Agenda and minutes

Councillor Agar for Councillor Udall, Councillor Mackay for Councillor Mrs Lucy Hodgson, Councillor Stephen for Councillor Cockeram.

To receive any declarations of interest.

None.

Up to a total of fifteen minutes can be allowed, each speaker being allocated a maximum of five minutes, for members of the public to present a petition, ask a question, or comment on any matter on the Agenda or within the remit of the Committee.

None.

Of the meeting held on 18^th July 2022 to be approved and signed.

In response to a question about inviting High School Heads to attend a meeting to speak about the impact of poverty on students (minute 15), the Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities stated that it had not been possible to arrange this yet, but he will look to do so.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th July 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

That the Committee considers the priorities for the Council and recommends any change of emphasis for the services’ income and expenditure allocations.

The Committee considered a report on the budgets for the various services for 2023/24. The Head of Finance presented the report and summarised the main points. Members were invited to submit suggestions of potential service improvements and/or re-prioritisation of budgets in order to continue to achieve service objectives and to deliver the aims of the City Plan relevant to this Committee, so as to be able to feed proposals into the Committee’s consideration of the 2023/24 budget at its meeting in January.

The Chair explained that there were ongoing discussions about a number of areas of activity which may in future fall within the remit of this Committee, principally disabled facilities grants and the discretionary welfare assistance scheme. The Head of Finance stated that officers will look at the budgets for those areas and where they should sit.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to note:

1.   the budgets for the various services identified for 2022/23; and

2.   the progress made in delivering the projects included in the City Plan and City Delivery Fund that are relevant to this Committee and confirm the programme of work resourced.

That the Health and Wellbeing Committee notes the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s Quarter 2 performance for Health and Wellbeing for 2022/23. The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities presented the report and highlighted the main points. Officers responded to questions and comments from Committee Members. He explained that work is progressing with items which are shown red or amber, and a further update will be provided at the next meeting.

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·        Information on the location of Active Travel Corridors can be provided in writing.

·        The dropout rate from the Type 2 Unlocked Diabetes project was discussed. The Corporate Director explained that a review after the first three programmes had identified a number of issues to take into account before the start of programme four. A briefing note has been sent to Members about this.

·        In response to a comment about the pressure which a surge in the number of rough sleepers might have on finding accommodation, the Corporate Director advised that there is sufficient provision for emergency placements, although access to move-on accommodation is more challenging. Officers are actively trying to address this.

·        In response to a question about access to disabled facilities grants, the Corporate Director stated that he was not aware whether the Council has approached relevant disability charities to help, he will raise this point with the relevant county-wide Officer group.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the Council’s quarter 2 performance for 2022/23.

That the Committee:

1.   Approves the procurement of a 5-year contract with AccessAble (1st December 2023 – 30th November 2028) to maintain and keep under review the existing 321 Worcester City Access Guides and to develop a further 20, with a total annual contract value of £9,000;

2.   Approves that £27,000 of funding to be taken from the pandemic reserve for this purpose, covering the core contract period of 1st November 2023 – 30th November 2026; and

3.   Notes that a further report will be presented to this Committee before the end of the initial three-year contract period, setting out recommendations in respect of contract extension period and how this will be funded.

The Committee considered a report on the contract for the AccessAble service. The Team Manager – Community Services presented the report and explained that, in March 2022, the Committee had approved funding of £6,000 from the Small Projects Fund to continue the AccessAble service through until 30^th November 2023. Members had requested a further options report from Officers to consider future arrangements.

The report summarised the success of the service locally and the work being undertaken in collaboration with Worcester BID to increase the awareness, use and number of venues which have AccessAble guides. Worcester BID have set aside a budget to support businesses within their area to be surveyed for an access guide.

Officers recommended maintaining the existing contract for 3 years to cover the period 1 December 2023 – 30 November 2026, with an option to extend for an additional 2 years. The estimated total cost would be £27,000 (3-year contract) or £45,000 (3-years plus 2-year extension). It was proposed that a 5-year contract is tendered, with the option of break points beyond the end of year three, so that the funding and performance of the contract can be reviewed.

Officers responded to questions from Committee Members. Support was expressed for proceeding with a 5-year contract on the basis outlined above.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    approve the procurement of a 5-year contract with AccessAble (1^st December 2023 – 30^th November 2028) to maintain and keep under review the existing 321 Worcester City Access Guides and to develop a further 20, with a total annual contract value of £9,000;

2.    approve that £27,000 of funding to be taken from the pandemic reserve for this purpose, covering the core contract period of 1^st November 2023 – 30^th November 2026; and

3.    note that a further report will be presented to this Committee before the end of the initial three-year contract period, setting out recommendations in respect of contract extension period and how this will be funded.

That the Committee:

1.           Notes the contents of this report and in particular the aims and priorities of the newly formed Worcester City District Collaborative at Appendix 1;

2.           Recommends to Policy & Resources Committee that funding of £160,000 be approved as set out at Section 6.1 of this report, to match fund an application from the Worcester City District Collaborative to Worcestershire County Council Public Health Service for increased mental health support for children and young people for a 2-year period; and

3.           Approves funding of £24,000 to be taken from the COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) Reserve to deliver targeted community engagement at COVID-19 community vaccination clinics to promote local services and support mechanisms.

The Committee considered a report on the newly-formed Worcester City District Collaborative. The Corporate Director – Operations, Homes and Communities presented the report and explained its aims, priority focus areas and items discussed to date. The report proposed that, in order to fund the work outlined within the report, the Council agrees match funding from the COVID-19 COMF Reserve / COVID-19 Community Recovery Strategy Enabling Budget to employ a Children & Families Social Prescriber and a Wellbeing & Emotional Support Practitioner, both for a two year period. It was also proposed to take £24,000 from the COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) Reserve to deliver targeted community engagement at COVID-19 community vaccination clinics.

Officers responded to questions from Committee Members. In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were made:

·        The Wellbeing and Emotional Support Practitioner is employed by Heart of Worcestershire College to support young people studying there. Other schools and colleges are not part of district collaborative at present. The Corporate Director will take back the question of whether it is possible to open out the support on offer more widely.

·        A briefing note on ABCD was provided to Members earlier in the year and this can be re-circulated. There will be a report to both this Committee and Communities Committee on the development of the Council’s final strategy.

Committee Members expressed support for the proposals in the report.

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.    note the contents of this report and in particular the aims and priorities of the newly formed Worcester City District Collaborative at Appendix 1;

2.    recommend to Policy & Resources Committee that funding of £160,000 be approved as set out at Section 6.1 of this report, to match fund an application from the Worcester City District Collaborative to Worcestershire County Council Public Health Service for increased mental health support for children and young people for a 2-year period; and

3.    approve funding of £24,000 to be taken from the COVID-19 Incident Management Team (IMT) Reserve to deliver targeted community engagement at COVID-19 community vaccination clinics to promote local services and support mechanisms.

Which in the opinion of the Chair is of sufficient urgency as to warrant consideration.

None.