Agenda and minutes

The Chair to note apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Dennis Meredith.

The Chair to note public address requests.

The public can speak on any agenda item for a maximum of three minutes per speaker per item.  You are not required to register your intention to speak in advance but should arrive at the meeting a few minutes early, complete a Public Address Protocol and notify the Scrutiny Officer of your intention to speak.

Robin Burgess, CEO of the Hope Centre, requested that this Panel takes full submission from the voluntary sector community food and is offered by them their evidence is crucial. Gathering food to alleviate food poverty is a massive task and he urged the Panel to understand this and hear the full evidence.

The Scrutiny Panel to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 2019.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 September 2019 were signed by the Chair as a true and accurate record.

The Scrutiny Panel to receive a response to its core questions from a number of key expert advisors:

·         Director, Education Services, Northamptonshire County Council

·         Director of Public Health, Northamptonshire County Council

·         Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Northamptonshire County Council

·         Director of Children’s Services, Northamptonshire

·         Chief Executive, NPH

Rhosyn Harris and Deborah Mbofona highlighted the key points from the written evidence and gave a presentation which reflected Public Health’s definition of food poverty. They explained that Northampton had a 56% take up of Healthy Start Vouchers whilst the average is 52% nationally.

The Panel made comment, asked questions and heard:

The main barriers to partnership working are:

·         There is lots of partnership working and work completed already

·         There is a need to being able to maintain ‘momentum’

A main barrier is leadership.  There is a need for strong leadership and a clear vision. Leaders should be drawn together to provide the necessary direction. Rhosyn Harris and Deborah Mbofona urged the Panel to recommend this in its final report.  It was emphasised that there is a need to have individuals with the relevant passion to lead e.g. Food Poverty Champions who can identify the partners who have the motivation and drive to bring all together.

The Panel supported the living wage employer.

It was explained that means tested benefits do not consider those who are in work and in poverty but receive no benefits.

The Health Protection Team has been in contact with all food banks but there was no compulsion for food banks to provide information on the number of food parcels that they provide.  The need for the Panel to receive details of the number of food parcels distributed was highlighted

The Emmanuel Church provides 40 parcels a week for around 100 people with referrals generally coming from schools.

The Chair invited Robin Burgess to provide comment. Robin Burgess expanded further that more information would be required rather than just the amount of food bank parcels handed out, as at the Hope Centre, for example, 120 people come in for food daily whilst there is a separate food provision that helps 250 families per week. He added the following:

·         That information could be provided via the groups

·         It needs to be reviewed how much aid is given out and where and whether there is poor uptake and why

·         He would produce a written report explaining how the living wage would impact

Robin Burgess further advised, that in his opinion, the impact of food deprivance meant children were living in relative poverty with 60% of the median income; this information could be provided to the Panel as he felt it was important so that the statistics could be cross referenced. He explained that food banks can’t always provide fresh provisions therefore an understanding of the types of food offered would be a useful question to ask as there has also been some work done regarding the nutritional value of the food.

The Grow and Eat Project is also in operation.

The Panel commented that there were lots of different Groups doing different things in relation to food distribution, which needed looking at collectively to ensure the sharing of information; which is very important across all of the Groups; as every Group needed to know about each other’s work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

Councillor Emma Roberts raised queries regarding the report regarding Statutory versus Social overcrowding.

It was requested that the Head of Housing and Wellbeing is asked to attend the January 2020 meeting to provide details of the Policy in relation to statutory and social overcrowding.

AGREED:      That the information provided informs the evidence base of this Scrutiny Review.

                      That the Head of Housing and Wellbeing is asked to attend the January 2020 meeting to provide details of the Policy in relation to statutory and social overcrowding

At this point, the Chair conveyed her disappointment that not all expert advisors had been present and the meeting and she would liaise with the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding contacting the organisation in this respect.