The Board to receive a report on Better Health Outcomes for Children and Young People.

Councillor Nicky Williams provided the Board with a report on better health outcomes for children and young people.

Members were advised that –

(a)        in January 2012, the Government set up the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forum to look at health issues and better outcomes for children and young people;

(b)        in February 2013, the Government set out its official response to the forum and signed up to the Better Health Outcomes Pledge and Health and Wellbeing Boards were invited to sign up to this;

(c)        there were 5 shared ambitions and 5 key aims which resonate well with the strategic approaches of the Board and the Marmot approach to give children and young people the best start in life.

In response to questions from members of the Board it was reported that –

(d)        this was the first step in taking the pledge forward.  The next step was to look at how to implement the pledge locally and make it right for Plymouth.  Further discussions took place on whether there was a need to have an additional recommendation on the importance of working with partners.  It was felt that bullet point two of the recommendations covered this;

The Board received feedback from the community and voluntary sector on the support for adopting the pledge.  It was reported that –

(e)        funding and service cuts would impact significantly on this area of work.  A suggestion was put forward on whether a solution shop would be an avenue for developing and adapting the local version of the pledge.  This would allow a wider group of organisations to come together to feed into the development of the pledge;

(f)         Cabinet recently agreed a recommendation that covers the issues raised and looks at the commissioning framework for children and young people.  The recommendation took into account the whole care pathway and as this develops it could run alongside this work to be captured in one place with the Board having oversight.

Agreed that –

1.         the Health and Wellbeing Board would sign up to the principles of the Better Outcomes for Children and Young People Pledge subject to the completion of next steps to include -

·                     agreement on where oversight, accountability and responsibility for delivery should sit;

·                     adaption of the Pledge in line with local need and priority areas;

·                     a system of monitoring progress against the key ambitions and aims of the Pledge to be developed, cross referencing with relevant plans and performance already in place;

·                     further work to be undertaken to identify the resource and financial implications of delivering the Pledge within the local context.

3.         the Board have oversight of plan prior to going to the Children and Young People Partnership.