Agenda and minutes

Co-opted Member present – Dr J Beal

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 25* of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded).

(* In accordance with Procedure Rule 25, notice of an appeal must be received in writing by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting).

There were no appeals.

1.  To highlight reports or appendices which officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

2.  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

3.  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, as follows:

  No exempt items have been identified.

There were no exempt items.

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

With agreement from the Chair, there was Supplementary Information circulated to Board Members in relation to agenda item 11 – Work Schedule. This was Appendix 3 of the report, which was a summary note of the Scrutiny Board’s working group meeting in relation to local NHS dentistry provision.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Apologies had been received from Councillor C Hart-Brooke.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th November 2023.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th November 2023, be approved as an accurate record.

Minute 59 – Further to the Board’s discussions around the Street-lives Thematic Review, it was noted that the Head of Community Safety Services had provided all Board Members with relevant service contact details aimed at supporting people living street-based lives or facing homelessness.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services which presents an update from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in relation to its out of hours bereavement arrangements.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report which presented an update report from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in relation to its out of hours bereavement service.

The following were in attendance:

·  Councillor Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adults Social Care, Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim Director of Adults and Health

·  Victoria Eaton, Director of Public Health

·  Phil Wood, Chief Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT)

·  Stephen Bush, Medical Director Operations, LTHT

·  Ruby Ali, Associate Director of Operations, LTHT

·  John Adams, Medical Director (Governance and Risk), LTHT

·  Reece Wolfenden, Lead Service Manager for Bereavement and Medical Examiner Services, LTHT

The Chair invited the Chief Executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to give a brief introduction and in doing so, Members were reminded that in February 2023, representatives from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had engaged with the Scrutiny Board during the early stages of its review of the out of hours bereavement service.  Having supported the key principles of the review at that stage, the Scrutiny Board had requested to be kept informed of progress in relation to the new arrangements being put in place, as well as developments surrounding the anticipated introduction of the new national Statutory Medical Examiner System in April 2024.

To supplement the update report provided by the Trust, the Board also received a presentation.  The key points raised during this presentation were as follows:

·  The service review process had involved engagement with a number of key stakeholders, both internal and external, to look at ways of making the service more efficient.

·  Following the service review process, new arrangements were put in place on 2^nd October 2023, with the service now being managed both through the day and out of hours by the Mortuary Team in the Trust’s Pathology Clinical Service Unit.  This has helped provide a more consistent service.

·  There is now an 8am-8pm, seven days a week service, with an on-call model implemented from 4.30 pm to 8pm Monday to Friday and during weekends and bank holidays, 8am-8pm.  Exceptional requests outside these hours will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

·  Engagement sessions were held throughout November with Funeral Directors and also Elected Members to listen to initial feedback on the new arrangements.  There has also been positive feedback from representatives of Muslim and Jewish communities on the new arrangements.

·  An ongoing review of the service will be maintained to support the effective implementation of the new arrangements and refinements in response to feedback.

·  A review of paediatric and maternity out of hours arrangements is also underway to explore the opportunity to align with the new adult arrangements.

·  A new Medical Examiner Service has been introduced by the Trust on behalf of NHS England and that provides the scrutiny of all deaths not investigated by HM Coroner.

·  The introduction of the Medical Examiner Service came about following a number of key profile independent inquiries.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

To receive a joint report from the Directors of Adults and Health, Public Health and City Development which provides an overview of outcomes and service performance related to the council and city priorities within the Scrutiny Board’s remit.

The joint report from the Directors of Adults and Health, Public Health and City Development provided an overview of outcomes and service performance related to the council and city priorities within the Scrutiny Board’s remit.

The following were in attendance:

·  Councillor Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adults Social Care, Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim 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

·  John Crowther, Chief Officer Resources & Strategy, Adults and Health

·  Jane Walne, Chief Officer Operations and Active Leeds

·  Steve Baker, Head of Active Leeds

·  Rob Wood, Head of Intelligence & Performance

In considering the performance details presented, the Board discussed a number of matters in more detail, across Adult Social Care, Public Health and Active Lifestyles, including the following:

Public Health

·  Weight management services and increases in BMI 30+ - It was reported that the percentage of adults in Leeds with a BMI over 30 in Q2 2023/24 was 24.3%. While noting that this is not a statistically significant change from the previous quarter (24.2% in Q1), it is significantly higher than five years ago (23.1% in Q2 2018/19) but also mirrors the national picture.  Importance was therefore placed around the need to tackle this overall increasing trend.

·  New HIV diagnosis rates – Reference was made to the significant increases in new HIV diagnosis rates since 2019 and Members were advised that such increases had been expected and were being managed accordingly. The attributable factors were linked to more testing being put in place across the city and overseas workers also being rigorously tested on entry.

·  Infant mortality rates – Members noted that in the least deprived areas, the infant mortality rate was 5.8 per 1,000, which had increased from 5.5 in the previous period.  Although this is not a statistically significant change and numbers are small, Members were assured that this was being monitored closely by Public Health given the increasing trends.

·  Employment rates for those with a learning disability – Members were advised that the Council is awaiting new data in terms of monitoring the gap in the employment rate between those with a learning disability (aged 18 to 64) and the overall employment rate (gap - percentage points).  It is expected that the new data will show an improvement in terms of this indicator.

·  Recorded diabetes for Type 1 and Type 2 – Having acknowledged that the statistical data is reflective of the combined recording rates of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, Members felt that these warranted being separated out to enable more meaningful data analysis and monitoring.

·  Life expectancy rates – Members were advised that further work is being undertaken through the Marmot City programme to review data on life-expectancy in Leeds and that work is also being undertaken to learn from other existing Marmot Cities in terms of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services that introduces information regarding the projected 2023/24 financial health position at Month 7 (October 2023) in the context of the Scrutiny Board’s wider discussions about the initial budget proposals.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that introduced information regarding the projected 2023/24 financial health position at Month 7 (October 2023) in the context of the Scrutiny Board’s wider discussions about the initial budget proposals.

The following were in attendance:

·  Councillor Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adults Social Care, Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim 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

·  John Crowther, Chief Officer Resources & Strategy, Adults and Health

·  Jane Walne, Chief Officer Operations and Active Leeds

·  Steve Baker, Head of Active Leeds

In consideration of the report, further clarity was sought regarding the level of Adult Social Care & Public Health reserves.  In response, it was reported that at the end of 2023/24, Adults and Health are projected to have the following type and level of reserves:

Ring-fenced Public Health Reserve    £2,344k

Earmarked Adult Social Care Reserves    £2,629k

General Adult Social Care Reserve    £325k

Total    £5,298k

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report be noted.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services that presents the proposed budget for 2024/25 and the provisional budgets for 2025/26

and 2026/27 for consideration, review and comment in terms of matters and proposals that fall within the Scrutiny Board’s remit.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that introduced the Executive Board’s initial budget proposals for 2024/25 for consideration, review and comment on matters and proposals that fall within the Scrutiny Board’s remit.

The following were in attendance:

·  Councillor Fiona Venner, Executive Member for Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships

·  Councillor Salma Arif, Executive Member for Adults Social Care, Public Health and Active Lifestyles

·  Caroline Baria, Interim 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

·  John Crowther, Chief Officer Resources & Strategy, Adults and Health

·  Jane Walne, Chief Officer Operations and Active Leeds

·  Steve Baker, Head of Active Leeds

The Chair highlighted that while the Board has already been initially consulted on the relevant budget proposals as part of a working group meeting held during December 2023, Members were given a further opportunity as part of this meeting to raise any further questions or make any further comments on the proposals.

The following areas were raised during the Board’s discussion:

Ø  Proposed car parking charges in parks - while acknowledging that proposals to introduce car parking charges in parks is outside of the remit of the Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles Scrutiny Board, some related comments were made linked to promoting active lifestyles.  The Chair therefore advised that these would be shared with the Environment, Housing and Communities Scrutiny Board as part of its deliberations on the matter.  In summary, the related comments were as follows:

·  Although it is widely recognised that being physically active is essential for good physical and mental health and wellbeing, the latest performance data shows that 40.7% of adults in the most deprived areas of the city are physically inactive.

·  Having good levels of accessibility to green spaces, including all city and community parks, forms part of the ongoing efforts to encourage and support people to lead more active lifestyles and therefore it is important that this also forms part of the considerations in terms of any potential impacts.

·  Car parking payment methods in general should be non-discriminatory and offer a range of options, including a cash option.

·  Creating opportunities and empowering more people to choose active ways of travelling also remains a key priority and linked to this a suggestion was made around exploring opportunities for developing and providing route maps for walking, wheeling and cycling to local green spaces and parks.

Ø  Fees and charges: Members reiterated the points also made during the Board’s budget working group meeting surrounding the proposal to review the charges applied to adult social care activities. Assurances were again sought that people would not be charged more than it is reasonably practicable for them to pay based on their individual financial assessment. Importance was also placed on ensuring that individuals are safe in making any decision to no longer receive a service in terms of this being based on need rather than being financially driven.

Ø  Promoting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2023/24 municipal year.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report that presented the

Board’s latest work schedule for the forthcoming municipal year.

The Chair referenced Appendix 3 of the report, which was a summary note of the Scrutiny Board’s working group meeting in relation to local NHS dentistry provision.  The Chair also highlighted that the Chair of the West Yorkshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee had wrote to Victoria Atkins MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to relay the Committee’s own concerns about the difficulty in accessing NHS dentistry in West Yorkshire and that Board Members would be kept informed of any further developments.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2023/24 municipal year   be noted.

(b)  That the summary note of the Scrutiny Board’s working group meeting in   relation to local NHS dentistry provision be noted.

Tuesday, 13th February 2024 at 1.30 pm (premeeting for all Board Members at 1.00 pm)

RESOLVED – To note the next meeting of the Adults, Health and Active

Lifestyles Scrutiny Board is scheduled for Tuesday, 13^th February 2024 at

1:30pm (pre-meeting for all Board Members at 1:00pm)