Agenda item

[To receive a presentation on the Physical Activity Strategy]. 

Four Officers jointly gave a presentation on the Physical Activity Strategy, these were, the Director of Public Health, Head of Partnerships (Public Health), a Senior Public Health Specialist, and the WV Active Service Lead.  A copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes. 

A Board Member raised the issue that having to booking certain classes online for WV Active was disenfranchising people who struggled with their website booking system.  She was not able to book the class by visiting a centre.  She praised the staff at Central Baths who worked well under pressure. 

A Board Member praised the investment in the gym equipment, which had made a significant difference in the number of users in the WV Active gyms.  Increase in membership was good, but it was important that this did not put people off, if classes and equipment became hard to access due to demand.  Some classes could potentially need to be increased as people could sometimes struggle to find spaces.

The Director of Public Health commented that he wanted WV Active to be as inclusive as possible and so other booking methods could be explored.  The variety of offer was important for WV Active to be successful.  This is how it differed to the commercial sector.  The huge increase in Membership had caused some problems that needed to be overcome. 

The Vice-Chair commented on the importance of the Physical Activity Strategy.  Wolverhampton had quite high physical inactivity and were one of the worst areas for child obesity when comparing national figures.  He referred to the new swimming pool at Smestow School, which he also hoped would receive some community use.  Out of the 14,000 members in WV Active, he asked how many were Wolverhampton residents.  He also asked what the average length of WV Active Membership was for individuals.  The Director of Public Health offered to provide the figures. 

A Member of the Board commented that she was aware of a number of residents in her areas that had really appreciated the extra investment in the equipment at the WV Active sites.  She praised the report and was pleased to read the efforts being made to increase opportunity for Wolverhampton residents.  Anything to improve life expectancy and improve equality in the area of life expectancy was welcome.  She hoped the membership figures would stay high. 

The Director of Public Health raised the importance of partnership working and working at a system level to improve health outcomes. 

A Member of the Board commented that education was important to help people realise the benefits of healthy living.  Schools needed to promote healthy living.  Dentistry and diet were key components in addition to physical activity.  Children needed to fully understand how to live a healthy life.  She praised the presentation the Board had received. 

The Director of Public Health responded that education was important and relaying the different types of physical activity.  The benefits of physical activity to mental wellbeing could also not be underestimated. 

There was a consensus amongst Board Members that the investment in equipment at WV Active was positive.

A Board Member asked if there could be an App which would show when the WV Active gyms were busy, he had experienced this technology at other gyms in the past.  Being able to book by the use of an App, he also believed would be a positive innovation. 

The Director of Public Health responded that they were currently looking at making improvements to the technological systems used by WV Active.  He appreciated the importance of innovation. 

A Board Member raised the benefit of local community centres.  He did not want this to be forgotten as part of any Physical Activity Strategy for the City. 

The Chair remarked that there was considerable support for the progression being made in WV Active.  He raised the work of voluntary groups in physical activity which was not necessarily captured by the Council, such as Football Sunday leagues.  The social background to sport in Wolverhampton was wide, he made reference to boxing Clubs, martial arts, indoor bowling and cricket.  This work was not necessarily captured by national surveys.  Capturing this work was important going forward.  He wanted to monitor the Physical Activity Strategy more in the future.  Monitoring data and reacting accordingly was essential to the future success of the strategy. 

The Director of Public Health responded the question of how more community activity could be enabled was an important one, in addition to capturing community data.  These two questions were vital in helping to improve the health and wellbeing of the City. 

A Member asked at what point membership of WV Active would reach saturation point.  She was hearing people were having difficulty accessing equipment due to demand on the service.  The Director of Public Health responded that they did not want people to leave due to demand on equipment.  Looking at flows, was important and spreading activities out to the community, such as at a local park with the activity led by WV Active.  Membership had increased so rapidly, more so than he had expected. 

Resolved:

a)    That WV Active / Physical Activity Strategy be added as an item for Scrutiny Board in six months’ time. 

b)    That the recent investment into WV Active and the impact upon population health physical activity targets and, linked impact upon Public Health outcomes be noted.

c)     That the published Health and Wellbeing Together Physical Activity Strategy be noted.