Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Public Health

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/046

Contact: Alan Rouse, Business & Planning Manager Tel: (01865) 328603

Report by Director of Public Health (CA8).

The annual report summarises key issues associated with the Public Health of the County. It includes details of progress over the past year as well as information on future work.

It is an independent report for all organisations and individuals.

The report covers the following areas:

Chapter 1: The Demographic Challenge

Chapter 2: Building Healthy Communities

Chapter 3: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage

Chapter 4: Lifestyles and Preventing Disease Before it Starts

Chapter 5: Mental Health

Chapter 6: Fighting Killer Diseases

The report has also been considered at the Oxfordshire Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on 15 September 2016.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.

Noted.

On the suggestion of the Leader of the Council it was agreed that the Director of Public Health present the Annual Report to the next Oxfordshire Growth Board.

Cabinet considered the annual report from the Director of Public Health that summarised key issues associated with the Public Health of the County. It included details of progress over the past year as well as information on future work. The report covered the following areas: The Demographic Challenge, Building Healthy Communities, Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage, Lifestyles and Preventing Disease Before it Starts, Mental Health and Fighting Killer Diseases.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Public Health, thanked the Director for an interesting report. She supported the use of smarter health contracts targeting the most deprived. She had been struck by the emphasis on prevention but believed that more needed to be done to get the balance right and that we should be working with commissioners to move money to preventative services. She would have wished the report to be stronger on ongoing areas of work with recommendations that were about action rather than review and monitoring. She noted that the section on thriving families downplayed the achievements and this reflected national doubts on its value. She welcomed the chapter on mental health with more needing to be done.

Jonathan McWilliam introduced the contents of the report highlighting the main points of each of the chapters. Responding to the point by Councillor Phillips in relation to thriving families he had been interested in the data and it was not a reference to the national debate.

During lengthy discussion Cabinet commended the Director of Public Health for an excellent report. Consideration should be given as to how the contents could be abbreviated and communicated to the wider public. Consideration should also be given to how the report was formally presented to reduce duplication.

Councillor Carter, Cabinet Member for Local Government, business, ICT and customer services suggested that the report provided an excellent manifesto for unitary government showing the importance of linking strands together.

There was reference to the issue of female genital mutilation and some discussion of why the issue of male genital mutilation was not viewed with the same level of concern.

On the suggestion of the Leader of the Council it was agreed that the Director of Public Health present the Annual Report to the next Oxfordshire Growth Board.

RESOLVED:             to RECOMMEND Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.