The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee (Councillor Skeels) (with no substitute) and Councillors Clifton (with Councillor Knowles substituting) and Miles (with Councillor M Stephenson substituting).

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee, held on the 28^th of September 2020.

The Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on Monday 28 September 2020 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were none on this occasion.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question.

The report is to provide information on the current position in relation to health further to the Committee’s meeting on 13 January 2020 and an update in relation to Covid.

Further to the meeting of the Committee held on 13 January 2020 (Minute 84 refers) the Committee was updated around deprivation, health measures and the proposed integrated neighbourhood team for Tendring South.  Also included was funding for primary care on the Clacton Hospital site and the operation of GP services from Kennedy House. The meeting was also to consider the Covid-19 measures to control spread and identify those most at risk and how to protect them and to also consider the role of community groups and volunteers.

The Committee heard that its previous meeting on health had been in January 2020 and although a number of updates were required to be brought forward at that meeting the overriding piece of work undertaken since that time, by all partners including health, had been in relation to the Covid-19 response. Only a limited amount of progress had been made before the first wave struck and then available resources were all focussed on the appropriate Covid-19 response, although the later summer period had allowed for some return towards more normal operations the main focus now was again on the Covid-19 response.

It was reported to Members that the main body of work undertaken in respect of deprivation was the focus on the deprived areas in respect of the Covid-19 response since those in more deprived areas had suffered worse health outcomes.  Work had been undertaken to ensure parity of access to services and in particular the community response involved ensuring that those most in need could still access essential services such as medication or food.

Members were updated that the outline business case for the Primary Care Hub at Clacton Hospital was proceeding with a proposed submission to NHS England/Improvement in December 2020 with approval expected to take 3 months.  The Hub would provide opportunities for integrated working across multiple partners and would also provide improved accommodation elsewhere on the site.  That development had been co-designed with two GP practices from the start in order to ensure that the needs of residents and staff were met. Building works were progressing at Kennedy House and the handover was due to take place in March 2021 and that would align with the timeline for the completion of the current Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) procurement.

It was reported to the Committee that work had continued on the neighbourhood team model although it had been somewhat delayed due to Covid-19.  On that basis the initial neighbourhood team site was being set up within central Colchester.  There were six teams proposed across the North Essex footprint.  Following the setting up of the initial site in the winter of 2020/21 the other sites would be set up during 2021.  A Senior Responsible Officer had been appointed and engagement with partners had been undertaken to ensure the effective mobilisation of the neighbourhood teams and for example a wider stakeholder workshop was to be undertaken on 2 December 2020 to move that forward.

The Committee heard that significant work had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To provide the Committee with an update on the funding and outcomes of the Tendring Mental Health Hub.

The Committee heard how the Mental Health Hub had been launched by the Tendring branch of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau in 2015 with support from Active Essex, Essex County Council, Essex’s Police and Crime Commissioner and Tendring District Council.

The hub, located in Clacton, offered an easy single point of entry for referrals from GPs, health professionals, police, and self-referrals. The idea of the hub was to carry out “holistic assessments” of people with mental ill health taking into account all the various factors behind their situation and point them in the right direction for help.

It was reported to Members that the hub was also staffed mainly by volunteers who had experience of mental ill-health issues, including problems with homelessness, social isolation or income, and helped to give them the confidence to go on to volunteer elsewhere. Volunteers also gained key personal skills, had social contact, and made friends.

More than 20% of the volunteers had gone on to mainstream charities, while 12% had gone on to paid employment.

After a brief discussion it was moved by Councillor Chittock and seconded by Councillor Davis that is RECOMMENDED to CABINET that:

·         the suggestion from the Chief Officer at Tendring Citizen’s Advice Bureau that the Mental Health Hub services/reach could be expanded if premises closer to the Town Centre in Clacton could be found be actively supported.

·         It was also RESOLVED to record the support of the Committee for the hard work carried out by the Citizens Advice Bureau, and its officer, staff and volunteers in delivering the Mental Health Hub in Clacton to address, in part, the challenges of mental health locally.

To consider the information as requested by the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee in respect of premises that are licensed under the Licensing Act 2003.

The Committee was provided with information in respect of premises that were licensed under the Licensing Act 2003.Those Premises were required by law to meet the four licensing objectives which were:

-      The prevention of crime and disorder

-      Public safety

-      The prevention of public nuisance

-      The protection of children from harm

Breaches of the above objectives could lead to suspension, further imposed conditions or revocation of the licence permitting licensable activities by the Council’s Premises/Personal Licenses Sub-Committee.

Members heard that standard compliance checks of premises were conducted by the Licensing Section in addition to any enforcement visits that arose as a result of any reported incidents. Those were investigated by the department and relevant action was taken if required. Regular night time economy checks were also conducted alongside Essex Police (though those operations had reduced in frequency during the Covid 19 pandemic due to resource factors, alternative tasking and safety considerations). During the pandemic, a shift had meant partnership work with the Police had focused on business and premises compliance in line with current Covid 19 regulations.

Members also heard that a good multi-agency working relationship had been established with responsible authorities and several joint agency initiatives and premises visits had taken place, including with Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and Immigration Services. Those visits predominantly focused on standard licensing objectives, but could be “focus specific” due to a particular concern from intelligence or information received. That could include, but was not exhaustive of breach of fire safety regulations and illegal workers. The responsible authority would act as the lead agency with support from the other involved agencies.

The Committee was informed of the virtual relationship with Trading Standards, who were the lead authority for under age sales and would conduct test purchases at their discretion (test purchases had been temporarily unavailable/reduced due to the Covid 19 pandemic). The results were then fed to the Licensing Authority (Tendring District Council) for appropriate action if required. The Licensing Authority worked alongside internal Responsible Authorities such as the Environmental Health and Protection department.

2020 had seen the review of the premises licences for the following licensed premises by the Premises and Personal Licences Sub Committee:

Great Gurkha – A multi-agency operation led by the Immigration service with support from the Licensing Authority and Essex Police. A total of 3 illegal workers had been found to be working within the premises. The Premises / Personal Licences Sub-Committee decision was that the licence be revoked as that was not a first offence of that nature at that premises.

Truth – A review had been called by Essex Police due to the licensing objective of crime and disorder not being upheld after the premises had operated against the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 that had been applicable at the time of offence, in that it had operated as a nightclub. The Premises and Personal Licences Sub Committee’s decision was that the licence be suspended for a period  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To present to the Committee the updated Recommendations Monitoring Report, outlining any recommendations the Committee have sent to Cabinet. The Committee is requested to consider the report and determine whether any further action is required on the recommendations submitted.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.

Pursuant to the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 13, the Committee will review any new and/or amended published forthcoming decisions relevant to its terms of reference and decide whether it wishes to enquire into any such decision before it is taken.

Matters may only be raised on those forthcoming decisions at Committee meetings where the Member has notified the Committee Services Manager in writing (or by personal email) of the question they wish to ask, no later than Midday, two working days before the day of the meeting.

Pursuant to the provisions of Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 13, the Committee reviewed any new and / or amended published forthcoming decisions relevant to its terms of reference with a view to deciding whether it wished to enquire into any such decision before it was taken.

The Committee discussed the proposed decisions and RESOLVED that contents of the report be noted.

To present to the Committee a draft detailed Work Programme 2020/21, to consider the detail and ordering of the Work Programme.

Members considered the Work Programme 2020/21 that outlined the scrutiny to be undertaken by the Committee in the remainder of that Municipal Year.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the contents of the report.