Local democracy

Agenda, decisions and minutes

Contact: Jane Lythgow 

Items
No. Item

43.

DISCLOSURES OF INTEREST

(Members Code of Conduct - Part 4A of the Constitution)

 

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

 

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

 

Notes:

 

(1)       Members may remain in the meeting and take part fully in discussion and voting unless the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an interest which the Member feels would call into question their compliance with the wider principles set out in the Code of Conduct.  Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

 

(2)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

 

(3)       Members are also welcome to disclose interests which are not disclosable pecuniary interests but which they consider should be made in the interest of clarity.

 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

 

Minutes:

In the interest of transparency Councillor Hargreaves disclosed that he was a Trustee of a Voluntary Community Sector organisation  (Minute 47)   The interest was not prejudicial and he remained in the meeting during discussion and voting on that item.

 

ACTION: City Solicitor

 

44.

MINUTES

Recommended –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2020 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

 

(Jane Lythgow  – 01274 432270)

Minutes:

Resolved –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2020 be signed as a correct record.

45.

INSPECTION OF REPORTS AND BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

 

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

 

(Jane Lythgow - 01274 432270)

 

Minutes:

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

 

46.

REFERRALS TO THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Any referrals that have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda will be reported at the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no referrals made to the Committee.

 

47.

COVID-19: BRADFORD DISTRICT HEALTH AND WELLBEING VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SECTOR (VCS)

Representatives of the Bradford District Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Assembly will attend the meeting to present a verbal report providing an overview on activity and experiences of the health and wellbeing voluntary and community sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.  In addition examples of work carried out and case studies will be presented along with learning from this period and a look ahead to the future.

 

The views of Members are requested.

 

(Caroline Coombes  -  07970 413828)

 

Minutes:

Representatives of the Bradford District Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Assembly attended the meeting to present a verbal report providing an overview on activity and experiences of the health and wellbeing voluntary and community sector during the Covid-19 pandemic.  In addition, examples of work carried out during the pandemic and case studies were presented along with learning from this period and a look ahead to the future.

 

The case studies provided included examples of actions carried out by Bradford Trident; GATC; Girlington Community Kitchen, The Trident Centre; The Gateway, Greengates, mental health services under the banner Healthy Minds, CNET and The Khidmet Centre, Peer Talk, Jump @ Home, Keighley Healthy Living, Bridge Project and Dementia Friendly Keighley.

 

It was acknowledged that there were many more organisations carrying out invaluable work in communities which, due to time constraints, had not been reported.

 

A comprehensive presentation of the work of voluntary providers included, but was not limited to, the following services: -

 

·         The provision of digital inclusion devices and tutoring for students.

·         Support for isolated households

·         Investment in IT in community centres

·         Provision of a bike library to enable people to travel

·         Mental health support including for bereavement, anxiety, depression and other mental illness

·         The Mental Health Providers Forum, considering issues across the district, working together to provide collective support.

·         Provision of mental health training to Neighbourhood Support staff to enable them to be able to recognise people who were struggling and promote available support

·         Befriending services

·         Crisis advice and sign posting to other services

·         Food banks

·         Provision of food and delivery of meals to people who were vulnerable, self-isolating or shielding

·         Community kitchens catering for the needs of South Asian communities

·         Children’s play schemes and family sports

·         Refugee support

 

Following a very comprehensive presentation it was acknowledged that those organisations had worked in partnership and across the district to support residents and that voluntary organisations had been the back bone of support to people throughout the District during the pandemic.

 

A Member, who was also a trustee of a voluntary organisation, referred to a number of small organisations, some of which were newly founded, which had stepped up and were now on the verge of being involved in the VCS assembly.  He suggested that a strategy to help those organisations to continue to grow and maintain volunteers who had helped during the pandemic was required.  The financial support to those organisations from smaller businesses was also discussed and it was suggested that measures to maintain financial support should also be considered.   The mental health issues arising from the pandemic and the health benefits which could gained from volunteering were also raised.

 

In response it was explained that a collaborative review of the VCS infrastructure which the Council and others invested in to support a strong and sustainable sector had been in progress for 18 months.  Consultation had been undertaken and analysis of that consultation was being considered to test what people had said pre COVID in terms of what was needed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

48.

RE-OPENING OF BUILDINGS-BASED SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES (DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC pdf icon PDF 106 KB

The report of the Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing (Document “P”) updates and informs Members of the progression of plans to reopen building based commissioned Day Services for people with a Learning Disability (LD).

 

The views of Members are requested.

 

Gareth Flemyng – 01274 434790)

 

Minutes:

The report of the Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing (Document “P”) updated and informed Members of the progression of plans to reopen building based commissioned Day Services for people with a Learning Disability (LD).

 

Members were advised that during the suspension of services providers had been asked to explore ways in which staffing resources could be re-allocated to provide alternative methods of supporting people in their own homes and outside.  A number of providers had offered remote support to users and their families and carers via telephone and social media. 

 

Commissioners had worked with VCS providers in Bradford to contribute to 300 state of the art tablets and internet dongles and they had been delivered across the District to locked down people who otherwise had no way of communicating with the outside world.

 

Video footage depicting a number of activities undertaken by The Big Soup Theatre Group  was presented and included flash mobs, art pack deliveries and sessions, face mask production/delivery and safety videos.  The footage showed the appreciation of service users and the valuable way they involved people and communicated essential measures. The footage showed a sample of events occurring throughout the District and the joy on the faces of service users involved was acknowledged and welcomed. 

 

Members thanked the providers for the activities taking place believing that they were a lifeline for some people.  It was suggested that a further report be provided and that services to people with learning disabilities should be prioritised as highly as education.  It was also believed that service users be given a higher priority for the vaccination to enable them to return to activities and it was agreed that investigations would be conducted into the priority designation for learning disabled people to receive vaccination and if their priority could be influenced.  

 

Members requested they receive the link to the presentation and additional content which time constraints had meant it had not been possible to show and it was agreed to provide a link to that footage.

 

Measures to support the re-opening of building based day opportunities were questioned and surveys which had been conducted to understand service user experience of lockdown and to provide information on the demand for services and the types of activities required for the future were reported.  It was acknowledged that social distancing measures meant that only a limited number of places were available in buildings at the current time and it was questioned how service users would be selected to return to that provision.  In response it was explained that the Commissioning Unit with support from the infection control team had approved as COVID secure the building based Risk Assessments relating to twelve units delivered by seven different providers.  Social Workers, CCG colleagues and Providers had identified those service users at greatest need in relation to a return to a building based service.  Details of that assessment were contained in Document “P”.

 

Resolved –

 

(1)  That every consideration be given to prioritising people with Learning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

49.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 78 KB

The Overview and Scrutiny Lead will present Document “Q” which presents the Work Programme 2020/21.

 

Recommended –

 

That Members comment on the information contained in Appendices 1 and 2 of Document “Q”.

 

That the Work Programme 2020/21 continues to be regularly reviewed and updated on a rolling three month basis up to March 2021.

 

(Caroline Coombes - 01274 432313)

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Overview and Scrutiny Lead presented Document “Q” which reported the Committee’s Work Programme 2020/21.

 

A Member who was also a Member of the Outbreak Management Committee believed there was some useful information from that group which would be helpful to Members and agreed to check if he was able to share that information with the Committee and provide a verbal update in the New Year.

 

It was also agreed that the Overview and Scrutiny Lead be requested to write to the Executive to champion the cause of the Voluntary Community Sector and their efforts to support vulnerable people. 

 

Resolved –

 

That the Work Programme 2020/21 continues to be regularly reviewed and updated on a rolling three month basis up to March 2021.

 

ACTION: Overview and Scrutiny Lead