The Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions and officer responses were noted.

DECISION

1.    That the report be noted.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR, HEALTH, ADULTS AND COMMUNITY (D. RADLEY)

(Head of Strategy and Policy – Health, Adults and Communities (J. Starkie)

The Mayor introduced the report on understanding the impact of Covid-19 on Tower Hamlets as a borough. The report was also looking to try and anticipate future problems created by the pandemic.

The Mayor highlighted that a PowerPoint slide pack was available in the Cabinet agenda pack. It looked at many areas including; crime, domestic abuse, social care, economic issues and education.

The intention was also that the report could also help set out how the borough had changed and how the council could react to that.

The Cabinet then heard a number of contributions from Cabinet Members and others noting issues such as:

·       The increasing demand for mental health services being seen by the Council and its partners.

·       The impact of the pandemic recession and the changes in how people work and shop.

·       The impact on levels of rough-sleeping and the support the Council can provide.

·       The support the Council was providing for those who needed help due to domestic abuse.

·       How the pandemic had impacted children through missing education and also to their general mental health and wellbeing.

·       The significant costs being met by the Council, and the government funding that had been provided to date, but that future funding and cost levels were uncertain.

·       How well the Tower Hamlets community had worked to support each other.

·       The need to improve the conditions for care workers and noting their efforts during the pandemic.

The Pre-Decision Scrutiny Questions and officer responses were noted. Finally, the Mayor thanked Joanne Starkie (Head of Strategy and Policy – Health, Adults and Community) and other officers for their hard work in preparing this report.

The Mayor proposed the recommendation as set out. This was approved unanimously by the Cabinet Members present and it was:

RESOLVED

1.    That the report be noted.

The Sub-Committee will receive a presentation on the impact of Covid-19 on Mental Health and Mental Health Services.

The Sub-Committee received a report that summarised what food poverty is and who is affected by it in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH). It specifically highlighted the food poverty needs of older people and low-income families and showcased which food provision is in place for these vulnerable groups. 

The Sub-Committee then heard from Dr Sharon Noonan-Gunning on the Right to Food campaign. The main points arising from the questioning of the report maybe summarised as follows:

The Sub-Committee:

v  Noted that LBTH works collaboratively with stakeholders including the Food Partnership to lead the Food Poverty agenda.

v  Asked what provisions had been put in place to support people who used to use Meals on Wheels (MOW). In response it was noted that there was a range of approaches help with the transition of previous MOW users to alternative options as part of the transitions work that was done in Winter 2019-20 (pre-pandemic).  This included (i) Reablement short term support/intervention to support users with independently managing meal preparation/use alternative options; (ii) Support network assistance via neighbours/family; (iii) Frozen meal/ready meal options via local supermarket / community meal providers e.g. Wiltshire Farm Foods; (iv) Lunch clubs and other community-based meal providers e.g. church groups; and (v) Local restaurant/café/meal delivery options e.g. Deliveroo, Just Eat

v  Asked if there was an information pack for practitioners to use to support older people to look for alternative options. In response it was noted that as part of the MOW closure project a ‘basic’ information pack was created to assist  practitioners in exploring the range of alternative provision and support, this information pack was very much ‘work in progress’ and one of the outstanding outcomes from the project was to explore, with Public Health colleagues, the option to further develop this information pack and look at options to create an online information source for both practitioners and residents – some of this ‘online’ work has already been done in Summer 2021 (delayed due to Covid priorities) and is part of the Community Portal offer in LBTH.

v  Questioned if LBTH supported people who used Meals on Wheels with one off payments for white goods? In response it was noted that as part of the Care Act assessment and strengths-based approaches and LBTH has the option to support residents with ‘one off’ purchases for micro-waves, fridges, freezers where it is felt that this will support the residents to be more independent with meal provision and/or give them greater flexibility with alternatives; this can be done in a range of ways and in some cases can be easier facilitated via the use of a pre-paid one-off card.

v  Noted that the recommendations within the report have been collectively identified from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and subsequent engagement and prioritisation from the Food Partnership. The proposed recommendations will be delivered by Tower Hamlets Food which is a partnership of organisations and individuals taking action for “good” food for everyone in the London Borough of Tower  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3