Agenda and minutes

Apologies for Absence were received from Councillors T Clements, D Cook, D Maycock and County Councillor T Jay.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 11^th July 2023 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor S Daniels)

There were no Declarations of Interest.

The Chair updated the Committee as follows:

Further to the meeting held on the 11^th July 2023 where the Committee endorsed the Armed Forces Covenant Item, it was noted at the meeting that the Portfolio Holder could not be a Champion as per the Constitution therefore the Officer amended the recommendation that was submitted to Cabinet to state:

Delegate authority to the Portfolio Holder for Entertainment and Leisure and Assistant Director Partnerships to oversee the associated work plan and report on an annual basis to the Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee commented that the recommendation was acceptable.

(Update on responses to the Reports of the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee)

The Chair advised the committee that further to the meeting in June where it was noted that the Committee were still outstanding a response from Cabinet for two sets of recommendations relating to the Provision of Public toilets and support for Councillor Wellbeing and that the Chair was going to contact Cabinet and ask for a response for both items.

It was commented by the Committee that a question had been raised at Full Council by one of the Members about the lack of available toilets at a recent event and whilst a response was provided the Member had requested that a further written response from the Portfolio Holder which would be shared with the Committee when that is received.

The Committee commented the Castle is an excellent provision and that in order to promote tourism with the town they needed to ensure that adequate provision was in place for people with children or older people to take part in activities.

(Discussion item)

(To receive the Digest from Staffordshire County Council’s Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee and an update from County Councillor T Jay)

The Chair apologised to the Committee that no update was available due to the absence of Councillor Jay.

The Committee asked if in future where the County Councillor was absent could a written update be requested. The Chair confirmed that this had been requested but due to the late apologies this may not have been possible on this occasion.

(Verbal update)

The Chair apologised to the Committee and advised that the Integrated Care Board were not able to attend the meeting and that the item would be deferred until later in the year.

The Chair confirmed that a business case was being prepared on a single option but that a decision had not been made and was not expected until later in the year at the earliest.

The Chair confirmed that the consultation had taken place and that a report had been prepared and was available on the ICB website.

The Chair confirmed that he was looking to having a meeting with the ICB to get clarification in areas that he has concerns about and would also like the ICB to attend a meeting in November to discuss the item but could not confirm if this would be possible at this stage.

Please see the link to the Forward Plan:

Browse plans - Cabinet, 2023 :: Tamworth Borough Council

The Chair advised the Committee that he would like to request the Sheltered Housing Community Alarm and Lifeline Provision Item and the Homelessness statutory On-call Out of House Arrangements.

The Committee were happy for these items to be added to the Workplan and did not request any further items from the Forward Plan.

The Chair advised the Committee that whilst it was not a working group of this Scrutiny Group that the Damp and Mould item on the Work plan was being address as part of the Housing Repairs working group and that a number of the Committee members were members of this group and would provide updates to the Committee on progress of the working group.

The Committee welcomed having the item on the workplan.

To review the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee Work Plan

The Committee welcomed the item on the workplan looking at Loneliness and Isolation. The Chair confirmed that this has been added to the Workplan following a petition at Full Council and will be addressed at a future meeting alongside the Wellbeing Strategy.

Members raised an item around supporting the promotion of options for families around School Uniform. The Chair agreed to take the item away to discuss with the other Scrutiny Chairs around where this item would best be address.