Agenda and minutes

No interests were declared.

Resolved –  That the minutes of the meeting held on 15^th November 2017 be approved as a correct record.

The Action Progress Report was received that updated the Board on the recently completed and outstanding actions arising from previous meetings.  It was noted the first public awareness campaign on obesity would begin in February.

Resolved –  That the Action Progress Report be noted.

The Council’s Director of Adults & Communities introduced a report that updated on the progress being made by the Frimley Health and Care Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP).

The STP was expected to become an Accountable Care System (ACS) once it fulfilled the criteria necessary to achieve such status, including a focus on key priorities, governance, financial management and metrics.  Progress was being made on all of the workstreams and the eight STP initiatives.  Frimley was considered to be an early exemplar STP and was already in a position to move forward more quickly towards and ACS than most other parts of the country.

The funding arrangements were discussed at it was noted that an ACS would need shared performance goals and a financial system ‘control total’ i.e. a pooled budget for NHS money.  This did not include local authority social care budgets, however, the opportunities to maximise the approximate £1.3bn of health spending in the STP area were recognised.  An effective partnership was required of the various NHS bodies, local authorities, providers and other stakeholders and a significant amount of work was underway to put in place the necessary arrangements and structures.

An update was provided on the communications and engagement activity and on the Health & Wellbeing Alliance Board.  Communications with local people was considered to be very important and in view of Slough’s diverse population it was noted that information should be available in translated versions to increase awareness across all communities.

The Board discussed a number of other issues including the links between housing and the STP, devolution deals and the importance of the public health agenda.  It was noted that the Chair of the Partnership, Sir Andrew Morris, would be making a more detailed presentation on the STP at the next meeting of the Board on 28^th March 2018.

Resolved –  That the report and presentation on the progress being made on the Frimley Health & Care Sustainability and Transformation Partnership be noted.

The Council’s Corporate Policy Officer introduced a report that sought the Board’s agreement to adopt a refreshed multiagency Overarching Information Sharing Protocol to strengthen and improve the current information sharing arrangements.

The protocols reviewed were as follows:

·  Overarching Information Sharing Protocol (to be agreed at Appendix A).

·  Safeguarding People Protocol (approved in November 2017 and no further changes were required following a review).

·  Protocol for relations between Slough Wellbeing Board, Healthwatch Slough and Health Scrutiny Panel (approved in November 2017 and no changes were required following a review).

If any further changes were considered necessary to comply with the forthcoming implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) these would come back to the Board for approval.  The Board asked that it be confirmed that the Protocol was compatible with GDPR prior to it being published on the Council’s website.  After due consideration, the Board approved the refreshed Overarching Information Sharing Protocol and noted the update on other protocols.

Resolved –

(a)  That the refreshed Overarching Information Sharing Protocol at Appendix A to the report be adopted.

(b)  That the work undertaken to review the Board’s other Protocols be noted.

(c)  That a further review of the documents take place in twelve months time.

The Board held a themed discussion on the Slough Joint Wellbeing Strategy priority of protecting vulnerable children.

To introduce the discussion a comprehensive presentation was made by partners covering education, employment and apprenticeships and the work being done on the Early Help Strategy and offer.  The presentation can be summarised as follows:

·  The transition of children from school into further education and employment was vital in their development.  The Council tracked post-16 progress and worked closely with schools and employers to provide the necessary support during transition, particularly for looked after children.

·  The need to improve the life skills of young people was recognised and a programme was in place.

·  Ofsted had identified a number of issues during its previous inspection on the lack of an early help strategy, and gaps in leadership and co-ordinated service provision.  An Early Help Board, accountable to the SWB on partnership issues, was now in place and working to improve services and implement a new strategy.

·  Partnership working was much improved and the remaining gaps in areas such as thresholds, the referral process and step down protocols were being addressed.

Members recognised the importance of the work being done to improve early help services in view of the priority the Board had given to protecting vulnerable children in the Joint Wellbeing Strategy.  A Member raised a query about the time taken to reach this stage, how success and partnership working would be measured and whether the work was being adequately resourced.  It was responded that there was no previous early help strategy in Slough and this had now been rectified with a clear plan to address the remaining gaps.  The next steps including a comprehensive mapping analysis of early help provision, extensive partnership working and case analysis to shape to the local offer.  The Board noted that an implementation plan for the strategy would be developed by July which included the indicators of success.  A number of partners commented on the excellent work being undertaken and it was agreed that the Board receive a further report in July on the draft Early Help Strategy and the initial impact of the interventions.

It was noted that all partners were more generally seeking to deliver early intervention, however, it was felt that more could still be done to improve alignment and information sharing.  The Board also discussed a number of other issues including the actions contributing to the success of reducing the proportion of looked after children not in education, employment or training; and the role of the Safer Slough Partnership in tackling gang related issues.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the report and presentation was noted.

Resolved –

(a)  That the points raised during the themed discussion on protecting vulnerable children be noted.

(b)  That a further report be discussed at the meeting in July 2018 on the draft Early Help Strategy and initial impact of the interventions.

Members reviewed the Forward Work Programme for the Board.  It was noted that Sir Andrew Morris, Chair of the Frimley Sustainability & Transformation Partnership would be making a presentation on the development of the STP at the next meeting in March.

Resolved –  That the Slough Wellbeing Board’s Forward Work Programme be agreed.

An information report was considered that notified the Board of the refresh and redesign of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).  It was a statutory requirement for the Wellbeing Board to produce a JSNA and the redesign aimed to provide a more modern, accessible look.  It was expected that the current review would be ready for publication in July 2018.  Board Members were invited to make any specific comments to the Council’s public health or policy teams.

Resolved –  That the current position on the refresh and redesign of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment be noted.

Resolved –  That the Attendance Report be noted.

The Board reviewed key outcomes from the meeting and learning points for future meetings.

Wednesday 28^th March 2018 at 5pm

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 28^th March 2018 at 5.00pm.