Agenda and minutes

To be notified of the appointment of Substitute Members.

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

Cllr J O’Shea for Cllr T Mulvenna

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 dispensation 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.

Councillor R O’Keefe declared a registerable personal interest in relation to item 5 in relation to her employment as a youth worker for Phoenix Detached Youth Project.

Councillors J Kirwin and J O’Shea declared a personal interest in relation to item 5 as members of the Health and Wellbeing Board. 

To Confirm the minutes of the meeting held on

In relation to the item on Northumbria Health Care Trust Care Pilot, Members asked if a written update on the pilot could be provided and circulated to members of the Sub-committee following the meeting.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Cllr Karen Clark, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing to attend the meeting to provide a progress report against eh Health Inequalities Plan.

Cllr Karen Clark, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing and Jackie Laughton, Assistant Chief Executive, attended the meeting to provide a progress report against the Health Inequalities Plan.

The plan aims to tackle health inequalities and is North Tyneside’s high level strategic plan for improving the health and wellbeing of the population.  The overall vision is to ‘reduce inequalities in North Tyneside by breaking the link between people’s circumstances and their opportunities for a healthy, thriving and fulfilled life.’

It was noted that the strategy had been based on up to date evidence of how best to effectively reduce inequalities and is informed by the work led by Sir Michael Marmot and the Institute of Health Equality.

It was noted that the strategy had been agreed by the Health and Wellbeing Board.  The Health and Wellbeing Board meets 6 times per year and has agreed a timetable to monitor progress of delivery of the strategy with regular updates and performance reports on each area of the strategy.

More detailed information was contained in the implementation plan that was attached as an appendix to the report.

It was stressed that it had been important for the strategy to be influenced by lived experience and that work had been undertaken with Healthwatch to inform the strategy.  It was also highlighted that front line staff such as Health visitors played an important part in implementing the strategy and monitoring progress.

Members asked about the progress that has been made over the last two years and also about flexibility in the system to divert resources to alternative activities if initiatives are not meeting expectations.

It was highlighted that it had been important to identify and set appropriate KPIs to ensure that the right outcomes are being measured and that progress can be evidenced.  The extensive progress reports are aimed at monitoring achievements.  There is also flexibility within the process to make changes as necessary.  It was also highlighted that tackling health inequalities is a long-term process and it will take time to achieve change.

It was suggested that progress reports to the Health and Wellbeing Board could be shared with the Sub-committee or specific reports brought to the Sub-committee where Members have a particular interest.

There was some discussion about the cost of living crisis and the impact this has had on the strategy was noted.  

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for the report.

To consider the Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report.

Ellie Anderson, Assistant Director Business Assurance, attended the meeting to present the Annual Report of the Joint Northumberland and North Tyneside Safeguarding Adults Board for 2021-22.

It was noted that this was the last report of the Joint Board, given the move to place based Safeguarding Adults Boards (SAB) and the establishment of the SAB for North Tyneside which has been in place since April 2022.

The report set out the achievements of the Board over the year.  It was noted that all partners had seen an increase in safeguarding activity over the year, with the largest category of abuse being neglect, followed by physical abuse and financial abuse.

There was some discussion about the content of the report.  Members highlighted the issue of criminal exploitation, and some issues were highlighted about criminal activity and potential exploitation in specific areas of the borough and how the local authority identified and addressed these issues.  It was noted that there is a sub-group of the board focussed on criminal exploitation and this sub-group is chaired by a police officer.  It was suggested that any information about specific issues in particular areas of the borough could be discussed outside of the meeting and passed on to the chair of the sub-group.

Members raised the issue of financial abuse.  It was noted that the Board had identified an increase in financial abuse and this is likely to be linked to cost of living issues.  In particular, there had been some instances involving managers in care homes and also issues around befriending of more vulnerable people.

It was highlighted that there had been an increase in cases of self-neglect and this was being picked up by other agencies such as hospitals.  There was also some concerns about an increase in fire deaths and these could be linked to more use of candles and also alternative methods of cooking linked to increased energy costs and cost of living increases.  Officers are reviewing this in collaboration with the fire service.

There was some discussion about the move to a place-based board and the benefits this offered in terms of being more closely aligned with other agencies and boards.  There was an opportunity for a more holistic view of safety in the borough, with smaller and more focussed meetings which were proving beneficial.

The Chair thanked officers for the report.

Members to provide feedback from the recent regional Health Scrutiny Committee (Joint OSC for the NE and NC ICS and North and Central ICPs) which was held on 21 November 2022.

A copy of the draft minutes is attached.

Councillor O’Shea provided an update from the meeting which was held on 21 November 2022. 

It was noted that the next meeting will be on Monday 30 January.