Agenda item

The Health and Care Act 2022 has passed through the Parliamentary process. The Act creates the Integrated Care System (ICS) which has been established to ensure better integration between Health and Social care with the aim being to improve the health and wellbeing of communities across Bath & North East Somerset.  The attached report outlines the proposed representation on both the Integrated Care Board and the Integrated Care Partnership and seeks Cabinet’s endorsement of the arrangements.

Cllr Kevin Guy introduced the report, moved the officer recommendation and made the following statement:

“The report before you outlines the new, statutory, governance arrangements for health and social care in B&NES. These arrangements came into force on 1 July and stem from the new Health and Care Act. 

Under the new arrangements, an Integrated Care System (ICS) – known as BSW Together – is replacing our previous partnership arrangements. The new ICS covers the three local authority areas of B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire. It gives us the opportunity to build on our strong track record of working with local health services, developed over the last few years, with an overall goal of delivering integrated services, improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities. 

The BSW Together partnership is made up of local health and care organisations including Councils, hospitals, GPs, mental health service providers, an ambulance trust, community health providers and voluntary organisations. They will all work together to plan and organise the delivery of health and care services and are committed to giving local people and communities a louder voice in how services are provided.

A new Integrated Care Board will replace the previous Clinical Commissioning Group across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire. The Board and take the lead on planning and coordinating how £1.5 billion of health and care services are delivered.

The Integrated Care Partnership will develop strategy for health and social care and the Integrated Care Alliance will be a local ‘delivery mechanism’ setting and overseeing delivery of strategy at Bath & North East Somerset level.  

We are asked to agree the Council’s participation in the Integrated Care System, approve proposals for the Council’s representation on the new structures, as laid out in the report, and endorse the overall governance arrangements. 

These new arrangements provide an opportunity to work even more closely with our partners and our communities to provide the services that people need, further to integrate health and social care, and to tackle health inequalities. They also provide greater opportunities for preventative work to improve residents’ health, helping people stay healthy and independent for longer. They align closely with our overall corporate purpose of ‘improving people’s lives’. 

I would like to thank our Council officers and Councillor Alison Born for their hard work.”

Cllr Dine Romero seconded the motion and made the following statement:

“I am happy to second this paper, and support of the formation of the Integrated Care Board. As an area we have a strong track record of working with partners especially the local health services. This new arrangement should be even more beneficial for our residents provide the services they need but also as we will be able to collaborate more closely, we will have greater opportunities to integrate health and social care, address inequalities and in the longer term delay the need some may have of these services.”

RESOLVED (unanimously):

(1)  To agree that the Council participates in the Integrated Care System (ICS) for Bath, Swindon & Wiltshire and to ensure appropriate representation on the various committees which make up the ICS.

(2)  To request the Leader of the Council to make the appropriate nominations for councillors to sit on the committees making up the ICS.

(3)  To authorise the Chief Executive Officer to nominate Officers (including himself) to:

·  Sit on the Integrated Care Board and to represent the Council on said Board including the making of decisions that require financial expenditure on the part of the Council provided such expenditure is within budgets agreed by Full Council; and

·  Sit on the sub-committee of the Integrated Care Board established to make placed-based decisions as may be required to ensure that the Council is appropriately and fully represented in accordance with the constitutional documents of said sub-committee.

(4)  To agree the overall governance arrangements set out in Appendix 1 of the report.