Agenda item

Gurjinder Bans (Public Health Programme Manager, Leicester City Council) and Kate Huszar (Public Health Programme Manager, Leicester City Council) will share a presentation to outline programmes and initiatives to address critical winter issues.

Gurjinder Bans (Public Health Programme Manager, Leicester City Council)

and Kate Huszar (Public Health Programme Manager, Leicester City Council)

shared a presentation to outline programmes and initiatives to address critical winter issues.  It was noted that:

·         The Cost-of-Living crisis  exacerbated issues for this winter. An Incident Management Team (IMT), led by Public Health, brought partners within LCC together.

·         Leicester’s Baby Basics branch (providing expectant and new families in with essential equipment) was the second busiest branch in the UK. All members were asked to promote the “reverse advent calendar” detailed in the slides.

·         Some Emergency Food providers were moving towards low-cost models (eg pantry style schemes) to reduce stigma.

·         There was insufficient capacity within Public Health to go out to the community as much as the Presenting Officers would like – so Voluntary and Community Sector organisations were being utilised.

·         Mental Health Friendly Places were being set up, and training was being offered to settings such as Hairdressers and Cafes.

·         The Leicester Energy Action (LEA) Scheme was delivered by Public Health in collaboration with National Energy Action, with initial funding provided by the ICB and additional money via LCC’s Anti-Poverty Fund. The scheme was the first of its kind in the UK.

·         There was a variety of training provided via the LEA (from short & free webinars to a three-day City and Guilds Qualification for frontline staff).

·         There were “Warmth Packs” given out as part of the LEA scheme.

·         The LEA scheme had good links with partners to enable concerns about mould to be escalated appropriately.

·         Kate Huszar updated members about the “Warm Welcome” work which had seen Public Health collaborate with the LCC departments of Adult Learning and Neighbourhoods to establish warm spaces.

·         There was community outreach as part of the Public Health work around social isolation utilising the Voluntary Sector.

·         Let’s Get Digital had NHS funding - and offerd two free three-hour sessions. The sessions focused on staying safe online and meeting social needs (eg booking a GP appointment).

·         All the schemes linked in with Social Prescribers.

Comments and questions from the Board:-

-       Members noted that VCS was not listed as a partner within the report (but the Presenting Officer confirmed this was an error)

-       The Director of Public Health noted that the “Let’s Get…” and LEA schemes were gaining National interest.

-       The Chair noted that this item again highlighted joined up working.

-       Members asked whether the Let’s Get Digital was adequate in capacity/scope to tackle the increasing channel shift towards online services – and whether there needs to be a scaling up. The Presenting Officer responded that this programme was quite specific in its outputs, but there are links to other providers who gave digital support (eg Reaching People).

-       The Member representing Voluntary Action Leicester (VAL) asked for more details on what the voluntary sector could do to support this work (whilst noting that VAL has recently been reaccredited nationally as a volunteer centre) and liaise to ensure any new volunteering groups are set up correctly and with due diligence. The Presenting Officer responded that she would be happy to speak further about this outside the meeting – and also that volunteers could sign up to the Council’s volunteering portal (“Assemble”) and then choose a volunteering opportunity.

-       Councillor Clarke noted that this work interfaces with the Council’s work on decarbonisation and the climate emergency. He asked the Board to recognise that retrofitting existing housing to tackle these issues was complex. The Presenting Officer responded that she would be happy to draft a letter about this on behalf of the Board.

-       The Member representing Leicestershire County Council noted that Mental Health First Aiders and Champions would be a useful tool to reach cohorts that do not currently engage with services.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Board thanked Officers for the report - and asked that comments from the Board be taken into account.

2.    That the Board promotes the “Reverse Advent Calendar” as a call for donations to Baby Basics locally.

3.    That the Presenting Officers will link with partners of the Board to review the contents of the “Warmth Pack”.

4.    That Presenting Officers will seek out data from a previous digital device loan-scheme.

That Officers representing Voluntary Action Leicester and Public Health will link up to discuss collaborating, on the initiatives discussed in the meeting, with regards to volunteers.