Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Paul Sweet, Bhawna Solanki, Chief Supt Jayne Meir, David Loughton, David Watts, Dr Alexandra Hopkins, Emma Bennett and Linda Sanders.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal also sent her apologies in her capacity as the Chair of the Health Scrutiny Panel.

Brendan Clifford attended as a substitute for David Watts.

There were no declarations of interest.

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting]

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

The Chair moved that agenda item 10, Adults Safeguarding Board and Children’s Safeguarding Board Draft Annual Reports be considered next on the agenda.

Resolved:

That agenda item 10 be considered next on the agenda.

[Dawn Williams, Head of Safeguarding, to present report]

[TO FOLLOW]

Dawn Williams, Head of Safeguarding and Quality Assurance presented the reports and highlighted key points.  She confirmed that both reports had just been signed off by their relevant Boards and as the current documents were draft, she would be happy to take any comments and consider them in the revision documents.  She confirmed that the structure of the reports had been amended from previous years.  The reports had been based on report templates from Outstanding Authorities with key information highlighted.

In respect of the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Children’s Board, a Junior Safeguarding Board was now well established, an Anti-Bullying Charter had been produced, together with work to raise awareness around young women and violence.  The B-Safe Team had been invited to take over the afternoon of the Board Development Day which had proved beneficial.

In respect of child deaths, of the eight unexpected deaths, two serious case reviews had been required and undertaken.  The report gave a brief breakdown of what each agency had done, with a clear focus on learning and development.

In respect of the Wolverhampton Safeguarding Adults Board, although there was no statutory responsibility for their annual report to be presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board, it was recognised as best practice. 

The Chair commented that it was helpful to see the reports in a draft and the new layout and format was a significant improvement.

Councillors Gibson and Samuels thanked Alan Coe, the former Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Boards for his hard work and in particular for improvements to the quality of the annual reports.

In answer to a question reading the high number of referrals to the adult Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), Dawn Williams advised that there was an increased focus on adults and work was being undertaken with MASH to identify how it received information and it was hoped that there would be more information next year on thresholds.

The Chair asked that Board members referred the reports to their organisations and forwarded any comments to Dawn Williams.

Resolved:

That the Adults Safeguarding Board and Children’s Safeguarding Board draft annual reports be noted.

[Board to be updated on arrangements for Development Day on 18 October 2017]

Susan Milner, Director of Public Health and Wellbeing introduced the item.

Helen Tambini, Democratic Services Officer advised that at the last Agenda Group meeting it had been suggested that the issue of Place Based Commissioning, which had been scheduled for consideration at this meeting, should be a potential discussion topic at the Development Day.

Resolved:

That the issue of Place Based Commissioning be added to the current list of three issues for the Development Day, referred to in the Forward Plan. 

[Susan Milner, Service Director – Public Health and Wellbeing, to present the Forward Plan]

Susan Milner, Director of Public Health and Wellbeing presented the report.  She advised that it would be appropriate to schedule the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2016-17 for the meeting on 10 January 2018.

Steven Marshall, Wolverhampton CCG referred to the Wolverhampton CCG Operational Plan 2017-19 and requested that the issue be kept on the Forward Plan, pending an update from the NHS.  If a full refreshed Operational Plan was not required there would be an update on the progress against the current 2016-18 Plan.

Resolved:

That the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2016-17 be scheduled for consideration at the meeting on 10 January 2018.

[Steven Marshall, Wolverhampton CCG and David Watts, Director of Adults Services, to present report]

[TO FOLLOW]

Brendan Clifford, City of Wolverhampton Council presented the report and highlighted key points.  He stated that the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) continued to work together to focus on the overall vision for integration.  There was a concern amongst West Midlands councils in respect of Central Government proposals on funding linked to hospital discharge, with 11 of the 14 councils writing to the Secretary of State regarding proposals to withhold funding where trajectories were not met.  Performance had improved in the last 12 months but with a trajectory fluctuating between June and July 2017.

The Chair referred to the difficult process, the strain on partnership working and the lessons which needed to be learnt from the exercise.  The letter sent by the West Midlands councils to the Secretary of State was unprecedented and showed clear cross-party consensus and that they were facing the same issues.

Councillor Samuels stated that it was unfortunate that the Council was being asked to make commitments that it would be unable to deliver, rather than being given an opportunity to say what it could deliver.

Helen Hibbs, Wolverhampton CCG referred to the different culture and ways of working between the CCG and the Council.  A considerable amount had been achieved by the Better Care Fund (BCF) and it was important not to totally focus on the issues associated with Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC). 

Steven Marshall, Wolverhampton CCG referred to the report and the reference to the reduction in emergency admissions to the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital in 2016-17 and stated that it would be more appropriate to say that the reduction could be attributed to in part to the development of the Rapid Intervention Team.

Resolved:

1. That the update on the Better Care Fund Plan submission be noted.

That the revised narrative and trajectory for Delayed Transfers of Care targets for health partners as submitted by the Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group be noted. 

[Anthony Walker, Homelessness Strategy and External Relationships Manager, to present report]

[TO FOLLOW]

Anthony Walker, Homelessness Strategy and External Relationships Manager presented the report and highlighted key points.  He referred to the unprecedented increase nationally in homelessness and to the change in legislation, with the introduction of the Homeless Reduction Bill in April 2018.  The introduction of the Bill would require resources to be redirected towards prevention of homelessness, with more strategic work with private landlords, including the Rent with Landlords scheme.

In respect of people sleeping rough, again numbers nationally were increasing.  The Leader of the Council and the West Midlands Mayor had established various task groups to look at the issue centrally and investigate various solutions.

The Chair referred to the task groups and confirmed that priorities had been identified, with a focus on early intervention, partnership working and to look at more imaginative solutions.  Various work streams would be brought together and out of hours provision would be extended.  The role of voluntary and community groups would also be investigated, with a view to increasing their role.  The issue of aggressive begging would also need to be addressed.  It was important to be proactive and to tackle the issue now before the introduction of the Universal Credit scheme.

In answer to a question regarding the potential to house homeless people within the City, Anthony Walker stated that it was not just accommodation that the homeless required, they needed additional support, from various organisations working collaboratively and it was hoped through the Homeless Reduction Bill to find some solutions.

Helen Child, Third Sector Partnership referred to the impact of Universal Credit, particularly on the young and those in work and she confirmed that the Inclusion Board had been discussing ways to ensure that effective crisis support would be available.  Social landlords were working hard to engage over the issues; however; it was more difficult to engage with private landlords.

Anthony Walker confirmed that he would be attending a meeting with private landlords on 30 October 2017, to talk to them about the impact of Universal Credit.

In answer to a question regarding evictions, Anthony Walker stated that the main issue was tenants being unaware of their rights when facing eviction.  Unfortunately, there was a fear and stigma to renting in the private sector.  It was important to explain that good quality landlords wanted to keep good tenants and the public appeared to be unaware of that.

Jeremy Vanes, Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust referred to his concern regarding Universal Credit and fluctuations in mortgage rates which could mean that tenants were further put at risk if rates increased and landlords were struggling to pay.  It would be appropriate to plan for the worst-case scenario.  The Inclusion Board had discussed the issue that some vulnerable groups would never be able to transition to Universal Credit and who would deal with those groups.  It should be noted that there was evidence to show that the health of people who became homeless deteriorated rapidly and that impacted further on services.

In answer to a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.