Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - Skype - Virtual. View directions

Contact: J Bayley  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

12.

Apologies and named substitutes

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Jennifer Wheeler. Officers confirmed that Councillor Debbie Chance was attending as her named substitute.

13.

Declarations of interest and of Party Whip

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests, and any Party Whip.

Minutes:

There were no declarations or interest nor of any party whip.

 

14.

Public Speaking

To invite members of the public who have registered in advance of the meeting to speak to the Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no registered public speakers on this occasion.

15.

Suicide Prevention Task Group - Final Report pdf icon PDF 587 KB

Minutes:

Councillor Debbie Chance, in her role as Chair of the Suicide Prevention Task Group, presented the report to the Committee.

 

The Committee was informed that in total the group had held 11 meetings and spoken to eight witnesses between June 2019 and June 2020.  There had been a slight delay in bringing the report before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Suicide Prevention was a very sensitive subject to investigate and the members of the group had learned a lot about the impact of death by suicide on bereaved families and friends.  Members were advised that on average one person died each week as a result of suicide in Worcestershire.  In Redditch, for the three year period from 2015 to 2017, there were 26 deaths by suicide of which 84% were among men.

 

The group had been really surprised by the data around the economic cost of death by suicide and the evidence of the long-term effects on bereaved relatives.  Research showed that those who had lost a loved one to death by suicide were at a higher risk of suicide themselves.  Another surprising finding was that many of the deaths were amongst persons not previously known to mental health services, or who had not confided in anyone that they were struggling.

 

The Committee was asked to note that the investigation had focused on issues outside the day-to-day service remit of Redditch Borough Council and had relied on a number of external witnesses.  There was a Suicide Prevention Plan for Worcestershire and locally this was co-ordinated and led by Worcestershire County Council.

 

The two main areas the group focused on in detail were:

 

1)        Suicide prevention generally and in particular the Worcestershire Suicide Prevention Policy.  In these discussions the group was greatly assisted by Officers from Worcestershire Public Health. 

2)        Mental health services available in Redditch, including the options that were available for people in crisis, and the role of the voluntary sector.

The feedback received from witnesses during the review had highlighted the need for awareness raising and training and this was reflected in the group’s recommendations.  The group had also been guided by the Council’s Policy Team to identify how the Council’s Equalities Strategy could be updated to include actions that supported suicide prevention.  The final recommendation from the group covered the benefits of promoting awareness around suicide prevention.

 

Following the presentation of the report Members discussed a number of points in detail:

 

·                The important work that had been undertaken by the group and the impact that suicide could have on friends and families.

·                The evidence that had been submitted by Mr Mike Lewington to the group.  The Committee was informed that sadly Mr Lewington had since passed away and therefore the report was dedicated to him.

·                The financial implications of the proposals detailed in the report.  Officers advised that this information had been received after publication of the report and it was anticipated that the action proposed could be covered within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Scrutiny of the Executive Committee's Work Programme - Selecting Items for Scrutiny pdf icon PDF 261 KB

Minutes:

Members considered the content of the Executive Committee’s Work Programme for the period 1st August to 30th November 2020 and agreed that the Recovery and Restoration Plan be added to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme.

 

RESOLVED that

 

1)        the content of the Executive Committee’s Work Programme for the period 1st August to 30th November 2020 be noted; and

 

2)        the Recovery and Restoration Plan be added to the Committee’s Work Programme for pre-scrutiny.

 

 

17.

Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme pdf icon PDF 266 KB

Minutes:

Officers explained that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme would be updated in accordance with the request made under Minute Item No. 16.

 

 

18.

Task Groups, Short Sharp Reviews and Working Groups - Update Reports

a)        Budget Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Jennifer Wheeler

 

b)        Performance Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Andrew Fry

 

c)         Dementia Task Group – Chair, Councillor Michael Chalk

 

 

Minutes:

a)        Budget Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Jenny Wheeler

 

The Senior Democratic Services Officer (Redditch) reported to Members that the Budget Scrutiny Working Group had met on 13th July 2020 and had pre-scrutinised the Financial Implications of Covid-19 report and the Quarter 1 Financial Outturn Report 2019/2020. It was reported that the Head of Environmental Services and Housing Property Services had been in attendance to discuss the Capital Expenditure Programme for a number of items within his remit.

 

b)        Performance Scrutiny Working Group – Chair, Councillor Andrew Fry

 

Councillor Fry advised Members that a date had been identified for the next meeting and that the Head of Business Transformation, Organisational Development and Digital Strategy would be in attendance to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on Council Services.

 

c)         Dementia Task Group – Chair, Councillor Michael Chalk

 

Councillor Chalk reported that the members of the Task Group had been confirmed and were as follows: -

 

·         Councillor Michael Chalk – Chair

·         Councillor Joanne Beecham

·         Councillor John Fisher

·         Councillor Jennifer Wheeler

 

It was confirmed that the first meeting would take place in September 2020.

 

 

19.

External Scrutiny Bodies - Update Reports pdf icon PDF 7 KB

 

a)        West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Council representative, Councillor Chalk; and

 

b)        Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) – Council representative, Councillor Chalk.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a)        West Midlands Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Redditch Member, Councillor Michael Chalk

 

The Committee was informed that Councillor Chalk had missed the last two meetings of the Committee but he offered to circulate the minutes.

 

b)        Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Redditch Member, Councillor Michael Chalk 

 

Councillor Chalk explained that the previous two meetings of the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) took place on Thursday 18th June 2020 and Monday 20th July 2020.  Councillor Chalk referred Members to the updates provided in the supplementary agenda and explained that, unsurprisingly, the main thrust of the discussion was the impact of Covid-19 on services across Worcestershire.