The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and invited the Board members to introduce themselves to all in attendance.

To report any changes to the Membership of the meeting and any apologies for absence.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any pecuniary interests or any other significant interest in matters on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest and apologies were noted.

To agree the Minutes held on 26 September at All Souls Primary School.

The Board agreed that the minutes of the meeting of 26 September 2024 were a correct record to be signed by Cllr Butler-Thallassis.

We are all financially stable and have access to enriching opportunities and good jobs.

The Chair invited Moira Ugoji, RBKC Director for Communities, Eileen Gallagher, Westminster Head of Coaching, and Graham Hart, RBKC Head of Economic Development, to introduce the report and the following points were raised:

1. Both Westminster and RBKC offered a wide-ranging unemployment support offer across multiple service areas, offering support to older and younger residents with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Both Councils take a place-based approach to unemployment support, with officers and volunteers placed within the communities with the most need.

2. National programmes such as WorkWell provided additional layers of employment support to residents. WorkWell had been launched in both Boroughs in October 2024 in partnership with the Shaw Trust. It was stated that a challenge existed for both Boroughs to get equal access to this investment, and it was noted that the first monthly targets for WorkWell had been met.

3. It was noted that both Boroughs would be entering into a 5-year Connect to Work Programme to focus on those who were economically inactive with either a long-term health condition or disability. This DWP funded programme would follow the Supported Employment Fidelity framework and would be a significant investment in support within both Boroughs over the next five years.

4. Both Boroughs could benefit from an extension to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and this second year of funding could be targeted towards testing and trialling some new opportunities. The detail of how this investment into London will be targeted has yet to be decided or shared by the GLA.

5. RBKC had set up a Public Health funded pilot scheme for supported employment placements. This scheme would provide paid placements for up to six months for adults with long-term health conditions and disabilities, tailored to the specific needs of the individual.

The Chair invited the Board to ask questions of the presenters and they:

1. Queried how local authorities and health services could support those whose health conditions had been impacted by long-term unemployment. Moira Ugoji explained that much of the support provided by RBKC had a coaching element, helping to boost the self-confidence of residents and empower them to enter employment or access other services. Services like the Families and Communities Employment Service (FACES) provide longer-term mental health to support residents in enabling them to seek employment or benefits support. Eileen Gallagher added that WorkWell acted as an effective triage service to signpost individuals to support tailored to their needs.

2. Asked whether the progress of individuals was tracked after their direct support ended. Moira Ugoji responded that some services tracked progress, whilst others did not. RBKC was presently undertaking an Employment and Skills Review, with the ambition of requiring all employment and skills services to track those who have received support. Eileen Gallagher added that Westminster had a discretionary budget to help in the transition for employment through funding food or travel vouchers. Westminster City Council would then maintain contact with individuals for up to six months after entering employment.

3. Enquired whether Westminster and RBKC could do more to require  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair invited Cleo Chalk, Healthwatch Service Manager, and Minna Korjonen, Healthwatch Interim Board Chair, to introduce the report and the following points were raised:

1. Healthwatch is a statutory service that was commissioned by the Bi-Borough partnership and independently run. It ensures that the views and experiences of local people are included in decision making processes and that these views can drive improvements to frontline services.

2. Healthwatch teams across the country had recently begun to focus on amplifying the voices of those facing health inequalities and those who may not have been heard in previous consultations.

3. A joint project with Healthwatch Brent was launched in February 2024 to review access to health services across North West London. Patients reported that they were happy with the overall quality of care and the majority of patients believed that their needs and preferences had been taken into account at least some of the time. Patients noted that changes were needed to address waiting times and availability of appointments and that they wanted to be consulted on any changes to health services.

4. During Healthwatch’s Intermediate Care project, patients shared a need for better communication between services and more joined-up working across service providers. This project highlighted how poor communication could make the recovery process for patients and carers more difficult. Healthwatch’s GP Access project found that patients’ communication needs were not being met.

5. In August 2024 Healthwatch had begun a focused project to explore how the Cost of Living Crisis was impacting resident’s ability to access healthcare services and that 194 residents across Westminster and RBKC had been contacted to date.

6. Healthwatch would begin to implement a new patient experience programme, with volunteers carrying out weekly visits to local healthcare providers to gather a live snapshot of feedback on key issues such as quality of care and staff attitudes.

7. Healthwatch would introduce ‘Know Your Rights’ self-advocacy sessions for local community groups, focusing on patients’ rights when accessing health and social care.

The Chair invited the Board to ask questions of the presenters and they:

1. Asked how Healthwatch ensured that the resident views they present resulted in direct and visible change or action from NHS trusts, healthcare providers and local authorities. Cleo Chalk responded that this depended on the nature of the work. When assessing individual service providers, Healthwatch had a statutory power to send volunteers to those providers to observe how care was being delivered and make recommendations for improvement. Healthwatch had a statutory power to require healthcare providers to respond to recommendations made. They track progress over a 12-month period, concluding with follow-up visits and meetings with the practice manager. When making system-level recommendations, Healthwatch would attend and present at overview committees, follow-up sessions and undertake a follow-up project if needed.

2. Noted that future recommendations regarding accessible communication for both Councils and health providers would be welcome. Cleo Chalk replied that a best practice guide drawn from examples of what was working and what was needed could be produced.

3. Suggested that Healthwatch  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Chair invited Seth Mills, Bi-Borough Director of Learning Disability and Provider Servies, and Godfred Boahen, Head of Services for Leaning Disability and Autism, to introduce the report and the following points were raised:

1. In May 2024, the Bi-Borough Learning Disability Plan for 2023-24, Changing Lives, was launched to identify good practice and areas for improvement across the service areas centred around seven distinct priority areas. The priority areas were divided into workstreams to enable partnership working and co-chaired by Integrated Care Board (ICB) and local authority senior management, with input from carers and residents with disabilities.

2. The current financial environment for local authorities was challenging and the Changing Lives plan responded to this through a practical and creative approach.

3. The plan was underpinned by a partnership arrangement between statutory and non-statutory bodies and addressed residents’ priority for integrated and seamless services.

4. Most Bi-Borough health and social care staff had completed the mandatory Oliver McGowan training on learning disability and autism. This strengthened the practice specialisms underpinning the health and social care services.

5. The recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report of Westminster cited the Changing Lives plan as a significant achievement that was co-produced and reflected the needs of residents.

6. RBKC services had recently undertaken detailed case analysis and case auditing due to the imminent CQC inspection of RBKC. This revealed strong practices across the Council’s learning disability services.

The Chair invited the Board to ask questions of the presenters and they:

1. Asked about the progress of each of the seven work streams and enquired as to the challenges faces by each work stream. Godfred Boahen responded that each work stream progressed at a different rate due to being autonomous and having different focuses.

2. Queried whether the Changing Lives plan had been linked to the WorkWell programme to support employment and education referrals. Godfred Boahen confirmed that he was progressing that partnership and Seth Mills added that further conversations would be had to strengthen links with the WorkWell programme.

3. Enquired why the rate of residents with learning disabilities across both Boroughs was well below the national average and asked whether the Bi-Borough partnership was misunderstanding its population. Seth Mills responded that residents with learning disabilities were commonly identified through Children’s Services referral pathways and stated that there was work to be done across the Bi-Borough partnership to identify eligible residents who had not accessed support services.

4. Noted that many residents with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) did not later receive adult support services because of the differing thresholds for adults’ and children’s services. It was also noted that residents with an EHCP did not always receive a learning disabilities diagnosis.

The Chair invited David Bello, Bi-Borough Director of Health Partnerships, to introduce the report and the following points were raised:

1. In October 2024, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published their report, grading Westminster’s Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) directorate as “GOOD: Evidence shows a good standard” with a 75 out of 100 overall score.

2. Westminster City Council’s ASCH was currently the second-highest rated local authority service in the country following the CQC’s report.

3. David Bello thanked the ASCH staff, the North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB), the NHS, and other local partners for their work and contributions towards Westminster achieving the GOOD rating.

4. RBKC had been notified of a pending CQC inspection on 13 January 2025.

The Chair invited the Board to ask questions of the presenter and they:

1.    Noted that the CQC inspection of Westminster found that mental health provision was good but not always appropriate, and asked how local authorities and healthcare providers could work together to address this. David Bello replied that local authorities did not have full authority over specialist mental health providers and that the Council would continue to have discussions with the ICB and North West London NHS Foundation Trust to ensure that residents can access appropriate mental health services in the community.

A resident submitted a question asking: what impact the rise to employers’ National Insurance contributions would have on businesses offering placements and opportunities to people with learning disabilities?

A resident submitted a question asking: what job opportunities existed for people with neurodiversity and disabilities, particularly in South Westminster?

The Chair thanked the residents for their questions and noted that due to time constraints, the answers to the questions posed would be provided after the meeting.

Note: the next meeting will be hosted by Westminster City Council on 27 February 2025.

The date of the next Board meeting was noted as 27 February 2025, hosted by Westminster City Council.