Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests;

·        any prejudicial interests;

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests, not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in respect of business on the agenda.

Councillor Pavlovic declared a personal, non pecuniary interest in agenda Item 4 (minute item 78) as he had previously been Director of the York Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (YACRO) from 2011-2014.

Councillor Cullwick declared a personal, non pecuniary interest in agenda Item 4 (minute item 78) as he had previously been a Trustee of YACRO.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 26 March 2018 and 23 April 2018.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 26 March and 23 April 2018 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is on Tuesday 22 May 2018 at 5:00pm.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. This broadcast can be viewed at: http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting e.g. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at: http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report looks at the activity governed by the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Act 2002 and the City of York Council’s Homelessness Strategy 2013-2018 in respect of the financial year 2017/18. The primary focus is to report on prevention work, the trends of statutory homelessness and rough sleepers.

Members considered a report which looked at activity governed by the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Act 2002 and the City of York Council’s Homelessness Strategy 2013-2018 in respect of the financial year 2017/18. The primary focus was to report on prevention work, the trends of statutory homelessness and rough sleepers.

The Assistant Director for Housing & Community Safety and the  Service Manager Housing Options and Support Team were in attendance to present the report and respond to questions from Members. They highlighted that 74% of actions in the current strategy were complete and that others had carried forward into the new document. They also clarified that many were very ambitious targets and lengthy pieces of work, such as setting up Howe Hill Hostel for Young People.

In response to Member questions Officers stated:

·        Some actions which had carried over into the new document were ‘big ticket items’ which would need several years to complete. Others were ongoing pieces of work and some could not be signed off as completed due to ever changing targets (e.g. Welfare Benefit Systems).

·        Additional funding had been sought for Mental Health Hostel Workers but this application had been unsuccessful (page 28, q.). However it was still an ambition to make some of the vacant support worker roles into Community Psychiatric Nurse posts should funding become available.

·        There had been a reduction in the number of properties managed by YorHome. This was a result of the housing crisis as several landlords had sold on houses and therefore left the scheme. However, the scheme was always looking to manage more properties.

·        Of the 15 people who were currently deemed rough sleepers, 6 or 7 had no local connection. They had all refused assistance to find homes in other areas. A bid had recently been submitted for additional funding to help tackle this issue and put alternative measures in place.

·        In relation to rough sleepers accessing primary healthcare, a recent Housing Needs Assessment which surveyed 81 people had not shown this to be an area of concern. The Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (VoY CCG) commissioned a specialist GP service to provide drop in services for these users. There were some concerns over access to dental services, foot care and eye care and this was part of ongoing work with GP’s. The Director of Public Health, who was present at the meeting, suggested that if Members became aware of individuals having problems in this area that it should be highlighted so that an investigation could be carried out.

·        The number of people in temporary accommodation was at the lowest figure in 30 years.

·        A report would be going to Executive in July/August on Housing Delivery.

·        Street Begging was an ongoing issue and not necessarily one linked to rough sleeping. This was part of the Community Safety Strategy and Neighbourhood Enforcement, BID Rangers and the Police would move people on where appropriate.

·        The merger of York Arc Light, YACRO and Changing Lives York had resulted in savings due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

This report sets out the performance of Healthwatch York over the past six months.

Members received a report setting out the performance of Healthwatch York over the previous six months.

Sarah Armstrong, Chief Executive of York CVS and Catherine Scott, Policy and Research Officer (Healthwatch York) were in attendance to present the report and answer Member questions.

They highlighted some areas of interest in the report including:

·        Publication of the report “Filled to Capacity: NHS Dentistry in York” which had been presented to the Health & Wellbeing Board in March.

·        The involvement Healthwatch had in making the ‘Live Well York’ tool accessible to all.

·        The positive response to national Volunteers Week.

·        The negative impact that changes to the Welfare Benefit System was having on people’s wellbeing was becoming apparent and it was expected that signs of this would continue to appear.

·        Healthwatch had dealt with some significant staffing challenges over a short period of time but was using the opportunity to review roles within the organisation.

The Chair stated that he was pleased to see a focus on important areas such as Mental Health and dental access.

In response to Member questions they stated:

·        Volunteer numbers were slightly up at around 40.

·        There was an overspend between October 2017 and March 2018 which was mainly due to the employment of extra administration staff. This had been a carefully planned decision and would not be an ongoing deficit.

·        Recruitment, induction and support of volunteers was taken very seriously. Regular meetings were held between the Volunteer Lead and volunteers offering them support and guidance.

·        There were concerns around Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, with only 24% of those surveyed by Healthwatch feeling that CAMHS (Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services) had made a positive difference to them.

·        Work was being done in conjunction with CYC on Homecare Services.

·        Healthwatch had been invited to participate in the Oral Health Improvement Board. This was a good opportunity to push for improvement and represent patients.

·        A target area moving forward would be communication with younger people and in particular social media presence.  

Resolved:  That members note the report.

Reason:     To update the Committee on the six monthly performance of Healthwatch York.

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the municipal year.

Members gave consideration to the Committee’s work plan for the municipal year.

Resolved:  That the work plan be approved subject to the following additions:

1.   June – Report on CCG Patient Transport Service

2.   June – Home Care

3.   September – Delivery of CQC Local Plan Systems Review Action Plan

4.   December – Report on progress of CYC Asset/Place-based approach to working

Reason:     To ensure that the Committee has a planned programme of work in place.