Agenda and minutes

The Committee was advised of apologies for absence from Councillors Guida Esteves, Graham Eyre, George Potter, and Tony Rooth and a substitution as detailed above.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

In relation to item 5, Mental Health Improvement Programme, Councillor James Walsh disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as an employee of NHS England and Councillor Angela Goodwin disclosed a non-pecuniary interest as a trustee of the mental health charity, Oakleaf Enterprise.

To confirm the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 14 September 2021.

The minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 14 September 2021 were agreed.

The Director for Service Delivery gave a presentation on the current COVID-19 situation and the Council’s response, beginning with an update on local cases.

The Director for Service Delivery advised the meeting that the COVID-19 infection rate in Surrey for the week ending 12 October was 432.4 per 100,000, higher than the national rate of 391.8 per 100,000 and the South East rate of 380.0 per 100,000, while Guildford’s rate was 369.1 per 100,000.  He added that that Guildford’s rate had recently increased to 443.6 per 100,000.  The Director for Service Delivery advised that in the previous week there had been 5,188 new cases in Surrey, of which 555 were in Guildford. The meeting was informed that as at 17 October there were 2,994 registered COVID-related deaths in Surrey, with 254 in Guildford. 

The Director for Service Delivery updated the Committee on two key COVID-19 issues: vaccination and testing; and returning to the Council office. The meeting was advised that cases were highest amongst the 10-19 year olds followed by the 40-49 year olds, which could indicate infection spreading from the 10-19 year olds to their parents.  In addition, the Director for Service Delivery indicated that COVID-19 cases were mainly associated with schools and leisure facilities.  The Director for Service Delivery indicated that vaccination rates were improving across the Borough and analysis of the vaccination data was undertaken by Public Health at Surrey County Council and resources allocated to areas of concern.  In addition, the meeting was advised that Surrey Heartlands CCG were employing a children’s and young person vaccination lead to address vaccination hesitancy in young people. 

With reference to the government guidelines for care homes that were coming into force on 11 November, the Director for Service Delivery advised that Surrey County Council reported 97% of residents, staff or agency workers in homes in Guildford had received their first and second COVID vaccination.

The Director for Service Delivery advised the Committee members of the Council’s agile working policy and the expectation that staff would be in the office at least 50% of the time.  He noted that operational services had been maintained throughout the pandemic and staff had continued to come into work to deliver services throughout the pandemic. 

In response to a question from a Committee member about the COVID-19 infection rates among teachers, schoolchildren, and students, the Senior Specialist Public Health indicated that information about positive test locations and premises was shared with the Council by Public Health at Surrey County Council.  The Head of Environment & Regulatory Services advised the meeting that support was provided by Public Health at Surrey County Council for schools with a COVID outbreak.

In reply to a question, the Senior Specialist Public Health undertook to ask for the uptake of booster vaccinations in the Borough.

In reply to a question about rising infection rates in the Borough and the policy requirement for staff to return to the Council offices, the Director for Service Delivery confirmed that the agile working policy would  ...  view the full minutes text for item OS35

Considering the impact of the pandemic on mental illness and mental health services, and the Surrey Mental Health Partnership Board (MHPB) review and consequent improvement plan agreed by Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board (and its delivery).

The Chair welcomed Professor Helen Rostill (Deputy Chief Executive, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SABP)), and Co-Chair of the Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board’s Mental Health Delivery Board), Sally Heath (Director of Business and Innovation, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) and Sue Murphy (Chief Executive of Catalyst) to the meeting.  He advised the Committee that the item was an opportunity to consider the impact of the pandemic on mental illness and mental health services and to hear about the Surrey Mental Health Partnership Board (MHPB) review and consequent improvement plan agreed by Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board.

Professor Helen Rostill, Sally Heath, and Sue Murphy gave a presentation to help explain the Mental Health Improvement Programme (MHIP).  The background and context of the MHIP, its delivery architecture, and its governance were outlined to the Committee.  Next the progress and ambitions of the programme areas of the MHIP were described to the meeting. 

The Committee was advised that the recommendations from the MHPB review had been mapped into ten programme areas; specifically, three core delivery programmes (early intervention and prevention; no bouncing and improving access; and working together to break down barriers) and seven support and enabling programmes (digital and data; communications and engagement; how we work together; resourcing; workforce plan; training and awareness; and mental health system governance).

The meeting was presented with examples to illustrate the focus for the three core delivery programme areas, including the formation of Surrey Workforce and Wellbeing Collaborative, the design of an engagement programme by Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum (SMEF) and the Independent Mental Health Network, the GP Community of Practice initiative, the 24/7 safe haven pilot, an independent review of SABP adult single-point of access, and the successful funding application for a tier 4 CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) unit within the county.  Further examples shared with the meeting included the GPimhs (General Practise integrated mental health service) community-based model of mental health care, the establishment of a Young Adults Reference Group to better support the transition from children’s to adult mental health services, the Epsom pilot of secondary care integration, the Community Connections in-reach service pilot at Farnham Road Hospital and the Abraham Cowley Unit, the establishment of Surrey Mental Health Alliance by April 2022, and projects to inform the culture changes necessary to improve working within and across organisations. 

The Committee was advised of work to assess resourcing for emotional wellbeing and mental health services across Surrey, the launch of the Multi-Agency Emotional and Mental Wellbeing Training Collaborative in September 2021, and the Face of Support mental wellbeing campaign across Surrey.  The Director of Business and Innovation informed the meeting that a Mental Health Summit to be held on 1 December 2021 would update on progress achieved and help maintain momentum.

During the presentation, the Deputy Chief Executive, SABP, commended to Committee members a report produced by SMEF in 2020 about the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health and offered to provide  ...  view the full minutes text for item OS36

The Head of Environment and Regulatory Services introduced the report and reminded the Committee that on 21 October 2021 the Guildford Joint Committee would receive a report recommending the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area in Guildford Town Centre.  In addition, the Committee was advised that the Council was working with National Highways and Surrey County Council to address the air quality breaches on the A3.

The Head of Environment and Regulatory Services indicated that the pandemic had impacted on progressing the air quality action plan measures. 

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Climate Change indicated that the Air Quality Strategy would be reviewed in the coming year.  He stated that the capacity of the Council to tackle the core issues of air quality was somewhat limited.

In reply to a question, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services confirmed that work on a new Air Quality Strategy would begin in 2022.

In response to questions on the A3 through Guildford, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services advised the meeting that a report on measures to address the air quality issues would be released by National Highways.  The Head of Environment and Regulatory Services confirmed that details of the worst polluting vehicles on the A3 through Guildford, along with vehicle journey information, would be included within the report.  Additionally, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services indicated the importance of a modal shift to electric vehicles.  The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Climate Change spoke of encouraging a behavioural shift to driving electric vehicles. 

The Head of Environment and Regulatory Services acknowledged that compliance with legal air quality limits on the A3 through Guildford was predicted to be some years away.  The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Climate Change indicated his support for immediate measures and interventions for the A3 providing they did not transfer the pollution elsewhere, but stated he was not aware of such measures.

A member of the Committee asked how high a priority the new park and ride on new A281 was in terms of air quality improvement.  With reference to the number of properties with exposures to air pollution exceedances in Shalford, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services stated that such a park and ride site had been discounted due to the time to implement such a scheme and a lack of funding.

In response to a question about the adequacy of monitoring points to establish the scale of the air quality problem in the Borough, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services explained the network of monitoring locations and its development and review.  The Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Climate Change indicated his confidence that the monitoring network had not missed any areas of exceedance.

With reference to query about an exceedance and a possible previous monitoring point near the Gyratory, the Head of Environment and Regulatory Services requested further details to investigate the  ...  view the full minutes text for item OS37

To agree the draft Overview and Scrutiny work programme.

The Committee considered a report containing the overview and scrutiny work programme for 2021-22 and the terms of reference of the overview and scrutiny Affordable Housing task and finish group.  There were no comments.