Community Partnerships Board
Tuesday 3 June 2014 8.30 am
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COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP BOARD
Tuesday 3 June 2014 at 8.30am
Council Chamber, Town Hall, Maidenhead
Mike Agate FSB
Sandra Baker DALC
Janet Greenland East Berkshire College
Ramesh Kukar Chief Executive Officer Slough Council Volunteer Services
Chris O’Hare Citizens Advice Bureau
Karnail Pannu WAMCF
Dave Phillips Fire & Rescue
Viki Wadd Head of Operations for WAM CCG
Mike McGaughrin (Chairman) RBWM, Managing Director and Chairman of the CPB
Cllr Mrs Bateson (Vice-Chairman) RBWM, Lead Member for Partnerships
Debra Beasley RBWM Community and Voluntary Sector Officer
Wendy Binmore RBWM Democratic Services Officer
Andrew Green RBWM Partnership Co-ordinator
Harjit Hunjan RBWM Community & Business Partnerships Manager
Rutuja Kulkarni RBWM Head of Public Health
Brian Martin RBWM Community Safety Co-ordinator
Simon McKenzie RBWM Early Help & First Response Manager
Safia Mohamud RBWM Community Learning Manager
Catherine Mullins RBWM / CCG Strategic Commissioning
David Scott RBWM Head of Education, Strategy & Commissioning
Apologies
Andrew Elkington RBWM Head of Policy & Performance
Virginia Barrett East Berkshire College
Gillian May Berkshire College of Agriculture
Ralph Facey Radian Housing
Astrid Campbell WMVA
1. Welcome by Chairman
The Chairman welcomed the Members of the Community Partnership Board.
2. Minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2014
The Minutes were approved as a true record of the meeting. There were no matters arising not otherwise covered on the agenda.
Actions arising from Community Partnership Board Meeting 4 March 2014
Creation of the Schematic – update
Andrew Green, Partnership Co-Ordinator stated the schematic was the same as shown at the previous Community Partnership Board meeting in March 2014. But that narrative had been added to describe the relationships. The schematic showed how all the groups of the Board fitted together. There were a number of statutory bodies and groups such as the Health and Wellbeing Board, CYPPB and the schematic brought all of those groups together. The Community Partnership Board had identified four key priority areas which could be regular Task and Finish group agenda items. Those were: health, troubled families, community engagement and skills and employment. He explained he had attempted to give a brief overview of all the groups within the schematic.
The Community & Business Partnerships Manager explained the schematic was designed to be a set of moving priorities for the Community Partnership Board. It was constantly evolving and was loosely based on the needs of the Borough. It was not meant to be seen as a hierarchy of groups within the Board. The Chairman stated some of the groups were set in statute. Therefore, the Board needed to work out how to best manage those priorities. Viki Wadd said some of those statutory priorities fell into the remit of the Health and Wellbeing Board; therefore, there could be a need for a Task and Finish Group to focus on health issues. The Community Co-Ordinator stated the Health and Wellbeing Board had a very specific remit but the Community Partnership Board was there to determine the wider determinants of health. The Head of Public Health said it was crucial not to duplicate work between the Community Partnership Board and the Health and Wellbeing Board. It would be necessary to work out what the Community Partnership Board could do to add value to the work carried out. A good idea would be to get the Community Partnership Board to do the things that the Health and Wellbeing Board were not able to do within their remit. The Chairman stated Members needed to ensure the Board filled in the gaps that other statutory bodies left. An exercise was needed to work out what the Board could do that did not overlap other Boards and Panels such as the Health and Wellbeing Board. The job of the Community Partnership Board was to get all those different Boards and Panels working together and liaising with each other and join them all up.
The Head of Education, Strategy & Commissioning commented there was a need as a Borough to be clear about partners and what the different groups were doing. The Board helped groups understand the links between the different activities. Those links would not work unless people understood them. The Head of Public Health stated she had been working to create connections with the Community & Business Partnerships Manager and Catherine Mullins, NHS Changes Project Manager and that had been useful. The Chairman stated the Borough was just one piece of the jigsaw and he wanted the Board to work on the concept of connective capital which would bring all the different groups together to show how the jigsaw fitted together.
Action: The Community & Business Partnerships Manager, the Head of Public Health and the Chief Executive Officer of Slough Council Volunteer Services to work together and bring an action plan on ensuring the various groups did not duplicate effort and addressed all determinants of wellbeing to the next Community Partnership Board meeting.
The Chairman to invite Chris Hilton, Regeneration and Economic Development Director to the next Community Partnership Board meeting.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING – THE WIDER DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH
Catherine Mullins, Health and Wellbeing Officer gave an update on the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) which included Public Health Developments in the form of a slide show presentation. The main points of the presentation included:
- The strategy applied to the whole population.
An extensive consultation was carried out with stakeholders and residents.
The strategy moved away from the medical model.
More than 418 people had already downloaded the strategy from the website.
Stakeholders were being constantly talked to in order to keep the strategy updated.
Smoking cessation had done well but the figures were yet to include New Years Resolutions. The goal of people stopping smoking was expected to be met.
SMILE exercise programme targeted those aged 55 and over and included rehabilitation exercises.
199 Telecare equipment installations had been carried out.
There had been 89 admittances to residential nursing homes.
Respiratory issue was brought to the Health and Wellbeing Board in March 2014 and they were looking at what could be done such as the introduction of Air Quality Officers. The Board had been looking to holistically reduce hospital admissions in that area.
There were more people reporting incidents that concerned them regarding safeguarding people but, investigations had been reduced.
Measuring homelessness had never been done before in the Borough so a new target was set of 300 cases.
Homelessness was caused by landlord and tenant disputes and requiring crisis loans to cover the rent, among others.
The Homecare Service went live in January 2014 but no target had been set as it had never been done before.
Overall feedback on the strategy from the public was good, the public liked the outcomes of the strategy, the content of the strategy and its specific targets and continued engagement.
A refresh was due in the Autumn of 2014.
The NHS Health and Wellbeing Officer stated the Joint Health and Wellbeing Board Strategy was unable to meet all of its targets alone and she wanted to continue working with partners in order to continue meeting targets that residents had identified as being important to them. The Chairman commented that the targets were good as long as the correct things were being measured. The it was confirmed that partners of the JHWS were happy with the targets; many sources were used to obtained information which showed what needed to be measured. It illustrated a true picture of where the greatest needs were in the Borough; stopping smoking was the biggest way to improving health. The Head of Public Health stated local initiatives had been set up in Dedworth due to feedback from residents. The initiatives included:
- A breastfeeding support network established.
GP Surgeries were promoting slimming groups.
Drug and Alcohol teams set up.
Free vaccination vouchers to prevent onward infection.
The Head of Public Health stated all the initiatives had worked to prevent premature mortality and addressed health outcomes in local communities. The Community & Business Partnerships Manager explained the Dedworth project was outcome led and his team worked in partnership with Radian and other partners to deliver the project; 11 initiatives had been implemented to improve lives. Dave Phillips, Fire & Rescue stated fire deaths prevention and the services the Fire Service delivered would complement what the Health and Wellbeing Board had researched and found. The Chairman stated having the Fire Service and the Health and Wellbeing Board aligned to help keep people in their own homes for longer was one of the key objectives of the Community Partnership Board. The Vice-Chairman commented public health was relatively reactive and not greatly proactive. Once Public Health becomes more proactive, that would make a huge difference to residents. The Head of Public Health confirmed the intention was to work with local action groups and create a health profile for all wards. The focus was not just to work in deprived areas but, all areas. She confirmed that where there was more traffic, it was expected there would be higher rates of respiratory tract infections and that vaccinations were needed for children. The Chairman said there was lots of data from the community and that needed to be analysed so it could be linked together. Sharing data was the future on how to use information when decision making. Dave Phillips stated he welcomed the ongoing work and looked forward to the sharing of information
Action: The Community & Business Partnerships Manager to liaise with the Head of Public Health, the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Fire and Rescue Service to bring collated data to the next Community Partnership Board meeting so the results could be discussed.
OVERVIEW OF THE NEW CONTRACT FOR A BOROUGH WIDE SERVICE TO SUPPORT THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR.
The Community & Business Partnerships Manager stated removing barriers enabled people to volunteer. He added he wanted a vibrant volunteer sector happy to lead the Council. The Community & Business Partnerships Manager stated that there had been a tendering process to enlist support and the Slough Council for Voluntary Service had been chosen in that supporting role. The Council now had one point of contact for volunteers to register or find out information on volunteering and voluntary groups also had access to the volunteer service. The services offered by Ramesh included
- Helping other organisations to help people volunteer
Removing bureaucracy to enable people to volunteer more easily
Help develop Corporate Social Responsibility
Ramesh Kukar explained there was a website set up called WAM Get Involved which served residents and groups. He added if the Fires Service was holding an event, his service would send out the information to link other groups and also raise awareness of the event among residents. He wanted to develop an app and website so that if someone left a GP Surgery diagnosed with Diabetes, that person could go on their phone and find all the organisations, events, information and support groups within the Borough that could help and support that person with their diagnosis and all with the click of a button. Ramesh Kukar said the service would provide a database of volunteers and would also link residents with a voluntary service they needed. If there was a drive to increase the number of volunteers, the website would rank opportunities in terms of greatest priority. The service built infrastructure to aid volunteering. The Chairman commented it linked everyone together. People who wanted to volunteer could log on and find volunteering opportunities and users would be able to find those who needed volunteers. The Community & Business Partnerships Manager confirmed that Ramesh Kukar’s service would still continue to run and organise the services that the WMVA did although, they would be done slightly differently.
The Vice-Chairman stated 21% of the Borough was still not set up with email. She added there was a need to set up a Silver Surfer scheme in as many areas of the Borough as possible. It was possible to carry out some work on that through the Duke of Edinburgh Award and other similar initiatives. Ramesh Kukar confirmed he had been working through Life Long Learning and was also looking at holding sessions at various locations across the Borough. David Scott suggested using Ascot Library as a venue to hold a Silver Surfer group. Safia Mohamud stated she was looking at delivering courses to the over 50s across the Borough which would help get more people online.
Viki Wadd commented that people wanted to be linked in to the voluntary sector as much as possible when they visited their GP and received a new diagnosis. People went to see their GP for community information as well as due to illness. Chris O’Hare confirmed the Citizens Advice Bureau was another key place people were often referred to. The Head of Public Health said everyone was keen to help. The Head of Public Health stated Berkshire Health Trusts were looking to create positive images regarding getting older; it was important to work with other groups to bring positive images. Ramesh Kukar stated that people who volunteered lived on average 7.4 years longer. However, many people who got involved did too much and there were others who refused to get involved and it was those people he did not know how to approach. The Chairman suggested people were not aware they had skills and knowledge could be used to volunteer. The Head of Public Health stated in a street in Chicago, the infant mortality rate was 80% and change was a struggle. A local church found a street that had far fewer deaths so the church commissioned three to four mothers from that street to talk to mums in the area with the significant mortality rate. Within two years the mortality rate dropped to 20% in infants. The Chairman stated the Board needed to know the areas of the Borough that did well.
The Vice-Chairman explained staff could volunteer; it did not have to be something physical and someone could volunteer for as little as one hour at a time perhaps helping somebody who needed their accounts doing. Karnail Pannu stated he would send invitations out for Diversity Day; he needed volunteers to help with workshops and would welcome all offers of volunteering for the event.
Action: for the Community & Business Partnerships Manager to bring an update on progress of the new Borough wide contract for voluntary services back to the next meeting.
Intensive Family Support Project (IFS)
Simon McKenzie, Early Help & First Response Manager, stated that IFS was part of a national programme which used small teams of key workers. A bid for funds from a CCG for a part time health visitor had been submitted which would address issues such as bad teeth. There was now a psychology professional to help with family breakdown and a support to work with Muslim families.
There was a broad range of services working with 121 families so far. The Borough had submitted claims for 43 families which turned around 30% of families so far. Working intensively with families who would have had their children taken into care, prevented children going into care. The IFS project was also working with drug and alcohol services to help children who were living with drug and alcohol addicted families. The project was seeing children live in healthier environment and Cabinet in July 2014 was due to discuss extending the programme.
The Chairman stated the programme was excellent and addressed real needs. The initiative prevented families breaking up and helped children to grow up in a better environment. People could be mentors or coaches to help manage family budgets or breakdowns; it was not always health reasons that caused problems. The Early Help & First Response Manager explained IFS received referrals from key agencies, such as Police and Housing Associations. He confirmed that most families generally see the programme in a positive light but, there were families from time to time that see it negatively and refused help. The team do not give up on those families and continued to try and engage with them. 99% of families dealt with had past involvement with Social Services. The Head of Education, Strategy & Commissioning explained some families agreed to be helped by the programme and then attended a workshop or a session and then changed their minds. Those families sometimes came back again several weeks later. The Vice-Chairman stated it was a similar case with elderly people, they wanted to communicate with one person regarding services and not lots of people.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Andrew Green, the Community Partnership Co-Ordinator stated there was a workshop for community engagement which identified potential outcomes. It was important to take a step back in order to identify what the Borough wanted to achieve. Potential objectives for a partnership approach to community engagement were:
- Share information about current and planned consultation to minimise duplication of effort and identify scope for collaboration.
Establish a mechanism for sharing the outcome of consultations across partners to maximise its value.
Establish a database of community organisations, consultative forums and stakeholder groups to facilitate future consultation.
The Community Partnership Co-Ordinator stated it would be good to have a mechanism for sharing information regarding what current consultations were going on so departments were able to liaise with each other and avoid duplication.
Ramesh Kakur suggested his organisation would do some work towards those objectives. If all the groups and information were pooled into a database, it would be a powerful resource. The Chairman stated community network identified groups and organisations, who they were, and what they did. He added the objectives the Community Partnership Co-Ordinator had produced were a good starting point to that process. Chris O’Hare added an online forum would be helpful and a list of forums would also be good. Ramesh Kakur commented that in three to four months after the launch of his volunteering website, there would be a Facebook page set up for volunteer groups. He was going to discuss with the Community & Business Partnerships Manager on how to tie in Corporate Social Responsibility with that. The Vice-Chairman suggested that once all volunteers had been added to a database, good menus of what volunteering opportunities there were would be required.
Viki Wadd suggested looking forward to next year to see where the Board wanted to be by then. Chris O’Hare stated large organisations like the CAB could help small organisations on such issues as policy forming. The Chairman stated the partnership community could help one another.
Action: The Community Partnership Co-Ordinator to send a community survey out to Members to find out about current and planned activity and to share outcomes of any surveys that have already been completed.
NEXT STEPS/FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
- More work to be completed on the schematic.
Update on what was taking place for Silver Surfers
Progress on gathering data
Confirm objectives for Community Partnership Board on Community Engagement.
Next Meeting
7 October 2014
17 February 2015