Agenda item

Life in Times of Change: Health and Hardship in North Yorkshire: The 2019 Director of Public Health Report for North Yorkshire (S/19/15)

The Committee are asked to receive the annual 2018-19 report of the Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire.

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Dr Lincoln Sargeant, Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire to the meeting to present the annual report of the Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire.

 

Dr Sargeant gave a presentation to the Committee on the report and the following points were highlighted:

 

  • Areas of deprivation and multiple deprivation in the Selby District, with Selby West ward having the most identified challenges.

 

  • The Director of Public Health highlighted statistics on the life expectancy of males, including the length of healthy life expectancy, between the most and least deprived areas in North Yorkshire.

 

  • The Committee was informed that the report looked at the elements which lie at the heart of poverty and deprivation, with areas of concern including employment, skills, income, education, crime and living environment, in which the factors all interplayed.

 

  • In terms of the different levels of poverty in the United Kingdom (UK), the Director of Public Health explained that more than one-in-five of the UK population lived in poverty, with around 5 million people living on the poverty line, and 8.4 million people living in deep poverty.  It was further explained that lack of money in itself did not cause ill health, but the indirect influence of poverty did have a marked effect on health.  

 

  • The Director of Public Health explained that the report provided a review of the health of the population and focused on some of the areas where collective action was required to protect people from the worst effects of poverty.  Based on this work the Director for Public Health had made seven recommendations for the Council to consider with regards to: supporting deprived areas, tackling rural poverty, reducing childhood inequalities, working with military families and veterans, creating safe environments for high-risk groups, developing priorities to mitigate the impact of changes to the benefit system; and improving community engagement.

 

  • The Director of Public Health outlined to the Committee how he would action the recommendations and this included:

 

  • In respect of supporting deprived areas, work in partnership with North Yorkshire County Council to lead co-ordinated plans focused on areas of deprivation through collaboration with local communities to reflect their priorities for reducing poverty and shaping healthy places.

 

  • In terms of tackling rural poverty, consideration should be given to developing a co-ordinated Rural Strategy that highlighted rural-specific needs, including employment, connectivity and affordable housing.

 

  • In respect of reducing childhood inequalities, be alert to the risk and impact of childhood poverty to ensure account is taken of hidden and indirect costs that may hinder a child’s full participation in the services offered by the Council.

 

  • In terms of military veterans, ensuring that veterans are not disadvantaged when accessing local services such as health and housing.

 

  • In respect of safe environments for high-risk groups, consider a ‘housing first’ approach to provide a safe and stable environment for people with multiple health and social problems.

 

  • In terms of changes to the benefit system, to understand the impact of changes to the benefit system on mental and physical health, and the use of services to set new strategic priorities in local plans to mitigate these impacts.

 

  • In respect of improving community engagement, ensuring greater joint working between sectors to strengthen and promote a culture of local community involvement in shaping plans for reducing the impact of poverty in areas of deprivation.

 

Members heard that much of this work had already been identified in the Selby district through the Selby Health Matters group. A newsletter of the work completed across a number of partners had been circulated to scrutiny members with the agenda.

 

The Director of Public Health stated that it was important to understand that people were proud of where they came from, and therefore investment and regeneration was needed to enable them to stay in the area.    

 

The Committee felt that better co-ordination between agencies was needed, and concern was raised in respect of the lack of bus services in rural locations making it difficult for people without vehicles to access employment in neighbouring towns and villages.

 

The Chair thanked Dr Sargeant for his attendance.

 

RESOLVED:

To note the report and consider the recommendations made by the Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire.

Supporting documents: