To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor PE Crockett.

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

None.

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

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2016.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 April 2016 were approved and signed as a correct record.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised.  Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

There were no suggestions.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a scrutiny committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the committee officer.  This will help to ensure that an answer can be provided at the meeting). 

There were no questions from the public.

To hold a public accountability session to discuss the performance of the public health service in Herefordshire.

The Committee received a presentation on public health.  The director of public health provided the presentation and highlighted the following areas:

·         That according to Public Health England’s (PHE) healthier lives table, Herefordshire was one of the healthiest places in England to live. Out of the 150 local authorities Herefordshire was ranked 21^st in terms of its premature mortality rates. PHE defined premature mortality as a death before the age of 75 years. Within this overall ranking there were variations for particular diseases that were the causes of death.

In reply to a question from a member, the director said that there was a national change in drinking patterns, and that as more women were binge drinking it was likely that figures would remain static.  Work on the relative risk of those drinking to excess not being treated by their GP was in hand, and targeted work was underway to encourage people to attend their local surgery.

In reply to a further question, the director said that the focus for the Home Office in this area was on cities and large towns, but that there was little appreciation of the needs of rural areas.  HE agreed with another member that better education in alcohol use could lead to less alcohol abuse.  National initiatives were underway with pubs and clubs to change their happy hour promotions.

·         That whilst the government was advocating the need for preventative measure to improve health, austerity measures had meant that the treasury had reduced the public health grant nationally in 2015/16 by £200 million which equated to a 6.2% cut in the national and local grant. This meant a cut of £571k in the council’s budget.  A further cut was being made by the treasury for 2016/17 which was equivalent to an 8.5% cut in the grant, a loss of over £720k. The treasury was proposing an additional cut in 2017/18 of a further £200k. As the council received less than the national average per capita allocation, cuts would mean a reduction in the council’s ability to invest in prevention services. Whilst it had been acknowledged nationally that rural councils receive less funding than their urban counterparts, national government had yet to take steps to allocate a fairer funding formula to address the needs of rural areas.

·         That social isolation was a significant issue for poor health and that greater engagement with communities was an area that the council would have to be able to promote.

In reply to a question regarding the impact of cuts on the council’s public health duties, the director said that cuts were already affecting the council, and that whilst it had the same responsibilities as all other local authorities, it was significantly underfunded compared to others.  Public health funding in Kensington and Chelsea was £13k per Km², compared to £86 per km² in Herefordshire.

In reply to a comment from a member concerning the possibility of lobbying MP’s and the Leader to consider redressing the negative funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To consider an update from Healthwatch Herefordshire.

The Committee received an updated report on the activities of Healthwatch Herefordshire (HWH).  During his presentation, the Chairman of HWH highlighted the following areas:  That:

·         In March 2016 Healthwatch hosted an engagement event ‘Question Time – a Focus on Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing’ at Hereford Sixth Form College.  The event involved an initial workshop to prepare a set of priority questions which prospective panellists had received in advance of the day. On the day, students, stakeholders and members of the public attended to put their questions to panellists which formed the second part of the questioning. The event took place over an extended lunchtime period to allow as many students as possible the opportunity to attend. As mental health services were shortly to be re-commissioned, the event provided young people and the wider public with the opportunity to have their say in shaping Mental Health services in the county.  There had been positive feedback from young people following the event.

·         A member remarked that mental health issues seemed to be plagued by a perennial issue of lack of resources.

·         A member pointed out that the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection had been critical of the services provided by the 2gether NHS Trust whilst being positive about the quality of the overall service in the county.  The Chairman of HWH agreed, and pointed out that the Committee would shortly have an opportunity to scrutinise the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust when they provided a report for their accountability session.

·         The report included a thought shower which summarised Healthwatch Herefordshire involvement across Health & Social Care in Herefordshire.

·         The director of children’s wellbeing undertook to provide the committee with the council’s policy document on mental health ahead of the next meeting.

·         In reply to a question from a member regarding the table of Healthwatch enquiries, the Chairman said that the figures were monitored and any themes or trends were fed back to the organisations concerned.

·         Resolved

That:

a)    the report be noted; and

b)    any items for further attention be identified for addition to the committee’s work programme.