Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Anna Burrage and Lorna Greenwood. Councillor Joseph Ball substituted for Councillor Burrage.

Members will be asked to declare any Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Compulsory Registerable Non-Pecuniary Interests and Voluntary Registerable Non-Pecuniary Interests in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: ‘In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.’

Any other announcements

Broadcasting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and could be viewed on the website for twelve months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts were archived and could be made available upon request. Those who were seated in the Council Chamber or participating remotely were deemed to be consenting to having their contributions recorded and broadcast and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.

Requests to speak at the Committee on a matter within its terms of reference must be made in writing to the clerk named on the front of this agenda by 5pm two working days before the meeting.

There were no deputations.

There were no items of urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 7 January 2025.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 7^th January 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care.

This report provides the Committee with an update relating to the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care.

Consideration was given to the report of the Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care.

It was noted that the Committee had received reports on the community connectedness work but a further update could be scheduled. The Director of Health and Wellbeing suggested that information on the impact of the Camden, together campaign and the metrics that had been developed could be included.

ACTION: Senior Policy and Projects Officer

The Executive Director Adults and Health stated that the new all-age Autism Strategy was nearly finalised. The governance arrangements were being reviewed so that the Board would continue to prioritise the experience of autistic people and hold partners to account on the commitments in the Strategy. Reporting on the new Autism Partnership Board and strategy could be built into the Forward Plan.

ACTION: Senior Policy and Projects Officer

There was support for visits to Care Homes and expansion of the Community Champion programme.

The Cabinet Member explained that the Participation Team was leading on ward sessions for the Community Connectedness campaign but that this would hopefully take place in the spring.

It was clarified that there would be Community Champion programmes in five locations based on the neighbourhoods model, with three already in place. The boundaries map could be reshared with the committee.

ACTION: Senior Policy and Projects Officer

There was Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding for a programme in Kings Cross, with an opportunity to focus on the Bangladeshi population. The fifth location would be Highgate considering inequalities within a more affluent neighbourhood.

There was a discussion about whether there was a business need to schedule a further meeting before the end of the municipal year to consider the CQC report and other issues. It was noted that the committee had the ability to schedule a seventh meeting. The Chair agreed to consult Members outside of the meeting as to whether a further meeting should be scheduled in April.

ACTION: Chair

The Cabinet Member explained that the Council had an assurance role with care homes as the commissioner. The CQC offered independent verification of care home quality against a set of metrics.

There was a discussion about whether an initiative tracker would be helpful for the committee, enabling monitoring of progress. Officers agreed that there were a number of activities that could be considered new initiatives but it was challenging to differentiate from the natural cycle of improvement works. The Cabinet Member noted that the Annual Report was a more comprehensive update and there had been discussions at previous committee meetings as to how progress on initiatives could be tracked through that. This could be considered further.

ACTION: Senior Policy and Projects Officer

It was recognised that community connectedness was not a widely understood phrase and officers explained that terms such as loneliness were used externally.

Colin Brummage, Camden Disability Action, informed the meeting that the organisation was running a project with the visually impaired community on loneliness. The aim was to train five visually impaired residents to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Executive Director, Adults and Health

The main purpose of this report is to update the committee about the Council's Adult Early Help work. The report outlines the context of Adult Early Help and why the work is happening, the aims of the test and learn, progress so far and any early reflections, and next steps.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director Adults and Health.

The report was commended for its mature information gathering and inclusion of opinions, including those that were not wholly positive about council services. The Executive Director Adults and Health commented that the department was learning from the methodical design approach and building of an evidence base by the strategy and policy design team. In response to concerns about deep mistrust for Council services, it was agreed that this was an issue where people had experienced a lack of responsiveness. The Adult Early Help approach would enable relationships to be built and address the issues influencing trust levels. The Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care commented that it did take time to build relationships and trust so the approach was resource intensive.

In response to a question about predictive analytics, officers confirmed that this had not been considered yet. Delina Evans, Senior Service Designer, explained that the sample set was small and the collection of qualitative data had been prioritised. The evaluation would consider the experiences of both the Adult Early Help team and adults supported by the service.

With regard to a case of a resident who was self-neglecting again after previous support by Adult Social Care to address the same issues, the Executive Director Adults and Health commented that self-neglect typically indicated a statutory care and support need. The Adult Early Help work and strength-based approach was enabling the service to become more effective at identifying a need for support earlier on.

In response to questions about resource implications, the Executive Director Adults and Health informed the committee that social workers in adult social care had caseloads of approximately 15 people at a time. The project was exploring what a smaller caseload would mean for the quality of relationship and problem-solving. It was also considering which cohorts were best supported through such an approach. There was a tight process for referrals to ensure the greatest learning came out of the Test and Learn project. When teams had been spoken to about referrals to the Adult Early Help team, councillor case work had been identified as an area for consideration. The Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care noted that the project was not a new service that councillors or officers could refer residents to but a learning approach with a very carefully selected group.

RESOLVED –

THAT the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Health and Wellbeing.

Camden developed a Healthy Weight Acceleration Plan in 2024 in response to the health and wellbeing crisis linked to population levels of overweight and obesity. The Plan has a 5-10 year perspective and is overseen by a multi-agency leadership group from across the Council, NHS, Schools, and VCS organisations.  The Health and Wellbeing Board is the key oversight group for this Plan, in line with its role in previous years overseeing action on healthy weight. 

This report sets out the scope, ambition, and progress for the Plan in its first year, drawing on an update that went to the Health and Wellbeing Board on 18th December 2024.  The Plan has five starting workstreams, focusing on: Early Years; Schools; Organisations and Place Shaping, Weight Management Services; and Population Groups with greater needs. Significant progress has been made.  The systems approach that Camden is taking has been commended by the regional Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. 

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Health and Wellbeing.

In response to a question about measuring success for the Health Weight Acceleration Plan, Piers Simey, Assistant Director for Public Health, commented that it was tricky to keep track on progress in a whole systems approach. Progress could be measured by using population health metrics, output data and service effectiveness performance data. Success required ongoing work over the medium to long term.

With regard to the National Child Measurement Programme, the Assistant Director for Public Health explained that enhancements could include measures to reduce delays in families receiving support, scheduling a Families for Life programme within schools and physical activities offered by schools. It was recognised that there was not always a natural progression from nee being identified to families responding to that.

The use of AI and engagement with the Knowledge Quarter was something that the service could consider for the future.

The Assistant Director for Public Health confirmed that the plan had not been co-produced with residents. However, it was intended to build in engagement over the course of the programme.

It was noted that working with the NHS on issues such as healthy weight helped to mitigate mistrust with council services. An example was given of the Caversham GP Practice that was able to identify those who would benefit from a weight management programme for men and fast track them to the service.

The Director of Health and Wellbeing acknowledged an overlap with the community connectedness work. Where activities were offered within the community or enabled friendships to form, this encouraged people to continue with programmes.

The Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care had been very involved in the work of the Plan. Thinking had shifted from an approach that encouraged people to change their behaviour to recognising that being overweight was a result of being part of a society that made it difficult to make healthy choices. System changes were required so that the healthiest option was the easiest, most attractive and cheapest. The Plan took many different angles and required every lever to be pulled at different levels of government. The Cabinet Member had worked with the World Health Organisation on this issue. Evidence indicated that where countries had been making progress with system change, the engagement of people living with obesity had been key. There would be thinking about how to engage communities and target groups with the work, including building a coalition of demand for healthy food available around schools.

In response to queries about measures to address the drop off in physical activity levels by teenage girls, officers noted that Torriano Primary School would shortly be hosting a Camden Festival of Activity for Girls. This arose from teachers recognising the issues with teenage girls and physical activity. It was both an opportunity for young girls to try out activities but also for school leads to come together and learn. Where equipment, staff training and confidence were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director of Adult Social Care Strategy and Commissioning.

This report sets out a range of perspectives on the question ‘How Camden’s Health and Care System supports Disabled residents’ for an initial discussion at Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee.

A short exercise was undertaken looking at existing research and contacting Camden partner organisations to develop this initial report. The attached slides, in Appendix A, are intended to start a conversation.

This includes perspectives on areas of support, delivered through existing services and organisations, and potential challenges Disabled residents experience when accessing the health and care system. It also includes further considerations and suggestions to develop this discussion.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Adult Social Care Strategy and Commissioning.

There was acknowledgement that 61% of people with a Learning Disability felt ‘very positive’ and 22.2% felt ‘positive’ about the care they received in Camden.

Officers explained that the census asked whether respondents had any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more to gather data on disability, thereby including both those with a disability and those with a long-term condition that caused disability. It was noted that the social model of disability was focused on societal barriers that ‘disabled’ people.

In response to a comment about barriers existing for many different people, including those who were not disabled, it was acknowledged that council services had to be accessible to any residents including older people and those who could not speak English. 

Colin Brummage, Camden Disability Action, confirmed that disabled people were the largest minority group. Impairment and disability could be seen as natural diversity. The social model of disability recognised that people could be disabled by barriers in society. However, some people did find their conditions and impairments very challenging and it was not always appropriate just to talk about social barriers.

The Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care noted a recent cross-party unanimously passed motion committing to an accessible Camden. Officers believed that Equalities and Community Strength would lead on delivery of the motion, working with Health and Wellbeing.

The Chair reported that at Disability Oversight Panel, residents had advised that communications needed to be improved. Communication was also a main issue raised via Member Enquiries. The Director of Health and Wellbeing was co-sponsoring a council-wide two-year project on accessibility with Hanad Mohamed, Director of Equalities and Community Strength.

Allegra Lynch, Camden Carers, welcomed carers being part of the conversation, recognising that some carers were disabled and council services should be accessible to all.

RESOLVED –

(i)             THAT the matters set out in the report, including the suggested ways to develop the discussion, be noted; and

(ii)            THAT key lines of enquiry would be identified in forward planning of the work programme.

Report of the Executive Director of Adults and Health.

This paper sets out the Committee’s work programme for 2025-26 and tracks actions from previous meetings.

Consideration was given to the report of the Executive Director of Adults and Health.

It was noted that two members of the committee had attended the Arsenal Women launch of a cervical cancer public health campaign.

RESOLVED –

(i)             THAT the work programme for 2024-25 (Appendix A) be noted; and

(ii)            THAT the Committee’s Action Tracker (Appendix B) be noted.

There was no urgent business.