Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Chris Munday, welcomed everyone to the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 03 November 2021 be agreed as a correct record subject to the correction in the title of the Director of Integrated Commissioning.

It was agreed that for future Minutes action points would be recorded and reported on at the next meeting.

Apologies were received from Inspector Bradley, Metropolitan Police.

Apologies were received from some of the Youth Parliament and Youth Assembly members.

Apologies were received from the representatives of the Parent and Carers’ forum.

The Executive Director Adults and Health presented the second strategy covering Fit and Active in Barnet which was being promoted by a broad partnership.  They were working to increase the opportunities for individuals to become more physically active in a way that works for the individual.  The aim was that physical activity should be easy to access and part of everyday activity.

A range of consultations have been undertaken for the new strategy with a focus of rebuilding after the pandemic.  They were keen to hear how young people could be engaged and inequalities addressed.

·         The partnership worked with schools through the resilience and public health programmes.

·         It was noted that referral routes needed to be maintained and promoted on a regular basis to ensure traction.

·         Clarification was given that this was about sport and activity, including everyday movement such as walking and dancing.  The partnership was currently developing an app which would also include other activities, gardening for example.

·         They had been successful in bringing in external funding to help improve access and provide interventions.

·         Other efforts were on mapping opportunities to ensure that they supported local groups and helped to address gaps where applicable.

·         The implementation plan included support for volunteering and training to help increase access.

·         It was noted that inequalities could take many forms, including non-financial, ability to access open walking spaces, as well as those with disabilities.

·         Other projects such as the BACE Holiday Programme were highlighted.  (BACE Holidays: Barnet. Active. Creative. Engaging. Holidays)

ACTION:

Executive Director Adults and Health to speak to the representatives of the Pupil Referral Unit and how they provide support in accessing the voice of excluded children and young people.
Executive Director Adults and Health to provide data analysis for use of Leisure Centres by young people to the Assistant Director Education, Strategy and Partnerships.

The Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board introduced the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the work that was being undertaken alongside partners to help promote and improve the health and wellbeing of young people in Barnet.  The Director of Public Health & Prevention highlighted that it could not cover everything that individual partners did, but looked to help integrate health into strategies and policies across the Council and with partners.

It was noted that they were currently recruiting across the five boroughs for a lead on Children and Health issues.  Their work should link in to the Barnet Children’s Partnership Board on health issues for young people.

Members of the committee queried:

·         How well the strategy picked up those with vulnerabilities and whether more needed to be done.

·         Whether the targets were good enough.

·         What the new innovations would be as a number of the things were long running projects.

·         Whether the student health checks included mental health.

The Director responded that it did cover looked after children in the area and that they were looking at how added value could be focussed on those most in need.  Work could be undertaken to see if it needed to be more targeted if there are identified gaps as part of the implementation plan.

Work was ongoing to improve things around targets.  This included improving the acceptability of breast feeding and looking to change things incrementally to create better and more supportive environments.

The Director for Population Health Commissioning – Strategic Commissioning Directorate for NHS North Central London (NCL) Clinical Commissioning (CCG) Group presented the draft NCL Integrated Care System (ICS) outcomes framework.  It was being taken to all five of the local partnership forums.  It looked at future targets and how the partners worked together on a number of areas including for example preventative measures.  The framework is currently being consulted on and the next stage would be identifying where differential effort might be required:

·         There was a need to consider what initiatives and projects are already being undertaken.

·         Improvements to investment in prevention.

·         Looking at support for maternity including the impacts of ante-natal care.

Other activities included looking at what the NHS could do as an exemplar to support others, and to show how their activities could highlight good practise.  It was important to ensure that this aligned with the other strategies.  A level of pragmatism was required to ensure that it was possible to get momentum behind the actions.

The Committee responded with issues such as:

·         The disconnection through the use of “health” which at some levels was seen to be inaccessible, whereas wellbeing was more inclusive.

·         How food insecurity and food education could be included.

·         How health support messaging through positive activity programmes such as HAF Fund (Holidays, Activity and Food).

·         How to connect with the voluntary sector who felt that they had limited influence on health.

·         How this would aid the Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP).

·         How physical activities could be included.

Action:

Executive Director for Children’s Services and Director of Public Health & Prevention to meet to look at improved and inclusive indicators for the NCL framework.

To Follow.

The Barnet Safeguarding Children’s Partnership Manager introduced the draft business plan that was due to start in April.  They hoped that it would provide an opportunity to enhance links with the safe and secure aspect of the Children’s Partnership and improve outcomes.

The external scrutiny of the partnership had shown that there was clear evidence of the impact and strength of the partnership.  There had been positive feedback on the support provided during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

They had also given recommendations linked to local and national needs.  Areas of focus coming forward included neglect, domestic abuse, self-harm and suicide.  There were challenges in trying to ensure that the strategy was liked to what was happening on the ground and meaningful to Officers and partners.

Action:

Barnet Safeguarding Children’s Partnership Manager to liaise with the Commissioning Strategy & Policy Advisor to look at how the Barnet Children’s Partnership Boards plan would incorporate the Barnet Safeguarding Plan.

To consider items for future inclusion, the dates for 2022-23 having now been set as:

·         Thursday 28 Apr 2022

·         Wednesday 13 Jul 2022

·         Wednesday 09 Nov 2022

·         Tuesday 14 Feb 2023

·         Thursday 27 Apr 2023

The Chairman noted that the current Work Programme was coming to an end and that the Board needed to consider what they would like covered in future meetings.  Suggestions which came forward were:

1.    Deep Dives - As undertaken by the Health and Wellbeing Board where they looked at sections of the plan in detail at each meeting.

2.    Integrated Care Pathways - There was interest as to how young people were supported through these.

3.    Unaccompanied Asylum Seekers – This might cover those from Hong Kong for example.  It was noted that a paper was going to the Safe Guarding Board with regards to designated hotels.

4.    Barnet Parent Carer Forum – As part of a theme on co-production, it was agreed that the Barnet Parent Carer Forum should be invited to table an item to a future meeting.

The Board were keen to hear from the different partners.  They agreed to look at how co-production was undertaken at other boards and their interaction.

Apologies were given on behalf of the young people.  A number of the members had been taking part with mock exams and the Youth Assembly had not formally restarted.

It was reported that there had been a good turnout with a record number of candidates for the Youth Parliament and youth Ambassador roles.

Action:

Sustainability update from the Environment Strategy and Project Officer for the next meeting