Agenda item

This report presents to the Brent Health and Wellbeing Board the Brent Health and Wellbeing Board governance arrangements, the Health and Wellbeing Board work plan and the changed health and care landscape.

Phil Porter (Strategic Director Community Wellbeing, Brent Council) introduced the item relating to the Governance of the Health and Wellbeing Board and wider health system. The item had been discussed at the previous Board meeting, but brought back to Board as there had been significant changes to the governance arrangements, which brought together all key stakeholders to ensure overall accountability. The paper set out this new structure and gave clarity on where partners had built on existing good practice governance, such as the Brent Children’s Trust which would be included in the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) Executive Board. Phil Porter highlighted that, for adults, the ICP would be where everyone came together to solve problems and have joint accountability, but it would not replace existing governance structures such as Cabinet and the individual governance of each organisation. It was believed the ICP would complement those existing structures, ensuring those groups worked together. The Board were directed to section 3.6 of the report which confirmed the Health and Wellbeing Board would still have a statutory role under the new Health and Social Care Act being introduced, but there was a need to wait to see exactly how that would work as details of the legislation came through. Referring to the priorities laid out in section 3.24, Phil Porter confirmed they were interim to ensure that, as a system, partners were making a difference in the short term, while the long term strategy was in progress.

Robyn Doran (Chief Operating Officer, CNWL and ICP Director) reinforced the comments regarding the structures proposed, explaining the ICP had tried to work with the grain on what was already in Brent. The aim was to work together, with the voice of residents in Brent very much at the core. She advised that there was still more to do working with residents, and Healthwatch was working alongside them on this and would form part of the group. In relation to timescales, Robyn Doran informed the Board that the statutory changes around the Integrated Care System (ICS) would take place in March 2022 and likely evolve again, and in the meantime partners would focus on practical joint work within the current governance structures and with Brent residents.

Gail Tolley (Strategic Director Children and Young People, Brent Council) reinforced the importance of the inclusion of the Brent Children’s Trust on the ICP Executive Board, which she highlighted was a strength in Brent, and thanked ICP colleagues for arranging the inclusion. She pointed out that the inclusion of the Strategic Director for Children’s Services on the ICP Board was not the case in many other areas, in comparison to Brent, where the Trust was automatically a part of the Partnership Board. She felt this showed Brent leading the way in putting children and young people first.

The Chair thanked colleagues for introducing the item, and invited comments and questions from those present, with the following raised:

·         The Board welcomed the involvement of the Brent Children’s Trust in the governance arrangements of the Partnership Board, and welcomed the focus on transitional safeguarding and young carers detailed in the report. They asked partners to ensure that the voice of young people was evidenced in future meetings and reports.

·         A question was raised regarding whether North West London (NWL) CCG could invest appropriately in terms of time and energy to provide the place based Brent response the Health and Wellbeing Board were seeking. Robyn Doran advised there was an expectation under the new arrangements that there would be much more autonomy within the Brent Place to carry out what was needed. The national best practice guidance was that 80% of business should be done locally and 20% at system level. An example of this model being used was the review of palliative care across the system due to be undertaken. The review would look across the 8 NWL Boroughs but each borough would be looked at individually with its individual needs taken into account.

·         In relation to the selection and formalisation process of the Mental Health and

·         Wellbeing Executive, Robyn Doran confirmed that the representative from CVS had been agreed due to the representative having previously chaired the Mental Health Subgroup of all agencies in Brent which was set up during Covid-19, and therefore they felt it appropriate to appoint someone who had brought together all the third sector and statutory services.

RESOLVED, subject to ratification at the next quorate Board meeting:

      i.        To note the delivery mechanisms of the Integrated Care Partnership Executive Committee (ICPEC) and the membership and priorities of the four executive groups.

    ii.        To agree the draft work plan of the Brent Health and Wellbeing Board for 2021/22.