Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and explained the fire evacuation procedures.

The minutes of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny meeting held on 1 July 2025 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Democratic Services Officer submitted a report, the purpose of which was to assist Members in considering and agreeing the Panel’s work programme for the 2025/2026 Municipal Year which should include two Scrutiny Investigation Topics and various standard updates.

As part of the process for establishing the Panel’s work programme, Democratic Services gathered information and views from a number of sources. Following an annual consultation exercise which ran between 3 April 2025 and 9 May 2025, several topics were suggested by Councillors, residents, officers, and other stakeholders which were listed in Appendix One. Members were advised that the list was not exhaustive and that additional topics could be added and considered by members at the meeting.

It was agreed, following discussion, that one topic related to health and one related to adult social care would be selected for scrutiny.

Upon reviewing Appendix One, Members raised concerns about obesity levels in the town (specifically childhood obesity), the influence of unhealthy food advertising and mental health issues.  In light of these concerns, the topic ‘Healthy Placemaking Across the Life Course, with a Focus on Children and Young People’, was identified as addressing these issues and was selected as the first scrutiny topic.

Members also expressed concerns around children’s dental health, leading to a discussion about the possibility of a joint review by both the Children’s Scrutiny Panel and the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel.  The Panel was informed that a review of dental health had been conducted by the Health Scrutiny Panel in 2023/24 and it was resolved that the matter would be brought to OSB’s attention through the Chair’s update.

A discussion was held regarding domestic abuse.  The Director of Adult Social Care and Health Integration emphasised that this remains of high priority for the department and reminded members of the recent Council motion on tackling violence against women and girls.  It was agreed that ‘Violence Against Women and Girls: How to Tackle It’ would be selected as the second scrutiny topic.

The regular updates were also noted to be included in the programme as follows:

·        Quarterly Monitoring of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Improvement Plan Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board (TSAB) - Annual Report

·        Director of Public Health, Annual Report

·        Updates from the Tees Valley Joint Health Scrutiny Committee

·        South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Draft Quality Account

·        Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust - Draft Quality Account

A Member raised the issue of service coordination within Adult Social Care, which had been discussed at a previous Panel meeting.  It was agreed that an update be scheduled and brought back to the Panel.

AGREED as follows that:

1.     The information provided was received and noted.

2.     The topics, ‘Healthy Placemaking Across the Life Course, with a Focus on Children and Young People’ and ‘Violence Against Women and Girls: How to Tackle It’ be submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for approval.

A discussion took place around the start time of Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny meetings.

AGREED that where possible, future meetings of the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Panel would commence at 4pm.

A Member updated the Panel on a meeting between some former Members of the People Scrutiny Panel and representatives from South Tees NHS Trust which followed the Trust’s presentation of its Quality Account at a previous People Scrutiny Panel meeting.

Members had met with the Chief Executive, Director of Communications and the Chairman of the Trust to discuss concerns regarding preventable deaths, patient experience including carparking and various national comparative statistics which were only covered briefly during the Quality Account presentation.

The Member highlighted the constructive atmosphere of meeting and informed the Panel that the representatives expressed a willingness to engage with the Panel on a regular basis.  It was noted that such ongoing dialogue would be particularly valuable in the context of changes within the North and South Tees Hospital Group, developments in partnership working and the evolving role of the ICB.

Following a Member’s suggestion, it was agreed that the Chair and Democratic Services Officer would look at further developing communication links between the Panel and the Trust.