Date: / 20 July 2016 Venue: Chalvey Community Centre
Present: / Colin Pill Board Chair
Dolly Baskharan Non-Executive Director
Mike Connolly Lay Representative (Slough CCG)*
Emma Leatherbarrow Executive Director (Help & Care)
Pretesh Singadia Non-Executive Director
In attendance: / Nicola Strudley Healthwatch Slough Locality Manager
Arunjot Mushiana Healthwatch Slough Development Officer
Heather Wyper Minute Taker
Absent: / Amrik Banse Non-Executive Director
Anisah Kausar Lay Representative (Young People)
Regina Lubiatowska Lay Representative (Young People)
*for part of meeting
Action by
1. / Apologies and declarations of interest - MC to leave early due to CCG engagement. No other apologies received. No new interests declared. All Board members asked to fill out a declaration form to register/update their interests for HWS records. / All board members
2. / Notes of the last meeting (inquorate) held on 18 May 2016]
a) Accuracy - No changes made. [Minutetaker's note: Minutes of 16 March are still unapproved as they could not be ratified at the inquorate meeting. They should be submitted to the Board for approval by e-mail or at the next formal meeting on 21 Sept. HW]
b) Matters arising - NS reported that, since the meeting, guest speaker Andrew Moody had left his post and no longer worked for the CCG. NS hoped to obtain the financial breakdown he had promised via the forthcoming E Berks meeting she would be attending.
3. / Workplan
a) Carers
· focus of project = young carers
· project would investigate how Slough young people with caring responsibilities are identified and encouraged to register
· project to comprise two parts:
(i) questionnaire & interviews - professionals/organisations (GPs, teachers, youth workers, youth offending team, SCT staff)
(ii) a previously-unidentified young carer would be asked to keep a video blog as they went through the registration process.
[EL suggested identifying good practice in Slough and elsewhere: how do numbers of registered young carers compare and why?]
· new SBC steering group now set up to look at young carers issues but first meeting highlighted no clear roles/responsibilities
· incentive for registering (e.g. support available) currently unclear
· SBC no longer keeps a Slough-wide list of young carers. Records kept by at least some GP surgeries but patchy.
b) Complaints
· project launched at Farnham Road event
· call to action - complaint stories invited
· project to focus on how 5 local organisations handle and learn from complaints: SBC, SCT, CCG, WPH, & BHFT[1]
c) Access to information (update by NS)
· project comprises 4 parts:
(i) conduct mystery shopper exercise
(ii) Mapping & Sharing talking shops - final one in October
(iii) produce visual map of Slough
(iv) study role of volunteer Community Navigator
4. / Gateway report (circulated with agenda) - noted. NS reported that extra promotion of HWS telephone helpline (Gateway) planned - Sept onwards.
5. / Communications & PR - strategy paper circulated with the agenda noted by Board. PS offered to provide guidance re press relations and key partners. NS reported:
· permission for HWS to use old postal address (27 Church St) up to end of year kindly given by new tenants
· two new pages on HWS website: consultations & fact sheets
6. / Governance issues
EL briefed Board colleagues on the constitutional position now that Citizens Advice Slough was no longer a Member of HWS CIC, having ceased its charitable activities[2] on 31 March.
The Board noted that under Healthwatch Slough CIC's Articles of Association they had three options, as follows:
(A) instruct H&C to appoint another Member of the CIC[3]
(B) hold the vacancy open and hold Board meetings with a single Executive Director[4]
(C) They could wind up the CIC
The Board discussed the practicalities of operating with only one Executive Director, notably its dependence on this individual (i) being present for meetings to be quorate; and (ii) to agree resolutions[5].
EL emphasised her commitment to attending HWS Board meetings. In addition, she indicated that the situation whereby the ED vetoed majority Board decisions was unlikely given how HWS and H&C operated - seeking to reach decisions via consensus and respect. CP agreed, based on his experience. Board colleagues noted ways in which the Board might deal with ED conflicts of interest (e.g. s/he could abstain)[6].
Board members acknowledged the time and workload involved to implement Options A or C, and the short timescale available before the current contract ended in March 2017.
Following this discussion, the NEDs indicated their preference was Option B at the present time.
The Board (including EL) therefore agreed Option B above, with the proviso that it would be open to review at a later date.
The Board noted that in future board development discussions (see below) they might consider recruiting additional NEDs to enhance the skills and capacity of the board and that potentially they might seek a new Member/Executive Director at that time.
EL agreed to circulate a written note of her briefing as an aide memoire, and to send PS a copy of the Articles of Association.
11.15am MC left the meeting. / EL
7. / Board development
PS suggested board integration and communication might be improved. CP suggested that regular NEDs-only meetings might be helpful.
EL proposed that the next informal board meeting on 17 August focus on two priority topics: (a) retendering; and (b) board development (including governance issues as above). This was agreed.
EL to circulate board effectiveness questionnaire (from Governance Protocol) for completion and return by all Board members. EL to collate the results in time for the meeting. / NS
EL
All
EL
8. / Finance - EL to e-mail Q1 management accounts asap. Meanwhile she assured colleagues that spending was on track and no concerns had arisen. Approx £500 had been carried forward from 2015/16. Former HWS Finance Director Bilal Aktar had signed the annual accounts (for year ending September 2016) before he left. Date set for HW Hampshire's VAT tribunal this Autumn. / EL
9. / External Forums-
a) Current priority: NS asked Board members that during these final months of the current contract, they take every opportunity to share HWS successes with external audiences and to highlight its impact. / All
b) Verbal updates:
i) Adult Social Care Reform Board - NS due to attend meeting (later in day) on the subject of social investment fund.
ii) Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) - CP reported that the recent 'information only' meeting had been focused on inducting new Councillors with no business conducted.
iii) Health & Wellbeing Board - CP to give young carers project update at forthcoming meeting & emphasise that it is a high HWS priority. / CP
iv) Slough Senior Citizens Group 10th Anniversary event - CP reported that Healthwatch had been mentioned (positively) by the Police Commissioner. (Board members also noted with interest that CCG Chairman Jim O'Donnell had provided musical entertainment!) / CP
c) Internal information sharing: NS to circulate feedback pro forma. Board members were reminded of the importance of feeding back from external meetings. / NS & all
d) Representation changes: CP's recent period of ill-health had brought to light, for some colleagues, issues around ensuring adequate cover at strategic meetings and the benefits of spreading responsibilities across the Board. CP emphasised that a clear decision should be taken. Following discussion EL proposed, and it was agreed by a majority vote, the following arrangements be adopted with immediate effect:
Health & Wellbeing Board - HWS representative: CP
Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee - HWS representative: PS
Deputies in each case to be agreed at next Board meeting. / Alll
Board members
10. / Any other business
a) Homelessness - operational team had met with Trinity Homeless Projects CEO and SHOC Manager. NS reported that their valuable work required better promotion. HWS therefore sent proposal for collaborative work on this. No response to date.
b) Income generation - DB had received queries as a result of a mention of "fundraising" by a HWS volunteer on a video featured on the HWS website.
NS confirmed that HWS does not carry out community fundraising activities or seek donations. In line with agreed Board strategy, and as a social enterprise, income is sought through contracts and (potentially) additional commissioned work. Income generation to be addressed in more detail at a future Board meeting.
11. / Dates of future meetings
Wed 17 Aug (informal)
Wed 21 Sep (FORMAL)
Wed 19 Oct (informal)
Wed 16 Nov (FORMAL)
Wed 21 Dec (informal)
Agreed & signed: ...... Chairman
Date: ......
1
DRAFT for submission to the next Board meeting
[1] Slough Borough Council, Slough Childrens Trust, NHS Slough Clinical Commissioning Group, Wexham Park Hospital, Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust.
[2] See Article 27 Section 3.9
[3] See Article 9 Section 3.2
[4] See Article 9 Section 3.3
[5] See Article 17 Section 1
[6] See Article 20 for Directors' powers to decide how the conflict of interest can be dealt with