Agenda item

To receive an ICB and ICP update.

The Board received an update on the ICB and the ICP.

During the discussion of this item, the following points were made:

·       Sarah Webster indicated that she was the Executive Director for Berkshire West for the ICB, and that it was her second week in post.

·       The ICB had met at the end of September and received papers on a range of matters including the formation of the ICP, the ICS Strategy development and the Working with People and Communities Strategy.

·       With regards to the ICP formation, the statutory members, the ICB and the five local authorities, had agreed the wider membership.  The first meeting would be held on 27 October.  Locally, a Place Based Partnership would need to be developed for Berkshire West, with the aim being to devolve as much local decision making as possible from the ICB to the local partnership.  It was vital that this was jointly developed.  It would be an iterative process.

·       With regards to the development of the Strategy, the partnership was required to agree a strategy by the end of the year.  This timescale was based on national deadlines, which were very tight.  A number of working groups had been identifying key themes and issues which would benefit from collaborative work between the partners.  It was expected that the Strategy would be based on common themes from the Health and Wellbeing strategies.

·       There was an ongoing period of engagement.  The Chairs of the Health and Wellbeing Boards would be meeting the following week to discuss emerging themes and how best to engage the wider Boards.  Sarah Webster commented that she was aware that the Board did not have a meeting scheduled for November so was open to ideas on how best to engage.

·       The Board was informed of some changes in leadership.  Dr James Kent had left to take on a national role and in the very short term the Chief Medical Officer was acting up.  Steve McManus would be joining at the end of the month as the interim Chief Executive Officer.

·       Councillor Margetts welcomed Sarah to her new role.  He indicated that the Board had expressed concerns regarding the NHS reforms for some time.  The areas in BOB were very different to each other and faced different challenges.  When Chairman of the Board he had written to Dr Kent asking that these concerns be considered, but did not receive a reply.  He asked that these concerns be taken on board.  Sarah Webster stressed the need for partnership working and re-emphasised the importance of designing a local Place Based Partnership.  It was not the intention that everything be held centrally.

·       Matt Pope commented that given the complex footprint, many meetings were taking place, and it was difficult as a local authority to have a view of what these meetings were, to ensure the correct level of engagement.  He had been unaware of the forthcoming Chairs meeting.  Sarah Webster agreed that the structure required some clarification.

·       Matt Pope questioned whether the Strategy would come back to the Board in its totality prior to its final sign off.  Sarah Webster commented that an extra Board meeting could be held, or the document circulated to Board members.  Matt Pope indicated that the Board met monthly either publicly or informally.  He suggested that the November informal meeting could be replaced by a special meeting to consider engagement in the Strategy.

·       Helen Watson was pleased to note the Start Well workstream, although she was not involved specifically.  She commented that the Borough was significantly challenged with regards to SEN provision, and questioned where this sat in the strategic picture.  Sarah Webster stated that this was being considered as part of the Strategy.  There was a desire to keep the area of children’s mental health and wellbeing as local as possible.

·       Councillor Bray questioned what the role of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be, and if representatives would be willing to attend meetings of the Committee.  Sarah Webster indicated that she would be happy to attend.

·       Councillor Bray commented that the process still felt ‘done to’ rather than ‘done with’.  She was concerned that the needs of Wokingham as a small authority would not be taken on board.  Sarah Webster again emphasised the partnership approach. 

·       Susan Parsonage referred to a recent ICB paper on Place.  None of the local authorities had had an input into the development of this paper, which did not set the right tone for partnership working.  Sarah Webster commented that the paper was merely to be used as a discussion point and was not prescriptive.

·       Susan Parsonage went on to state that the Board needed sufficient time to provide feedback on the Strategy.

·       Tracy Daszkiewicz emphasised the importance of a population based/wellbeing outcomes focus when developing the Strategy.

RESOLVED:  That the update on the ICB and the ICP be noted