Issue - meetings

The Board received a report from the Strategic Director – People, which presented the new Everyone Early Help Strategy that combined children, adults and public health.  The draft document was appended to the report.

It was reported that services to support children, families and vulnerable adults were facing unprecedented challenges.  It was clear that early help and prevention services should make up the cornerstone of any delivery model.  If low-level needs could be prevented from developing into more serious or acute needs, then this was advantageous to both the provider and service user.   It was noted that effective early help and prevention could not only increase independence, improve outcomes and the quality of life for individuals, but also provide a financial return to the Local Authority in the form of cost avoidance and a reduction in the use of more expensive, acute resources.

Members were advised that this transformation in thinking was about undertaking a whole system review of the approach to early help and prevention, with a focus on increasing the resilience of communities and their potential to help themselves, supported by a planned prioritisation of resources, integration, collaboration and understanding the benefits that early help could have on a wide range of longer term outcomes for everyone involved.

The report advised of Halton’s approach to early help and prevention where there had been a long standing commitment across all agencies and strategic partners.  It was noted that the Council had restructured in 2016-17 to combine the adult and children directorates to create the People’s Directorate.  Following this it was agreed to create a new joint early help strategy that would sit across the new People Directorate.  The report continued, discussing the five key aims of the Strategy, and then the three priorities within the Strategy that all agencies would work towards to help further embed early help principles.

In response to Members’ comments the following was noted:

·       once the Strategy had been approved the final KPI would be developed and shared with the Board; 

·       that the Strategy was aimed at all partners including the CCG and had been aligned to the original One Halton approach.  The CCG were members of the Strategic Group; the Early Intervention Strategic Partnership Board; and

·       It was agreed that self-reliance and resilience building was crucial and there was work being carried out in schools and with families as well as in early years to instil skills which would help parents/carers to better support their own children rather than rely on others to do it for them.

The Board supported the Strategy and requested to be kept up to date with its progress.  The Strategy would also be shared with the Health PPB and the Children’s Trust.

RESOLVED:  That the Board receives the draft strategy and comments made are noted.