Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Penny Pataky.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 October 2021

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19^th October 2021 were approved as a correct record.

Members to declare any interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

Public Health Speciality Registrar Lucy Cunningham and Public Health Consultant Tiffany Burch gave an overview of the health and wellbeing of residents in the Community Board Area. Their presentation highlighted key indicators for public health, in particular:

• Higher life expectancy for men (82.7 years) than the Buckinghamshire average (81.8)
• Lower life expectancy for women (84.6 years) than the Buckinghamshire average (85.1)
• Slightly higher low birth weight babies born (7.9%) than the Bucks average (6.8%)
• Higher overweight or obese children in year 6 (34.5%) than the Bucks average (31.1%)
• Lower levels of physical inactivity in adults (18.4%) than the Bucks average (20%)
• 45% of residents who were eligible for an NHS health check had done so

The presentation also highlighted three key recommendations to improving the health and wellbeing of residents in the Community Board Area. These included:

• Preventing Cardiovascular Disease (also a top priority of the Integrated Healthcare Partnership)
• Supporting residents to stop smoking
• Improving Mental Health/Tackling Social Isolation

Finally, the presentation suggested ways in which these recommendations could be taken on board and addressed by the Community Board:

• Fund the Active Movement Programme in schools
• Support the Grow it, Cook it, Eat it scheme
• Set up a Grow to Give scheme
• Make local parks and playgrounds smoke free
• Organise local Make Every Contact Count (MECC) training
• Fund Healthy Ageing projects
• Support schools to deliver a wellbeing service day for pupils and staff

These suggestions could be taken on board and interpreted by members of the Community Board as would best suit their areas using their local knowledge and connections.

Following questions from Members, the following points were made

Lucy confirmed that ‘physical inactivity’ for adults would constitute falling below 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week. This data was taken from the health survey for England. Activities such as walking were a particularly accessible form of enjoyable exercise.

Supporting schools with initiatives such as a ‘daily mile’ or ‘walk to school’ initiative would be a good way to address the issue of overweight and obese children in Primary Schools. It was important to ensure that the children were consulted and engaged with any projects and initiatives put in place to stand any chance of being sustained. Bucks council was appointing a Participation Manager who would facilitate and develop existing networks to include youth voice representation, including possibly on Community Boards.

Tiffany did not have specific information related to the funding-split for the Integrated Care Board as this was at an NHS level and not part of the public health remit at a local level, however it was normally funded based on population numbers and an element of need. Members were encouraged to invite NHS representatives to attend a future meeting to explain further. There had been an increase in the Public Health Grant in the region of 2.8%.

Katrina would catch up with Councillor Poll following the meeting to discuss proceeding with the wildflower planting project and confirmed that it had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Mark Stokes gave a presentation to Members highlighting the work done by LEAP to improve the health and wellbeing of residents across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes through physical activity and sport. The presentation focused on the Children and Young People Active Lives Report published in December 2021. The details could be found in the slides appended to the Minutes of the meeting.

Following the presentation, the following key points were discussed:

·       The decrease in the number of boys engaging in physical activity was mainly due to the sporadic operation of organised sports clubs during the lockdowns as regulations fluctuated.

·       The ‘Opening Schools Facilities’ programme would be entering stage three, which aimed to increase community engagement with schools. 29 schools had been supported by the programme last summer.

·       Funding had also been made available to promote physical activity through youth groups as part of the LEAP partnership programme.

·       LEAP continued to operate its ‘Active Medicine’ workshop to increase public awareness of the benefits of physical exercise and activities in accordance with CMO guidelines.

Of the £193k budget, £122k had been allocated, with around £67k worth of projects in progress which left around £3k for this financial year. The budget for the next municipal year would be less, however would still be able to achieve positive outcomes for residents.

Inspector James Davies was in attendance to provide an update on the work of Thames Valley Police in the Community Board area. The following points were highlighted:

• Community Board boundaries differed slightly to the boundaries used by the police for Wing and Ivinghoe. There had been 19 residential burglaries committed during the year to date, which was low when compared nationally. Violence with injury had increased by 20 crimes which represented a 44% increase, this was a national trend toward pre-lockdown levels. Thefts of motor vehicle were down 28% in the area.
• There had been an increase in rural crimes, with a particular focus on agricultural premises. These were committed by organised crime groups who would commit offences across the country. Individuals had been arrested and had bail conditions not to enter the county. Since the arrests had been made, no further offences had been committed.
• The neighbourhood policing team covered a wide area, and had resourcing challenges. The national uplift in officers was underway although was a slow process and pressures were expected to continue for the short term.
• The force had to prioritise areas of focus, and often this meant problem parking was not dealt with immediately, although where the police were notified they did attempt to resolve these issues.
• The speedwatch scheme had been updated and was now a centralised system which made the process smoother for any residents interested in setting up their own scheme. The new system had been received positively in Ivinghoe and the speed camera van had been out to problem areas identified through speedwatch.

Chris Poll presented the Buckinghamshire Council update. The report in the agenda pack contained full details and the following points were highlighted:

• The Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) had decided the number of Councillors in Buckinghamshire should be 98. A consultation was open for residents to provide information on local areas to help the LGBC complete proposals for new ward boundaries. It would close on 4 April.
• The Council was in the early stages of producing its new Local Plan and all members of the community were encouraged to give their views on its development through a public consultation.
• If Board members knew of any residents who may need some extra help to cover food, heating and other essential costs they were encouraged to contact the Council’s Helping Hand team.
• A range of information was available on the Council’s website on The Queen's Platinum Jubilee including how to apply for street party road closures. Tree planting was a great way to get involved in Jubilee celebrations and tree planting guidance had also been produced on the Council’s website.
• As part of the celebrations the Council was looking to compile a list of the 70 best loved trees and woodlands to celebrate 70 years of her Majesty’s service and nominations were invited from each Community Board area. More information could be found on the Council’s website.
• There had been recent policy changes to 20 mph speed limits in Buckinghamshire which had held up some Community Board projects to display signage around schools. The new guidance would be circulated by Katrina and Board members were invited to submit questions (Action: Katrina Holyoake). Information can be viewed here. The Board would monitor the progress of two cases in Wing and Wingrove where sign only limits were being implemented and an update would be given at the next meeting.

·       The Ivinghoe Area Freight Zone consultation would close on 23 February 2022. Traffic Regulation Order Freight strat consultation closes on 23^rd.

·       The Luton Airport consultation was also live and details could be viewed online. Katrina would share this link with Board Members (Action: Katrina Holyoake).

To be confirmed

The date of the next meeting would be circulated to the Board as soon as it was confirmed. This would likely be around the end of July/early August and it was hoped that a face to face event would be organised in the meantime for April to highlight achievements, projects and celebrate Proud of Bucks awards.