To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Polly Andrews, Cllr Jenny Bartlett, and Cllr Simeon Cole.

To receive details of any councillor nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the committee.

Cllr Louis Stark was present as the named substitute for Cllr Polly Andrews, Cllr Diana Toynbee was present as the named substitute for Cllr Jenny Bartlett, and Cllr Allan Williams was present as the named substitute for Cllr Simeon Cole.

To receive declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 29 July 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting were received.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

No questions had been received from councillors.

This report and its appendices provide information to support the Health Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee’s scrutiny of the council’s services to support its looked after children who are leaving or have left care.

The committee considered a report on the background council’s services to support its looked after children who are leaving or have left care.

The slide pack was published as part of agenda: Link to 'Appendix 4 for Supporting our Care Leavers'. The slides presented by council officers are outlined below (in italics), with summaries of the responses provided to the key lines of questioning by the committee.

1. The Head of Service for Corporate Parenting introduced the presentation and presented:

Corporate Parenting Responsibilities

a.1 Some of the care leavers were asked what they would like to be said to the committee which were included in the slide.

Pathway Planning

Provision of a Personal Advisor (PA)

a.2 A question was asked about the backgrounds of PA’s and their relationship to the council and to the care leaver.

The Head of Service for Corporate Parenting answered that PA’s are all employed by the local authority into that specific role of PA and come with a lot of different experiences. There are currently 14 PA’s who work in the council’s care leavers team.

The Service Manager Children in Care and Care Leavers added that PA’s come from a range of disciplines and it is intended that they build relationships with young people so they need to have some experience of working with that age group and have a good understanding of children who have lived in care.

Financial Assistance

a.3 The Service Manager Children in Care and Care Leavers noted that regarding the Council Tax Exemption is for young people in and out of county.

What housing options are available – Commissioned (1)

What housing options are available – Commissioned (2)

What housing options are available – Non-Commissioned (1)

a.4 The Head of Service Housing noted that the council is not classed as a stock holding local authority and does not have enough properties to be classed as stock holding. Any accommodation that is brought forward has to be acquired. Funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has assisted alongside the council’s own grant funding to purchase properties for vulnerable client groups.

Helping young people understand their support/accommodation options

What’s in the accommodation pipeline

a.5 The Head of Service Housing added that the council is trying to find accommodation outside of Hereford City in an attempt to branch out into the market towns, as all accommodation is provided in the city. This accommodation is therefore being divided between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye.

Education, Employment, and Training (EET) Support

a.6 The Service Manager Children in Care and Care Leavers noted that numbers of young people who are out of education, employment and training have increased locally as a result of training providers who have not been able to continue providing services in Herefordshire. The council has therefore been responsive in being able to look at how that challenge can be addressed and the Bespoke mentoring service has been commissioned for care leavers who are not in education, employment and training.

Health  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

To provide the opportunity for the scrutiny committee to consider the newly refreshed strategy for Talk Community.

The committee considered a report on Building Strong Connected Communities, Talk Community Strategy, 2024 – 2027.

The Service Director Communities provided a brief overview of the key considerations from the report.

The principal points of the subsequent discussion included:

        i.         The Chairperson asked about the delivery in 2024-25 and the implementation of the Talk Community communications strategy with regard to who is doing this and how its effectiveness will be measured. It was also asked whether this will be included in the upcoming parish summit.

      ii.         In response, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing noted that Emily Lowe will be leading on the work regarding the communications strategy and will be doing it in partnership with stakeholders as to what Talk Community does and what it doesn’t do and how partners work together within that Talk Community. In relation to how it is working, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing added that there needs to be clear metrics in the communications strategy.

     iii.         In response to a question on structure, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing noted that the Talk Community function remains under the Community wellbeing directorate and the Cabinet Member Adults, Health and Wellbeing is still the portfolio holder for Talk Community. The line management under Emily Lowe sits with her and Emily Lowe reports back to the Director of Public Health. There has been no change to the work of the team and the revised strategy will help shape the work further going forward.

     iv.         The Chairperson raised the concern of partners, in recent years, who feel that Talk Community should have grown and not just be focused on health outcomes.

      v.         In response, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing noted that public health has a wider remit around health and wellbeing and that is where Talk Community can be effective, particularly around prevention.

     vi.         The Director of Public Health added that the focus on prevention is important for Talk Community in addition to strengthening early help to help people avoid crisis. Talk Community’s links across the health spectrum can also be strengthened by operating within public health. 

    vii.         In response to a question about whether the approach should be replicated across the whole council, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing agreed that this work can be done across a wide breadth of different issues and across a number of different directorates.

  viii.         In response to a question about Talk Community hubs, the Corporate Director Community Wellbeing acknowledged that Talk Community is not just about having a hub and that the role of development officers for areas of the county is important in working alongside communities and existing facilities to help identify what is working well in different communities and share that best practice.

     ix.         The Cabinet Member Adults, Health and Wellbeing agreed that whilst Talk Community hubs exist across the county, there is no interest in imposing on any particular parish or village what they should be doing in helping to support the people in their area. It is desired to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider the draft work programme for Herefordshire Council’s scrutiny committees for the municipal year 2024/25.

The Statutory Scrutiny Officer noted that the draft work programme had been circulated to members as updated for October. It was asked if members could vote to agree to pursue this work programme.

Resolved:

a)    The committee agree the draft work programme for Health Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee contained in the work programme report attached as appendix 1, which will be subject to monthly review, as the basis of their primary focus for the remainder of the municipal year.

b)    The committee note the work programme for the other scrutiny committees, and identify any opportunities for collaboration or alignment of work.

Date of the next scheduled meeting: Monday 25 November 2024, 2.00 pm

The next scheduled meeting in public was confirmed as Monday 25 November 2024 at 2.00 pm.