Agenda and draft minutes

In the absence of the Chair, Cllr Turan was appointed Chair for the meeting.

Cllr Turan in the Chair

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were given.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Comer-Schwartz, Cllr Ngongo, John Everson and Mike Clowes.

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None.

No changes were proposed to the order of business.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

Charlotte Ashton, Consultant in Public Health, introduced the paper which provided an update on ‘Evidence Islington’, the programme of work focused on health determinants funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

The following main points were made in the discussion:

·        Officers advised the initial year of work had progressed well and work was focused around three core workstreams: collaboration and culture, data and infrastructure, and capacity building. These were interwoven workstreams and closely aligned to the Islington Together 2030 plan.

·        Officers commented on the excellent partnership working with Healthwatch Islington in progressing the programme of work.

·        It was commented that reporting processes were significant and work was underway to establish robust reporting mechanisms to meet this challenge.

·        Over the next year the programme would focus on delivery. This would also include developing a communication strategy and establishing an evaluation baseline.

·        The Board considered how members of the Health and Wellbeing Board can contribute to this work and emphasised the importance of a partnership approach. It was thought that a partnership approach focused on bringing data together and sharing insights would be a considerable strength.

·        Following a question on the role of NHS partners, it was commented that work through the programme must be focused on the wider determinants of health, but there would be scope to work with NHS provider organisations, particularly around areas such as training and capacity-building.

·        It was asked how local partners could be held to account on being evidence-led; and how to effectively challenge when decisions were made that did not seem to be backed up by evidence. In response, the Board considered how research was generated and used in the borough, and considered how co-production approaches could be embedded in delivery. Islington was one of 13 Health Determinants Research Collaboratives, and it would be valuable to learn from elsewhere as their approaches developed.

·        The Board considered how social prescribing could be enhanced through prescribing more culturally appropriate activities.

RESOLVED:

That NIHR’s decision of approval for Islington Council to progress to full HDRC status on 1 October 2023 be noted.

Michael Daley, Islington Safeguarding Children Partnership Manager, introduced the report and summarised the work of the Partnership over the 2021-22 year.

The following main comments were noted in the discussion:

·        The Board considered a comprehensive presentation setting out the statutory context on the work of the Partnership, the outcomes of the Joint Area SEND Inspection, the increased complexity in safeguarding cases, and learning and development in the local partnership. The Board also considered the systems and processes being established to understand and mitigate against the disproportionality and inequalities impacting on some communities in Islington.

·        There had been a notable increase in contacts to the Children’s Services Contact Centre over the year. The Board also noted the importance of the voice of the child and listening to the concerns experienced by young people.

·        A member asked about the significant increase in under 5s experiencing social, emotional, and mental health issues. In response, it was commented that this was a known issue and new data was expected to be available in November 2023.

·        The wait time for CAMHS services was approximately 8-10 weeks, which was an improvement from previous years, however the increased prevalence of such issues was a known challenge.

·        Following a question on the prevalence of autism diagnoses in young people, it was commented that this had increased over recent years, however universal services now had increased awareness of how to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

RESOLVED:

That the report and future priorities for the Islington Safeguarding Children Partnership be noted.

Clare Henderson, Director of Integration for North Central London NHS Integrated Care Board, introduced the report. This was the first time that the Better Care Fund had been developed into a two year plan, and the plan also included a new fund to support discharge from hospital.

The Board commended the plan and discussed the importance of integration between health and care services and addressing issues in partnership.

RESOLVED:

i.          That the Islington Better Care Fund (BCF) 2022-23 performance be noted; and the impact that the Better Care Fund continues to have in supporting further integration of health and care services in Islington be noted.

ii.          That the Islington Better Care Fund (BCF) 2023-25 Plan be agreed; and it be noted that the submission was already approved for submission by the Chair of the HWB to meet the national timeframes.

iii.          That authority be delegated to the Director of Adult Social Care to make further decisions in relation to the 2023-25 Islington BCF Plan and associated national reporting within the parameters set out in section 3 of the report.

Miriam Bullock, Assistant Director - Public Health, introduced the report.

The Board noted the work of the local combating drugs partnership and that Islington had been designated as a priority partnership area.  The Board considered the range of drug and alcohol services in Islington, the funding available to support these, the progress made against the National Drugs Strategy, as well as challenges and opportunities.

The Board considered the need to invest in outreach roles, and the importance of recruitment to key roles to support the delivery of the strategy. It was acknowledged that delivery timescales were tight, but it was important to deliver and report positive outcomes in the current financial year. The Board considered the need for balance between impactful short-term work, and longer-term strategic work to make services more effective.

Following a question, it was explained that Islington had been identified as a priority area through national modelling on the prevalence of drug use. This was based on a range of data sources from the Police, NHS, and other algorithms. It was commented that several other inner London Boroughs met the same criteria.

The Board discussed how the work of drug and alcohol services can help to tackle inequalities in the borough.

The Board also noted the current government consultation on vaping and proposed government measures to further restrict smoking and vaping products to young people.

RESOLVED:

       i.          That progress against the National Drugs Strategy objectives and the current areas of Public Health focus around drugs and alcohol be noted; in particular increasing the numbers of people accessing structured treatment and improving the continuity of care between criminal justice settings and the community.

      ii.          To note that the Combating Drugs Partnership will meet in December 2023.