Agenda item

12:40

Val Johnson, Partnership Development Manager will present a paper (JHO13) on behalf of the Oxfordshire District Councils which discusses the role of the district councils in relation to health and wellbeing and the current activities that they support in relation to this.

The Committee received a presentation given by Val Johnson, Partnership Officer, Oxford City (JHO13). She was accompanied by District Cllr Anna Badcock, Vice-Chairman, Health Improvement Board and Dr Jonathan McWilliam, Director of Public Health, OCC.

Val Johnson referred to a report commissioned by the Association of District Councils by the Kings Fund, to look at what district councils could provide, particularly at this time of devolution. This report recommended that both the district councils and the Association of District Councils should be much clearer about the impact and measuring impact of added value. It also recommended that District Councils should be actively involved in Health & Wellbeing Boards. She added that in Oxfordshire was lucky in that two district council representatives played a significant role in contribution to discussions, as Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Health Improvement Board. Cllr Badcock gave her wholehearted support, stating that most of the work of district councils was around public health, a significant part of the work of the Health & Wellbeing Board.

A Committee member agreed that the district councils’ contribution to health & wellbeing was impressive, but patchy. She gave an example of the homelessness pathway, where little work had been undertaken outside of the City. She asked what could be done to ensure that every agency was contributing what it could for its residents. Val Johnson stated that District Councils worked together to recognise the needs within Oxfordshire and to ensure the evidence base for it.  District Councils recognised the importance of working together to get the most from limited resources that were available, not merely inviting other agencies to do the work. Moreover, the housing teams worked hard to prevent homelessness in the first place. Much of the contribution work was unseen.

A view expressed by some members of the Committee was that district councils needed to acknowledge the need to keep the multi-agency pathway alive. A possibility could be that the district councils could look collectively funding housing associations for adaptations to prevent falls in the home, for example.

Dr McWilliam reported that housing and homelessness care was under the remit of the Health Improvement Board and currently there was a strong strand of work being undertaken on bringing key partners together. He added that this one issue should not detract from the wide range of work the district councils were engaged in.

The Committee took a view that, in the future, if the topic of obesity featured in the Committee’s forward plan, it would be helpful to consider the role of district councils in relation to this. This could include a breakdown of what services are provided and commissioned and stating funding provision.

Cllr Badcock commented that it would be easier to look at the budget breakdown of the Council’s themselves in relation to food safety, environmental health etc, which prevented people coming through the NHS system.

A Committee member commented on the need to understand the prospect of devolution and where it was expected that the district councils would contribute, asking, for example, if there was a responsibility for the district councils to respond after the closure of the Health & Wellbeing Centres. Cllr Badcock responded that it was too early to say, as the Kings Fund report had only just been published. It was a very new area.

Val Johnson and Cllr Anna Badcock were thanked for the presentation and for their attendance.