To advise Members of the proposed requirement to establish a Health and Wellbeing Board and to progress the Council’s status as an Early Implementer for the Department of Health by creating a shadow board.

The Deputy Chief Executive presented the report to Cabinet and advised Cabinet on the following points:

• There was a requirement to establish the Health and Wellbeing Board and in so doing would progress the Council’s status as an early implementer for the Department of Health. 
• This would then put the responsibility for improving the health and wellbeing of residents in the county in the hands of the local authority, which would bring together all the partner organisations, with the local authority taking on the leadership role.
• The new Board would be able to look more broadly at the health and wellbeing of all residents and not just with regard to health and social care.
• It was noted that Herefordshire had already established a pathfinder GP Consortium.
• All of the GP practices in Herefordshire are to be represented on the GP Consortium.
• The terms of reference would be based upon those in the Health and Social Care Bill.
• Amendments to the Constitution would be put before Council in March in order to include the Health and Wellbeing Board.
• It was expected that there would be continuing updates for Members as issues arose and changed nationally.

RESOLVED:

     That it be recommended to Council that:

(a)                    a Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board be created and chaired by a Cabinet Member;

(b)                   the powers and duties of the Shadow Board shall be:

(i)                 for the purpose of advancing the health and wellbeing of the people in Herefordshire, to encourage persons who arrange for the provision of any health or social care services in that area to work in an integrated manner; and

(ii)               to provide such advice, assistance or other support as it thinks appropriate for the purpose of encouraging the making of arrangements under section 75 of the National Health Service Act 2006 in connection with the provision of such services; and

(iii)             to encourage persons who arrange for the provision of health-related services in Herefordshire to work closely with the Health and Wellbeing Board; and

(iv)             to encourage persons who arrange for the provision of any health or social care services in Herefordshire and persons who arrange for the provision of any health-related services in Herefordshire to work closely together; and

(v)               to advise on how the functions of the Council and its partner commissioning consortia under sections 116 and 116A of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (“the 2007 Act”) are to be exercised; and

(vi)             to give to the Council its opinion on whether the Council is discharging its duty under section 116B of the 2007 Act;

(c)                    the membership of the Shadow Board shall include:

·         those executive members of the Cabinet whose current areas of responsibility are encompassed by the powers and duties of the Shadow Board

·         the Chief Executive

·         those officers whose jobs include the roles of Director of Adult Social Services, Director of Children’s Services and Director of Public Health (as defined in clause 26 of the Health and Social Care Bill of 2011).

·         a representative of LINK (Local Improvement Network)

·         a representative of the Herefordshire Primary Care Trust

·         a representative of Hereford Hospitals Trust or (from 1st April 2011) the new Integrated Care Organisation for Herefordshire

·         a representative of the Herefordshire GP Consortium

·         a representative of the voluntary and community sector in Herefordshire

·         a representative of the business community in Herefordshire

PROVIDED THAT the Shadow Board may at its discretion include such further representatives as it shall determine;

(d)                   the Shadow Board shall comply with the Standing Orders of Herefordshire Council in so far as executive members may make decisions at its meetings; and

(e)          the Monitoring Officer report further on appropriate delegations and other constitutional requirements for a formal Health and Wellbeing Board once the Health and Social Care Bill has been enacted and the relevant implementation date is known.