Agenda and minutes

Venue: Quadrant, The Silverlink North, Cobalt Business Park, NE27 0BY

Contact: Democratic Services  Email: Democraticsupport@northtyneside.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

ASCH10/19

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor T Brady.

ASCH11/19

Appointment of Substitute Members

To be notified of the appointment of any Substitute Members.

Minutes:

Pursuant to the Council's Constitution, the appointment of the following substitute members was reported:

 

Councillor J Mole for Councillor T Brady

ASCH12/19

Declarations of Interest

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

 

You are also invited to disclose any dispensations in relation to any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

 

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest or dispensations.

ASCH13/19

Minutes pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To Confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019.

Minutes:

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2019 be confirmed and signed by the chair.

ASCH14/19

Autism Self-Assessment - North Tyneside update pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To receive a presentation providing background information and update in relation to North Tyneside.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Sub-committee considered a presentation which set out background information on the Autism Self-Assessment national exercise which intended to review progress around the country in implementing the Government’s Autism Strategy ‘Think Autism’. 

 

North Tyneside submitted a self-assessment to NHS England as the coordinators of the exercise.  The North Tyneside submission will also be used as the basis for the development of the Autism Strategy which will be brought back to this sub-committee in the Autumn.

 

It was noted that on the basis of national statistical information it is estimated that around 1% of the population are autistic.  On this basis there are likely to be around 1500 adults with autism in the North Tyneside population.  At the moment estimates around number of children are not known.   It was noted that health organisations may be able to provide more information on numbers of people who have a diagnosis.  It was noted that many people are not diagnosed with autism until later in life.

 

The Council currently has contact with 86 people who are identified as being autistic.  These people have an allocated social worker and will have annual assessments to check that their needs are being met and that identified outcomes are being achieved.  However, it was noted that there is a wide spectrum of individuals with some high functioning individuals may not need local authority help.

 

The development of the Autism Strategy is still at an early stage.  It was noted that a task and finish group was being established and this will include representatives who are autistic as well as representatives from relevant organisations and relevant professionals.

 

The strategy will be wide ranging and will involve a number of partners not just the local authority.  It was noted that this will  include a number of actions including improving autism awareness among all staff.  The strategy may look at other issues such as signposting information, working with voluntary organisations, and identifying gaps in services around housing money and job opportunities. 

 

It was noted that, at the moment, there aren’t specific social workers who are specialised in working with people with autism and that may be an area to look at.

 

The Chair thanked Scott Woodhouse for the interesting presentation and noted that a further report will be brought back to the sub-committee once more work has been undertaken on the Autism Strategy.

ASCH15/19

Joint STP Scrutiny Committee

To receive an update following the meeting of the Joint STP Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 17 June 2019.

Minutes:

The Chair provided feedback on the recent Joint STP Scrutiny Committee which was held on 17 June 2019.

 

It was noted that a lot of the information provided was in connection with organisational changes linked to the move to the Integrated Care System.  Members stated that they were not clear about the role of the joint committee and that, although the presentations were informative, there appears to be limited opportunity for members of the joint committee to contribute or scrutinise arrangements.

 

The Sub-committee noted the information provided.

ASCH16/19

Ambulatory Care Unit

A short video introducing the new Ambulatory Care Unit at Northumbria Hospital which opened on 2 July 2019.

Minutes:

The Sub-committee had an opportunity to view a short video introducing the new Ambulatory Care Unit at Northumbria Hospital which opened on 2 July 2019.