Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes of the meeting held on 28^th March 2018 having been circulated were signed as a correct record.

            The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health, which provided Members with a final version of the One Halton Population Health Framework and Model. The Framework had been developed in conjunction with Cheshire and Merseyside Health & Care Partnership Prevention Board, Public Health England (PHE), Halton Borough Council, NHS Halton CCG, NHS providers, the voluntary sector and third sector and sought to support the delivery of the prevention challenge.  

            RESOLVED: That the One Halton Framework and Model be endorsed.

            The Board considered a report which provided details of the six transformational population health programmes. The six programmes would support delivery of the One Halton Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2022 and inform collaborative action for the Council, NHS, Social Care, Public Health and other key partners as appropriate.

            RESOLVED: That the proposed transformational population health programmes be noted.

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 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.

RESOLVED:  That the Board support the implementation of the Strategy.

            The Board considered a report of the Director of Adult Social Services, which advised that The Care Act 2014 required that partner agencies and their commissioners of services should have clear recordings and information sharing guidance, set explicit time timescales for action and were aware of the need to preserve evidence. The North West Policy for managing concerns around people in positions of trust with adults who have care and support needs, had been previously circulated to Members of the Board and built upon existing relevant statutory provision. The document provided an overarching policy for the North West region and was ratified by the North West ADASS Regional Safeguarding Group.

            RESOLVED: That the policy be noted and adopted.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health, which provided an update on work undertaken across the Borough to improve workplace health, and to encourage the Council to sign up to the “Time to Change” Employer Pledge.

            The Board was advised that over the past eighteen months, the Health Improvement Team had rolled out a comprehensive Workplace Health Programme (the Programme) to local businesses across Halton. Depending on the needs of individuals and businesses, a tailored package of support for businesses, including a review of health policies, health checks, smoking cessation and health awareness events, was established. It was reported that the next phase of the Programme would be to work with local businesses to further improve their mental health offer and support them to undertake the “Time to Change” Employer’s Pledge.

            Time to Change was the leading national social movement aimed at improving public attitudes and behaviour towards people with mental health problems. Time to Change provided support to employers to develop an action plan to get employees to talk about mental health. An action plan for Halton Borough Council would provide support in a number of key areas, as detailed in the report. It was proposed that a small working group be established to develop and drive the Time to Change Employer Pledge action plan. It was noted that an example of some key actions were set out in Appendix 1, attached to the report.

            RESOLVED: That

1)    the report be noted; and

2)    the Board approve participation in the Time to Change Employer Pledge.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Adult Social Services on Adult Social Care Funding allocation 2018/19.

In the Spring 2017 budget, the Chancellor announced an additional £2 billion of new funding for Councils in England, over a three year period to spend on adult social care services. This was recognised as an important step towards closing the gap in Government funding for adult social care ahead of the expected publication of the Green paper on future sustainability of the sector.

The report set out details of the proposed allocations for Board approval, many of which commenced in 2017/18 and were expected to continue into 2018/19. It was reported that due to the short term nature of this additional funding, the schemes would be kept under review in respect of the outcomes and financial impact achieved.

RESOLVED: That the Board notes the contents of the report and supports the allocations as outlined in the report.

            The Board was advised that following the Care Quality Commission (CQC) – Local System Review (LSR) of Health and Social Care in Halton an Action Plan had been developed. Members received an update on the Action Plan and noted that any ongoing actions were being managed through existing governance structures.  

            RESOLVED: That the contents of the report and associated appendix be noted.