Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Judith Finlay, however she attended this meeting virtually.

Deputy Marianne Fredericks declared that she was a Bridge Watch volunteer.

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 September 2024.

RESOLVED, that – the minutes from the previous meeting held on 13 September 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Matters arising:

·       In relation to tobacco and vaping, a Member highlighted that Hackney Council had set up a working group which was focused on the impacts of smoking, and wondered if a report could be submitted in respect of health implications from smoking tobacco and vaping. Officers confirmed that this was not a Hackney working group but instead a London-wide group and there was a potentiality that a Member of the City Corporation could be nominated to join this group. However, there was a local City and Hackney tobacco control alliance which included CoL representatives.

Report of Town Clerk.

The Board received a report of the Town Clerk in respect of the annual review of the terms of reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services asked whether the possibility of public attendance at meetings and to contribute to the meetings. The Deputy Chair believed this to be a helpful suggestion and was keen for more involvement from local people, residents and workers who are interested in the Board’s work.

Following a further question raised in relation to the footnote included in appendix 2, first page the Town Clerk reminded the Board that the two co-opted non-city representatives were separate from the three NHS representatives (Barts, Homerton and ELFT) listed in the constitution. The Deputy Chair asked if the vacancies for the two co-opted Members had been advertised and the Town Clerk agreed to investigate further and update the Board at its next meeting.

An officer advised the Board of an upcoming Local Government Association workshop and recognised it as an opportunity to think about Board membership more broadly, and how public involvement on the board could take place. The Chair agreed that this would be helpful before approving the annual review of the Board’s terms of reference and requested that this report be deferred to the next meeting.

RESOLVED, that – the report concerning the annual review of the terms of reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board be deferred to the next meeting.

Report of the Group Director Adults, Health and Integration.

The Board received a report of the Group Director Adults, Health and Integration in respect of an annual report outlining what the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board (CHSAB) had achieved in respect of adult safeguarding in the previous year.

A Member asked a question in relation to membership and attendance, and whether representatives could be sent. Officers confirmed that representatives could be sent to CHSAB if needed.

A Member raised concerns about the increase in rough sleepers within the City of London and acknowledged that this could be an issue in the coming year. She wondered whether rough sleepers had any access to care and support. Officers confirmed that the safeguarding of rough sleepers was being prioritised and work had been undertaken with health colleagues and there was a dedicated health resource within the homelessness team to support those sleeping rough. Officers agreed to submit a report to the Board providing further operational detail at a future meeting.

The Deputy Chair mentioned that the photographs which accompanied each of the case studies listed in the report were misleading and created a misrepresentation. The Chair requested that officers included a note to explain that those in the photographs were not clients to which officers agreed.

The Chair extended the Health and Wellbeing Board’s thanks and appreciation to Dr Adi Cooper for her work in support of the Board and wished her all the best in her future endeavours.

RESOLVED, that – the reports and its contents be noted.

Report of the Director of Public Health.

The Board receive a report of the Director of Public Health in respect of the links between overheating-related climate risks and how they interact with various elements of health.

Officers advised the Board that overheating had become one of the most critical impacts and it had affected systems across the UK with an estimated cost implication of £6.8 billion each year. Overheating presented both direct and indirect impacts to health contributing to worsening pre-existing conditions, resulting in increased heat related hospitalizations and increased heat related mortality. Officers sought further endorsement to collaborate with partners as well as working within the Community to encourage resilience behaviours including more heat planning exercises.

The Deputy Chair found the report helpful and wanted to know if the report could be shared with other Boards and Committees since the report had been produced for the Health and Wellbeing Board only. She was interested to see what methods of mitigation could be explored, water fountains and shady spaces being mentioned and believed that others within the City Corporation would be interested in the work surrounding this report. A Member agreed that the Planning and Transportation Committee would be interested in this report.

A Member agreed and advised officers that it was important to be prepared for all forms of weather, not just extreme heat, and to ensure methods of mitigation in public spaces across the City were available and encouraged the relevant departments across the City Corporation to be aware of how they could support this. Officers confirmed that they do integrate with other departments as part of the City Corporations’ Climate Action Strategy but agreed that more collaboration could be done.

A Member raised a question in relation to protected historical buildings and what was being done to retrofit these buildings to ensure that structurally

Joint report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services and the Director of Commercial Services.

The Board received a joint report of the Director of Community & Children’s DCCS and the Director of Commercial Services seeking approval for the City Corporation to continue to act as the Lead Authority, and the accountable body and host of the London Sexual Health Programme Team (LSHPT) for the next phase of the LSHP with a view to re-procuring the service.

Officers advised the Board that 30 London Local Authorities, including the City of London Corporation, collaboratively commissioned Open Access sexual health services, with the City Corporation currently acting as the lead authority for participating authorities. The contract with Preventx Ltd had been fully funded by the 30 participating authorities, inclusive of the London Sexual Health programme team costs which per annum was approximately £450,000.

The Pan London Sexual Health E Services contract valued at just over £200 million, was initially awarded for five years in 2017 with the option to extend for a further 4 years. authorities had requested that London's sexual health programme team continues to act as a single point of leadership and management for the re-procurement of the new service with the City Corporation as lead authority and accountable body.

RESOLVED, that – Members approved the following:

a)    the City Corporation continues to act as the Lead Authority and accountable body for the procurement of a new Pan-London Sexual Health E-services contract and the host of the programme management service under an inter-authority agreement subject to:

i. those terms being satisfactorily agreed by all the participating authorities (including the City Corporation in the discharge of those functions acting through the Health and Wellbeing Board), and

ii. the City Corporation being satisfied that the arrangements adequately protect the City Corporation acting as the Lead Authority; and

b)    the Executive Director of Community and Children’s Services in

Joint report of the Director of Community & Children’s Services and the Director of Commercial Services.

The Board received a joint report of the Director of Community & Children’s DCCS and the Director of Commercial Services seeking a decision for the City Corporation as lead Authority and accountable body to extend the E-services contract with Preventx Ltd.

Officers advised the Board that the reasoning to extend the contract was to ensure that adjustments could be made within adequate time, however the E-Services programme had received consistently positive feedback from service users.

Whilst the Chair acknowledged the cost savings listed in the report she requested for further clarification on the process of the programme once since there had been a shift to online provision. Officers confirmed that the shift to an online provision of the sexual health E-service programme maintained confidentiality whilst endorsing self-care since there were difficulties for some to attend appointments in-person. Work had been done to ensure a seamless provision between the E-services programme and the 13 acute clinics across London, and an inpatient consultation with a clinician was available if required.

Officers advised the Board that the data contained within this report could be expanded on the capabilities of matrix learning with other relevant partnerships and had a positive impact on further collaboration with these partnerships.

In response to this a Member raised query regarding the accuracy of the data and officers informed the Board that past issues relating to data inaccuracy had been resolved.

RESOLVED, that – the reports and its contents be noted.

Report of the Director of Public Health.

The Board received a report from the Director of Public Health in respect of the review of the City & Hackney 'whole system' response to tackling obesity, including findings from the Healthy Weight Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

Officers advised the Board of two healthy weight projects and, locally, their five City and Hackney key areas of priority: working together; targeted help for those who need it most; easy access to affordable healthy food; a healthy environment that makes it easy for people to be active and easy access to information. Collaboration with stakeholders has taken place across the system to identify areas where there is potential to strengthen local approaches to prevent and/or manage obesity. Obesity levels are still high amongst children and adults in City and Hackney. The Board were informed that the JSNA was developed in consultation with City Corporation colleagues and City Residents through focus groups, workshops and interviews, exploring barriers and facilitators to healthy weight, diet and physical activity. Officers recommended the need for strong leadership and good governance to attain this new work plan.- several JSNA recommendations have been developed in relation to leadership and governance of future work. 

Building healthy environments was identified as a strong priority in the City of London workshop, to promote healthy eating and physical activity. There were a number of JSNA recommendations related to the training and capacity building of those working with residents to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence to have conversations with residents about healthy diets, and healthy behaviours and build physical activity into their day. The importance of resident engagement was also mentioned, with a need to ensure that effective communications across City and Hackney are developed so that residents can be advised on how to eat a healthy, affordable diet and the importance of

Report of Healthwatch.

The Board received a report from Healthwatch, City of London in respect of an update on progress against contractual targets and the work of Healthwatch City of London (HWCoL) with reference to the end of Q2 2024/25, and October 2024.

Officers advised the Board that the current contract of Healthwatch had been signed for a three-year term with the option of a two-year extension. The Healthwatch Annual General Meeting had been held in the previous month and it was a well-attended event. Officers were expected to also attend the Adult Social Care Assurance Board going forward and had attended the Health Social Care Scrutiny Committee to present an annual report. The Board was further advised that the Neaman Practice would be hosting a Covid-19 Vaccination Day in December 2024, and that the Men’s Mental Health Campaign was postponed until 2025.

Whilst the Healthwatch Digital App report was overdue, officers advised the Board that it would be published in the following weeks and a report would be submitted at the next meeting. The interim view of Bart’s Health report and Patient Advice and Liaison Services report were expected to be published soon also.

In response to this, a Member was concerned that there were those who were expected to pay £98 to have an alternative Covid-19 vaccination to Moderna. She believed the price to be expensive and wanted to know the justification for this price. Whilst unsure of the reasoning for the price difference officers did highlight that under the previous Covid-19 campaigns an alternative vaccine was provided for free under the NHS and officers would investigate further.

In respect of fall prevention clinics, officers advised the Board that this service was commissioned by Public Health, jointly for City and Hackney, and the City Corporation contribution was approximately £5,000

A Member raised further concerns surrounding fall preventiveness and highlighted to the Board that City residents may experience difficulties travelling to Hackney to access services. She wanted to know what services were being funded by Public Health and if funds were going to be repurposed, and whether prior notification should have been given to the Board regarding the closure of the fall clinic. The Chair reminded the Member that the proposal to close the fall clinic would be a decision taken by Hackney Health and Wellbeing Board but no decision had been made to stop City Corporation funding.

The Executive Director, Community and Children’s Services maintained that the partnership with Hackney was beneficial but was aware that the City Corporation was feeling some impacts from decisions made by Hackney Council as a local authority. Officers were prepared to bring back further information regarding public health funding decisions at the next meeting. Whilst Members were satisfied with the partnership, there was concern that public health related decision-making had been undertaken by Hackney Council without consultation. The Director, Public Health informed the committee that there was a mismanagement of communication and that the decision to close the fall clinic would not cause a negative impact on City residents. The Executive Director advised the Board that falls prevention was a priority for City Residents and the City Corporation would ensure some arrangement would be available in the City if the clinic were to close.

The Deputy Chair reminded officers that service continuation shall be needed if there is action taken by Hackney Council which puts this service and City Residents at risk with the option to extend the service for an additional year being seen as most appropriate.

There were no urgent items of business.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED, – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

Report of the Executive Director of the Environment Department Commissioner, City of London Police.

The Board received a report of Executive Director of the Environment Department Commissioner, City of London Police in respect of Secure City Programme (SCP) Issues Report. The SCP sought to establish a stable CCTV security platform and capability that was commensurate with the needs of modern-day security and services across The City.

RESOLVED, that – the report and its contents be noted.

There were no non-public questions.

There were no non-public urgent items of business.