Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting

Contact: Janine Jenkinson  07511 048 406

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary or other Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in Section 4 paragraph 4.6 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed.

Minutes:

Councillor Pantelic declared that she was a member of the Local Government Association Community Wellbeing Board.  She remained logged in throughout the virtual meeting.

2.

Election of Chair 2020-21

To elect a Chair for the 2020-21 municipal year from amongst the voting members of the Board.

Minutes:

The Board was invited to make nominations for the position of Chair for the Municipal Year 2020-21.

 

Councillor Nazir proposed Councillor Pantelic be re-elected as Chair for 2020-21; this was seconded by Ramesh Kukar and agreed by the Board.

 

Resolved – That Councillor Pantelic be re-elected as the Chair of the Slough Wellbeing Board for the Municipal Year 2020-21.

 

(Councillor Pantelic took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting)

 

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and reported that Tracey Faraday-Drake (NHS Executive Place Managing Director) and Lucy Bowman (Partnership Manager, Department for Work and Pensions) had recently been appointed to the Board. 

3.

Election of Vice-Chair 2020-21

To elect a Vice-Chair for the 2020-21 municipal year from amongst voting members of the Board.

Minutes:

The Board was invited to make nominations for the position of Vice-Chair for the Municipal Year 2020-21.

 

Superintendent Wong proposed Dr Jim O’Donnell as Vice-Chair; this was seconded by Chair and agreed by the Board.

 

Resolved – That Dr Jim O’Donnell be re-elected as the Vice-Chair of the Slough Wellbeing Board for the Municipal Year 2020-21.

4.

Minutes of the last meeting held on 23rd January 2020 pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Minutes:

In relation to Minute No. 33 - the Chair requested that a sentence be added to the penultimate paragraph to indicate that in addition to David Rathbourne’s non-attendance, a further reason he had been removed from the Board was because it was felt that attendance from a Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust representative would be a more appropriate link to NHS England.

Resolved – That, subject to the inclusion of the amendment set out above, the minutes of the meeting held on 23rd January 2020 be approved as a correct record.

 

The Chair announced that she would vary the order of the agenda to take Agenda Item 5 (Slough Outbreak Engagement Board Terms of Reference), and then Item 11(Slough Covid-19 BAME Pilot), followed by the other reports as numerically listed.

5.

Slough Outbreak Engagement Board - Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 85 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Executive, Slough Borough Council, introduced a report that sought agreement for the Slough Outbreak Engagement Board Terms of Reference.

 

It was explained that the initial wave of Covid-19 cases were declining across the country and national lockdown restrictions were gradually being lifted.  The next phase of the pandemic in England was predicted to be more variegated, with outbreaks requiring local controls to minimise cases.

 

The Outbreak Management Plan had been endorsed by Cabinet on 30th June 2020.  In the event of an outbreak, the Thames Valley Health Protection Team would be responsible for co-ordinating the outbreak management and would work with the Council’s Public Health Team and the Slough Outbreak Cell to facilitate a timely and proportionate response.  Clear communication with residents would be a key aspect of any response, and the Slough Outbreak Engagement Board was one of the mechanisms to engage with the public. 

 

The Chair  invited comments and questions from Board Members.

 

During the course of the discussion, the following points were raised:

 

  • It was explained that the quality of the data received from the Government was continually improving and the Council had recently begun to receive information relating to the number of cases reported in specific post code areas within Slough.  Quality data was crucial to identifying local surges and implementing control measures to minimise cases.  Information was also received from Public Health England regarding the Test-and-Trace system, which highlighted any cluster outbreaks. 
  • As part of the Council’s communication strategy a Covid-19 information booklet was being distributed to every household within the Borough.  Board Members were encouraged to promote the key public health messages to residents, including the importance of testing.
  • The importance of ensuring that winter planning strategies and Covid-19 guidance were aligned was highlighted; and it was noted that GPs would be taking the opportunity to promote Covid testing when patients attended appointments.

 

Resolved – The Slough Outbreak Engagement Board Terms of Reference, as set out in Appendix A of the report , be approved.

 

6.

Slough Covid-19 BAME Pilot pdf icon PDF 79 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Service Lead, Public Health introduced a report that provided an update on the Slough Covid-19 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Pilot Project.  The Pilot was a rapid response to the emerging evidence of the inequitable impact of the pandemic on various BAME and low income communities in Slough.

 

Evidence showed that the burden of illness and death due to Covid was not shouldered equally across the population.  The risk of dying was higher among those in BAME groups than for those in white ethnic groups, and this was a result of many different factors.  In particular, ethnicity had a huge impact; deprivation and lower socio-economic status also increased the risks.  Given the demographic, Slough residents were at a higher risk of harms and this had been evident in the Borough’s patterns of illness to date.

 

The Board was provided with a presentation that explained that the Pilot had brought together a diverse partnership of organisations with the common aim of developing approaches to protect residents from both the direct and indirect harms of Covid-19. 

 

Following the conclusion of the presentation, the Chair invited comments and questions from Board members.

 

During the course of the discussion, the following points were raised:

 

  • It was queried how the key messages of the project were being shared with partner organisation and their staff.  In particular, information about testing and measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.  It was explained that information was being disseminated through the Health and Care Partnership Board, the Slough Wellbeing Board and through the Council’s processes and Corporate Management Team meetings.  A variety of webinars had promoted the pilot work regionally and nationally, generating interest from NHS England and Public Health England. 

 

(Cate Duffy joined the meeting)

 

The Chair thanked the Service Lead, Public Health and all officers involved for their swift work in establishing the project.

 

Resolved –

 

(a)  That the report and presentation be noted.

 

(b) That an update report be provided at the Slough Wellbeing Board meeting scheduled to be held on 23rd September 2020.

7.

Slough Wellbeing Strategy: 2020-2025 pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Policy Insight Analyst introduced a report that presented the final draft of the Slough Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025, and provided an update on progress to establish task and finish groups to deliver its priorities.

 

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic the Strategy had been refreshed to ensure it remained relevant.  The four priority areas had remained unchanged; however slight amendments had been made to the ambitions and actions within the priorities.

 

The Chair welcomed the document and commended the Policy Insight Analyst for producing a clear, accessible document.

 

Board Members were then invited to comment and ask questions.

 

During the course of the discussion, the following points were raised:

 

  • The legal duty of the Board, Clinical Commissioning Group and the Council to take heed of the document and ensure it was reflected in the priorities of their respective corporate plans was highlighted. 
  • Board members commended the information provided in relation to Priority One: Starting Well; the ambition was clearly articulated and Slough was leading the way on developing this priority.
  • The importance of improving residents’ end of life experience and providing information to BAME multi-generational households was discussed.  It was acknowledged that effective communication was a challenge and thoughts on how best this could be approached were invited.  Co-design with residents, and providing different programmes to different groups was considered to be beneficial. 
  • It was agreed that the Strategy was a clear and coherent document that sat well alongside other partnership work that was being undertaken by the Council. 
  • Board members were encouraged to view local data available via the Berkshire Data Observatory website: https://berkshireobservatory.co.uk

 

Resolved –

 

(a)  That the Slough Wellbeing Strategy 2020-2025 be endorsed and submitted to Council for adoption.

 

(b)  That the progress of the establishment of the task and finish groups responsible for delivering the priorities of the Slough Wellbeing Strategy be noted.

8.

Slough Wellbeing Board - Annual Report 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the 2019/20 Slough Wellbeing Board Annual Report.

 

Resolved – That the Slough Wellbeing Board Annual Report 2019/20 be endorsed

9.

Slough Wellbeing Board - Terms of Reference 2020 pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Policy Insight Analyst introduced a report that asked the Slough Wellbeing Board to review the refreshed Terms of Reference.

 

Changes had been made the membership section to reflect the current composition of the Board.  It was noted that there had been difficulties recruiting business representatives to the Board; however the recent creation of the local economy and skills group might offer an opportunity to engage with partner organisations.  It was suggested that business representatives could attend Board meetings on an ad hoc basis and offer expertise as and when needed.  It was noted that ‘a Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Representative’ had been omitted from the membership and agreed that this would be included in the final version of the Terms of Reference.

 

There was discussion regarding the economic impact of the pandemic and the anticipated rise in unemployment over the coming months.  In particular, the detrimental mental and physical impacts of unemployment on people’s wellbeing were highlighted.  It was noted that the recent appointment to the Board of a DWP representative would be valuable in this respect.  It was noted that these issues would be explored further by the relevant task and finish groups.  The Council’s ‘response and recovery’ work had also identified unemployment support as a key area to be address.

 

The Director of Adults and Communities explained that he and the NHS Executive Place Managing Director would be meeting to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on mental health with key partners.  It was agreed that an oral update would be provided at the next Board meeting.

 

Resolved –

(a)  That subject to inclusion of a ‘Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Representative’, the Slough Wellbeing Board Terms of Reference 2020 be endorsed and submitted to Council for adoption.

 

(b)  That the Director of Adults and Communities be requested to provide an oral update on discussions with partner organisations regarding the impact of Covid-19 on mental health at the next Board meeting.

 

(c)  That the Service Lead, Strategy and Performance be requested to explore opportunities to recruit business representatives to the Slough Wellbeing Board.

10.

Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control pdf icon PDF 84 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Service Lead, Public Health introduced a report that asked the Board to sign up to the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control.

 

Slough had a high smoking prevalence rate 16.2% compared to the regional value of 12.2% and an England average of 13.9%.  Smoking remained the principal cause of premature preventable death, particularly prevalent among people in lower socio-economic groups, people with mental health conditions and other disadvantaged groups.

 

A Slough Tobacco Control Network had recently been established by the Council’s Public Health Team, with the ambition of reducing the health harms from smoking by working collaboratively with partner stakeholders. 

 

The Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control would support the efforts of the newly formed local network and would provide a framework for delivering effective tobacco control in Slough.

 

 

 

Resolved –

(a)  That the Board agreed to sign up to the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control and support tobacco control efforts across the Borough.

 

(b)  That the Board agreed to review progress against tobacco control in 12 months’ time.

11.

Slough Wellbeing Board -2020-21 Work Programme pdf icon PDF 74 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Policy Insight Analyst presented the Work Programme for consideration.

 

The following amendments to the list of items for the September 2020 meeting were requested:

 

  • An update report on the BAME Pilot Project be added.
  • The ‘Update – Priority Two, Integration, Health and Social Care Partnership Board be reschedule to November 2020.
  • An update on Priority Three, Strong, Healthy & Attractive Neighbourhoods Task and Finish Group be presented at the September 2020 meeting.

 

Resolved – That subject to the amendments set out above, the Work Programme be agreed.

 

12.

Attendance Report 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 41 KB

Minutes:

Resolved –

(a)  That the details of the Members’ Attendance Record be noted.

 

(b)  That the newly appointed Board Members Lucy Bowman and Tracey Faraday-Drake be added to the attendance record.

13.

Date of Next Meeting - 23rd September 2020

Minutes:

Resolved – The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 23rd September 2020.