment – or to be circulated outside of the meeting

October (children)

-  Child sexual exploitation

-  School survey

-  Free school meals update

-  Youth Trailblazer update

-  St Michael’s Primary School/Orchestra of Everything update

-  Attendance, including respiratory illness and Long Covid

-  Attainment gap, to include wider determinants project from public health

-  Safety Valve - DfE/Culverhay issue