Agenda item

(1)  The key areas of discussion from the Wellbeing Board development day on 5 October 2023 as provided in the report was reviewed.

(2)  The Terms of Reference for the Mayor’s Equity Advisory Council was noted.

(3)  The revised Terms of Reference and governance of the Wellbeing Board which would be approved by the WMCA Board was endorsed.

The board considered a report from the Head of Health & Communities, Mubasshir Ajaz, to note the key discussion points from the Wellbeing Board development session held on 5 October 2023 that was facilitated by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA’s) Governance team to outline the proposed changes to the Wellbeing Board governance and to organise the board in a way which was more meaningful and utilised the considerable leadership qualities of members from local authorities to be able to align itself to the health in all policies approach being promoted from within the Wellbeing Board.  The changes included the introduction of new sub-groups and the new Mayor’s Health Equity Advisory Council, as well as consideration to on-going Wellbeing Board membership and consideration for hybrid meetings to continue to increase engagement with members.

The Head of Corporate Support & Governance, Julia Cleary, noted the feedback from the development session that focussed on the purpose of the Wellbeing Board to highlight key discussion points and the importance in understanding the added value of the board in which ideas and best practices were shared between local authorities, health organisations and partners for the West Midlands region, improved engagement with communities, consistency of approach, effective leveraging and ensuring that the passion from a local level was not lost. 

Furthermore, the establishment of the new Mayor’s Health Equity Advisory Council would bring together expert advice feeding into the Wellbeing Board to enable a more strategic approach to be built into the Wellbeing Board Terms of Reference and approved at WMCA Board to support the health in all policies due to an overarching approach and better connection internally with other directorates within the WMCA, as well as external work being carried out at local levels.

Councillor McCarthy noted the importance in member engagement, whether in person or virtually, was vital to the success in the changes, to which the Chair agreed and outlined her preference in at least one or two in person meetings per year as opposed to hybrid meetings.  The Head of Health & Communities noted that in-person meetings would continue to be encouraged, however as proposed within the report to continue to provide a hybrid meeting option to encourage more engagement and to take advantage of broader engagement with the health system through the Mayor’s Health Equity Advisory Council and through the sub-groups, led by Wellbeing Board members, which aligned to the health in all policies area.  The Chair responded to note that the sub-groups would prove extremely valuable in bridging across the different board meetings.

In response to Councillor McCarthy who noted that as there was no health duty, the context of work needed to focus on the role of the WMCA, particularly as some of the functions around hyper local working within communities still sat with relevant local authorities and health organisations.  The Chair agreed and noted that the Wellbeing Board’s focus had always been to provide additionality for approval at WMCA Board rather than to reinvent what had already been achieved in member organisations.

The Head of Corporate Support & Governance noted that by submission of items to the Wellbeing Board following sub-group meetings and by updating the Terms of Reference, should improve attendance levels of board members and engagement due to the additionality in making a difference and impact to communities across the West Midlands.   

The Head of Health & Communities referred board members to the Terms of Reference within the report to note the proposed Mayor’s Equity Advisory Council, Health & Employment Advisory Group, Physical Activity Advisory Group and the Disability Exemplar Working Group.  The Chair noted and the board agreed following scrutiny of each sub-group to commence initially with establishing the Disability Exemplar Working Group first as the Terms of Reference neared completion, followed by the Physical Activity Advisory Group and then finally the Health & Employment Advisory Group. 

The Strategic Lead for Wellbeing & Prevention, Simon Hall, agreed with the Chair’s sequencing of the sub-groups commencement and noted in regard to disability in particular, that the establishment of the Disability Exemplar Working Group would demonstrate the value of work undertaken by the Wellbeing Board over the past couple of years to strengthen disabled systems and voices through a connected multi stakeholder relationship, where there was now a platform to begin to explore those areas around being an exemplar region following identification of key members within the system and to build out with citizens, accompanied by local authority, Office for Health Improvement & Disparities and Integrated Care Board representation to drive that work forward and to report back to the Wellbeing Board. 

The Head of Health & Communities introduced the Senior Programme Lead - Commonwealth Games Legacy (Inclusive Communities), Helen Frost, who shared a presentation and provided board members with an overview of the Inclusive Communities Grant Programme of £9million, administered by the Heart of England Community Foundation, which was part of the Commonwealth Games Legacy & Enhancement Funding for sport, physical activity, mental health and wellbeing, and arts, culture and creativity investments that Constituent and Non-Constituent Authroties in the region could apply for.     

Following the presentation, the Chair noted that it would be beneficial for the board to have the ability in receiving the locations and projects of the grant allocations across the West Midlands and outcomes over time that the Senior Programme Lead - Commonwealth Games Legacy (Inclusive Communities) confirmed would be presented to the board at a future meeting.  The Head of Health & Communities suggested that it would also benefit and prove valuable to board members in the identification of any projects that were funded and  aligned to the West Midlands Mental Health Commission findings and recommendations to include within the future Inclusive Communities Grant Programme update to the board.  

Resolved:

(1)  The key areas of discussion from the Wellbeing Board development day on 5 October 2023 as provided in the report be reviewed.

(2)  The Terms of Reference for the Mayor’s Equity Advisory Council be noted.

(3)  The revised Terms of Reference and governance of the Wellbeing Board which would be approved by the WMCA Board be endorsed.