Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence]. 

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mary Bateman and Cllr Dr Michael Hardacre. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

None declared.

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

Resolved: Minutes held 17 November 2022 are correct

[To consider a presentation on the expanded Arboriculture Tree Inspection Programme]. 

The Head of Environmental Services introduced the presentation with a summary (a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes). The Developmental Place Based and Environmental Manager informed the panel that their team were about 70 percent through their yearly check on the tree population, however, they were always discovering new trees. 6 trees required urgent work, 260 have defects. The Arbor Services Lead stated that their budget plan was based off defect led inspections and these were the priority. He set out what the service covered and what it did not cover. The Arbor Services Lead then informed the panel that the arboriculture services team had been re-designed with new posts and new employees with additional roles yet to be recruited. He then showed the Panel a photograph of the tree defect logging system, which allowed the Council to monitor trees. Through this monitoring system they had a priority chart based off Health and Safety regulations, which enables them to rank trees in need of work in order of those posing the most danger to the public. Councillors could access the tree map to enable them to handle enquiries from residents; the tree map provided them with all the known historic information on local trees.

The Developmental Place Based and Environmental Manager explained that since the launch of CEU, enquiries had been unprecedented in number. This has meant they had to try engage with residents to explain what they could and could not do to try reduce the number of enquiries they received which they were not able to resolve.

The Arbor Services Lead then took the Panel through new regulations regarding the duty to consult the public in the felling of trees. The Head of Environmental Services set out future plans, which included a tree Risk-Management Plan, data storage, a proactive tree maintenance regime and more. The

Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Change asked it be recorded he personally thanked the team, both past and present for their hard work in this area. He said recruitment was based upon hiring skilled people with the specialist expertise in their field. The Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Change was pleased with the service, its addition of data based work, increased transparency and objectivity in its work. He felt the work being done was evidence that the decision to increase investment into the department was correct.

A Panel member praised the work that had been done and expressed his views on the importance of the service to the city. He complimented the interactive data and stated it would help Councillors in their role.

A Councillor praised the new database but asked whether a residents perspective had been or could be taken into consideration more, in reference to trees blocking light into rooms, solar panels and so on. The Councillor also shared the suggestion that the Council could contact British Telecom to trim the trees in situations where trees block or inhibit residents internet signals.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

[To consider a briefing note on gambling related harm in Wolverhampton]. 

The Health Improvement Officer opened the presentation (a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minute).  He explained that the landscape had changed regarding gambling addiction across the past 10 years with the addition of online based gambling applications coming to prominence. He set out an overview of Gambling and explained the definitions: Problem Gambling and Gambling Related Harms (GRH). GRH had been increasingly recognised as a public health issue but was not currently recognised as a public health responsibility for Local Authorities. Council’s responsibilities in regard to gambling were set out under the Gambling Act 2005, which covered licensed betting premises but did not cover online related gambling. The Council try to educate the public around Problem Gambling so the public can make informed choices. He then took the Panel through national statistics related to gambling behaviours. The Council asked local residents questions in a recent “City Lifestyle Survey”, of which 16% indicated they took part in a form of gambling. Of those that identified as moderate to problem gamblers, 28% suggested their gambling activities were related to alcohol consumption. 55% suggested their gambling was via remote gambling. The City of Wolverhampton Council were to look towards gaining a better understanding of gambling related activities in younger people across 2023 to 2024, in collaboration with the University of Wolverhampton. A ward-based map was displayed with statistics, these showed a high level of gambling licensed premises in wards with higher levels of poverty, whereas there were less or none gambling licensed premises in more affluent wards. Statistics taken from the National Survey covered, Mental Health, Suicide, Crime, Employment and Substance Misuse where they were related to Gambling. The Health Improvement Officer paused for questions.

A Councillor asked for further evidence to better confirm the possible link between alcoholism and gambling.

The Health Improvement Officer replied that the evidence was based off the National Statistics, which would indicate not a specific correlation between drinking and gambling, but the cultural associations the two combined within a social network/space can create a higher likelihood of the two issues. He then continued the presentation. Post-Pandemic, the Cost of Living Crisis had seen an increase in low level gambling in the City of Wolverhampton. The Council were currently looking to develop a local plan which would restrict gambling licensed premises opening in wards deemed “hot spot” areas. Between 2019 and 2022 in Wolverhampton, 70 residents accessed a form of secondary care treatment related to gambling, 74% of those who accessed the treatment were male. Nationally, education around gambling had been incorporated into parts of the Criminal Justice System Network, although no training had been incorporated into the Wolverhampton Criminal Justice System. Several secondary schools were reported as having delivered targeted education surrounding gambling as part of their curriculum. The Council were taking a lessons learned approach from the Alcohol Services team, in regards to gambling, and would take an approach which combined partnership working, data usage and education to try tackle harmful gambling  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To consider a briefing note outlining alcohol harm in Wolverhampton and what the Council and its partners are doing in response]. 

The Principle Public Health Specialist introduced the aims of the presentation (a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes). She set out to the Panel statistics on alcohol related deaths in a national context, with significant increases seen since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Statistics showed that Wolverhampton had the highest alcohol specific related deaths in the country. More specific data in Wolverhampton highlighted White British males and South Asian males as being over-represented in relation to alcohol related deaths, as well as being aged between 50 to 59. Socio-economic factors were a major cause of alcohol related problems nationally, with the poorest in society struggling with the effects of alcoholism. The Principle Public Health Specialist asked if the Panel had any questions.

The Vice Chair asked why the localised data graph seemed to go up and down in extremes across the years.

The Director of Public Health answered that they had recently finished a survey on lifestyles in the City which would help the team to understand the behaviours of people in the City, which would allow them to understand more about alcoholism in the City. He explained that the smaller numbers being measured in local data compared to national data which has millions of people was the reason why Wolverhampton’s data line seems more dramatic.

A Panel member gave historical context around alcoholism within the City, highlighting a 2012 study on school children who had drank alcohol under the age of 15. He wanted to know if lessons had been learnt from that and if any action had been taken on this, believing the two issues to be linked.

The Director of Public Health clarified that the 2012 and subsequent surveys on children’s consumption of alcohol was specifically about if they had ever consumed alcohol at all, rather than a survey about long term use age, he said it was key to understand the cultural context people live in and how that played a role. He said they had continued to monitor the schools and was pleased to report those levels have been declining since the 2012 survey.

Discussion occurred around economics, how much unemployment contributes to alcoholism with countering views as to the level it contributes.

A Councillor enquired what could be done from a social housing perspective, citing examples of multiple recovering alcohols being housed within the same street and therefore contributing to their relapses. He asked if a better dispersal plan or policy would be possible.

The Director of Public Health replied that partnership working was required to better respond to people’s needs.

The Principle Public Health Specialist continued the presentation, in which statistics of estimated unmet needs from alcohol treatment were shown. Wolverhampton had an 82% unmet need estimate, which was consistent with the national trend. The Principle Public Health Specialist stated this would be where work would need to be focused upon. Recovery statistics were presented to the Panel. With 120 out of 228 Wolverhampton recovering alcoholics supported to successfully obtain  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.