Agenda and minutes

A webcast of the meeting can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrlN4_PKzPXgH2NU3lNSh-0DlLIPEBe4d

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2024 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 34.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Mrs. M. E. Newton CC and Mrs. B. Seaton CC both declared non-registerable interests in all agenda items as they had close relatives that worked for the NHS.

There were no declarations of the party whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16.

The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health which presented the draft Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Suicide Prevention Strategy 2024-29 as part of consultation on the Strategy. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           Local Suicide Prevention Strategies were intended to mirror the National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2028 but also reflect local needs. The draft Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Suicide Prevention Strategy 2024-29 was generally similar to the strategies being proposed by other local authorities however there were some differences to target specific local issues. With some initiatives Leicestershire County Council had originally been thought to be ahead of other local authorities, such as with support for the bereaved and with the self harm service that had been implemented in Leicestershire in 2020. However, now central government was providing local authorities with specific funding for suicide prevention via the Integrated Care Boards, all local authorities were catching up.

(ii)         Priority 1 of the Strategy was “Supporting the system to put in place measures to help reduce suicidal ideation and suicides in children and young people.” The Chairman suggested that the wording of this priority was a bit vague and needed to be more specific. The Director of Public Health agreed to give this consideration.

(iii)        An 8 week consultation on the draft Strategy, hosted by Leicestershire County Council, was taking place from 28 October 2024. The County Council was holding focus groups to get the public’s views on the draft Strategy. In response to a suggestion from a member that faith groups should be included in the consultation, it was explained that Leicester City Council had strong links with faith groups and the City Council would be liaised with to ensure the views of faith groups were taken into account.

(iv)       The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Suicide Prevention Strategy 2024-29 would be accompanied by an Action Plan which would provide further detail on the action to be taken. Leicestershire was significantly worse than the England average for intentional self-harm. Work was intended to take place to look at which genders and age groups were most prevalent and this would form part of the Action Plan.

(v)         The two primary data sources used locally for suicide prevention were the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance Data (RTSSSD) provided by Leicestershire Police. The RTSSSD offered more timely and detailed insights, but was based on suspected suicides and remained inconclusive until confirmed by a coroner’s inquest. The RTSSSD data was very similar to the ONS data in terms of overall numbers which gave confidence that the RTSSSD data could be relied upon.

(vi)       Benchmarking was carried out between local authorities with regards to suicide rates. The overall suicide rate for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) was similar to the national average, though suicide rates tended to be higher in Leicester City than the county of Leicestershire. Suicide rates tended to be higher in areas of economic deprivation.

(vii)      The table on page 38 of the agenda pack (page 14 of the draft Strategy) indicated that LLR had seen a recent increase in suicide rates compared to the national average. However, due to the small numbers involved, a small increase could make the overall numbers look more dramatic than they actually were. It was not believed that this particular increase was statistically significant.

(viii)    Leicestershire County Council spent less on mental health promotion than some other local authorities but the County Council’s specific spend on suicide prevention compared  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive which presented proposed changes to the Protocol Between the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Healthwatch Leicestershire. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the revised Protocol between the Health and Wellbeing Board, the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and Healthwatch Leicestershire be approved.

The Committee considered the work programme of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, a copy of which, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

That the work programme of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee be noted.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 15 January 2025 at 2.00pm.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Committee be held on Wednesday 15 January 2025 at 2.00pm.