Issue - meetings

To note the pilot project in which Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester Council participated to contribute to a Scrutiny Toolkit on Health Inequalities.

The Committee received a report which outlined the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) pilot project in which Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester Council participated to contribute to a Scrutiny Toolkit on Health Inequalities.

It was reported that the major purpose of the project was to help develop a Scrutiny toolkit through investigating and piloting various methodologies. It was hoped that the findings from the project would prove useful in any future work to investigate health inequalities.

As part of the research process, it was explained that the Joint Scrutiny Panel met on 5 occasions, including undertaking a tour of the two pilot areas, information gathering and face to face interviews. It was reported that the face to face interviews proved to be particularly effective and that this had led the Group to focus on one particular area; mental health in rural areas. Indeed, it was noted that there was a proliferation of issues in isolated farming communities in which the people involved tended to avoid formal support mechanisms. This was in part due to the distance of travel and access to transport but also due to the reliance on community and informal support.

It was reported that the findings of the project were presented at a Centre for Public Scrutiny event in London on 17 November. Subsequently, the findings were written up by the Panel’s Expert Advisor into a Case Study and this was due to form part of the Toolkit chapter on Local Understanding.

The Chairman thanked those Members involved for all their hard work in contributing to the project.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and noted.