Agenda and minutes

1.1  An apology for absence was received from Helen Woodland.

2.1  There was none.

3.1  There were none.

4.1  The Chair stated that Members’ attention had been drawn to this project at the January meeting during discussions with Cllr Kennedy, the Cabinet Member, and it was decided to invite the leaders of it to come and describe the work.

4.2  He welcomed:

Care Ferrigi (CF), Community Development Manager, Volunteer Centre Hackney

Krista Brown (KB), Community development Officer, Volunteer Centre Hackney

4.3  Members gave consideration to the report “Together Better Volunteering in Primary Care’.

4.4  CF and KB took Members through the report in detail.  It covered:

The 7 GP Practices involved

Number of volunteers

The diverse range of activities and the numbers involved

Project impact - what the patients day

What the surgery staff say

Project impact stories

Contacts for further information

It was noted that the key to it was the excellent relationships with the GP Surgery Staff and that some of the volunteers on the project had also been given other volunteering opportunities and some have been taken on by the surgeries, which was not the original intention but was testament to the quality of their work. All the instructors who volunteer to give their time are fully qualified in their activity.

4.5  Members asked questions and the following was noted:

(a) The Chair asked how representative the participants were of their GP Practice area. CF explained that the majority were 45 yrs and above as the activities were during normal working hours but more surgeries were now also open at weekends.  The range of ages was 45 to 95.  The project was funded as a pilot by the ICB for two years for one surgery in each PCN area. They are now getting a second year of funding with half coming from the PCNs and half from the ICB i.e. NHS NEL.

(b) The Chair asked about the capacity of the project to expand to all Practices. CF explained that the project had doubled so they were now recruiting one more manager for each area, this would give the Community Engagement Workers more support and there were two of those working three days a week. They take referrals now from every PCN area.  KB detailed how referrals for her are coming from other surgeries in her PCN area as she has a good relationship with the social prescribers. She described the work they did on International Women’s Day when they had 11 nationalities involved, who all brought their national food, and the activities done during Black History Month. Diversity in all its forms was celebrated by the volunteers and participants.

(c) Members asked how the Practices were selected and if they were advertised in the local communities. CF explained that initially there wasn’t general advertising as the provision was  limited by which surgeries had the physical space to run activities. In the second round of the pilot the PCNs will choose themselves and they have begun some advertising as it will be going wider from April.

(d) Members asked about waiting lists and limits on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1  The Chair stated that the purpose of this item was to receive an update on the Health and Well Being Strategy one year after it was adopted.

5.2  He welcomed for the item

Joia De Sa (JD), Consultant in Public Health

Dr Sandra Husbands (SH), Director of Public Health

5.3  Members gave consideration to 4 documents:

Presentation on HWS one year on

Note on ‘Increasing social connections for the residents of Hackney’’

None on new City and Hackney Social Connection Leads Group - terms of reference

Copy of the Hackney Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-26

5.4  JD took Members through the presentation which covered:

Background to the Health and Wellbeing Board

Process to reach the Priorities and Progress to date

The 3 Priorities: Improving mental health; increasing social connection; and supporting greater financial scrutiny

Priority 1 - Improving Mental Health

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

Priority 2 - Increasing Social Connections

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

Priority 3 - Supporting greater Financial Security

What we’ve heard from residents and stakeholders on what is important

What we should focus on and how we are taking this forward

5.5  Members asked questions and the following points were noted:

a) The Chair asked about the approach to linking with or enhancing existing services, in relation to Priority 2 on ‘Increasing Social Connections’. JD explained that a key element of this was service mapping but it was also about having clear thinking on what we’re really defining as social connection and then  benchmarking so we can benefit from learning elsewhere. She added that the key point was the quality of the interaction and the frequency

b) The Chair asked about building on the legacy of Connect Hackney. JD explained that this work is about building on the projects that came out of that and linking them to the wider work such as that done by Volunteer Centre Hackney. SH added that up to now the focus had been on service delivery but if we want to engender lasting social connections and create healthier communities and not just respond to immediate needs, we need to be more creative. It’s about understanding what our role is in building social capital and not just providing a service, because those interventions are inevitably time limited and often about small groups rather than whole communities. We need to be able to support and strengthen social capital within discrete communities and between them, she added.

c) The Chair asked what a revised approach here would look like in practice. SH acknowledged that this was difficult to describe but what you will see is a combination of greater social cohesion within communities, which is tangible and somewhat measurable, but also communities continuing to come together to support each other, in the way they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1  The Chair stated that the purpose of this item was to receive an update from the Health and Care partners on the work of the Council and the NHS to support residents with the cost of living crisis focusing in particular on mitigating the health impacts.

6.2  He welcomed for the item:

  Nina Griffith (NG), Director of Delivery, City & Hackney Place Based Partnership

  Jenny Zienau (JZ), Strategic Lead (Change and Transformation), Policy and Strategic Delivery

6.3  Members gave consideration to two documents:

Briefing note on Cost of living and health equity

Executive Summary of Institute of Health Excellence report ‘Rising Cost of Living: a review of interventions to reduce impact on health inequalities in London’

6.4  NG took Members through the report in detail. The cost of living crisis locally had been the driver for this and the aim was to take a system level approach using collective levers of council and NHS to address the crisis. She took Members through the 4 key strands of the Poverty Framework namely:  Coordinating our system response; Equipping the resident facing staff; The crisis grants and income maximisation work via the Money Hub and the Use of Data and Insight. JZ went on to explain outreach with VCS partners and importance of co-designing the Money Hub with them

6.5  Members asked questions and the following was noted in the replies:

a) Chair asked about referral pathways to the Money Hub, limits on access and how checks on further Benefit eligibility are done. NG detailed the process explaining that it was quite bespoke and that among the team there are for example experts on housing benefits, on disability allowances and sometimes input on case management.  A large part of the work was around helping those with rent arrears. JZ described how the Money Hub worked in close partnership with the VCS partners giving the example of the work at the Lubavitch Children's Centre. The outreach is carefully co-designed with partners in the relevant communities.

b) Members asked about barriers to access and how those with No Recourse to Public Funds are being supported. NG explained that there is a big focus on reducing barriers and they acknowledge that everyone has different levels of trust in the local authority and statutory services and so they recognise that not everyone will come forward when they need to, hence they work very closely with the relevant VCS partners who might have those trusted relationships in place. JZ explained that on the No Recourse to Public Funds cohort the challenge is that they can’t give out money they can only support people to access what they are eligible for. They help them find support via homelessness services and charitable services and that the population is limited in terms of how much the Money Hub can increase their incomes.  She explained that there were plans for a hardship fund specifically for this cohort utilising some windfall funding that came via NLWA and they hope to go live with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1  Members gave consideration to the draft minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 2023 and the Matters Arising.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meetings held on 8 February 2023 be agreed as a correct record and that the matters arising be noted.

8.1  Members noted the updated work programme.

RESOLVED:

That the updated work programme be noted.

9.1  There was none.