Agenda and minutes

The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting.

To report any changes to the Membership of the meeting and any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Cllr Lorraine Dean, Westminster City Council, Ann Sheridan, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and Danni O’Connell, Healthwatch.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any pecuniary interests or any other significant interest in matters on this agenda.

There were none.

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 08 June 2023 and note any matters arising.

RESOLVED:

The Minutes of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board, held on 8 June 2023, were agreed as an accurate record.

RESOLVED:

The Minutes of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Sovereign Health and Wellbeing Board, held on 8 June 2023, were agreed as an accurate record.

For approval

Rachel Soni, Bi-Borough Director of Adult Social Care, presented the report to the Board and explained that:

·         12 months of engagement prior to consultation had taken place underpinned by the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment;

·         A Consultation lasting eight weeks was undertaken with residents 150 of whom gave feedback;

·         Changes were made by adding additional case studies, new wording and updating some of the ambition statements;

·         Children and young people helped shape the new strategy along with our Local Account Group and many residents and stakeholders;

·         The next step would be to develop the bi-annual action plan to deliver the strategy and work to reduce health inequalities for our residents; 

·         All Health and Wellbeing Board members would take forward these ambitions.

 Members and attendees raised the following points:

·         A plan for the next ten years was needed for North Kensington to help those who have been traumatised by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

·         Consideration should be given to the effects of inequality and its impact on health;

·         The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) was in the process of being refreshed

·         Where it was not clear from proposals and budget requests that the poverty and/or or inequality was being reduced, the Board should not give consideration to it.

RESOLVED:

That the Board approve the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Angela Spence from Kensington and Chelsea Social Council (KCSC), presented to the Board the reflections from the previous meeting’s item on Vibrant and Healthy Communities explaining that:

·         The focus would be on connector roles which would bring together a range of support and personalised care for residents via the development of integrated neighbourhood teams.

·         Statutory partners’ procedures, often set in law, meant that they delivered change at a slower pace than third sector partners who could implement new ways of doing things immediately.

·         A conference would be taking place in November of third sector partners to look at strategy, how it can be implemented and measured with a view to being proactive in identifying health issues of residents.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

For information/comment

Sarah Newman, Bi-Borough Director of Childrens Services (DCS), presented to the Board and highlighted the following:

·         Self-assessments were a requirement of the inspection framework for local authority children services.

·         An annual report was produced that outlines the activities that have been undertaken in children’s social care and outlines proposals to maintain and improve services.

·         The last inspection of Children’s Social Care took place in 2019 and so there was likely to be a further inspection in 2024.

·         It had been eight years since the systemic practice model was introduced; a relational approach giving social care practitioners the tools to engage with families in challenging situations and build relationships that enable positive change to happen.

·         The systemic practice model had meant that more children were living safely within their families, rather than coming into the care of the local authority.

·         Officers believed that, locally, our investment in systemic practice had also resulted in improved retention of social workers, lower turnover, and less use of agency staff – because of the supportive relational approach.

Members and attendees raised the following points:

·       The challenges faced by both Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster were similar.

·       Housing associations should be involved in drawing up plans and delivering services given the importance of good housing to social welfare and mental health.

·       Existing challenges were known and it was essential that all services work together.

·       Church Street was a deprived ward in Westminster with a high crime rate, which affected children living there.

·       The reports did not provide information on evaluation methods to measure outcomes.

The DCS addressed the comments adding that:

·       There was a mental health offer to all schools and, there had been a recent campaign – ‘U got this, we got U’ developed for young people, by young people, to advertise the local offer. 

·       The systemic practice model had been independently evaluated.

RESOLVED:

That the Report be noted.

For information/comment

The DCS presented to the Board and highlighted the following:

·         The plan related to small numbers of people many of whom had complex needs;

·         There was a need to avoid adultification of children and young people who had committed criminal offences.

Members and attendees raised the following points:

·       There was a clear correlation between deprivation and crime which had to be addressed.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted

For information

The Director of Health Partnerships updated the Board on the progress of the Better Care Fund since the previous update on 8 June. There was a delay to the submission due to a review request from North West London NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), causing an escalation period. The plan was submitted on 9 August 2023 and was subsequently approved with no conditions. A review with the ICB was being undertaken and a terms of reference would be co-produced. Funding was expected to be released later in 2023.   It was important for the board to note the risks of the review and potential for funding reductions which would ideally need to be implemented not before April 2025 and the need to develop robust contingency plans. 

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The next meeting will be held on 23 November 2023, to be hosted by Westminster City Council.

The Chair confirmed that the next meeting of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board would take place on Thursday 23 November at 4pm.