-
Agenda and draft minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings. East Sussex, TN34 3UY
Contact: Deniz Musa tel: 01424 451486 email: dmusa@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Welcome and Apologies (Chair)
Declarations of Interest
Minutes:
Attendee:
Item:
Clive Galbraith,
7 – Update on Town Wide Energy Strategy
Minutes and Matters Arising (Chair) PDF 2 MB
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2018 were agreed as a correct record.
An update was requested on the scope for regeneration in the Ore Valley. The Director of Operational Services, Hastings Borough Council stated that there had been a draft response by the consultees and so progress had been made on the site at Ore Valley, meaning that progress would begin to be made.
Update on the Director of Public Health Report PDF 6 MB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Martina Pickin, Consultant in Public Health at East Sussex County Council delivered an update on the Director of Public Health’s Report ‘The State of Child Health in East Sussex’. The report focused on the state of child health in the county, in comparison to the same report nationally and details six chapters focusing on different stages in childhood. The data presented highlights 25 key national measures with a focus on additional specific issues for East Sussex where data is available. Each chapter contains a set of recommendations for further action.
In each chapter of the report, tables are provided, showing a comparison of the rate of certain health factors across districts and boroughs in the county, as well as national averages.
Hastings differed to the county average in certain categories, including maternal smoking, which was higher than its neighbours and breastfeeding, in which it was lower than its neighbours. Hastings and Rother were jointly lower on vaccinations than the county and national average.
The report highlights the impact of deprivation on a range of key health statistics which can be clearly seen for the statistics regarding Hastings e.g. tooth decay,
Teenage conception continues to be particularly high in Hastings, as well as self-harm, mental health issues and the rate of child poverty.
For some of the reported statistics it is not possible to comment whether their status is good or bad e.g. number of child protection plans.
It was also noted that the deprivation indicators focus on disparity between those more well off communities and deprived communities, in regards to education, green spaces and air quality for instance. However, indicators like these were noted to make coastal towns seem less deprived, due to their access to open spaces on the beach, and better air qualities.
A key point was made, that the health of individuals as children affects them for the rest of their life, but most problems highlighted were able to be prevented at a local level.
A question was raised in regards to the rates of epilepsy, and whether there really was a correlation between epilepsy and deprivation. The answer was that there may be a correlation between learning disabilities and epilepsy, and that those from deprived backgrounds are more likely to have learning disabilities.
Furthermore, in regards to reductions in funding for local authorities, there was a query on whether work was still continuing in the areas mentioned in the report. The reply was that work was continuing in the areas included in the report, even with less funding. It was also stated that the CCG’s Health and Equalities program had brought funding in to different services, such as programs about maternal smoking and breastfeeding, both of which had been making good progress, with maternal smoking rates falling and rates of breastfeeding rising. Alongside this, the Hastings Opportunity Area funding was aiding in helping this work continue.
The group raised an issue on whether the LSP would take an overview or mark progress over the last fifteen ... view the full minutes text for item 28.
Briefing Note on Consultation for Adult Social Care PDF 202 KB
(Briefing note from Samantha Williams, Assistant Director Planning, Performance and Engagement at ESCC)
(Draft consultation response from LSP attached)
Additional documents:
Minutes:
A briefing note was presented by Councillor Nick Bennet, East Sussex County Council. The briefing note detailed the recent changes to funding for adult social care services. The LSP considered a response drafted by the group, to be sent to the consultation for adult social care.
The group raised a question in regards to how these changes would affect small organisations, and how further damage would be avoided in the future to these organisations. It was stated that there was no way to know the impact of these decisions as of yet.
Furthermore, the group noted that preventative services for vulnerable individuals had been cut, in situations where further issues could be prevented for these individuals.
The group discussed the response that would be provided to the consultation on behalf of the LSP. Firstly, it was said that there should be a focus on protecting grass roots organisations, which were agreed to be vital to the continuing progress in communities.
They agreed on an amendment to the consultation response, after paragraph sixteen, as follows:
“In a climate where ESCC will be re configuring commissioning priorities and re-organising arrangements 2 crucial points need to be made:-
1. That commissioning takes place in a way which recognises localism and enables the full participation of local voluntary sector who tend to be smaller organisations. We believe that the VCS is a massive contributor to the type of Community Resilience envisaged as a key aspect of the ESBT programme and the maintenance of our local assets within the Charitable sector is essential.
2. As ASC commissioners themselves may be re-structured we want to emphasise the vital need to allow for time and capacity to engage locally, prevent distance increasing between those who commission services and those who deliver and receive them, and capture intelligence about emerging trends and issues. “The group noted that the ESCC better together scheme was working on helping with community resilience. They said that if this eroded, then so would the effectiveness of the voluntary sector in the town.
The group agreed that a response to be sent to the MP of Hastings and Rye would be drafted.
Thanks were given to Andrew Palmer, Assistant Director, Housing and Built Environment, Hastings Borough Council, who aided in writing the response to the consultation.
Update on Town Wide Energy Strategy
(Chantal Lass, Sustainability Manager)
Minutes:
Chantal Lass, Sustainability Manager, Hastings Borough Council gave an update on the Town Wide Energy Strategy for Hastings. The strategy is in line with the council’s income generation strategy, and aims to better manage the energy supply of the town. This would possibly mean getting energy cheaper for the residents of Hastings.
The group agreed that this is a good strategy that should be focused on by the LSP, however one specific issue that was raised was that of fuel poverty issues being balanced in the town.
It was noted that advice on keeping a warm home was given to residents in the St Leonards area, which was received well. The group suggested that an “anti-poverty safety net” initiative be built in to aid individuals suffering with poverty.
Furthermore, the group discussed that there were implications for planning if this strategy progressed. With a plan to have vertical wind turbines along the seafront, it was stated that there would have to be changes to the planning policy.
Since the energy would be sold by the Hastings Borough Council, it would mean that prices could be decided by the organisation.
The group agreed that publicity for this was welcomed.
Executive Delivery Group Notes PDF 130 KB
Minutes:
The minutes of the Executive Delivery Group meeting held on 5 April 2018 were agreed as a correct record.
Additional Items
Minutes:
The Director of Operational Services, Hastings Borough Council gave an update on the bid for a Channel 4 creative hub in the town. He said that after attending a presentation, Channel 4 revealed that they were devolving their services, and disbanding their headquarters in London, to be replaced with two creative hubs.
The bid would be for one of these creative hubs to come to the university campus in Hastings, and would make us of their facilities, equipped to be television studios.
An outline draft of five-thousand words would be made, which if successful would lead to Hastings entering the pitching stage of the process, where they would give a presentation as to why the hub would fit best in the town.
It was noted that if the bid were successful, it would largely aid regeneration in the town, as well as the wider creative sector in the area.
-
My council
Contact
Got a question about democratic services?
Content
The content on this page is the responsibility of our Democratic Services team.