Meeting documents

Apologies for absence were received from:

Stewart George (Chair, Buckinghamshire PCT Trust Board) took the Chair in the absence of the Chairman.  

There were no declarations of interest.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 31 March 2009 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

The Board received the Annual Report of the Bucks Strategic Partnership for 2008-9.

This was the first annual report to be produced. The report included a summary from each thematic partnership and details of the Local Area Agreement (LAA) fund linked to the partnerships.

The report also included reports from the Local Strategic Partnerships.

An improvement agenda for 2009-10 was on pages 25-6.

A member asked if the report would be shared with Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) inspectors. Jackie Fisk, Policy Officer, said that it would be shared informally as all BSP Board papers were copied to Rob Hathaway at the Audit Commission but that a further copy would be forwarded to Rob Hathaway formally on the Board’s behalf.

A member said that the issue of physical accessibility to health and social care was not mentioned in the report, although it was included in the Sustainable Community Strategies. The Chief Executive of the Primary Care Trust said that rural-proofing strategies were in place and that there was a good spread of social care services into rural communities. However this could always be improved.

The member said that the issue of accessibility to services should be on the agenda for the following year. It was noted that this issue cut across more than one LAA block.

The Chairman of the Aylesbury Vale Local Strategic Partnership referred to page 16 of the report, and asked why members of the LSP had not been invited to the workshop on anti-social behaviour. The Chairman of the Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board said that he would find out. ACTION: PT

A member asked for details of the £320,000 from the LAA pooled fund which had been allocated for reducing CO2 emissions. Gill Gowing said that she would provide this information. ACTION: GG

Jackie Fisk told members that quarterly updates would be given to the Board on the allocation of the LAA pooled fund.

Initial feedback on the area assessment for Buckinghamshire under the Comprehensive Area Assessment process.

Decision to be taken: Note initial feedback from inspectorates.

Sarah Ashmead, Corporate Manager, Policy, Performance and Communications, presented this item and said that the Audit Commission had sent apologies for the meeting.

Sarah Ashmead referred members to the handout (attached) and said the following:

·         The handout listed the areas on which the Audit Commission was likely to focus, following the self-assessment.

·         The first draft of the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) would be ready in September 2009, and would be shared with members. Red flags would indicate areas not doing well, and green flags would indicate areas of exceptional performance.

·         A good outcome for Children’s Services was anticipated.

·         Some issues were reflected across all local authorities in the South-East (e.g. housing).

·         The Audit Commission had produced a stand-alone report on Healthy Communities and Inequalities, and had noted that the cost of mental health services was very high in Buckinghamshire.

A member asked how much proactive work could be undertaken before September 2009. Sarah Ashmead said that work was fed into the Audit Commission on an ongoing basis. The Audit Commission had expressed a particular interest in housing.

Rita Lally (Adult Commissioners) said that an annual review meeting had been held the previous week with the newly-formed CQC (Care Quality Commission). Issues which had been familiar to the previous inspectorate had had to be explained for the first time to the CQC.

Rita Lally also said that value for money and efficiency was given less weight in some areas, and that this point could be made to the Audit Commission.  The CQC had the statutory overview for health and social care, and would feed into the Audit Commission.

The Bucks Locality Manager, GOSE, said that it was important that work did not lose momentum over the summer months (e.g. the work on cross-border crime and on the growth agenda). GOSE would be meeting with the Audit Commission in early September 2009 to obtain a regional comparison.

The Chief Executive of the Primary Care Trust (PCT) said that Buckinghamshire PCT was the lowest funded PCT in the lowest funded Strategic Health Authority area, which would affect ratings, and would continue to pose challenges. The Chief Executive also said that opportunities were needed to provide timely information to the Audit Commission, such as current information on mental health. Sarah Ashmead said that the Audit Commission had been in touch with the PCT recently. It was important that responses from different organisations were consistent.

The Chief Executive asked that any gaps in information be referred to him.

A member asked about Community Safety, which had previously been marked with a red flag. Sarah Ashmead said that the language used had changed and that the Audit Commission had said that Buckinghamshire had robust plans in place for Community Safety. The Audit Commission had set up an interview on this, and it was possible that a clear flag might be awarded to indicate a potential risk.

The Chairman of Bucks Fire Authority said that the Fire Authority would be very surprised if a red  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

·         Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board – Neil Gibson (Strategic Director for Communities and Built Environment, BCC)

·         Adult Commissioners Thematic Partnership – Rita Lally (Strategic Director for Adults and Family Wellbeing, BCC) and Colin Thompson (Director of Commissioning, Buckinghamshire PCT)

Short presentation from each partnership, followed by Q&A session.

Decision to be taken: Note performance of the two thematic partnerships, including use of the LAA pooled fund, and agree any areas of challenge.

Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board

Neil Gibson, Strategic Director for Communities and Built Environment, BCC, gave a presentation on the work of the Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board (attached) and told members the following:

·         The Safer and Stronger Bucks Partnership Board had had a statutory role since 2008. The Board complemented the work of the other thematic groups.

·         The Board was chaired by Chief Superintendent Paul Tinnion, Thames Valley Police.

·         The Board agendas focused on the Local Area Agreement (LAA), Strategy and Performance.

·         The Board was responsible for five national indicators and one local indicator.

·         The Board had also chosen to monitor four additional national indicators as local priorities.

·         The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund was part of the Area-based Grant, and had been c. £550,000 in the current year.

·         The Board had taken the lead on equality impact assessments.

A member asked about safety checks and asked if the number of businesses run from home posed a challenge. Neil Gibson replied that workshops on safety had been held which had been aimed at businesses at home.

A member referred to Locality Working Integration, and asked how different programmes could be brought together. Neil Gibson said that locality working was carried out at different levels. Work with vulnerable families needs to take place at different levels, including community and street level.  Delivery of the Sustainable Commmunity Strategy needs to be considered in this context.

A member said that the definition of a locality needed to be consistent across different organisations.

A member also said that references needed to be consistent, for instance when referring to the Voluntary Sector.

Adult Commissioners Thematic Partnership

Rita Lally, Strategic Director for Adults and Family Wellbeing gave a presentation on the work of the Adult Commissioners Thematic Partnership (attached).

Rita Lally and Colin Thompson, Director of Commissioning, Buckinghamshire PCT  made the following key points:

·         The Adult Commissioners Thematic Partnership was chaired alternately by BCC and the PCT.

·         The Vision of the Partnership was ‘Promoting Prosperity, Tackling Inequalities.’

·         Increased demand was outstripping the resources of the Partnership.

·         The number of older people over 80 receiving Social Care services was increasing dramatically.

·         A huge challenge would be the introduction of individual budgets (self-directed support) in Adult Social Care.

·         A current challenge was the large number of access points for members of the public.

A member asked if District Councils and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) were included in the Partnership’s agenda.

Rita Lally said that District Councils had a vital role and had provided support at the recent meeting with the Care Quality Commission. There was a District Council seat on the Partnership, and a VCS seat was being arranged.

The VCS would be vital in the implementation of self-directed support, in providing vital infrastructures. However the VCS should not be faced with large amounts of bureaucracy.

A member said that the VCS had been involved in a local pilot regarding falls, and that this would be followed by work on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Review of Sustainable Community Strategies

Decision to be taken:

• Sign off the draft strategies.
• Comment on whether the basket of long-term commitments in the countywide SCS captures the Board’s view of what success would like in 2026 if the strategy is successfully delivered.
• Consider whether the outcomes set out in the original review scoping have been achieved.

Jackie Fisk, Policy Officer, asked Members for their feedback on the draft Sustainable Community Strategies which had been circulated.

Members made the following comments:

·         Page 22 of the Community Strategy for Buckinghamshire (third bullet point) should read ‘Fit smoke alarms…,’ rather than ‘Buy and fit smoke alarms…’

·         A Member queried where maintenance of roads and accessibility appeared in the strategies. Jackie Fisk said that accessibility was included in the Heath and Wellbeing section. Neil Gibson noted that the text of the Buckinghamshire Strategy had been circulated to all LSP leads. The strategies were still in draft and changes could be made.

·         The scale of change due to the growth agenda needed to be shown accurately.

·         The importance of affordable homes should be added as a target. The wording against this needed to be amended as it did not match the LAA indicator wording.

·         Broadband technology was important for service delivery.

·         Delivery would be challenged by Overview and Scrutiny, but also by ‘seldom-heard’ groups.

·         ‘Thriving Economy’ – how will this be measured? ‘Soft’ information was available. Employer surveys were part of the CAA, and could perhaps be utilised. Data from schools and colleges was missing, and needed to be included.

Jackie Fisk asked that feedback on the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ aims be sent to her, and said that further work would be undertaken on the ‘Thriving Economy’ outcomes.

The Board considered the Forward Plan.

Members agreed that:

·         The Comprehensive Area Assessment should be a standing item.

·         Area-Based Grant for 2010/11 should be discussed at a future meeting.

·         The forward plan should be linked to the 2026 ambitions.  

Update on the work of the Rural Forum for the South East (sent by Michael Hunt by e-mail)

The latest meeting of the Rural Forum for the South East was held on 10 June 2009. The key points arising from the meeting were as follows:

·         Chris Chainey, representing the Surrey Rural Partnership, was elected as vice-chairman.

·         Valerie Carter, SEEA Rural Director, gave a presentation on the priorities for 2009/2010 agreed by the Rural Board. Each priority will be led by a Board member, supported by a working group to ensure that action is taken. The five priorities are: (a) influencing new regional structures, (b) ensuring robust evidence of rural needs is available, (c) rural broadband, (d) increasing focus on healthy living and local production and (e) affordable rural housing.

·         A workshop session was held to discuss the success, or otherwise, on getting rural recognised within Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements. The effectiveness of rural proofing within LSPs and LAAs is mixed across the region and concern was raised that there were too many partnerships that needed to be influenced, and there was a lack of responsibility from organisations is recognizing rural as a priority.

·         Finally a presentation was received on home based working in rural areas. Over 30% of rural working is home based, and nearly two thirds of business start ups operate from home. Home based business is a significant growth opportunity within rural areas but needs recognition from local authorities and investment in high speed broadband services.

Swine Flu

Ed Macalister-Smith updated the Board on the current swine flu situation.

Ed Macalister-Smith thanked everyone involved so far and said that there had been a fantastic demonstration of public services working together at the front line.

23 September 2009, 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Uplands Conference Centre, Four Ashes Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP15 6LB

23 September 2009, 2:30pm to 4:30pm at Uplands Conference Centre, Four Ashes Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP15 6LB