Agenda and minutes

It was moved and seconded that Councillor Sam Corcoran be appointed the Chair.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Sam Corcoran be appointed as Chair.

It was moved and seconded that Louise Barry be appointed as Vice Chair.

The board was advised that there was an announcement from the department of Health and Social Care that Healthwatch as an organisation is pending closure. However it was confirmed that there will be a considerable amount of time before this comes into action. The board were updated that Healthwatch are still present and will still be delivering until advised otherwise.

RESOLVED:

That Louise Barry be appointed as Vice Chair.

To note any apologies for absence.

Dr Paul Bishop - NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board,

Kate Little - CEO CVS Cheshire East

A minutes silence was held in honour of Councillor Chris Hilliard

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2025

An amendment to minute no. 51 Better Care Fund 2025-2026  was agreed by the board, to change the wording to ensure there was clarity as to what the  Board had raised questions about:  i) ensuring that people had lasting powers of attorney and clear instructions as to what they wanted in terms of treatment and end of life preferences and ii) to query what was being done to ensure that a person was not in hospital over the weekend. The change required was to replace  ‘…would be the only place available to be cared for’  to ‘because hospital was the only place available to be cared for on a Friday afternoon’.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2025 be approved subject to the amendment

In accordance with paragraph 2.24 of the Council’s Committee Procedure Rules and Appendix on Public Speaking, set out in the Constitution, a total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to put questions to the committee on any matter relating to this agenda. Each member of the public will be allowed up to two minutes each to speak, and the Chair will have discretion to vary this where they consider it appropriate.

Members of the public wishing to speak are required to provide notice of this at least three clear working days’ in advance of the meeting.

There were no public speakers.

To review the membership of the Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board for 2025-2026.

The Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board’s Terms of Reference require the membership to be reviewed and agreed at the first meeting of the Municipal Year. The Board considered a report which reviewed the membership for 2025-26.

It was noted that the board is yet to confirm a representative from a housing provider and a Business representative.

RESOLVED:

That the statutory Cheshire East Health and Wellbeing Board members agree the following individuals as additional members for 2025-2026

Councillor Stewart Gardiner – Opposition Group representative         

Philip Cresswell – the Executive Director of Place

Isla Wilson – representing the Place Health and Care Partnership Board

Superintendent Andrew Blizard – representing the Police and Crime Commissioner

Denise Bowman - representing the Chief Fire Officer

Kate Little - representing the community, voluntary and social enterprise sector

Claire Williamson – an additional representative for Children and Families

A housing provider representative – to be nominated

A Business representative – to be nominated

To receive a report on the findings and recommendations of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) review.

The board received a presentation on the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) JSNA.

The Board discussed the need for partnership working to ensure a collaborative approach to delivering services and raised the importance of the Families First partnership programme work that is being undertaken.

The Board requested that the language and approach taken is considered to ensure inclusivity and accessibility in communications that all understand.

It was noted that there is a lot of focus on the diagnosis however it was suggested that there should be more emphasis on early intervention to assist with the escalation in the need for Education Health and Care Plans which would look more at support in the early stages and throughout assessments and tracking outcomes.

The Board highlighted that the education system needs to be considered by the government to seek more inclusive learning rather than a standardised way of learning.

RESOLVED:

That the board note the findings and recommendations of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) review.

To receive a report on the Draft Active Travel Strategy and Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs).

The board received a report on the Draft Active Travel Strategy and Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) and discussed an opportunity for the board to help shape the strategic direction for active travel and inform and influence the delivery plans.

Officers acknowledged the recent passing of Councillor Hilliard and again thanked them for their contributions and engagement with the officer team working on the documentation.

It was noted that there was a launch of a public consultation week commencing 7 July to run for 8 weeks and encouraged the board to engage.

The core funding for active travel is administered on behalf of the department of transport by an agency Active Travel England. There is growth in active travel grants both in capital and revenue.

In the production and finalisation of the strategy, it was noted that those authorities performing at a higher level would have greater access to funding so developing a new strategy and infrastructure plans was a key part of demonstrating the Councils ambition and commitment.

An observation from the last assessment was to develop relationships with partner organisations who have an interest in active travel, and there is  an opportunity for the board to be involved.

The board expressed the need for an emphasis on safety and security to encourage the public to be involved in active travel.

The board suggested utilising social media to market the strategy as it was a powerful medium which would help get the message across quickly and would engage a wider audience.

The links to the Local Cycling Walking infrastructure Plans links can be found below;

Active travel in Cheshire East

Cheshire East’s Active Travel Consultation

RESOLVED:

To respond to the consultation and share the materials with partners and professional networks to ensure that the views of the health sector are fully considered and incorporated wherever possible.

To receive a report of the proposed review of Poverty that will be undertaken by the All Together Fairer Commission.

An update was provided to the Board to advise of the proposed review of Poverty that will be undertaken by the All Together Fairer Commission.

It was noted that Living Well in Crewe (the Commission’s last piece of work) was now included in the Cheshire East Plan.

It was proposed that poverty was focused on as the next piece of work under this commission.  The cost of living review of 2022 and the poverty JSNA that was undertaken in 2023 would be used as a baseline along with  other local and national work to research and establish the extent to which we have locally successfully implemented the recommendations and what interventions are in place, and to  establish where there are areas to improve. It is suggested that an update report is brought back to the board in the future.

The Board raised the difficulties of being a deprived family in an affluent area and the opportunities available for children and the impact it has on their futures and therefore welcomed the proposal of the initial scoping work to provide the evidence required to improve this.

The Board discussed the need for a rural poverty strategy and suggested that this is pushed where possible to the government.

The Board suggested that initiating a Citizens Assembly  as part of the work would be worthwhile and findings from that  included in the review.  Utilising a participatory budgeting approach was also mentioned if the funding is available.

The importance of having visual representations such as the tartan rug to show the health inequalities across Cheshire East were raised.  Improvements such as the pocket parks in Crewe and the Crewe Youth Zone that have been implemented to address the health inequalities across the borough need to be considered as well and the opportunities that they provide.

RESOLVED:

To note and comment upon the proposed work.