Agenda item

To consider a proposal to form a new Health Scrutiny Committee, reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission, which would be responsible for scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire.

(Councillor Richard Somner declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that he was employed by the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Nassar Hunt declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that he had recently taken a job at the Ministry of Justice. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Lee Dillon declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that his employer was listed as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 8) concerning a proposal to form a new Health Scrutiny Committee reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission and which would be responsible for scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Howard Woollaston and seconded by Councillor Alan Law:

“That the Council:

(a)       support the proposal for a Health Scrutiny Committee, reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission (OSMC), to undertake scrutiny of the planning, development and operation of Public Health and NHS services for the citizens of West Berkshire;

(b)       delegate scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire to the Health Scrutiny Committee;

(c)       approve the terms of reference for the Health Scrutiny Committee as set out in Appendix B of this report; and

(d)       delegate authority to the Service Director, Strategy and Governance in consultation with the Group Leaders to agree membership and terms of reference for an Independent Remuneration Panel to consider the need for a Special Responsibility Allowance for the Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee”.

Councillor Howard Woollaston stated that the NHS was having a major restructure which included the creation of the Integrated Care System which ran across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB).

Health Scrutiny has always been part of the Overview and Management Scrutiny Commission’s role but it will become even more important under the new system. During his time as Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing the NHS was a mysterious beast with a large number of acronyms and a language of its own. It is very hard to get to grips with the detail unless you immerse yourself in it and the broad remit of OSMC did not allow for this. Hence the conclusion that a new Health Scrutiny Committee was required which would focus on this key statutory responsibility. This covers public health and NHS matters including the activities of the Health and Wellbeing Board, NHS dentistry and pharmacies. It cannot be delegated to Officers and all Members of the Executive were barred. It was supposed to be a cross-party committee of three Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats. There could be up to two non-voting co-optees appointed to bring specific health expertise. This was a statutory requirement and he believed that by creating the Committee the Council was giving it the seriousness it deserved and he therefore proposed the Motion.

Councillor Graham Bridgman echoed the comments made by Councillor Woollaston around the complexity of the NHS – it was a beast and the beast was changing. Not only was the role of local government in the NHS changing with the new White Paper on Health but also with the proposals that had been coming forward from the Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust in terms of redevelopment and North Hampshire in terms of redevelopment, there was a need for scrutiny at a Council level and he agreed that the changing health landscape meant that a new Health Scrutiny Committee should be formed. 

Councillor Tony Linden welcomed the new Health Scrutiny Committee as it would be valuable and it was important that work on such a broad area should carry on.

Councillor Martha Vickers also welcomed the formation of the new Committee and as a Member of the Health and Wellbeing Board she welcomed scrutiny. It would be a hard task going forward particularly around health inequalities in the area and she hoped that energy would be put into the most important areas and also making sure that the authority was engaging with its communities. The public needed to see the importance of public health and how they could actually contribute to the agenda.

Councillor Lee Dillon noted that there were two reports on the agenda on the subject of public health and the Outside Body report was also appointing people to the Health and Wellbeing Committee. It was therefore important that members of the public were aware of where to raise their concerns to the appropriate body. He was supportive of the proposal but felt that an education piece was required over the coming months with Members and also members of the public around what was the right vehicle to scrutinise the right organisation.

Councillor David Marsh queried why a Member of the Green Party had not been invited to be part of this Committee as all parties were interested in health. Indeed Councillor Steve Masters had an excellent track record in the area of health, particularly in relation to mental health. Places on these committees should not be around proportionality but should be looking at what the Council had to offer in terms of expertise. The Monitoring Officer clarified that the allocation of seats on committees was done in accordance with a statutory framework and there was a sequential test which was applied to allocate them on a proportional basis. That was subject to two other proceeding qualifications and criteria which were fully detailed in the report. She would be happy to discuss that further with Councillor Marsh outside of the meeting if he wanted more detail. 

Councillor Alan Law assured Councillor Marsh that the Green Party was proportionally represented on OSMC. OSMC covered a broad range of issues but when he had been asked to look at one or two health and wellbeing issues it was clear that OSMC would have been out of their depth and that a health committee was needed to focus specifically on health issues. He therefore welcomed the composition of the committee and the proposed Chairman of the committee and was happy to second the report.

Councillor Woollaston reiterated the point that the Green Party was represented on the Health and Wellbeing Board and it was therefore not being ignored from a health perspective.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.