Issue - meetings

To consider a report of Corporate Director for People.

This report presents the draft 2016/17 Agreement for the Health Portfolio (Appendix 1) for consideration and comment by the Committee. For Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, this incorporates;

·         Public Health

·         Health and Wellbeing

Policy priorities for the year ahead are set out within the Agreement, incorporating the existing Council and Borough Plan priority outcomes alongside specific priorities of the new Executive.

The Agreement will form the basis for regular in-year reporting. Portfolio and Corporate Performance and Resource Reports (PPRRs and CPRRs) will assess progress against key objectives, priorities, outcomes and budgets, enabling Scrutiny Committees to hold the Executive to account and for the Executive to identify current and future risks to delivery.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to review and comment on the draft Portfolio Agreement.

Officer contact: Karen Kime / Susan Wood Policy, 0161 474 3574, 218 1032, Karen.kime@stockport.gov.uk / susan.wood@stockport.go.uk

The Executive Councillor (Health) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing out the draft 2016/17 Agreement for the Health Portfolio, which set out the policy priorities for the year ahead and incorporating the existing Council and Borough Plan priority outcomes alongside specific priorities of the new Executive. The Agreement would form the basis for regular in-year reporting. The Scrutiny Committee were invited to comment on the draft Agreement prior to its adoption by the Executive.

The Executive Councillor highlighted the key priorities within the draft Agreement.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         References to parity of esteem were welcomed. In response it was commented that there had been historic under investment in these services but the CCG had committed to increase spending. The challenge for partners was that in order to increase spending resources had to be dis-invested from elsewhere, which took time. As large employers, the Council and NHS should be leading by example in relation to mental health support for its staff.

·         The value of increasing the take up of health checks was discussed. Although Stockport was a high performer, there was variability in GP activity in this area, and take-up was often by people who need them least. Health checks therefore needed to be used differently, such as changing payments to give GPs greater incentives to target those who have not had a check previously, or providing check in the workplace or in the community, or using innovative messages to target groups. Integrated commissioning would also be beneficial as it would allow the use of Stockport Together capacity that identifying those who have highest need and target them.

·         The challenge of tackling inequalities in life expectancy and health life expectancy was discussed.  It was acknowledged that these were longstanding issues but that using information and intelligence better would allow those most at risk groups to be identified and targeted for earlier intervention.

·         It was commented that providing more of the monitoring information by the 8 integrated neighbourhood areas would be a useful tool to identify unwarranted variation that might otherwise be masked.

·         There was a core of pharmacies who were actively engaged in the healthy living scheme and it was hoped this would encourage further take-up.

·         In relation to the measures in the Agreement, it was commented that there was a balance to be struck between high level, long term outcome measures and lower level output measures that gave an insight into local activity and effectiveness.

·         There was a need to ensure the public understood the development of neighbourhood teams and the benefits for their treatment and support.

·         There remained a lot of uncertainty about the impact of Greater Manchester developments and how this would impact on Stockport.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.