Issue - meetings

This paper provides an overview of the progress in the delivery of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy (HWB Strategy) as of 18 November 2024.

Agenda item for: HWB, and Surrey Heartlands ICP

Agenda item for: HWB, and Surrey Heartlands ICP

Speakers:

Mari Roberts-Wood, Managing Director, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council / Chair of Prevention and Wider Determinants of Health Delivery Board (PWDHDB)

Lucy Gate, Public Health Principal, SCC / Co-chair of Mental Health: Prevention Board

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.        Priority 1: The Chair of the PWDHDB highlighted a partnership led by Active Surrey in Spelthorne’s Stanwell North and South neighbourhood, which was in the top 10% nationally for inactivity levels. Across Surrey, more than 50% of children did not meet the Chief Medical Officer’s activity guidelines.

2.        The Surrey Cancer Inequalities Programme addressed knowledge gaps in prevention, screening, early intervention, access to treatment, and patient experience, focusing on unrecorded qualities priority groups. Macmillan Cancer Support had recognised Surrey’s work for its national best practice.

3.        Challenges: funding for the Bridge the Gap prevention service was due to end. Active Surrey was awaiting a funding decision from Government on its Club4 service.

4.        Priority 3: The Chair of the PWDHDB noted SCC’s successful bid for approximately £1 million from SGN for a fuel poverty programme to support vulnerable residents, domestic abuse victims, disabled people, and carers.

5.        Opportunities: the new Surrey Against Domestic Abuse Strategy 2024-29 developed with the Domestic Abuse Surrey Expert by Experience Network, had been published. It aimed to transform the response to domestic abuse, focusing on prevention, victim and survivor support, and reduce perpetrator harm.

6.        Challenge: the coordinator roles were due to end in March 2025, which risked a gap in terms of vulnerable resident support, in turn putting pressure on the Household Support Fund. Additionally, the Serious Violence Duty funding was due to end in March 2025.

7.        The Chair expressed concern that the upcoming Fair Funding Review might not address service delivery costs.

8.        An HWB and Surrey Heartlands ICP member highlighted an expected pressure on the Adults, Wellbeing, and Health Partnerships directorate due to the loss of Bridge the Gap and Changing Futures funding.

9.        A HWB and ICP member expressed concern about late funding decisions affecting the VCSE sector, requesting more forward planning. Another HWB and ICP member suggested the HWB and Surrey Heartlands ICP review the upcoming NHS funding policy.

10.    The Chair deemed it appropriate to consider VCSE funding in the new year, once clarity on local government funding had been received.

11.    Priority 2: The Co-Chair of the Mental Health: Prevention Board (MHPB) highlighted the Severe Mental Illness (SMI) scenario modelling and audits conducted by SCC in partnership with Surrey Heartlands ICS and the Surrey and Borders Partnership. It showed an excess mortality rate for people with SMI compared with the national average. Reducing acute physical health demands for the SMI cohort could significantly cut costs. Several high impact interventions had been identified.

12.    The 20-29 age group had the highest prevalence of SMI and those in key neighbourhoods were more likely to live with SMI.

13.    A work plan for 2025/26 would be developed and presented to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39

This report summarises the work completed on both these reports which are the housing homes and accommodation strategy and housing JSNA chapter and makes a case for the recommendations outlined in both. 

Witnesses:

Michael Coughlin - Executive Director - Prosperity, Partnership and Growth, SCC

Poppy Middlemiss - Public Health Registrar, SCC

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.   The Chair noted that the updated Housing Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) chapter provided a good opportunity to revisit the strategy and endorse the recommendations given the significance of housing as a wider determinant of health and its impact on the cost of living. She thanked the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care (SCC) for her hard work.

2.   The Executive Director - Prosperity, Partnership and Growth (SCC) noted that:

·      The One Surrey Growth Board received a similar item with an economic development and economy focus. There were two parts of the strategy: Call to Action and the Call to Government arose from the work undertaken with stakeholders over the last eighteen months; identified the affordability of housing as a significant barrier to recruitment.

·      Good quality, affordable and secure housing was a key determinant of positive mental and physical health.

·      Work began around the state of Surrey’s housing market and a baseline assessment by the consultants had been produced collating national and local data; concluding that there was a housing crisis in Surrey. Several months after the work, a national housing crisis had been identified.

·      Acute to Surrey was high demand matched against insufficient supply for several years, resulting in high purchase, mortgage and rental costs.

·      Extensive stakeholder engagement tested the accuracy of the findings and gain a complete picture of the baseline assessment; not all the borough and district councils agreed with or signed up to the strategy.

·      It was acknowledged that the strategy must be system-wide and multi-agency, agencies were asked to respond to the Call to Action.

·      The conclusions drawn from the work was the need to prioritise partnership working and to better understand public opinion around housing. Issues identified: aging population, underoccupancy of housing, affordability, vulnerable groups suffering from poor or no housing, land availability and the need for housing developments to focus on essential and key worker housing, and the contribution to net zero and climate change targets.

·      The recommendations in the Call to Action and the Call to Government - submitted to the Housing Minister - focused on policy and funding changes that would help Surrey with its housing crisis.

·      Whilst SCC did not have a statutory housing duty it was part of the One Public Estate partnership and it was taking the lead with a report scheduled for February’s Cabinet setting out multiple work programmes where SCC could have a direct influence on particularly vulnerable children's and adult social care accommodation and services.

3.    The Public Health Registrar (SCC) noted that:

·      The updated JSNA chapter was expected to be published in early January and was developed in collaboration with many stakeholders including district and borough councils, and set out the picture of the housing situation in Surrey looking at how it was affecting people’s health and was to inform commissioners and stakeholders going forward.

·      The current provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40