Issue - meetings

At the September 2017 meeting of the Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee a scrutiny Working Group was set up to review the reasons for the disparity in life expectancy between different areas in Waverley. Much of the evidence supporting the review is contained within the Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny version of this report. The report contains information on how the review was carried out, the findings of the Working Group and the recommendations made as a result. The scope for this review can be found in Appendix B within the report.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Executive considers the report and agrees the recommendations contained within it.

23.1     On behalf of the Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Cllr MacLeod presented the final report of the Committee’s review of factors affecting health inequalities in Waverley.

23.2     Cllr MacLeod thanked the Scrutiny Officers, Officers in the Communities service, and Public Health colleagues from Surrey County Council for their support of the review. There had been initial concerns from Members that the review was too wide-ranging, and the fact that scope had been achieved demonstrated the huge value of having dedicated Scrutiny Officers.

23.3     The report was broad in its scope, and he urged Members to read it as a whole. The work had been prompted by learning of the significant disparity in the life expectancy of residents between the most and least deprived communities in Waverley. There was no single cause for this, but rather it was an outcome of the interaction of a number of factors. What was striking, though, was learning that clinical care from the NHS only accounted for 20% of the factors which determine public health, whereas the responsibilities of county and borough councils could influence up to 70% of these factors.

23.4     The most important recommendation within the report, therefore, was for Waverley to take public health outcomes into account in all council policies and decisions, even though the Council has no statutory responsibility for public health.

23.5     Cllr MacLeod commended the report to the Executive, to agree the recommendations and actions within Waverley’s direct powers and to work with partners to disseminate and promote the wider recommendations.

23.6     Cllr Ellis echoed Cllr MacLeod’s comments about the importance of the review and the recommendations arising from it. She thanked him for his chairmanship of the Working Group, and officers for their support. Members had learned a great deal and would benefit from the understanding they had gained through considering the evidence presented during the review. The findings of the review would inform the work of the Council, but Waverley would need to work with partners to improve the health and wellbeing of residents and reduce the burden on the NHS.

23.7     Cllr Else thanked the Community Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their excellent and very detailed report. This report was the most in-depth review of health inequalities in Surrey that had ever been undertaken and as the Council looked to strengthen our partnership links it is a good time to look at how we can work together with our partners to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents.

23.8    The services which the Council provided were important determinants of health and particularly mental health; housing, older people services, leisure and arts services, community safety and many others. It would be important to work with health colleagues and other partners to focus services on those most in need.

23.9    The recommendations in the report were split into four parts. Recommendations 1 to 7 on page 9 of the report were for Waverley’s Executive to consider. There were also a number of tasks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23

To receive the final report of the Working Group on the Factors Affecting Health Inequalities in Waverley.

Recommendation

That the report be endorsed by the Committee and forwarded to the Executive for consideration.

The Committee received the final report of the Health Inequalities Working Group which had been set up in September 2017 to investigate the reasons why there were very significant disparities in life expectancy across the Borough. The objectives were to establish as far as possible the reasons for those disparities, to raise the awareness of those reasons and to make recommendations to the Executive and the Council on the actions that could be taken to improve the situation.

The Working Group met on several occasions and heard information from a number of different groups and organisations. This resulted in a large number of recommendations being put forward, both to the Council’s own Executive, Surrey County Council, Guildford and Waverley and North East Hampshire and Farnham Clinical Commissioning Groups. The report is attached to these minutes as it outlines all these recommendations put forward and the Action Plan proposed.

The Committee thanked the officers involved in the writing of the report for the detailed summary of their discussions. All Members had found the review very informative and much welcomed the findings. They felt that it was important that the action plan was carefully monitored to ensure progress with their recommendations.  Furthermore, that they continued the good working relationships with Surrey County Council in moving actions forward.