Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Martin Gannon, Mike Barker, Sandra Brydon, Steve Anderson, Andrew Sugden, Helen Matthews and Sarah Munro.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2015.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

The Group received an update on Achieving More Together, which was discussed at the last meeting. It was noted that this work is evolving and partners attended a session with Cormac Russell.

A number of themes are emerging in Public Health, for example it was noted that Gateshead under utilises its green spaces in comparison to other areas, therefore there is an opportunity there to work with partners on initiatives to use our green spaces better. There is also an Arts Health Initiative and work is ongoing looking at where to target this by identifying communities of deprivation to link this work into. There is a researcher in Public Health to undertake evaluation of this work and is also working on targeting social isolation, for example, older people and asylum seekers. Work is underway in Edberts House to address the issue of obesity and also work around social prescribing, linking through workers from the voluntary and community sector.

It was noted that all work is in the early stages and it is expected that by late Autumn there will be more clarity.  The Group was advised that there is an opportunity for any ideas to be sent to Jan Thompson.

It was suggested that discussions be held with the police and probation around opportunities to work with community payback to help with certain projects.  There was also a suggestion made around the use of technology to help direct people to foodbanks and offer food that would otherwise be wasted as there has been an example of this in other areas.

Ø  Chance for all partners to raise current issues and activities as well as updates from the Partnership Boards and networks

Gateshead Council

The Steering Group was advised that there have been a number of changes to Cabinet and officer changes. Jane Robinson has left the Council to take a new position at Durham University. Mike Barker is currently Acting Chief Executive, Sheila Lock has been appointed as Interim Strategic Director of Care, Wellbeing and Learning and Alice Wiseman has been appointed as Director of Public Health.  An email will be sent to the Steering Group to advise of the changes within the Council.

The position of Chief Executive has been advertised nationally.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) is meeting now in relation to devolution governance for consultation and partners will be updated as soon as possible.

Work is ongoing on the Council’s budget to develop options and public consultation will be held from November.

It was reported that Ofsted gave a good rating for Children’s Services. At the recent LGC awards 2016, the Council was highly commended as Council of the last 20 years which focussed heavily on its partnership work.

CCG

It was reported that most organisations have been CQC inspected with all achieving good or outstanding.  Work is ongoing on Sustainability and Transformation Plans, the footprint of the STP now includes North Durham.  It was acknowledged that the financial picture is very challenging.

Older Peoples Assembly

The OPA has moved to a new central hub in Deckham. The OPA is struggling to attract those hard to reach older people, so a café has been set up with work ongoing around malnutrition and cooking on a budget.  The Wellness Hub has been integrated with primary care navigators, and work is ongoing with primary care providers to ensure the OPA is integrated and there are no service gaps for older people.  Funding has also been secured for a community garden.

GemArts

An arts project, We Stand Together, has been developed on hate crime, working with pupils at Heworth Grange School and Joseph Swan Academy to raise awareness on hate crime and reporting such crimes. The project has been funded by the Gateshead Housing Company and the Council’s Safer Communities Team and has gone on to win a number of national awards.

GemArts has worked with young travellers from three different primary schools to improve attainment. 12 young people achieved a recognised Arts award.

GemArts was successful in its consortium application to the Arts Council England for funding of £140,000 over three years to develop successful and sustainable fundraising. The consortium is made up of GemArts, Equal Arts and The Lawnmowers, which are leading arts charities who champion diversity, equality and opportunity.  In addition GemArts and its Director won the North East regions Arts and Culture Award at the annual ABConnexions Award Ceremony.

It was reported that funding has been received through Gateshead CCG Isolation Fund to deliver creative arts interventions with communities, to engage with women, young and old people and intergenerational to tackle isolation and improve physical, social  and mental wellbeing.  It was noted that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

(Sally Young, Newcastle CVS)

It was reported that the Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service has a contract with Gateshead Council until the end of March 2017.  There are three support workers based in the community, who are working with those organisations which have no public money.  It was noted that regular e-inform emails and newsletters are sent to organisations.

Work is ongoing to promote the sector and its values, and responding to the need which is there.  The group was asked for any views on what they would like to see from the service.

It was suggested that there needs to be a participant led approach, using what we have currently because there are excellent organisations within the community but that are under pressure to sustain and are facing huge cuts.  Therefore there is a need for a collaborative approach.

The work of OurGateshead was commended and it was noted that there is a need to work with communities differently than previously, to look at assets rather than needs. Through Achieving Together and the GSP this can be driven forward.

(Charlotte Wainwright, Gateshead Council)

Ø  Agreement to review the GSP

The Steering Group received a report proposing a review of the Gateshead Strategic Partnership (GSP). The review will look at the GSP in its entirety, looking at how the partnership links together and feeds in.  It was noted that a review was last undertaken in 2010/11, however all organisations are now in a different place. 

The current structure adheres to statutory requirements but this can be done in a different way. It was noted that it is important to make sure the GSP is doing the best for partners and that all partners are able to contribute.  An outline of the scope and timeline for the review was provided.

It was felt that the review was timely and achievable.  The point was made that there are lots of Boards and a number of meetings which seem to duplicate, there is reduced capacity for all to be able to engage therefore it is important there is no duplication.  It was noted that there is a need to look to the future and how the GSP moves forward.

(Julia Veall, Gateshead Council)

Ø  Introduction to the areas being looked at in the Council

The Steering Group received a presentation on the Council’s Change Programme. The Council has recognised the need to be bolder and faster with change in order to be sustainable going forward. It is anticipated that there will be a £92M financial gap over the next few years, therefore there is a need to ensure everyone is working together so there is a whole system joined up approach.

This approach is to ensure sustainability by 2020. It was noted that there are unique qualities in Gateshead and there is a need to work with all partners to maximise assets and avoid duplication.

The purpose of the Change Programme is to support change required in order to deliver Vision 2030 outcomes. There is a five year timescale and a Target Operating Model of what the organisation will look like after 2020.

The programme of activity was provided, the Change Programme is split into four projects; People, Place, Ways of Working and Trading and Commercialisation.  In terms of people, there is a vision that there will continue to be a focus on the customer, as well as early help and integrated services both internally and with partners. It is also expected that there will be a shift to self-reliant supportive communities and maximising independence.

In terms of place the vision is to promote the wellbeing of people in safe, attractive, cohesive and integrated communities, to enable greater prosperity for all through engaging communities and partners. It is hoped that this enhances public trust and satisfaction with Gateshead as a place.  In relation to Ways of Working the vision is to improve outcomes through strategic commissioning, increased efficiency of working practices and support services will be driven by the needs of customers. There will be more data sharing with partners to plan and deliver services to ensure more efficiency and more effective working.

In terms of trading and commercialisation the vision is to generate income to support priority Council services. The Council will support and deliver more business like behaviour and promote local economic growth and business prosperity.

It was questioned whether there will be engagement or consultation with the wider community. It was acknowledged that this is an enormous programme involving everyone and engagement would depend on the project. It was noted that there is a need to ensure constant discussion, however this would be at a project level.  It was also pointed out that the speed of change cannot be underestimated and therefore consultations could not be carried out all the time otherwise change would not be achievable.

The point was made that there is a public lack of understanding of the scale of what is going on and that message needs to get out to the public. It was recognised that this is difficult to get across unless the public feel it directly and that conversations need to be held collectively as a public sector.  It was noted that the Residents Survey has shown that people are starting to feel the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The next meeting will take place at 2.00pm on Tuesday 22 November 2016, in the Whickham Room, Gateshead Civic Centre.