Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and those present introduced themselves.

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

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Councillor Lesley Mansell had sent her apologies to the Panel, Councillor Robin Moss was present as her substitute.

Councillor Bharat Pankhania had also sent his apologies to the Panel.

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.

Councillor Liz Hardman declared an other interest with regard to agenda item 6 (Items from the Public) as she has an involvement with a Community Support Group that is a part of 3SG.

The Chair agreed to hear the Cabinet Member Update from Councillor Paul May, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at this point in the meeting as he had a prior engagement to attend later in the morning.

Councillor May addressed the Panel and highlighted the following points from his update. A copy of the update will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

·  The proposal is to re-purpose the now closed Charlton House into a new SEND School providing 12 residential places and an additional 18 day places for young people aged 11-17 with complex special educational needs in the area of autism with social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

·  This project is directly linked with the Safety Valve work which includes the commitment from B&NES to increase the sufficiency of places for children and young people with an Education Health & Care Plan (EHCP). The project will reduce the overspend in the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) and increase the local offer, preventing expensive out-of- county placements and allowing the pupils to be educated within their own community.

·  The average cost of an out-of-county day placement at an Independent Special school currently stands at £96k.  The cost of residential SEND placements currently stands at £318k (average placement costs with a mix of 38 & 52wks).  This project will result in estimated savings to the Council of £2,171,075 (education and transport) and £2,043,859 (residential) per annum, the latter directly benefitting the Children’s Social Care budget.

·  The proposed new school would be opened under the Dept. of Education’s ‘Free School Presumptive Route’, where a local authority identifies a need for a new school in its area. If approved through the PID and SMD process, the next step will be to publish the specification for the school and engage with prospective proposers (single or multi-academy trusts) who may wish to apply to establish the new free school.

Kevin Burnett asked if the funding involved was separate to that received through Safety Valve or was it all tied in together.

Councillor May replied that it was understanding that it is tied in with the Safety Valve funding. He added that a £4m grant had already been allocated to the Council by the Government and that an additional £6m Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding has been added for this project.

He added that he still intends to bring to the Panel an update on Safety Valve once he has received further information from the Department for Education (DfE).

Councillor Joanna Wright asked the following questions of Councillor May.

How many ECHPs within B&NES are not issued within the statutory timescale of 20 weeks, after the decision is taken to carry out a needs assessment?

How does this number compare with the national average?

What are the main causes for B&NES not to issue ECHPs within the statutory timescale?

As VAT is soon to be included onto fees for private schools how will this affect young people with special needs in B&NES?

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

Becky Brooks, Director, 3SG addressed the Panel. A copy of her statement will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary is set out below.

‘On behalf of the Third Sector in B&NES, and as the Director of 3SG, which supports 250 charities across the area, I would like to update the Panel on the re-procurement of Community Contracts from the sector's perspective.

At the beginning of this year, we were told that there would be no 'cliff edge' in funding - and that the Council would work in collaboration with us as valued partners. Whilst I am grateful for the effort that has been made in opening up conversations with myself in the last month or so, until last week, the Sector was largely in the dark about timelines and as far as I am aware, has had little interaction in terms of collaboration or consultation. The Sector still doesn't know what cuts are coming and where - and this has created huge anxiety, uncertainty and difficulty in making plans for the future.

We are yet to see the outcomes of the Community Services review, despite having asked for it over several months - this is disappointing, because it would be helpful to know where cuts will fall, and to understand the Council's thinking. We hoped there would be an open dialogue around this piece of work, and as far as I am aware, this has not been the case, as was promised by Cllr Mark Elliott at the beginning of this year. If this review is in another format, which I have been told that it is, we would still like to see it, where commercial sensitivities allow.

Whilst I appreciate that the Council has had a busy and pressured time with Adult Social Care coming back in house and now a CQC inspection, the Third Sector desperately needs the Council to start communicating more effectively, trusting it as equal partners to deliver services. Real change is needed for the future of procurement in B&NES and in January, we were asking for that brave and bold piece of work to be done.

I would like to direct members' attention to the recent Council tender in Swindon, in which the Swindon Carers' Centre, supporting residents for over 25 years, had to withdraw, because the ask was completely unachievable for the money offered. It also meant the charity would need to close as a result of losing such a large contract. I cannot imagine what B&NES would look like without its Carers' Centre, and I am genuinely concerned that this scenario could play out with other charities in B&NES. Who picks up services then?

As of last week we received confirmation that market engagement events are likely to take place at the end of September and early October. It is unlikely that would-be providers will go into procurement until the end of the year and that temporary contracts are likely going to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Kevin Burnett offered the following observations on the minutes for 15^th July 2024.

·  Page 7 – Last paragraph – Should read ‘3 Inspectors’

·  Page 7 - Waiting to receive:

o  • A Community Summit summary from the Education team.

o  • A response to his question regarding changes to the HERS (Hospital Education Reintegration Service).

·  Page 9 – Any response from Public Health regarding retaining leisure provision on the former Culverhay site.

·  Page 16 - How many of the 12 B&NES schools involved in the PINS project were in Radstock?

·  Page 19 - Free School Meals – how many children are accessing this resource that are eligible for it?

·  Page 21 – Response required - Should it be considered that Public Health provide some funding into Youth Justice prevention, especially around the prevention of knife crime.

The Chair asked for those issues to be resolved and for any additional information to be shared with the Panel.

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting, with these comments in mind, as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

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

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

CQC Inspection

Following the Government’s introduction of a new local authority inspection regime for Adult Social Care, B&NES was informed in April 2024 by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that our adult social care services would be inspected within the next 6 months. Therefore, B&NES is one of the first 15 councils to be inspected by the CQC.

On 15^th August the Adult Social Care Leadership Team delivered a 3 hour presentation to the CQC inspectors which also included inputs from public health and housing. We attended a logistics planning meeting with the CQC on 21st August to prepare in detail for the on-site visit in September.

The on-site Assurance Visit takes place this week with a team of 8-12 inspectors expected to be here from 10^th to 12^th September.  They will be conducting interviews with a range of front-line staff across the Adult Social Care partnership. 

Following the on-site visit to B&NES, CQC inspectors will provide high level feedback to the Director of Adult Social Care on 19^th September.

Age Friendly Communities

On the 18^th June, BANES Full Council supported the motion for the application by the local branch of Age UK, to the World Health Organization for B&NES to become an Age Friendly Community. The initiative will be informed by data provided by B&NES residents aged 55 and over, through the Aging Well community Survey which was also hosted by Age UK.

The goals of the programme are to transform B&NES into an inclusive, supportive and accessible place where everyone can age well, in whichever way they see fit. The programme will be supported by the newly re-convened Ageing Well Network which will bring together voluntary sector organisations that support people to age well and encourage older people to speak out about the issues that are important to them and their communities.

Kevin Burnett asked if the Panel could receive further information regarding the eight Domains of Age Friendly Community Framework.

The Director of Adult Social Care replied that there was link that she could circulate to the Panel to give them additional information.

Councillor Robin Moss said that he would welcome some feedback to Council at some point as to the progress made with regard to Age Friendly Communities.

The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked Councillor Born for her update.

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

Laura Ambler, Director of Place for Bath and North East Somerset, BSW ICB addressed the Panel and sought to highlight the following areas from the update report. A copy of the update report will be attached as an online appendix to these minutes.

Blood pressure checking outreach clinics underway in B&NES

Bath and North East Somerset, Somerset and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) is hosting a series of free blood pressure checks across the local area as part of the national Know Your Numbers Week initiative.

Events have taken place at the Somerset and Dorset Heritage Railway in Midsomer Norton, Bath Rugby and the Alice Park Youth Music Festival with future events also scheduled at Bath City FC.

The Alice Park Youth Music Festival was also used to carry out some community engagement work to gather views of children and young people about access to local services.

Awareness campaign uses mirrors in leisure centres in B&NES to highlight cancer risks

NHS messages prompting gym-goers to look out for potential signs of cancer will appear in the changing rooms of some leisure centres in B&NES over the coming weeks.

The stickers will feature the messages ‘Check you out’ and ‘Know what’s normal for you’ and remind people that if something in their body doesn’t feel right, they should make contact with their GP.

Leisure centres taking part in the initiative are Culverhay Leisure Centre, Odd Down Sports Ground Bath, Bath Sports and Leisure Centre and Keynsham Leisure Centre.

Flu and RSV vaccination programme underway in B&NES

A vaccination programme has started across B&NES to provide vaccines to protect against flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

This year the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended adults aged 65 and over, residents of care homes for older adults and those with underlying health conditions aged 6 months to 64 years will be eligible for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccines for RSV, a common cause of coughs and colds which can be dangerous to older people and young children will be available to those aged 75 to 79 and pregnant women from 28 weeks.

Official opening of the Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospitals Bath

Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the Dyson Cancer Centre at the Royal United Hospitals Bath (RUH) on September 3^rd. Patients, staff, supporters and guests from the wider community were on hand to mark the occasion. Her Majesty was given a guided tour of the new purpose-built centre, which brings together many of the RUH’s cancer services under one roof, including the RUH's oncology, chemotherapy and radiotherapy services.

The new centre sees around 350 patients a day and is backed by over £40m in government funding as part of the New Hospital Programme.

The Dyson Cancer Centre was also supported by an additional £10m fundraising campaign from RUHX, the hospital's official charity, including a £4m donation from the James Dyson Foundation and £1m by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

This report updates the panel on the following three programmes of work, and outlines the key aims, current areas of focus, progress and achievements, issues and/or risks, and future priorities in relation to each:

·  Be Well B&NES; a Whole Systems Approach to health improvement

·  Social prescribing (including the Active Way)

·  Sexual and reproductive health strategy and future commissioning proposals

The Public Health Consultant(AL) outlined the following areas from within report in relation to ‘Be Well B&NES – A whole systems approach to health improvement’. 

·  Be Well B&NES is a new Whole Systems Approach to health improvement in Bath and North East Somerset. It has been developed, and will be owned and delivered, by a collaborative network of partners including healthcare providers, educational settings, leisure providers, Council departments, and community organisations.

·  Two well attended network events have been held and enabled a wide variety of partners to come together to think about how we can do health improvement better across B&NES.

·  Be Well B&NES aims to take action on the biggest preventable risk factors for ill health, health inequity and premature death including obesity, tobacco, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol and drugs. These risk factors are closely linked with emotional wellbeing and contribute to a wide range of health conditions including cancer and heart disease.

·  Studies have shown that Whole System Approaches work; when we tackle health issues across and at deeper levels of the system, we see better results.

·  Two network groups are proposed to bring together system stakeholders with relevant interest and expertise. One network group will focus on a geographical community and one on a children and young people’s setting. These networks will co-develop and deliver action plans enabling prioritised actions across different levels of the system. A third operational delivery group will be created to ensure a universal health improvement approach is delivered, and to take forward targeted actions, for example improving the reach of training.

·  This is an iterative way of working; regular review will enable the network groups to develop and change in response to the system. It is likely that over the ten-year span of Be Well B&NES, we will shift focus and work across several different areas and settings, learning from successes and challenges.

·  The approach we have used in Bath and North East Somerset is based on the Whole Systems Guide for Obesity commissioned by Public Health England. We have been supported in the process of developing the framework by academics at the University of Bath.

Councillor Paul Crossley asked how the success of the programme will be identified, how would they monitor any long-term benefits and have any targets been set.

The Public Health Consultant(AL) replied that this a slightly different way of working although targets for individual based interventions would be set. She added that the project will seek to look at the reasons behind the actions that have been taken.

She said that there could be common factors such as access to facilities, transport needs or support as to why these issues are occurring. She added that they have heard from Community Partners in the preliminary stages of the programme and they will now seek to hear the views from the communities themselves.

She said that action plans will be developed as work progresses.

Councillor Crossley asked if any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

This report provides the Panel with an interim update on the work of its Knife Crime Prevention Task Group.

The Chair introduced this report to the Panel and wished to thank all those that had taken part in the work of the Group so far. She stated that there was not a simple solution to this issue and that they have heard from a number of groups and parents that have been affected by this issue and that at times it had been emotionally challenging.

Councillor Paul Crossley said that in terms of next steps he would encourage talks with the relevant Cabinet Member to ensure that a budget is in place to take this work forward. He said that an analysis should be undertaken to understand the costs to society from the effects of knife crime re: NHS, Social Services, Police etc.

The Chair said that the budget would need to involve a wider discussion with other partners and organisations. She added that she could ask about research into the society costs as mentioned.

Councillor Joanna Wright said that she would support the points made by Councillor Crossley. She questioned whether young people are now too frightened to go out because of knife crime and what measures are in place to provide support to our young people affected by this issue.

The Chair said she would ask the Group to explore these points.

Kevin Burnett referred to the Terms of Reference and asked if it was felt that the Group had covered all these topics in their work to date.

The Chair said that the focus has been on considering opportunities for improving prevention of knife crime across Bath and North East Somerset.

Councillor Wright asked if County Lines was in any way attributable in this scenario.

The Chair she would ask for that to be addressed within their report. She also raised an area for the group to discuss regarding the number of young people involved in serious violence and knife crime and the above average number of pupils that have been permanently excluded from school, and that these young people are particularly at risk of such crimes.

The Director of Public Health suggested that the Panel receives the Serious Violence Action Plan and discusses it at a future meeting.

The Chair acknowledged that and said that the Task Group would also like to see the Action Plan.

The Panel RESOLVED to:

i)  Note the update and the recommendations they have made to help shape the future direction of the Task Group.

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 workplan to the Panel and the following subjects were

noted as potential future items of discussion.

Councillor Joanna Wright highlighted the lack of available disabled accessible taxis within B&NES and said that she was unsure of where to raise this issue within the Council.

The Chair said that she was aware that this is an issue, but was unsure of how to progress this from the point of the Panel.

The Director of Adult Social Care said that she would think of who best could address this matter in terms of accessibility.

Councillor Wright asked if the Council was prepared for how the change in Winter Fuel Payments will affect a certain number of our residents.

The Chair said that this matter should be addressed within the November meeting following the Government’s announcement of the Autumn Budget Statement.

The Panel RESOLVED to note their current workplan alongside these proposals for future work areas.