Agenda item

‘To be treated with kindness, understanding, honesty and respect when accessing services’, was chosen by the York Poverty Truth Community Commissioners as the issue that would make the most difference to them whilst experiencing poverty.

As a result the Commission produced a Charter containing a set of four organisational standards that would ensure the above. Some of our Community Commissioners will talk through how the standards came about based on their own experiences.’

The Poverty Truth Commission Coordinator (PTC Coordinator) introduced the role of the Community Commissioners and discussed their presentation entitled “TOGETHER: Promoting dignity and respect for those facing poverty” introducing the newly created Charter for Organisational Standards. He stated that the top three issues identified by Commissioners as a priority when drawing up the Charter were:

·        Understanding; linked with kindness and respect

·        Communication

·        Digital exclusion/inclusion

The Community Commissioners proceeded to discuss their individual lived experiences and how these fed into the work of the Commission and the theme of the presentation.

In response to questions to the PTC Coordinator’s questions, they also discussed ways in which the Commission had already made a difference; such as changing the way in which letters from the council are worded, and the police presenting a monthly kindness award.

They also proposed changes to health and social care to improve experiences for end users. The Board recognised this point, and confirmed that they would take away from it, acknowledging the way Commissioners had discussed being treated by health and social service staff. While the Commissioners had understood there must be mitigating factors for this, it was instructive for the board to see how this impacted on end users.

The Board queried the concerns that Commissioners had regarding communications and they explained that a lack of detail and explanation on a computer generated council bill could cause a great deal of worry, particularly if sent in error or unexpectedly. The example given billed for “Adult Social Care” which was a generic explanation and not something the commissioner had recognised; someone with mobility issues or financial/digital exclusion may find it difficult to follow up on correspondence to request further explanation. Commissioners also noted that the average literacy level of someone in poverty is age 13 and the communications sent generally have an expectation of GCSE level literacy. The Commission were happy to offer a service to confirm correspondence was comprehensible to the intended audience.

The board acknowledged commissioners points regarding digital exclusion and asserted that in addition to poverty and education, there were also generational accessibility issues, and access to services should never be locked behind a gatekeeper of technology. The PTC Coordinator noted that commissioners were contributing to a digital inclusion panel.

Board members asked whether there were any lessons to be learned from other Local Authorities, and the PTC Coordinator stated that York was the first authority to produce such a charter and was essentially leading the way in putting something together like this. The board acknowledged that multiple partners had received feedback regarding correspondence, and Healthwatch utilised a “readability” panel, but it was vitally important that partners not create unnecessary concern.

The Board asked the Chair what the chances were of City of York Council adopting the Charter proposed by the Poverty Truth Commission, and the Chair confirmed that many organisations had already taken up the charter, and the Board was asking partners to return to their organisations, consider the principles, and decide within their organisations whether or not they wished to sign up.

The board acknowledged LGBTQ residents, disabled residents and residents experiencing dementia had all fed back that they too greatly appreciated the key principles of kindness and respect from health and social care providers, and the charter would provide benefit more widely than just those experiencing poverty.

The board acknowledged that the changes to legislation regarding prescription charges put the onus on the recipient to declare that they were in poverty or otherwise unable to afford to pay for their prescription in order to be offered assistance, and it was felt that the guidance offered by the charter was helpful for situations like this.

The Chair thanked the presenters on behalf of the board for the work they, and the Commission were doing, and urged organisations to sign up for the charter if they had not already done so.

Resolved: That the Health and Wellbeing Board noted the Report and Presentation, and endorsed the Commission’s Charter.

Reason: To provide the Health and Wellbeing Board with an update on the work of the Poverty Truth Commission and their Charter for Organisational Standards.