The Corporate Head of Community Services advised that the Council had long been committed to supporting and improving the health and wellbeing of residents through the range of services it provides, much of which was discretionary. 

The draft Health & Wellbeing strategy, one of the five strands of the corporate plan, allows the Council to create a vision and forward plan for improvement, development and doing more to support the needs of residents.

There were three elements to the strategy:

1)     Focus and the shift to prevention to support the wider determinants of health to reduce health inequality, which in turn would have a positive impact on the wider health system.

The wider determinant of health was therefore the focus of the strategy as opposed to making unrealistic commitments to tackling areas of ill health.

2)     Data.  A strong dataset had been compiled from Public Health colleagues to underpin the strategy, which would play a far more prominent role when planning services or discussing opportunities.  The areas of focus and the associated action plan that would be available ahead of final approval of the strategy.

3)     Delivery.  What the Council intends to do, where its focus would be, how it ensures the strategy remains a live document and how it would work with others to achieve its goals.

The Corporate Head of Community Services added that the strategy was closely aligned with the corporate Organisational Development Strategy and was committed to putting measures in place that would help the Council, its staff and Councillors to be more understanding of the health and wellbeing needs of residents.  This would ensure it was able to tailor services, approaches and behaviours to benefit residents.

A Member asked what the ward-based task groups would look like and how they would be measured given the dichotomy of the demographic of the borough.  The Corporate Head of Community Services advised that membership would be key, as would engaging with organisations who support residents and making sure their voice was heard.

Furthermore, some of the indices of deprivation related to measures that were out of the Council’s control, such as proximity to a post office, so it was unrealistic to expect to address all instances of deprivation.  Therefore, it would be key to understand local needs and formulate an action plan that was deliverable and met the needs of those residents.

The Corporate Head of Community Services confirmed that the data set would drill down into information such as educational attainment, and acknowledged that working alongside the County Council would be vital to the long-term success of the strategy.  It was also acknowledged that the health & wellbeing of the Gypsy & Traveller community would need to be addressed within the strategy given their large population in the borough and below average life expectancy.

The Leader confirmed that the strategy’s accompanying action plan would reflect Member feedback and be reported to September’s Committee alongside the final strategy and wider corporate plan.

Members were keen for there to be a section on the private rented sector, which the Corporate Head of Community Services would discuss with colleagues with a view to working into the final strategy and had a workable action plan.

A Councillor raised a question on behalf of residents about plans for day centres.  The Corporate Head of Community Services advised that a future model for how older residents were supported through day centre provision would be required, but there was no one-size-fits-all approach, with a possible two-tier approach required to address the needs of the younger day centre attendees.

Resolved that –

Members approved further consultation on the draft strategy ahead of reporting back to September’s CMC for final approval and sign off by Full Council as part of the Corporate Plan.