Agenda and minutes

Purpose: To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The following are considered to be standing declarations applicable to all Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committees:

·       Councillor Patrick Clark – Governor of Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Governor of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and West Berkshire Council representative on the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Partnership; and

·       Councillor Jo Stewart – Employed by the Royal Berks Charity as a Fundraising Manager. Although the charity is a separate entity from the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, there may be occasions where it would be inappropriate to take part in discussions for certain topics. In addition spouse is Head of Contract Management at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

There were no declarations of interest received.

Purpose: To present the work of the Children's Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Task and Finish Group. The report makes recommendations based on the evidence gathered for improvement.                

Councillor Martha Vickers presented the Children’s Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Task and Finish Group report (Agenda Item 3). Councillor Vickers noted the wide-reaching organisations that took part in the review and thanked them for their contributions. It was advised that this special meeting was taking place to expediate referring any recommendations to Executive and the BOB ICB.

During the Committee’s discussion the following points were raised:

·         Evidence shared from witnesses during task group meetings highlighted the importance of supporting children in early years.

·         It was noted that many schools in West Berkshire did not have a Senior Mental Health Lead (SMHL) and that this was no longer funded by central government. Pupils in those schools were disadvantaged in their mental health support. It would be beneficial to have a SMHL in all schools.

·         It was noted that the Mental Health Support Team (MHST) did not cover the whole of West Berkshire and that was particularly so in the east of the district. Members of the task group wanted to ensure that all schools had this service.

·         It was emphasised that funding for youth services had been cut significantly over the past 12 - 15 years. The task group found that Berkshire Youth were doing a great job, particularly at the Waterside Centre. However, facilities were lacking in other parts of West Berkshire. A recommendation was made by the task group to review the facilities available for young people across West Berkshire. It was believed that there may be an opportunity to receive further funding from central government.

·         It was noted that there was work underway developing 0 – 19-year-old family hubs across West Berkshire. The task group report would be shared with Members of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee who would be reviewing the development of the family hubs.

Action: Vicky Phoenix to refer the report to the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee.

·         AnnMarie Dodds, Executive Director for Children’s Services, advised the Committee that the MHST service was funded by the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB). Until this year they commissioned West Berkshire Council to deliver MHST’s in schools. They were no longer commissioning West Berkshire Council and now had commissioned Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT) to deliver the service. This would start in August 2025. This was a single commission across Berkshire West. It was not confirmed what this would look like yet. This would move from a community-based model, that was one of the most effective MHST’s in the country, to a medical model and so children would likely not be receiving support in school but would need to go to a health setting to receive the support. There would be significant changes. West Berkshire Council did a collective bid with the other Berkshire West authorities but were unsuccessful. There had been legal challenge around the procurement of the service by the ICB.

·         AnnMarie Dodds advised that the schools that did not receive support from the MHST’s were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.