Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

To receive declarations of interest from Members.

There were no declarations of interests.

To answer any questions, if any asked by any resident of the Borough pursuant to Standing Orders.

There were no questions or deputations.

To receive the minutes of the previous meeting held on 17^th February 2021.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17^th February were presented.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 17^th February were approved.

For the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board to note the progress made against Cabinet Member priorities for 2020/21.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health presented their review of priorities report. The Cabinet Member highlighted a number of points referenced in the report, which included the work undertaken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic locally.

Members made comments and asked the following questions:

·  A Member referenced the work that had been undertaken to tackle social isolation and loneliness. They asked who was in the steering group, how the pilot was communicated to residents and whether Councillors could suggest people to be involved in the pilot. In response, the Cabinet Member explained that the steering group contained Officers from Solihull Council, charities and other external organisations that worked with people who were lonely. The pilot was communicated through Age UK’s befriending service as well as through safe and well calls to shielded residents. The pilot was in the process of being evaluated. From this it was hoped that the service would be expanded and a process could be introduced for Councillors and members of the public to refer residents.

·  A Member sought further clarity on the response to increased remote working by social care staff, and feedback from the use of digital engagement. The Cabinet Member noted that remote working had saved staff time and had enabled them to support more residents. The Assistant Director for Adult Care and Support further elicited that no issues had been identified by service users upon completion of an intervention. The digital approach would only be used if it was suitable for the individual and would be tailored for their needs. Additionally, a digital programme manager worked alongside social care teams to provide support, and tablets had been sourced for care homes. The questionnaire sent to potential service users had been amended to include specific questions about digital communication, and a question had been added to assessment documentation to include how the assessment took place.

·  Members queried the suicide prevention work; whether the data could be made available and if extra money had been made available. The Director for Public Health confirmed that the data would not be in the public domain. Also, extra funds had been made available to the mental health support line during COVID-19 to increase capacity.

·  A Member questioned whether the Council would be able to comply with the new requirements of the Domestic Abuse Bill in terms of safe accommodation. The Cabinet Member confirmed that this was in the process of being determined.

·  A Member asked whether the running track would be likely to reopen in line with other sports facilities. The Director for Public Health confirmed a recovery plan was in place. It was likely to reopen alongside the leisure centres, which would reopen when national restrictions were lifted.

·  A Member requested further information on whether there had been cross portfolio work to tackle educational and health inequalities. The Cabinet Member noted that there was work across the Council to tackle health inequalities through inclusive growth. There had been a particular emphasis on support for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.