Agenda and minutes

The Board noted apologies from Cllr Ernest White, Cllr Liz Mallinson and Mayor Kate Allsop. The Board also wished Cllr Liz Mallison a swift recovery.

The Board congratulated Sally Burlington and the Chairman on having been made Officers of the Order of the British Empire.

A representative from the Jo Cox Commission will attend to discuss the Commission’s work.

This will be an opportunity to hear more about the Commission and to explore whether and how the LGA and local councils may be able to contribute or link into the Commission’s work.

The Chairman welcomed Rachel Reeves MP, Co-Chair of the Jo Cox Commission, who had been invited to attend the Board to discuss the work of the Commission and to explore whether and how the LGA and local councils may be able to contribute or link into the Commission’s work.

Ms Reeves detailed the origins of the Commission in Jo Cox’s work on the impact of loneliness. She explained that Jo Cox had particularly noticed at her surgeries that for many members of the public this was the only social interaction they would have that day.

Further to this, the Ms Reeves emphasised that it was a real privilege to take the work of Jo Cox forward. She also explained that she knew many local authorities were doing work on the issue of loneliness and that the Commission was supported by 13 partners including Age UK, Carers UK and Action For Children. Ms Reeves informed the Board that the current political climate was the best opportunity to take the Commission’s agenda forwards. She also emphasised that acute loneliness has been shown to be as bad for a person’s health as 15 cigarettes a day. She informed the Board that local authorities, CCG’s and businesses were all important partners in achieving this, giving community cafes and partnership work with the Co-Op as positive examples.

Ms Reeves explained that the Commission will publish a report for parliament at the end of the year and that both Labour and the Conservative party having included loneliness in their manifesto’s was a positive sign. This would be critical in bringing a discussion on the stigma of loneliness to parliament.

In the discussion with Ms Reeves that followed Members raised the following points:

·         A member expressed a view that a very long term response would be necessary and that the most important way to tackle loneliness would be through the many services that Councils provide.

·         A view was also expressed that the most important interactions an individual who is experiencing loneliness can have will often be in the street and because of this friendliness of an area will always be key.

·         A member raised the importance of shared public spaces in tackling loneliness, in particular for the retired and unemployed.

·         A member raised that loneliness in rural areas would also need to be addressed.

·         A query was raised as to what local authorities can do to better support young adults.

·         The challenge of identifying people affected by loneliness was also raised by members.

·         A member raised that there are many affected by loneliness despite having company and expressed a view that loneliness could be considered the difference between the quality and quantity of social interaction received compared to the quality and quantity of social interaction expected.

·         A view was expressed that the economic issues caused by loneliness should be considered in greater depth.

·         A member expressed an interest in hearing about the great role that could be played by planning departments and businesses.

·         Ms Reeves emphasised the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The agenda item will start with reflections and insights from Glen Garrod, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, and Vicky McDermott, Chair of the Care and Support Alliance.

The Chairman welcomed Glen Garrod (Vice-President of ADASS), Vicky McDermott (Chair of the Care and Support Alliance) and Sir Andrew Dilnot CBE who had attended to discuss care and support reform in more depth with the Board.

Glen emphasised that he was speaking not only in his role as Vice-President of ADASS but also as a Director of Social Services in Lincolnshire County Council. He also explained that he would be speaking at a national level. He gave a presentation to the Board raising some key points;

·         The coming political cycle will be a great opportunity to bring the profile of adult social care to the forefront.

·         Adult social care was emphasised as a major contributor to employment both locally and nationally.

·         The care market is in crisis and as local authorities we need to be mindful of local variations and the impact these can have.

·         He raised a concern that Sustainability Transformation Partnerships rarely include social care providers.

·         Glen also emphasised that local relationships will be crucial in determining where a system can cope.

·         He emphasised that if we cannot change how these systems work then we will fail. He also explained ADASS’ first priority is quantum; social care and health need to be accessible as a combined resource.

·         Glen also raised that we will need to move more spend to primary care going forward.

Vicky McDermott and Andrew Dilnot then briefly set out their thoughts on the future of adult social care. Vicky noted the role the LGA had played on this agenda and encouraged the Association to continue to take the lead on reform of care.

In the discussion that followed with Glen Garrod, Vicky McDermott, Sir Andrew Dilnot CBE and members of the Board the following points were raised;

·         Vicky emphasised the need for greater integration and that the fundamental gap in funding would need to be dealt with going forward.

·         She also gave further emphasis to the need for the NHS to work more closely with partner organisations.

·         Vicky raised that the system needs to become easier to understand and navigate.

·         Sufficient support for providers was also emphasised.

·         Members expressed views that they needed to ensure their voice was heard by the new government.

·         A view was expressed that integration wasn’t a solution in itself.

·         Greater integration between community health and housing was highlighted as a key issue.

·         Whether Sustainability Transformation Partnerships were the right vehicle to discuss and bring about the necessary changes was raised as a concern.

·         The Board shared the view that the notion that local authorities could source the funding for adult social care locally was absurd.

·         A view was expressed that this was a clear opportunity for the LGA to put pressure on central government to push for further change.

·         A concern was raised that there needs to be an increase in public awareness of adult social care and the current funding gap.

·         More diversity in the care market was highlighted as critical in the near future.

·         Concerns over staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Chairman explained that the issues raised in this item were addressed and explored in the previous discussion on care and support reform.

The Board agreed to move onto the next agenda item.

The Chairman gave thanks to the officers involved in the achievements detailed in the report.

The Board noted the report.

Cllr Doreen Huddart informed the Board of a national roundtable meeting, arranged by the Centre of Mental Health, which she had recently attended. She explained that there were representatives from all across the sector and that one of their biggest concerns was in recruitment. The roundtable had a consensus in their view that going forward they wanted mental health focused careers to be more appealing to students, and should look into how best to achieve this.

The Board noted the update of other Board business report.

The Boardagreed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 April 2017.