Agenda item

To receive an update on current and forthcoming issues within the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health.

4.1      Councillor Heather Acton (Cabinet Member for Family Services and Public Health), provided a briefing on key issues within her portfolio. The Committee also heard from Bernie Flaherty (Bi-Borough Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Health), Melissa Caslake (Bi-Borough Executive Director of Childrens Services), Chris Greenway (Bi-Borough Director of Integrated Commissioning) and Sarah Newman (Director of Family Services).

4.2      Councillor Acton provided an update on the following additional items of interest:

·         Thanks were expressed to Louise Butler, Strategic Lead in Professional Standards and Safeguarding, and her team for producing a Safeguarding ‘Jargon Buster’.

·         A very successful Learning Disabilities Presentation Lunch had recently taken place, which had been very well attended.

·         Thanks were expressed to Christine Mead, Public Health Strategic Commissioner, on the recent successful Community Champions Conference, which had been attended by over 250 Community Champions.

·         The Council was currently making a submission to Public Health England on provision for autism, a topic the Committee could potentially explore at a future meeting.

4.3       The Committee was interested to learn about the programme currently entitled ‘Healthy Families, Healthy Communities’ which was due to commence in November 2019. Councillor Acton explained that new healthy lifestyle support services were being commissioned across communities. These would take the form of a range of contracts rather than one large contract and funding had been applied for from the Greater London Authority.

4.4       The Committee noted that as part of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Local Area Inspection, focus groups would be established to include a range of participants across the community. The Committee was advised that parents who expressed an interest in participating were selected for the focus groups. The Westminster Parents Group was also closely involved in feeding back opinions along with a range of multi-agency professionals across the system. It was explained that Council officers also regularly attended the focus groups.

4.5       The Committee requested further information on any work undertaken between the Council and sugar retailers to combat childhood obesity. It was noted that a sugar strategy was currently being developed and the suggestion to involve retailers would be considered. Sugar and childhood obesity was a priority for the Health and Wellbeing Board and this would be focused on at its next meeting.

4.6       Further information on the topic of unaccompanied minors was requested. The Committee was advised that recently greater number of unaccompanied minors were arriving in Westminster with passports, which made it easier to assess their ages. Any who arrived without documents and appeared not to be minors would be assessed using Government issued guidance. Unaccompanied minors would receive a range of support and a holistic assessment of their needs would be undertaken. Each received a welcome pack with specialist pathways developed for each child. An unaccompanied minors group had also been established to allow them to meetup, form friendships and develop their English ability.

4.7       In response to questions regarding youth violence the Committee was informed that work between the Council and the Police was ongoing regarding youth engagement work. The multi-agency response to youth violence was highlighted including the work of the Integrated Gangs Unit and its four key elements of preventing, protecting, disrupting and bring to justice. A working group had been formed to look into tackling youth violence from a public health perspective and the Committee requested it be kept informed of developments.

4.7       The Committee also discussed Speech and Language Therapy and Funding Issues.