Agenda and minutes

Apologies are noted above.

Councillor Simpson declared a personal interest in all matters under consideration as an employee of the NHS.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq declared that he is employed as the manager of Oldham Healthwatch.

It was agreed:

1.   There were no matters arising.

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 30^th September 2020 are attached for approval.

It was agreed:

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 30^th September 2020 be approved as a correct record.

There were no public questions.

Bruce Holborn, Local Campaigns Manager and Alison Bunn, our Greater Manchester & Lancashire Area Manager to present at the meeting.

Bruce Holborn, Local Campaigns Manager and Alison Bunn, Greater Manchester & Lancashire Area Manager for the British Legion attended to provide an update on loneliness and social isolation in the Armed Forces Community.

The Legion is calling on all local authorities in England to improve the measures they take to support members of the Armed Forces community who are feeling lonely or socially isolated. Specifically, by including loneliness and social isolation and its effects on the Armed Forces community in Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies (JHWS).

Loneliness and social isolation are recognised as a national health priority, and Legion research has shown that the Armed Forces community can be more vulnerable to its effects.

The wider impact of Covid-19 and the lockdown specifically are still being analysed but early indications from the Mental Health Foundation indicate a significant increase in feelings of loneliness in the UK. In March 2020, 10% of UK adults said they felt lonely, increasing to 24% by the beginning of April 2020, and calls to the Legion’s own Telephone Buddies service increased by 455% over this summer. It is therefore incredibly timely to consider additional measures to alleviate loneliness and social isolation and acknowledge it as a public health priority.

Referrals to the service are through self-referrals, however asking questions earlier on can support individuals to stop reaching a crisis point.  

It was agreed:

1. Include loneliness and social isolation and its effects on the Armed Forces community in the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS).

2.   Help members of the Armed Forces community find appropriate support when it is needed by ensure that all residents approaching health services are asked a question that will identify: 

·         Former members of HM Armed Forces, Regular and Reserve

·         Spouse or Partner of serving or former members of HM Armed Forces

·         Widow(er)s of serving or former members of HM Armed Forces

·         Dependent children of serving or former members of HM Armed Forces

·         Recently divorced or separated spouses or partners of serving or former members of HM Armed Forces.

3.   Councillor O’Brien to raise this and incorporate this into the Armed Forces Covenant which is being reviewed.

4.   To note that free training can be provided to front line staff.

Lesley Jones to provide an update. Presentation attached.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health provided an update on the outcome and performance report.

Work is underway to develop a new outcome and performance framework for the Health and Wellbeing Board however there have been some capacity constraints due to Covid-19

Lesley discussed the submitted slides which provides an overview of some to the key indicators being considered. These indicators have informed the strategic priorities for population health previously agreed by the Health & well-being Board Strategic Commissioning Board

The overarching indicators and Life-course approach is used to monitor how the four ‘King’s Fund dimensions’ of Population health come together to impact on health across our population. Discussions took place regarding the inequalities that have been heightened through the COVID-19 pandemic including access and utilisation of services.

Furthermore the board discussed how to engage with a community representative of the Bury Borough so that lived experience is more prominent in the discussions.

It was agreed:

1.   To agree the approach going forward

2.   To engage with people to attend the meeting to provide lived experiences at the Board.

Lesley Jones to provide a verbal update.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health provided a verbal update on COVID-19.

Since the last board cases significantly increased to around 600 per 100 thousand and have since decreased to around 460 per 100 thousand which is important and the reductions are likely to be a result of the Tier 3 restrictions.

Seven local neighbourhood test centres are now open and lateral testing will shortly be made available. We are actively preparing for the COVID-19 vaccine once available.

It was agreed:

1.   Lesley Jones, Tyrone Roberts, Will Blandamer and Dr Schryer be thanked for their updates.

Will Blandamer to update at the meeting. Report attached.

Will Blandamer, Executive Director for Strategic Commissioning provided a report on the draft Terms of Reference for the Health and Wellbeing Board. The aim is to widen the membership and focus the Board on the Population Health quadrant.

Discussions took place surrounding the current membership and it was agreed that more opportunities to co-opt and invite members to the board should be explored.

It was agreed:

1.   To Refine and refresh board membership as required, in line with the Whole System Transformation agenda for Bury.

2.   For full Council to approve the proposed Terms of Reference.

Lesley Jones to update. Report attached.

Joh Hobday, Consultant in Public Health attended to provide a presentation and report on the Anti-Poverty Strategy.

Since March 2020 COVID has had a significant impact on local towns and communities within Bury. We have had increased numbers in Bury who have been furloughed and lost jobs, and as such have seen significant rises in the numbers of people trying to access support and benefits. Data from our recent local business surveys in October 2020 suggest that in Bury 70.5% of businesses had furloughed staff. Through our community groups we have also seen

• An increased number accessing food banks / food pantries and other support
• A new and different demographic of people requiring support i.e. the previously comfortable middle class who are suddenly out of work with mortgages and bills
• Increased debt and mental health related problems
• An increase in the numbers asking for help to understand and access what benefits they are entitled to

A range of support mechanisms have been set up or increased since March including:

-      Increased welfare and hardship support made available

-      Further investment to improve Citizen Advice offer

-      Financial support to support food banks

-      Development of the Bury Community Support network

-      A Free school meal offer during school holidays

-      A mechanism to effectively identify and distribute external funding and donation opportunities in a systematic way across the borough

-      Increased partnership working between VCSE organisations and the community hubs to support those with financial difficulties

Next Steps

The plan going forward is to

•       Work with the community to further develop the Bury Community Support Network (BCSN) to be an effective forum to drive anti-poverty related work

•       In collaboration with BCSN refresh and update the existing anti-poverty strategy for Bury, which will have a robust action plan of delivery behind it

•       Continue to use intelligence and feedback to shape delivered and commissioned services which impact the anti-poverty agenda e.g. support around revenues and benefits, employment, fuel poverty, housing and economic development and regeneration

•       Firm up the longer term local delivery plan for supporting children with free school meals during school holidays – given central government’s recent decision to fund free school meals during holidays

It was agreed:

1. To thank Jon Hobday for his update
2. To note the progress of the anti-poverty work
3. To endorse and support the ongoing work in this area
4. To support and endorse the next steps

Lesley Jones to update at the meeting. Report attached.

Francesca Vale, Community Nutritionist attended to make the Board aware of the creation of the Bury Food Strategy, and approve the adoption of the strategy for use in Bury.

The Bury Food Strategy aims to dovetail with the national and regional approaches to the food system and tailor these to suit our local population. Our local approach will focus on multi-agency collaborative working to improve our food environment.

A key output of the strategy will be to set up a Food Partnership in Bury, formed by a wide range of stakeholders to drive the food agenda forward and deliver on the Action Plan.

Adoption of this strategy will require collaboration both internally and externally, across a broad range of actions encompassing the whole food system in Bury. These are detailed in the strategy action plan, and will require time, capacity and resource to achieve.

This is a strategy for the next five years, and will evolve in response to the wider public health landscape over that time, in response to the work of all partners.

Councillor Morris and Councillor Gunther expressed an interest in providing a leadership role for the Strategy.

The Health and Wellbeing Board all agreed the Strategy is a great piece of work and wanted to support the strategy in their own work places.

It was agreed:

1. To thank Francesca for her update.
2. To note and comment on the Bury Food Strategy
3. To approve the adoption and implementation of the Bury Food Strategy
4. To support the strategy as outlined in recommendations for action
5. Councillor Morris and Councillor Gunther to be the Bury Food Strategy Lead’s from the Health and Wellbeing Board

Lesley Jones to provide an update. Report attached.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health provided an update on health checks. Bury has achieved the highest proportion of eligible people in the country receiving their NHS health checks. This work helps to address inequalities in the short term.

The Board discussed the great work that has taken place and areas for future focus.

It was agreed:

1.   To bring this back to a future meeting

2.   To place on record a thanks to GP practices in Bury for the work along with the integrated team work

A discussion took place regarding Bury’s approach to Care Home visits arrangements.

It was agreed:

1.   This can be picked up outside the meeting with Julie Gonda for further development when appropriate.