Agenda and minutes

None.

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 22^nd January 2024 to be approved and signed.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd January 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Presentation from Avril Gilmore (Interim Chair of Maggs) and Jonathan Sutton (Chief Executive Officer at St Pauls).

The Committee received a presentation from Avril Gilmore, a trustee of Maggs and formerly interim Chief Executive. Avril explained that the presentation was being made jointly on behalf of Maggs and St. Paul’s Hostel. Jonathan Sutton, Chief Executive of St. Paul’s, had sent his apologies as he was unwell and unable to attend.

Issues highlighted in the presentation included health inequalities and risks for rough sleepers and homeless people, the implications of the closure of the Farrier House Walk-In Centre, challenges to maintaining current service provision and staffing and financial challenges. Meaningful collaboration at all levels will be particularly significant.

Avril gave Members an invitation to visit and see what services are provided. There is an open day on 18 May. In return she asked Members to do what they can to influence on health providers locally in relation to services for homeless people and rough sleepers. Whilst there are significant national constraints she acknowledged what has worked well locally. The Council’s flexibility was acknowledged and she thanked the Housing Team.

Following the presentation, Avril Gilmore responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

In the ensuing discussion several Members stated their regret at the closure of the Farrier House Walk-In Centre, and expressed concern for how easy it will be for homeless people to access other GP practices. Members made reference to “falling through the cracks.” In her conclusion, the Chair asked for Members’ concerns about health inequalities and access to services for homeless persons to be put on record. She suggested that an update could be given by Maggs in 6 months’ time. The Chair thanked Avril Gilmore for her presentation and her replies to Members.

1.     That the Health and Wellbeing Committee consider the proposed revised approach to corporate performance reporting; and

2.     That the Health and Wellbeing Committee consider the proposed content of the Health and Wellbeing Committee Scorecard for 2024/25.

The Committee considered a report on the proposed revised approach to corporate performance reporting and the proposed content of the Committee Scorecard for 2024/25. The Deputy Director – Policy and Strategy presented the report and explained that the new Office for Local Government (Oflog) is developing a new national approach to measuring council performance. It was proposed to adopt the Oflog metrics which are relevant to services provided by the Council for corporate performance reporting to committee. However, much of the data published on Oflog will be annual figures with a time lag. It was therefore proposed to produce quarterly data for these metrics where possible and reported to the Policy and Resources Committee as a Corporate Scorecard. This will replace the current Key Performance Indicators reported to each individual policy committee, with the exception of the Income Management Sub-Committee, which receives only PIs related to the council’s income streams. Where there are clear gaps in the Oflog metrics, appropriate local PIs will be included in the Corporate Scorecard to Policy and Resources Committee. Many of the PIs currently reported to Policy and Resources Committee will continue to be reported. Other policy committees will continue to receive quarterly reports. The proposed scorecard for this Committee content for 2024/25 was appended to the report.

The Deputy Director responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

Members concluded that whilst accepting the Council has to comply with Oflog requirements, the Council still needs to have locally focussed performance measures for health and wellbeing which are meaningful for residents. Whilst Policy and Resources Committee should have oversight of the metrics which are used to compare our performance with other Councils, this Committee should continue to monitor local projects that are relevant to its remit and are ongoing, for example DWAS schemes and awards the Better Care Fund and Disabled Facilities Grants. 

RESOLVED: That the Committee agree to:

1.   note the proposed revised approach to corporate performance reporting; and

2.   request that the proposed content of the Health and Wellbeing Committee Scorecard for 2024/25, including PIs, be presented at the next meeting in June.

That the Committee note the contents of this report.

The Committee received an update report on the work of the Worcester City District Collaborative since the last report to the Committee in June 2023. The Head of Homes and Communities presented the report and highlighted the main points. He responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

In response to a request for details of the role of the Worcester City District Collaborative Programme Manager, the Head of Service advised that a written reply will be provided.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the contents of this report.

That the Committee note the contents of the report, and in particular that all recommendations of the Child Poverty Task & Finish Group have now been discharged.

The Committee received an update report, setting out progress on the recommendations of the Task & Finish Group. The Head of Homes and Communities summarised the main points and responded to questions and comments from Committee Members.

It was explained that this will be the final report as all of the recommendations have now been discharged. However, through the work of this Committee, the Healthy Worcester Group and the Worcester City District Collaborative, child poverty will remain a key area of focus for the Council and these key partnership groups.

A question was raised allotment allocations, as the live feed says there are vacancies, although there is still a waiting list. The Head of Service stated that he will arrange for a written answer to be provided.

RESOLVED: That the Committee note the contents of the report, and in particular that all recommendations of the Child Poverty Task & Finish Group have now been discharged.

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

The Chair advised the Committee that she had agreed for an update to be provided regarding the Household Support Scheme.

The Head of Homes and Communities explained that in 2023 the Council was allocated £337,086 under the fourth tranche of the scheme. The Committee received a report and approved the apportionment of the Council’s allocation at its meeting in March 2023.

The Council received an additional allocation of £10,000 from County Council in March 2023, with a further £10,000 allocated in February 2024 to support food provision, both of which were uncommitted. In addition, the budget allocated to marketing and promotion remains unspent as alternative methods of communicating had been deployed.

Any unallocated funding must be allocated or committed by the 31^st March 2024. The Council had facilitated the provision of supermarket vouchers for pre-school and college students in Worcester during holiday periods between April 2023 and February 2024 at a cost of £81,086, an overspend on the allocated budget of £3,086.

The County Council had previously advised that they were unable to provide Free School Meals (FSM) during the Easter Holidays. However, as a result of an underspend within their budget allocations, they had confirmed that they are now able to provide FSM for the core eligible cohort across Worcestershire over Easter. 

The Council has therefore allocated £18,005 of the underspend generated by the additional County Council allocations and the unallocated marketing and promotion budget to provide FSM for pre-school and college students in Worcester.  The remaining unallocated budget (approximately £8,000) will be allocated to Worcester Foodbank. 

Given the short timescales and imminent Easter break, Officers had communicated the extension of the provision to providers to enable eligible households to claim and access the support.

Meanwhile, on 6^th March 2024, the government had announced a £500m, six month extension to the Household Support Fund to 30^th September 2024.  It is anticipated that the allocation to the County Council will remain in line with previous tranches of the scheme.  Further details were still awaited.