Agenda and minutes

Venue: VIRTUAL MEETING (ACCESSIBLE REMOTELY) - https://youtu.be/b4pIH2C79WM

Contact: Leanne Murphy - Email: leanne.murphy@cityoflondon.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Deputy Joyce Nash.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

2.

DECLARATIONS UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT IN RESPECT OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

Minutes:

There were none.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 120 KB

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 20 November 2020.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 3.

Minutes:

The public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 20 November 2020 were approved.

 

Matters arising

 

Covid Update

The Board received an oral update from Officers relating to issues and matters concerning the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Members were informed that the overall incidence of new Covid cases had decreased in London by 29% and the rate of people aged over 60 years had decreased by 32%. And there was an overall decrease in positivity across all London Boroughs.

 

The current incidence rate for the City of London (and lowest weekly case rate across London) was 51 cases per 100k people, a decrease of nearly 70% from the previous week. There were no new registered Covid deaths in the City. The number of people coming forward for testing has decreased as has the positivity of those being tested by 60% from the previous week.

 

The comprehensive NHS national vaccination programme initially rolled out to cohorts 1 to 4 was expanded last week to include cohort 5 and would begin moving into cohort 6. City and Hackney residents were being offered their vaccines accordingly.

 

In response to a question from a Member asking what classified as an underlying health condition, Officers confirmed the Green Book defined this as follows: chronic respiratory disease, chronic heart disease and vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic neurological disease, diabetes mellitus, immunosuppression, asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen, morbid obesity, severe mental illness, adult carers, and younger adults in long-stay nursing and residential care settings.

 

Members stated that confusion was being caused by people receiving multiple vaccination invitations from different places (GPs, hospitals and nation programme) and people generally wanted to receive this close to home. Healthwatch confirmed they were offering advice on this and it was highlighted that Healthwatch had great public information on their

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE BOARD'S TERMS OF REFERENCE pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Town Clerk in respect of the Annual Review of the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

 

It was noted that the Board still did not have a representative from the SaferCity Partnership. Officers agreed to raise this at the upcoming SaferCity Partnership meeting to ensure a representative was selected.

 

RESOLVED – that:–

 

1.    The Terms of Reference of the Board be approved for submission to the Court of Common Council in April 2021, and that any further changes required in the lead up to the Court’s annual appointment of committees be delegated to the Town Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman; and

 

2.    The frequency of the meetings remains at 5 times a year.

 

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

City of London Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy refresh - update and proposed next steps pdf icon PDF 160 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 5.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services outlining the proposed next steps in the development of City of London’s Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS). The report also included a proposal to deliver a development workshop for the City Health and Wellbeing Board and a JHWBS priorities workshop with both the City and Hackney Health and Wellbeing Board Members, plus an update from the City and Hackney’s Health Inequalities Steering Group (HI Steering Group) and how the work of this group will support the development of the new JHWBS. 

 

Officers confirmed that a detailed update regarding the Health Inequalities Steering Group would come to a future meeting. A correction was also noted in paragraph 3 of the report which should state City & Hackney Public Health team.

 

Members supported the proposed joint workshops and the consistent Health in all Policies approach.

 

RESOLVED – That Members:-

 

·         consider the need for a ‘Health in all Policies’ approach workshop for members;

 

·         consider and approve the proposal of a joint City and Hackney workshop in developing the JHWBS priorities;

 

·         consider and approve associated timelines for the development of the JHWBS;

 

·         to note the progress update from City and Hackney’s Health Inequalities Steering Group.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Health Impact Assessment Guidance Note pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Report of the Director of the Built Environment.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 6.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of the Built Environment providing a guidance note advising developers how to carry out Health Impact Assessments on developments within planning applications.

 

Members were advised that the checklist for developers was a draft document and had not yet gone through the consultation process which would happen in March/April. Officers confirmed that there was currently no strictly imposed method concerning Health Impact Assessments (HIA) and there was a desire to focus on health impacts. It was hoped guidance tailored for City specific issues and encouraging the benefits of including this would help the overall process.

 

Members welcomed the comprehensive checklist. A Member particularly supported the questions concerning open spaces.

 

A Member enquired how this linked with the decision-making Planning process and, if insufficient, if it would influence the decision on the application. It was confirmed that an application would not be refused, but Officers would guide the developer to mitigate adverse concerns.

 

Members voiced concerns regarding suicide prevention, and it was agreed that prevention measures should be included and reinforced with developers as it was their responsibility to prevent this particularly with taller buildings.

 

A Member requested more clarity concerning what next steps could be taken if Planning Officers were not satisfied by the HIA. It was noted that a HIA was a statutory requirement in Wales. Officers confirmed that larger developers commonly used consultants to complete HIAs, but the checklist would hopefully help make it easier for everyone as they generally wished to be compliant. All HIAs are reviewed by Planning Officers who point out any concerns to the developer.

 

A Member (who also sat on the Planning & Transportation Committee) noted that planners normally negotiated throughout the process and requests such as stairs that can be seen and used was in the checklist,

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual report 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Report of the City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership (CHSCP) setting out their annual report for 2019/20 and providing an overview on the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements in the City of London and the London Borough of Hackney.

 

Members were advised that the first six months primarily focussed on planning and implementing the new safeguarding arrangements replacing all safeguarding boards. Despite progress being interrupted by the pandemic, the City Corporation has continued to deliver its safeguarding commitments and received an outstanding Ofsted inspection result. The Partnership quickly set up contingency oversight groups in response to the new challenges brought on by Covid. Key issues for the future include substance and alcohol misuse, family support, eating disorders, mental health, online dangers and the huge pressures on agencies locally and nationally.

 

The Chair was happy to see the Partnership working well and coming up with strategies to deal with the number of key issues identified. It was noted that the Partnership identified workforce efficacy as a key risk for the future and the long terms impact of the pressures on front line staff dealing with the pandemic.

 

A Member recommended adding a forward plan item to the agenda concerning young people and mental health to help develop a plan for the future. The Town Clerk agreed to liaise with relevant Officers on this item.

 

RESOLVED – That Members note the contents of the report, in particular the sections setting out progress on implementation of the new arrangements, Covid-19 and the strategic priorities of the CHSCP going forward.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Director of Public Health Report for 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services providing the annual report (DPHAR) for 2019/20 focussing on the health impacts of the economic recession and how these can be mitigated.

 

Members were informed that the report was slightly delayed due to the pandemic. The Deputy Director of Public Health drew Members attention to the six core principles prevent assess, dual diagnosis, inform, refer and excel and gave context for them. These principles have been committed to by all stakeholders and will underpin the joint response.

 

Members agreed this was very important work and the Chairman requested that an update come back this Board collating the responses after the report went to the other listed meetings plus the Safer City Partnership Group to ensure progress could be tracked.

 

A Member was concerned regarding the management of patients with dual diagnosis and worried that they received less good mental health service provision due to being diverted away.

 

A Member asked how Turning Point was working following teething issues with the service. Officers agreed to bring a report updating on the new service to a future Board meeting.

 

In response to a query concerning alcohol pricing, Members were informed that this could not be directly influenced but public health could contribute against any of the four existing licensing objectives and therefore objections could be made on the basis of potential health impacts to the local community. The Director of Public Health agreed to monitor applications for health risks.

 

It was noted that Scotland and Wales have introduced a minimum rate for alcohol pricing, but this had not happened in England and NICE were advocating for a change in legislation. Members were concerned about alcohol dependency and misuse, which has risen during the pandemic, and it was felt the City Corporation

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Healthwatch City of London Progress Report pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Report of the Chair of Healthwatch City of London.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 9.

Minutes:

The Board received a report by Healthwatch City of London providing an update on the continuing development of Healthwatch City of London (HWCoL) including progress against contractual targets during Quarter Three and information on proposed activities during Quarter Four of 2020/21.

 

The Chair of Healthwatch City of London confirmed that HWCoL continued to react to lockdown changes and ensure good information was available to the public which had been well received with a high number of website hits and calls. Going forward, the HWCoL is working closely with the CCG on the changes, public engagement and ensuring services were right for local residents. They were also working with Hackney to ensure the services going into the new St Leonards development were right and Tower Hamlets on the development of its new GP practice. Other highlights included recruitment of a new Trustee in Petticoat Tower and securing three grants which would support important projects.

 

A Member noted that communications differed for different groups and enquired how HWCoL managed the different needs. Members were advised that the HWCoL was undertaking some research looking at non-digital communications and access including language barriers and would be working with a Think Tank on this piece of work.

 

Members congratulated HWCoL on their hard work and approach to service improvement and integration.

 

RECEIVED.

 

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Mental Health and Rough Sleeping pdf icon PDF 121 KB

Report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services.

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 10.

Minutes:

The Board received a report of the Director of Community and Children’s Services providing Members with an update on the mental health support needs of the City of London’s rough sleeping community and how the Rough Sleeping and Mental Health Programme (RAMHP) has already made significant improvements to the health and wellbeing of rough sleepers in the City.  

 

RECEIVED.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

Report of Action Taken pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Report of the Town Clerk.

 

 ...  view the full agenda text for item 11.

Minutes:

The Board noted a report of the Town Clerk updating Members on action taken by the Town Clerk under urgency or delegated authority in consultation with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman since the last meeting of the Board, in accordance with Standing Orders No. 41 (a) and (b).

 

The Chairman provided context for the urgency concerning Pan-London commissioning support and thanked everyone involved in this transformational piece of work.

 

RECEIVED.

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12.

Questions on matters relating to the work of the Board

Minutes:

There were no questions.

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13.

ANY OTHER BUSINESS THAT THE CHAIRMAN CONSIDERS URGENT

Minutes:

The Chairman advised Members that this would be David Maher’s last meeting and thanked him for all of his hard work over the past 10 years at the City and Hackney CCG. Members echoed these thanks and wished him well in his new role.

 ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.