Agenda item

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Deputy Mayor,

Councillor Chris Best, and five Overview & Scrutiny Councillors, the Mayor

and Cabinet agreed that:

(1) the consultation activity undertaken by officers, the findings of this activity

and the Equality Assurance Assessment (EAA) undertaken be noted; and

(2) the proposed cut to the Health Visiting Service be paused and a further

report on Public Health cuts be considered in 2019.

(3) the revised proposals to balance the cut to the Public Health

grant for 2019/20 be approved with a full schedule being shown in the

minutes;

The report was presented by Councillor Chris Best who explained that

Government cuts in the public health sector had to be implemented and she

outlined the internal process led by the Director of Public health which had led

to the suggestions being advanced. She referred to the written comments

submitted by the Healthier Communities Select committee and the Children &

Young People Select Committee. After careful consideration of the concerns

expressed, Councillor Best had concluded that the proposed cut to the Health

Visiting Budget should be suspended and a revised proposal to achieve the

total cut required would be considered in the New Year.

Councillor John Muldoon spoke on behalf of the Healthier Communities Select

Committee and pointed out the views expressed in the Committee’s referral

were supported by the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign. He also reminded

the Mayor of the health commitments made in his successful Manifesto.

Councillor Octavia Holland spoke in favour of pausing the Health Visitors cut

pointing out the big impact the service could have on Safeguarding. She

expressed some concerns on the methodology used to arrive at the proposed

conclusions and pointed out some other local authorities were prepared to

use Early Years funds to support Health Visitors.

Councillor Sakina Sheikh highlighted the discrepancies between figures

produced by the Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign and those used by

council officers. She said there should be a reconciliation with the Campaign

and the Council in its role as a campaigning organisation should involve other

local campaigners in the oversight of Public Health budgets.

Councillor Luke Sorba spoke on behalf of the Children & Young People Select

Committee expressing support for the review of the Health Visitor cut as he

believed the Service had an important role to play in Early Intervention, the

SEND strategy and for Childrens Social Care.

Councillor Johnston-Franklin added that it was important that departments

worked together and that the implications of cuts in any particular service

should be considered in terms of their potential broader impact on other

services.

Councillor Chris Barnham thanked the Deputy Mayor for submitting an

amended proposal and agreed with the comments of the Scrutiny Councillors,

especially in terms of the strong links between the Health Visiting Service and

the Early Years offer.

The Mayor concluded by thanking all the contributors to the debate and

stressing that any proposed cuts were a direct result of Government policy.

Having considered an officer report and a presentation by the Deputy Mayor,

Councillor Chris Best, and five Overview & Scrutiny Councillors, the Mayor

and Cabinet, for the reasons set out in the report and from the options available, by a vote of 7-0:

RESOLVED that:

(1) the consultation activity undertaken by officers, the findings of this activity

and the Equality Assurance Assessment (EAA) undertaken be noted; and

(2) the proposed cut to the Health Visiting Service be paused and a further

report on Public Health cuts be considered in 2019; and

(3) the revised proposals to balance the cut to the Public Health

grant for 2019/20 be approved as follows:

£10,000 reduction in grants available for Neighbourhood Community Development Partnerships

£10,000 reduction in funding for Community Nutrition and Physical Activity service delivered by Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency

£127,000 reduction in funding for substance misuse.