Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mary Curtin and Hayley James, Co-opted Member.

None

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed at a true and accurate record.

The Director of Public Health gave an overview of the report stating that it can be difficult to make a case for prevention as the evidence of its success is the absence of ill health and there is a significant periodbefore the benefits of prevention programmes become apparent. We are aware that 60-70% of the disease burden is caused by wider determinants of health such as poverty and lack of education.  But 36% of the disease burden is caused by lifestyle risks such as smoking, obesity, lack of physical exercise and excessive alcohol consumption. The Director asked the Panel to consider how to embed prevention across the council, how can we use campaigns and resources to have the maximum impact on health and how we can use licensing and planning to improve health and wellbeing

The Consultant in Public Health said the team has a role in commissioning targeted services with priority placed on the early years as ensuring children have a strong foundation for their adult years has long term benefits. Public Health therefore supports work in children’s centres and schools.

Madeleine Sword – Healthy Schools Cluster Development Manger Eastsaid schools are at the heart of the local community and a number of projects have been developed targeted at pupils, parents and school staff. Programmes include; get fit get active, cooking, gardening and top-up swimming lessons.

The Consultant in Public Health said they were also focussing on work places and Merton is signed up to the London Healthy Work Place Charter. We are also working with Wimbledon Chamber of Commerce to reach out to smaller businesses and organisations.  Diana Sterck, Chief Executive, Merton Chamber of Commerce said their organisation support this initiative because if people are healthy at work they are able to perform better in their role. The Chamber of Commerce raises awareness of the corporate benefits of having healthy staff and provides businesses with the tools they need to implement changes required. The scheme promotes healthy work place champions,  links to other organisations to deal with stress and back pain and encourages businesses to implement small changes which can have a significant impact such as eating fruit rather than biscuits and innovative ideas such as walking  meetings rather than sitting down.

The Consultant in Public Health said the team also support a number of projects in the community such as health champions and Live Well, a healthy lifestyle service which includes behaviour change specialists and stop smoking services. The service has supported over 3000 people in Merton, and smoking cessation rates are increasing, contrary to most other areas.

The Consultant in Public Health said they are also working to embed public health across the council by working with licensing and planning to try and create healthier choices on the high streets.

A panel member asked what influence public health can have on planning. The Director of Public Health said they can provide the evidence about links between unhealthy food outlets and proximity to schools.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Head of Service Provision gave an overview of the report stating that although there has been some success, the council needs to do some work to attract volunteers into day centres. The Library service has been very successful  at this and it is important to learn from them. Also, people may need more support to understand what the voluntary  role involves.

A panel member asked if the team are working with hospitals to recruit students. The Head of Service Provision said that previously qualifications such as the NNEB used to attract people however this is no longer the case so they will consider other opportunities to work with hospitals.

A panel member asked about training for volunteers. The Head of Service Provision reported that there is an induction process and supervised time. Volunteers receive all the required safeguarding checks and a full member of staff is always present to support them in their voluntary  role.

 A panel member asked what effort is being made to attract young people. It was reported that it important that young staff who can work with our young customers. There have been a significant number of young people over the years and some of the current paid staff started on a voluntary basis.

The Director of Community and Housing said  the council is  refreshing the volunteering strategy, the recent residents survey highlighted that 80% of the community do not volunteer so there is potentially a large resource for the council to access. We need to move away from traditional perceptions of volunteering and recognise it as an important responsibility as citizens.  A new website is being developed and the approach will be to engage with people and not over-burden them. There will also be discounts and incentives for those who volunteer.   We also need to be aware of the fact that it took five years to build up the volunteers within libraries.

RESOLVED

The Panel  thanked officers for their work

ADULT SOCIAL CARE SAVINGS

The Director of Community and Housing gave an overview of the report. He explained that we need to promote independence and resilience. The initial proposals focussed on procurement and many initial savings were made without significant disruption to frontline services.  We are now at the tipping point and future cuts are likely to have a bigger impact. The only way to mitigate the impact is if more people give their time and money to helping vulnerable people.

The Chair allowed the following people to address the Panel;

Lyla Adwan- Kamara, Chief Executive Merton Centre for Independent Living

The Chief Executive of Merton Centre for Independent Living has deep concerns about the impact of welfare reform. We need to consider what a cut of 20% will mean for local residents. We know that 2000 people will see a partial or total loss of benefits from their Disability Living Allowance.

There are problems with the assessment process which has already led to a national suicide. Merton Centre for Independent Living is already hearing about regular evictions through their case work. We need to think about the cumulative impact of the savings.

Lyla Adwan- Kamara  gave an  example of the impact of welfare reform on a client from Merton Centre for Independent Living.  The client was given a work capability assessment and scored zero points and informed they  were not eligible for Employment Support Allowance . As a result their housing benefit was also stopped. The person lodged an appeal against the Employment Support Allowance decision but in the meantime built up rent arrears. The client  was made homeless on the day the Employment Support Allowance  appeal was heard, which was found in their favour.

Khadiru Mahdi, Chief Executive MVSC

The Chief Executive of Merton Voluntary Sector Council said he understand the council’s restraints and that the narrative is more about resilience as the state shrinks as well as the fact that the voluntary and community sector need to step in. However demand is rising and we need to consider the sustainability of cuts such as decommissioning meals on wheels. There is a false economy as people who would benefit from prevention are moving to statutory need. MVSC are trying to work with the council and volunteers to lever support into the council.  Consultations are taking place and it is important that the council listens to the outcomes from residents.

A panel member said that adult social care has a 1% percentage saving target while Children’s schools and families has a 0.75% target. Why these targets are not evenly spilt and are there any plans to reduce them. The Director of Community and Housing reported that the percentages are reviewed on an annual basis, and is a constant dilemma given the level of need across all departments.

A panel expressed concern that we are losing compassion in communities and that the outlook was overly pessimistic and we need to look at all possibilities including income generation.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The work programme was noted