Agenda and minutes

To receive a report on the appointment of Substitute Members. Any Member of the Board who is unable to attend the meeting may appoint a substitute member. The Contact Officer must be notified prior to the commencement of the meeting.

Pursuant to the Council’s constitution the appointment of the following substitute members was reported:-

Paul Young for Claire Wheatley (Northumbria Police)

Karen Soady for Steven Thomas (Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue)

Bea Groves-McDaniel for Julia Charlton (Healthwatch North Tynesdie)

Voting Members of the Board are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest. They are also invited to disclose any dispensation in relation to any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

Non voting members are invited to declare any conflicts of interest in matters appearing on the agenda and the nature of that interest.

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

Councillor K Clark declared a registerable interest in relation to the Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy Implementation Plan because she is a Director and employee of Justice Prince CIC which works in partnership with the Council.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 January 2022.

Resolved that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 13 January 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair

To receive an update on the formulation of an implementation plan for delivery of the Board’s Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, Equally Well: A healthier, fairer future for North Tyneside 2021 – 2025.

The Board received an update on the progress made in formulating an implementation plan to deliver the vision and ambitions contained in the Board’s Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, Equally Well: A Healthier, Fairer Future for North Tyneside (2021-2025).

The overall vision for the Strategy was to reduce inequalities in North Tyneside by breaking the link between people’s circumstances and their opportunities for a healthy, thriving and fulfilled life. A draft implementation plan had been compiled setting out proposed actions, responsibilities, desired short and long term outcomes, key performance indicators and lead officers in relation to each of the strategic priorities as outlined below:

1.         Give every child the best start in life

2.         Enable all children, young people, and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives

3.         Create fair employment and good work for all

4.         Ensure a healthy standard of living for all

5.         The places and communities we live in and with

6.         Our lifestyles and health behaviours

7.         An integrated health and care system

The draft implementation plan was presented to Board members at the meeting and the Board was asked:

a) whether it was clear that action was required across the population but with more targeted action where gaps are widest (proportionate universalism)?

b) were the actions tangible and deliverable for the next year and was anything missing?

c) were the key performance indicators the right ones to enable the Board to monitor progress?

Members of the Board were invited to consider the implementation plan and the questions posed and submit their responses by the end of April 2022.

The implementation plan would be informed and shaped by engagement at a community level so that proposed solutions and interventions were co-produced and fully informed by the lived experience of North Tyneside residents. Healthwatch North Tyneside had been commissioned to co-ordinate this engagement through locally based voluntary and community organisations.  The outcomes of this engagement would be fed into the final version of the implementation plan which would be presented to the Board for approval at its next meeting in June 2022 together with the CCG and Council’s commissioning intentions for 2022/23.

The Board welcomed the approach taken in formulating the implementation plan and its draft contents. Board members commented on the need to utilise existing community engagement mechanisms such as active social media networks as part of the proposed engagement on the plan. It was acknowledged that the plan was not a stand alone document or process but delivery of the Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy would also be dependent on a wide range of complementary plans, strategies and partnerships such as the Community Safety Partnership. In this respect it was suggested that the section in relation to maximising the capabilities of children and young people ought to make more significant reference to the impact of housing.

The Board also noted the degree to which the implementation plan would be flexible as actions would initially be agreed for only the first of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item HW27/21

To receive a presentation on the development of the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System and its implications for North Tyneside.

The Board received a presentation from Mark Adams, Chief Officer of the North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group, in relation to the development of an operating model for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) and Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The Board were presented with the ICB’s objectives and the guiding principles for its development. Mark described how decisions and functions were to be divided between the ICB and place based structures such as those that already existed in North Tyneside. He emphasised the importance of place based decision making to ensure that important decisions were taken as close to communities as possible and this principle was reinforced by the expectations set out in the Integration White Paper.

The ICB would be responsible for delivering both its strategic priorities and those agreed at place, tackling variation, driving up quality and improving outcomes. The Board were presented with charts showing the proposed management, accountability and structure of the ICS and Board members were posed a series of questions and invited to comment on what were the early stages of its development.

In response Board members examined in more detail how funding would be allocated within the ICS and how North Tyneside could ensure it received its fair proportion. The Board also discussed how the voice of service users would be heard at all levels of decision making within the ICS and how the good practice developed in North Tyneside could be built upon and shared with other areas.

The Board congratulated Mark Adams and Claire Riley on their recent appointments as Directors within the ICS and the Board looked forward to working with them in the future.

Resolved that the presentation in relation to the development of an operating model for the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System be noted.

To receive the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2020/22, Variants, volunteers and vaccines: North Tyneside’s journey through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Director of Public Health, Wendy Burke, presented her Annual Report 2020/22 which was titled Variants, Volunteers and Vaccines: North Tyneside’s journey through the Covid-19 Pandemic. The aim of the report was to provide a historic record of events, facts and figures of how North Tyneside had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past 2 years.

She commented that while there was no doubt about the devastating impact of the virus on the economy, poverty and inequalities, at the same time there had been a positive legacy of new ways of working, strong partnerships, community spirit and new relationships. This period had been the most challenging of her career, but she was proud of the team she had led over the last two years and for the amazing effort right across the council and

the response from all partners. The dedication of the voluntary and community sector and the army of volunteers supporting the initial response and then, more latterly, supporting the vaccination programme had been inspirational.

The NHS had done an outstanding job throughout the pandemic, with tremendous public support, but it was important to remember that they had been supported by the collective efforts of so many, which in turn had enabled the saving of lives and the prevention of the NHS becoming overwhelmed. Reference was made to nurseries and schools who provided continued education for children of key workers to the refuse collectors who continued to empty the bins, police colleagues who engaged, explained and encouraged the public to do the right thing, fire and rescue personnel who supported testing, the team who supported local businesses to keep the economy going, communication teams for finding new and innovative ways to get the key messages across, analysts who kept track of the data and helped us plan, public protection team supporting businesses through outbreaks, elected members leading the council response, plus the unsung heroes of the pandemic – the social care workers across North Tyneside who had supported and protected our most vulnerable residents in care homes and in the community, often in very difficult circumstances.

The pandemic was not over and the challenge in 2022 would be to learn to live safely with the virus, respond to any variants and subsequent surges in infection rates, and to focus on our response to the impact of the last two years, particularly the health and socio-economic inequalities.

On behalf of the Board the Chair echoed the comments of the Director of Public Health in acknowledging the contributions of so many agencies and partners for their phenomenal response to the pandemic to protect and keep  communities safe. The Chair also paid tribute to the Director of Public Health for her leadership and strong and clear messages during an extremely challenging period.

Resolved that the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2020/22 Variants, Volunteers and Vaccines: North Tyneside’s journey through the Covid-19 Pandemic be received.

To update the board on the outcome of the Local Area SEND Inspection undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in November 2021.

The Board received a report on the outcome of the Local Area SEND inspection undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in November 2021. Inspectors had met with children and young people with SEND, parents and carers and local authority and health service officers, visited a range of providers and looked at a range of information about the performance of the area, including the area’s self-evaluation.

The main findings to emerge from the inspection report were that:

a) leaders of education, health and social care were united in their mission to improve the experience and outcomes of children and young people with SEND;

b) the parent carer forum had a strong voice and fed into strategic governance across the area;

c)  leaders were determined to know what is working and what needs changing. Leaders’ current self-assessment is accurate;

d)leaders were not complacent, they recognised they do not always get things right and that they are on a journey of continuous improvement;

e)joint commissioning processes are well established. There is an increased demand for specialist provision and health services & leaders have agreed plans for long-term investment in places and people;

f)  leaders have remodelled the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) to improve the time it takes for children and young people with mental health needs to be seen;

g)the overwhelming majority of parents and carers are happy with the educational provision their child attends;

h)parents and carers have mixed views of the services and provision open to their children;

i)   leaders have improved the time it takes to complete statutory assessments for EHC plans & worked with practitioners to improve the standard of advice contributing to the EHC plan process; and

j)   outcomes are generally strong. There is a positive picture for attendance, exclusions from school and the number of young people with SEND who progress to further education, employment, or training.

The report highlighted areas for development in relation to improving the effectiveness of the local area in identifying, meeting the needs and improving outcomes for children and young people’s special educational needs and/or disabilities. The SEND Delivery Board was driven by its ambition to “get it right” for every young person and their families and this continued to drive the partnership’s improvement journey. The inspection findings would help to shape the improvement plan for 2022/23, which would focus on:

a) relaunching and embedding the graduated approach;

b)improving the quality and regularity of communication with children, young people, and families;

c) developing and implementing SEND hubs;

d) workforce development; and

e) practice improvements.

The Chair asked that Board’s congratulations be passed on to all those involved for their hard work over many years in developing strong partnerships and delivering good practice. Both she and the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning, Councillor Peter Earley welcomed the continuing commitment to seek further improvements in performance and to address the issues raised by the inspection.  

Resolved that the outcome of the Local  ...  view the full minutes text for item HW30/21

The Chair announced that this would be Councillor Peter Earley’s final meeting of the Health & Wellbeing Board as he was not standing for re-election at the forthcoming election. She thanked Councillor Earley for his contribution to the work of the Board as Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning.