Councillor S Harvey, Chair of the Board provided the following position statement:

‘We are welcoming Dr James Burden for the first time today, representing the Rutland Primary Care Network. As many of you will be aware, Dr Hilary Fox has just retired (for the second time, in fact!). She has for many years been an active member of the Health and Wellbeing Board and a key partner working with us all, both in Rutland and across LLR, to enhance health and care services. I would like to take a moment to thank her for her tireless service to Rutland. We have benefitted greatly from her expertise, creativity, dedication and clear-sightedness, and I am sure you will join me in wishing her every happiness in her well-earned retirement.

As we pass the two-year anniversary of the start of the Covid pandemic, and three months on from my first Chair’s statement, we are in a markedly different position - locally, nationally and internationally.

We have entered a new phase in the management of Covid-19, one of learning to live with the disease, relying on the levels of immunity gained through vaccination or recovery from Covid-19, and the transition to less virulent strains.  Covid is very much still present in our communities, with rates still rising. The Rutland rate was 880 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 26 March, compared with an England average of 909. While unpleasant, however, it is not usually leading to the serious consequences we were seeing previously.

Restrictions in England are progressively being replaced with guidance relying on individual judgement – vaccination, fresh air, face covering in crowds, hand washing, testing if symptomatic and staying at home if positive.

·       Since 1 April, the Government has stopped providing free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic public testing in England, moving instead to a private market in tests, with a few exceptions, notably ongoing free symptomatic testing for a small number of ‘at risk’ groups and health and social care staff.

·       Most requirements for negative tests prior to visiting a care home were also removed from 1 April.

·       A second round of boosters is being rolled out for those who are more vulnerable – aged over 75, care home residents or with a weakened immune system.

If new concerning variants arise, we will of course adapt as required. Otherwise, the focus is on recovery.

March 23 was a National Day of Reflection to mark the losses experienced through Covid-19. In Rutland, we have lost 88 residents to Covid, and many have experienced the loss of others, of course, beyond our county borders.  Many people who have recovered from Covid are still feeling its effects in many forms, and still others have seen the pandemic impact on diverse aspects of their lives – including their mental health, livelihoods or education. Our sympathies go to everyone who has suffered.

Many played significant and selfless roles during the pandemic, and I would like to congratulate Ali Wainwright, Chair of the Rutland Foodbank, who received her MBE in person on 23 February, recognising the considerable contribution she and the Foodbank have made to people in Rutland during the pandemic and ongoing.

At the forefront of everyone’s minds now is the conflict in Ukraine. Our Elected Members pledged their unanimous support for Ukraine and its people at the last Full Council, and this was echoed by the strength of feeling in our communities. There are various ways that people can help.

·       Under the New Homes for Ukraine programme, members of the public can register online (https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk) to host Ukrainian refugees for a minimum of six months’ rent free, for a monthly fee from the government of £350. Associated with this, the Council has received further information on its role in providing wraparound support for Ukrainian refugees and their host families.

·       The Council’s website has information on other ways in which people can contribute, including through donations, with advice on recommended channels. (https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-community/support-for-ukraine/)

Related to the crisis, we anticipate that our veteran and Armed Forces community may be particularly moved or troubled by the situation in Ukraine. The charity Combat Stress provides mental health support for veterans and has added information to its website to help veterans and their families find ways of managing their feelings at this difficult time: https://combatstress.org.uk/about-us/news/ukraine.

A further impact of the conflict has been to accentuate the trend of rising living costs which started during the pandemic. This includes sharp recent rises to fuel costs which, in a rural area, are being felt particularly acutely, impacting on the ability to heat (particularly) older homes and make necessary journeys. The Council is rolling out a £150 rebate to houses in Council Tax bands A-D and has a discretionary fund for households in higher bands. I would also encourage people in need to reach out to local services, including Citizens Advice, who provide debt and benefits advice and administer the Council’s crisis fund, and the Foodbank.

I was pleased in February to be invited to attend the launch of the recently published Parliamentary Inquiry into Rural Health and Care. This supports rural counties by recognising that rural areas have distinctive health and care needs, and highlights that current socio-economic data fails to cast light on rural deprivation because of its dispersed nature. Collaborative work has started, under the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, on a more detailed report into Rutland’s health inequalities, involving many of the organisations around this table. That will help to add detail and nuance to our current picture and support our response to current hardships.

Against a challenging backdrop of Covid recovery, the Integrated Care System is in the process of coming into being, with 1 July being the start date for the Integrated Care Board – the successor body to the CCGs. I attend the LLR Integrated Care Partnership, alongside the chairs of the Leicestershire and Leicester Health and Wellbeing Boards and will be using this to highlight the distinctive context and needs of Rutland and to ensure that we are working together effectively as a system to shape health and care services for our residents. This includes keeping visible the out-of-area patterns of service use which are Rutland’s reality.

As we embark on delivering our new Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Rutland as a place from July, this is also in the context of the Government’s February White Paper on Integrated Care which adds some detail to proposals for integration at place level. It is the start of reforms, however, not the full picture by any means. It includes a number of proposals for local delivery.

·       Governance models are required by spring 2023, including a shared plan underpinned by pooled and aligned resources, and encouragement for further aligning and pooling of budgets.

·       A ‘single accountable person’ will lead on delivery of the shared plan and outcomes in each place, this role to be agreed between the relevant local authority and Integrated Care Board, building on existing arrangements. Place clinical leads are also being nominated.

·       National priorities will be defined, which we will need to reflect locally from April 2023.

·       Coordinated digital investment and improved use of data are being encouraged. We are already deploying the LLR Care Record as part of this, with Rutland’s Discharge Team as early adopters.

·       The workforce is also an important area for joint work.

We, as the HWB, will be instrumental in helping to inform and shape how the White Paper’s proposals are translated into changes that move Rutland forward as a ‘place’ within the wider ICS.

Finally, I wanted to bring to your attention that Rutland County Council, working with Anglian Water and Uppingham Town Council has secured £158k of grant funding from the government to develop two ‘changing place’ toilets, one at Sykes Lane and one in Uppingham, to complement the existing facilities in Oakham. Changing Places Toilets, unlike standard accessible toilets, have an adult changing bench and hoist facilities as well as extra space for carers. These facilities will increase the opportunities for local people and visitors who need these enhanced facilities to be able to spend time out and about in their communities, improving their health and wellbeing. I would like to thank everyone involved for their work on this project, which helps to show how much we can achieve by working together.’