Agenda item

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services on potential sources of work for the Scrutiny Board and presenting an initial draft work schedule for 2024/25.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report regarding the potential sources of work for the Scrutiny Board.  The following information was appended to the report for Members’ consideration:

Ø  Appendix 1: Best City Ambition (2024 update)

Ø  Appendix 2: Leeds Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023-2030

Ø  Appendix 3: Healthy Leeds Plan 2023 – 2028 (Summary Document)

Ø  Appendix 4: Draft AHAL Scrutiny Board Work Schedule for 2024/25

The following were in attendance:

•  Councillor Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Equality, Health and Wellbeing

•  Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Active Lifestyles and Culture

•  Caroline Baria, Director of Adults and Health

•  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

•  Tim Fielding, Deputy Director of Public Health

•  Shona McFarlane, Deputy Director Social Work and Social Care Service

•  Jane Walne, Chief Officer Operations and Active Leeds

•  Steve Baker, Head of Active Leeds

•  Tim Ryley, ICB Accountable Officer (Leeds Place)

•  Sara Munro, Chief Executive, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

•  James Goodyear, Director of Strategy, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

•  Selina Douglas, Chief Executive, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

•  Sam Prince, Executive Director of Operations, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust

The Chair invited those present to introduce themselves and to outline key issues and potential areas of work for the Scrutiny Board to undertake during the current municipal year.

The Chair also invited Board Members to raise any questions and share their views on potential areas of work for the Scrutiny Board to undertake this year.

In summary, the following potential areas of work were raised:

Ø  Reviewing the local impact of future national health related policies post General Election, with regular briefings being facilitated by the ICB Accountable Officer (Leeds Place).

Ø  Exploring and addressing barriers to physical activity in the most deprived areas of the city, as well as for people with disabilities.

Ø  Receiving the latest Public Health Annual Report.

Ø  Maintaining an overview of progress in delivering the budgeted savings and efficiency/investment measures within the Adults and Health and Active Leeds service areas for 2024/25.

Ø  Tracking delivery of the Community Mental Health Transformation and Crisis Transformation Programmes.

Ø  Reviewing methods to help increase the take up of direct payments, to be considered within the broader context of the Council’s Personalisation Offer.

Ø  Following up on the Board’s earlier discussions in September 2023 in terms of reviewing access to General Practice.

Ø  Seeking assurances around the Leeds Health and Care System Resilience and Winter Planning.

Ø  Continuing to review workforce challenges impacting on health and care service delivery in Leeds.

Ø  Undertaking a whole systems review aimed at tackling neurodiversity assessment waiting lists for children and adults.

Ø  Seeking assurance surrounding the Council’s preparations linked to the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment framework.

Ø  Reviewing how all partners are contributing towards tackling health inequalities, including progress in delivering the Marmot City programme and relevant workstreams within the Healthy Leeds Plan, as well as exploring any accumulative consequential impacts of existing cost improvement measures across health and social care.

Ø  Following up on the Board’s earlier discussions in March 2024 around tackling obesity and supporting healthy weight and active lifestyles.

Ø  Continuing to monitor the Home First Programme in terms of achieved outcomes and proposed next steps, including a focus around improving system flows and admission avoidance measures.

Ø  Monitoring progress regarding the joint bid for intermediate care beds.

Ø  Reviewing local actions to tackle NHS waiting times, to include specific consideration of elective care/treatment wait times.

Ø  Exploring actions aimed at improving unplanned/urgent care systems and patient flows.

Ø  Monitoring progress surrounding the new Leeds Children’s hospital.

Reference was made to the draft work schedule presented at Appendix 4 of the report, which reflected known items of scrutiny activity, such as performance and budget monitoring, as well as other identified areas of work recommended by the former Scrutiny Board to pursue in this new municipal year.

While acknowledging that some of the suggested areas of work raised during this meeting are already reflected within the draft work schedule, the Chair explained that he would work with the Principal Scrutiny Adviser to consider how best to prioritise and incorporate other identified areas of work into the work schedule with a view to bringing an updated version to the Board’s next meeting for consideration and approval.

RESOLVED – That the Chair works with the Principal Scrutiny Adviser to consider how best to prioritise and incorporate identified areas of work into the work schedule with a view to bringing an updated version to the Board’s next meeting for consideration and approval.