Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence given at this meeting.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Health and Public Protection Scrutiny Panel held on 19 January 2021.

RESOLVED that the meeting of the Health and Public Protection Scrutiny Panel held on 19 January 2021 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman announced that when he presented the minutes of the previous Panel meeting to Council on 26 February 2021, a question was raised by Councillor Mrs K K Trott in respect of the deployment of mobile CCTV cameras. 

The Chairman confirmed that he would provide an email response to Councillor Mrs Trott in due course and that he would ensure members of the Panel are copied in on the response.

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct and disclosures of advice or directions received from Group Leaders or Political Groups, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been lodged.

There were no deputations made at this meeting.

To consider any items of business dealt with by the Executive since the last meeting of the Panel, that falls under the remit of the Health and Public Protection Portfolio.  This will include any decisions taken by individual Members during the same time period.

There were no questions or comments for clarification on this item.

To receive a verbal update from the Executive Member on matters relating to the Health and Public Protection portfolio, e.g the Police and Crime Panel and Local Strategic Health issues.

The Panel received a verbal update from Councillor T M Cartwright MBE, the Executive Member for Health and Public Protection, on Police and Public Protection Matters and Local Strategic Health issues.

Public Protection Matters

Councillor Cartwright advised the Panel that he attended a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel on the 12^th March and that he has meetings scheduled for the months ahead with the Joint Gypsy & Traveller Panel on the 31^st March, the local Chief Inspector on the 15^th April and the Assistant Chief Constable on 26^th July.  

At the meeting on the 12^th March, the Police and Crime Panel received the Police and Crime Commissioner’s end of term report outlining his delivery against the Police and Crime Plan during his term of office. Councillor Cartwright commented that the new Commissioner will be in a good position funding wise when he/she takes over in the new municipal year. The Panel also received the Police and Crime Commissioner’s draft annual report for 2020/21.  This is a statutory report and the Panel members raised a number of issues for the Commissioner to clarify when the final report is received next week.

Councillor Cartwright informed members that he has received a letter from Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney following the recent tragic death of Sarah Everard.  The Chief Constable reported in the letter that two small vigils were held over the weekend following Sarah’s death, one in Portsmouth and one on Southampton Common. Both events took place without incident or arrest. The Chief Constable also outlined in the letter the actions that Hampshire Constabulary will take locally in relation to violence towards women.

Local Health Matters

Councillor Cartwright advised members that he attended a Hampshire Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on the 18^th March in Portsmouth and will be attending a Local Patient Group meeting on the 14^th April.

At the Hampshire Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting on 18^th March, the main points covered were:

·         vaccination rates and the current Covid-19 position.

·         A presentation on keeping well and moving on

·         A CCG update on Covid-19 impact, how CCGs are performing and what the priorities are for NHS England.

·         An update on the position at QA Hospital where the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be the priority. According to the Office for National Statistics, the prevalence of Covid-19 in Portsmouth remains just above the national average at 53 patients per 100,000 compared to 50 patients per 100,000 across England & Wales.

·         The vaccination programme is going extremely well.  Testing capacity has also increased recently with many more stations being made available and results coming back very quickly.

Finally, Councillor Cartwright reported that Mark Cubbon will be stepping down as Chief Executive of QA Hospital on the 23^rd March to take up the post of Deputy Chief Operating Officer at NHS England on a 2-year secondment. Mark has done an excellent job over the 4 or 5 years he has been in post and has made significant improvements at the hospital. His deputy, Penny Emerit, will take up the role of Chief Executive.

Following the Executive Members’ update, several members of the Panel commented on the fantastic service that has been provided by the Covid-19 vaccination centres across the borough and put forward thanks on behalf of themselves and their residents to everyone who has worked so hard to implement and roll out the vaccination programme.

To consider and agree a scoping report which identifies the key areas of the Council’s Safeguarding Policy for future scrutiny by the Panel.

The Panel considered a draft scoping report which identifies the suggested key areas of the Council’s Safeguarding Policy for future scrutiny by the Panel.

Members confirmed and agreed that the scoping report accurately reflects the areas required for scrutiny of the Safeguarding Policy.

RESOLVED that the Health and Public Protection Scrutiny Panel agrees:

(a)  the draft scoping report in respect of the impact of the Council’s Safeguarding Policy on Council employees and members; and

(b)  that the Community Safety Manager be invited to attend a future meeting of the Panel to report accordingly.

To provide an opportunity for Members to consider the scrutiny priorities for the Health and Public Protection Panel.

RESOLVED that, having considered the current Scrutiny Priorities, the Health and Public Protection Scrutiny Panel agrees that there are no changes required to the scrutiny priorities at the present time.