Agenda and minutes

Councillor Watts welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were given.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Joe Caluori, Jo Sauvage, Tony Hoolaghan (representative: Dan Windross), Sorrel Brookes (substitute: Lucy de Groot), Jennie Williams, Siobhan Harrington (representative: Jonathan Gardner), Carmel Littleton, Angela McNab and Maggie Kufeldt.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

·         if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

·         you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

 (b)Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

 (c)Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

 (d)Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

 (e)Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

 (f)Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g)Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all voting members present at the meeting.

None.

No changes were proposed to the order of business.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of meeting held on 18 April 2018 be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

To receive any questions from members of the public.

(Note: Advance notice is required for public questions).

A member of the public had submitted a question in relation to waiting lists for health and care services. As the member of the public was not present, it was advised that a written response would be sent.

RESOLVED:

(i)            That Michael Clowes, Chief Executive of Islington GP Federation, be appointed as a non-voting observer to the Health and Wellbeing Board;

(ii)           To request that the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board, as detailed in the terms of reference, be amended accordingly.

Ramesh Logewaren, Head of Housing Needs, introduced the report which summarised the key themes of Islington Council’s emerging Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         Local authorities were required to adopt a homelessness and rough sleeping strategy under the Homelessness Act 2002. 

·         The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had set a national objective of halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating rough sleeping by 2027.

·         Homelessness was not an issue which could be solved by local authorities in isolation. It would be necessary for the council to work with its partners to prevent and relieve homelessness effectively.

·         The strategy was due to be published in Spring 2019. It was commented that an update on the implementation of the strategy could be provided to the Health and Wellbeing Board at a later date if required. 

·         The Board commented that the strategy should clearly link to the Mayor of London’s Homelessness Strategy and make reference to local mental health services. 

·         The proposed strategy included an objective to ‘improve our understanding of the connection between homelessness and health and wellbeing’. It was suggested that this could be revised to better articulate how services should be shaped around the needs of homeless people to improve their health and wellbeing. It was important not only to understand the connection between homelessness and health, but to act on it.

·         It was commented that homelessness was a London-wide issue and many service providers worked across London. The strategy should reflect this; clearly setting out what work was being carried out at borough level, cross-borough level, London-wide, and nationally.

·         It was noted that the council had received a small amount of funding from the government to support rough sleepers. Some of this funding was to be spent on mental health services.

·         The Board commented on the importance of communicating the strategy. It was important for all relevant staff across the public and voluntary sectors to be aware of how to support homeless people and rough sleepers.

·         A member of the Board commented on the importance of advice services being accessible to all. It was noted that some BME communities, and particularly those whose first language was not English, may be further delayed in accessing such services.

·         It was reported that local hospitals were reviewing their pathways for homeless patients and it was suggested that NHS services would be keen to engage with the strategy.

·         It was suggested that the strategy should draw on best practice from other boroughs, particularly on issues related to engaging with voluntary sector partners.

·         The Board noted the appended action plan. It was commented that this should be updated to reference that the ‘Housing First’ scheme was being mainstreamed and that the council was developing at least 550 genuinely affordable new homes by 2022.

·         The Board expressed some caution over the proposal to reallocate general needs properties as temporary accommodation, commenting that a loss of general needs housing could contribute to the borough’s housing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

James Reilly, Independent Chair of the Islington Safeguarding Adults Board, introduced the report which summarised the work of the partnership in 2017/18.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         The report set out the Safeguarding Adults Board’s achievements, as well as current and ongoing concerns about adult safeguarding issues.

·         There had been an increase in the reporting of adult safeguarding concerns, however the number of concerns which resulted in enquiries had decreased. It was suggested that this indicated a greater awareness of safeguarding issues, as opposed to an increase in the number of vulnerable adults. However, to provide additional assurance work was underway to ensure that concerns were being processed adequately, and that those reporting concerns were being adequately signposted to appropriate services.

·         Mr Reilly was pleased with work in processing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications; noting that Islington was one of the few local authorities which did not have a backlog.

·         The Safeguarding Adults Board would collaborate with partners across North Central London when considered appropriate. It was noted that neighbouring boroughs had similar priorities to Islington and it may be beneficial to carry out some work at a cross-borough level.

·         The Safeguarding Adults Board was pleased that Islington Council was working well with the borough’s care homes. This had previously been a cause for concern, however partnerships with care homes had strengthened over the past year. Mr Reilly emphasised the importance of engaging positively with the residents of care homes and their families. 

·         A serious case review had been carried out in 2017/18. This had taken longer than expected to conclude and there were lessons to be learned from the review.

·         Four training events had been held on domestic violence issues. It was commented that these had been well attended by a range of partners.

·         The Safeguarding Adults Board had developed a strong partnership with HM Prison Pentonville; this was a significant improvement as engagement with the prison was previously limited.  It was commented that the prison was carrying out significant and complex work to improve their safeguarding practices.

·         Although Mr Reilly welcomed the progress made in Islington’s safeguarding practices, he also expressed caution about being complacent. Engagement with safeguarding board activities had decreased recently and this was a concern.

·         Mr Reilly noted that the Safeguarding Adults Board had sought an £8,000 funding contribution from local NHS trusts however this had been refused. It was commented that this was not sustainable as the Board needed funding if it was to be effective. It was known that this was also an issue in other boroughs and the chairs of London Safeguarding Adults Boards were due to discuss this at a future meeting.

·         Homelessness was a significant safeguarding concern. A current serious case review related to a homeless person was reviewing the practices of four boroughs, including Islington. This had identified that further work was needed to improve communication and partnership working between health and care services, housing services, council tax and rent collection services, and others.

·         It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Emma Whitby introduced the report which summarised Healthwatch Islington’s work plan for 2018-19. Healthwatch Islington would work closely with partner organisations and the local community in delivering its work programme.

The Board considered the progress of the organisation’s digital inclusion work, work related to the Camden and Islington Estates Strategy, work to engage with BME communities, and the monitoring of care homes.

RESOLVED:

That the Healthwatch Islington Work Plan be noted.

Dan Windross introduced the report, which provided an update on Islington’s Better Care Fund.

It was noted that the Better Care Fund was expected to successfully deliver three of four key targets, however the delayed transfer of care target had not been met. Work was underway to address this, though there was a growing number of hospital patients with complex needs and ongoing care requirements.

The Board noted that it was not yet possible to bring forward plans for 2019/20 as national guidance had not yet been published. It was commented that this was dependent on the NHS 10 Year Plan, which was not yet available. In the meantime, the NHS and Islington Council would continue to work together to develop and improve health and care services in the borough.

The Board requested an update on the Better Care Fund to a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the update on the Better Care Fund for 2018/19 be noted;

(ii)           That an update on the Better Care Fund be reported to a future meeting.