Agenda and minutes

The Governance Services Officer noted to the board that apologies had been received from the Chair and the board was asked to endorse the appointment of a Chair for the meeting to commence.

Resolved:

(1)  In the absence of the Chair, the Wellbeing Board endorsed Dr Sue Ibbotson as Chair for the meeting. 

Apologies for absence were received from the following Wellbeing Board Committee members:

Councillor Izzi Seccombe (Chair), Councillor Kamran Caan (Coventry), Councillor Tony Dicicco (Solihull), Councillor Gary Flint (Walsall), Councillor Jasbir Jaspal (Wolverhampton), Councillor Karen McCarthy (Birmingham), Lisa Stalley-Green (Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board) and Pete Wilson (West Midlands Fire Service).

The following substitutes had been received from Wellbeing Board Committee members:

Dr Clara Day for Lisa Stalley-Green and Andrea Simmonds for Pete Wilson.

Members are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they have in an item being discussed during the course of the item being discussed during the course of the meeting. In addition, the receipt of any gift or hospitality should be declared where the value of it was thought to have exceeded £25 (gifts) or £40 (hospitality)

None.

The Chair welcomed new board members to the meeting for the start of the 2022/23 municipal year and invited introductions of the Wellbeing Board members.    

The board considered the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 9 March 2022.

Resolved:

(1)  The minutes of the meeting were agreed as a correct record.

(a) Revisiting the Health of the Region Report – Draft Report (Minute no.57)

The Chair requested an update on the production of the new health of the region report following discussions from the previous board meeting. The Head of Health and Communities noted objections had been received previously in the sense of requirement, need and case studies that were included. The Head of Health and Communities noted therefore for the board to consider a focus on the next edition of the report due in 2023 rather than to publish a brief update in regards to the data hub, as the online data hub was being established by another department of the WMCA in thinking about how to combine the various data sets, as well as what could be accessed publicly in to an online resource led by the WMCA’s new Head of Research and Innovation.

The Chair thanked the Head of Health and Communities for the update and noted that the pandemic had significantly changed statistics, therefore, if any board members wanted to view the health profile for English regions which had recently been published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the health profile was available on the gov.uk website.

Health Profile for the West Midlands 2021

The Head of Health and Communities noted that Birmingham City Council had also recently published community health profiles for various communities which had been praised nationally as well.

Overview | Community health profiles | Birmingham City Council

Mike Hastings noted to the Head of Health and Communities in supporting the work of the WMCA’s new Head of Research and Innovation to ensure a collaborative approach in the sharing of data sets, as this was already being undertaken on multiple and local levels, as well as Integrated Care Boards to add prompt value to the piece of work to ensure efforts were aligned and to avoid repetition.

(b) Health Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT) and Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

In response to a question from Dr Clara Day who requested an update in the combination of the Health Equity Assessment Tool (HEAT) and the Equality Impact Assessment, the Public Health Programme Manager noted due to crossover and similarities between the two, the compromise was to merge both together with a draft document that had been written following piloted projects within the WMCA for submission to the WMCA’s Corporate Leadership team for agreement and adoption.

The Public Health Programme Manager offered to share the written paper and proposed merger with the board, as well as contact details for the Equalities Impact Manager at the WMCA for board members to contact.

The Chair noted once the paper was distributed, it would be helpful for board members to share their feedback on its usefulness, how it might be improved and how it could be used particularly within integrated care systems.

The board considered a report from the Head of Health and Communities on the Wellbeing Board High Level Deliverables Annual Update.  The Head of Health and Communities provided an update on the status for each of the deliverables and highlighted key achievements in 2021/22.

The Chair thanked the Head of Health and Communities for the annual update to enable the board to reflect on the achievements and in how the WMCA was able to add value on specific deliverables that was useful for board members to note.

The board also received a detailed update from the Head of Mental Health Partnerships regarding Thrive at Work and the work of the West Midlands Mental Health Commission, as well as an update from the Strategic Lead for Wellbeing and Prevention regarding wellbeing and prevention programmes to outline the Department for Transport’s social prescribing walking and feasibility study called the “People Powered Health’ pilot, and partnership working to improve the health outcomes of disabled people from encapsulating on the Commonwealth Games and opportunities in the future from the Games’ legacy.

Justin Varney supported from a public health director perspective and commended the partnership working linking to the Commonwealth Games, noting that to maximise potential, delivering a whole system approach as part of a wider strategy and integration that connected advice given in healthcare settings and community physical activities to enable and support people with health conditions to be active was important for this to work.

Resolved:

(1)  The progress to date on the 2021/22 High-Level Deliverables was noted.

(2)  The High-Level Deliverables for 2022/23 was reviewed.

(3)  The Wellbeing Board to receive an update on the High-Level Deliverables at each future board meeting.

The board considered for the following items to be noted on the forward plan for discussion at future meetings of the Wellbeing Board.

Agreed:

(1)  Physical activity and disability within the region.

(2)  Legacy of the Commonwealth Games.

Tuesday 6 September 2022

The date of the next Wellbeing Board would be held on Tuesday 6 September 2022.