Committee discussion and scoping of objectives, next steps and any working groups
Minutes:
The Chair reminded members that the Committee had identified mental wellbeing as a theme which it wished to consider through its work plan and accordingly many of the reports and presentations considered so far this year had related to this theme. They included including presentations / reports from:
· the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust, in respect of the delivery of local mental health services,
· the Assistant Director Partnerships covering the Tamworth Community Safety Partnership plan and other partnership activities to address health inequalities,
· the Assistant Director, Neighbourhoods on homelessness,
· the Assistant Director, Operations and Leisure on leisure and open spaces; and
· the Members Seminar in October 2021 where members received presentations from various local voluntary sector organisations including:
Ø Staffordshire Council of Youth Voluntary Services (SCYVS)
Ø Support Staffordshire
Ø Community Together CIC
Ø Heart of Tamworth
Ø Tamworth Samaritans
Ø Places of Welcome
Ø Citizens Advice Mid Mercia
Ø Tamworth’s Befriending Service
Ø And others.
The Chair reported that the Staffordshire County Council Health & Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee had an Inquiry day identified to consider further the Wider Determinants of Health across Staffordshire, and whilst details on the coverage of this Inquiry day were not yet available, it was possible that this could provide further information relevant for the Committee’s consideration of the mental wellbeing theme.
This agenda item had been included to provide members with an opportunity to scope out further and identify any additional areas where the Committee wanted to focus further, through working groups or otherwise.
Councillor R Rogers left the meeting at 7.20pm
The Committee revisited suggestions raised at earlier Committee meetings and commented on the following:
· The benefits of encouraging all councillors to complete mental health first aid training to enable councillors to support residents.
· Food security, and also more broadly debt and insecurity issues, which local charities had highlighted were areas where local advice was being sought.
· To build on the experience of the work during the pandemic to support the vulnerable by further co-ordination of the relevant voluntary groups to support mental wellbeing in a focussed way through the partnerships team, by supporting and enabling local organisations to sign post to the relevant local group in Tamworth, and by utilising local support to help local residents access support whether in Tamworth or beyond.
· The benefits of further visible sign-posting in the borough to where mental health support can be accessed. The Committee requested that the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) be invited back to the next Committee meeting to provide an update on the communication plan for Tamworth of the services available. The Chair agreed to liaise with County Councillor T Jay for his support in engaging Staffordshire County Council in seeking to ensure the delivery of mental health services locally and to support in the communication to Tamworth residents of the MPFT services which were available.
RESOLVED that the Committee recommend to Cabinet that Cabinet’s attention be drawn to mental health service delivery in Tamworth and request that Cabinet make it a priority for their time and concern.
(Moved by Councillor Dr S Peaple and seconded by Councillor P Brindley)