Apologies were received from Councillors Bowen and Summers.

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

Councillor Hewitt subtituted for Councillor Bowen.

To receive any declarations of interests in respect of schedule 1, schedule 2 or other interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2019.

RESOLVED:   That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2019 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the chairman.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

For details of how to ask a question at a public meeting, please see:

www.herefordshire.gov.uk/getinvolved

The deadline for the receipt of a question from a member of the public is Tuesday 18 June 2019 at 5.00 pm.

To submit a question, please email councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

There were no questions from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from councillors.

The deadline for the receipt of a question from a councillor is Tuesday 18 June 2019at 5.00 pm.

To submit a question, please email councillorservices@herefordshire.gov.uk

There were no questions from councillors.

To consider the proposals, by Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG to merge the existing four NHS CCGs (in Herefordshire, Redditch and Bromsgrove, South Worcestershire and Wyre Forest) to form a single CCG footprint for the whole of Herefordshire and Worcestershire by April 2021, with the (preferred) option to undertake this change earlier, by April 2020. 

The Committee considered proposals, by Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCGs to merge the existing four NHS CCGs (in Herefordshire, Redditch and Bromsgrove, South Worcestershire and Wyre Forest) to form a single CCG footprint for the whole of Herefordshire and Worcestershire by April 2021, with the (preferred) option to undertake this change earlier, by April 2020. 

Given the nature of the business to be discussed members of the children and young people scrutiny committee had been invited to attend and contribute to the Committee’s meeting

Dr Talbot-Smith gave a presentation to the Committee.  The slides had been circulated as a supplement to the agenda papers.

The chairperson invited comments and questions.  The principal points included:

·        In relation to consultation on the proposal Mr Trickett commented that the proposal was a back office, administrative reorganisation that did not involve service change.  It was change to services or access to services that legally required consultation to be undertaken.  NHS England should have run any consultation on the current proposal because it would ultimately be their decision.  They had decided that as a matter of national policy CCGs would become bigger and merge.  However, the CCGs wanted to maintain good relations with stakeholders and welcomed their views hence the current consultation exercise.

·        The four CCGs had been working together closely for some years on the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.  Local authorities had been closely engaged in this process seeking to achieve a local answer to the challenges faced.

·        The proposal would reduce the number of commissioning manager posts.  He himself was already the sole accountable officer for all four CCGs.  This reduction in duplication and cost was a big contribution to achieving the 20% saving in running costs by March 2020 that all CCGs were being required to make under national policy.

·        The timing of the current consultation had been constrained by the local government elections.  He outlined the consultation process.

·        Given the national policy meant that merger would take place, one question was over the timing of any merger.  He noted that delaying merger for one year to March 2021 would mean finding a way to achieve the required savings to which merger was expected to contribute.

·        He considered that it would be most productive if the Committee were to focus on what type of larger organisation was formed, what worked as a place based service for Herefordshire, and how to protect a constructive working relationship.

·        He believed that there would always be an office presence in Herefordshire.  There would also be a managing director working in the County whose main job would be to build relationships with the local authority.  There would always be separate S75 legal agreements for the two counties because there were different things the CCGs wanted to do, different ambitions and different ways of achieving those ambitions.

·        Dr Tait commented that clinicians were keen to see services as close to the user as possible.  Instead of funding administration some of the required saving would allow additional expenditure on frontline  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To provide an updated overview of the Sustainability and Transformation Programme (STP), One Herefordshire and Integration agenda for health and social care. 

The agenda provided for the Committee to receive an updated overview of the Sustainability and Transformation Programme (STP), One Herefordshire and Integration agenda for health and social care.

Given the detailed consideration given to the previous item and the importance of the subject the Chairperson suggested that the best course would be to receive a brief overview of the issues and the matter then be brought back to the Committee’s next meeting.

Dr Talbot-Smith gave a short presentation highlighting selected slides from the presentation circulated with the agenda papers.

In addition to considering the issue in detail at the next meeting it was suggested that in discussing the work programme consideration might usefully be given to the five year Place Based Integration Plan at a future meeting.

RESOLVED:  That consideration of the matter be deferred until the next meeting.

To consider the committee’s work programme.

The Committee considered its work programme.

It had been suggested during the consideration of the previous item that consideration might usefully be given to the five year Place Based Integration Plan at a future meeting.

A representative from Healthwatch requested that consideration be given to the sexual health service that had recently been recommissioned.  The Chairperson indicated that consideration would be given to including this in the work programme once further information on the matter had been provided and considered.

RESOLVED: That: the draft work programme (appendix 1 to the report) as amended to include consideration of the five year Place Based Integration Plan be approved, and consideration be given at the next meeting to whether to include discussion of the sexual health service within the work programme.

The next scheduled public meeting is Monday 9 September 2019 (2.30pm).

Noted.