This meeting includes an update from the Director of Public Health and discussions on the outcomes of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry Module 1 and the council's use of herbicides. It will conclude with an opportunity for members to review the committee's work programme for 2024/25.

Director of Public Health Annual Report

The committee will receive a report introducing the Director of Public Health Louise Wallace's Annual Report for 2023/24, Live, Age, Engage: healthy ageing in North Yorkshire .

The report's focus reflects the higher proportion of older people in North Yorkshire compared to the rest of England. The report includes feedback gathered through a healthy ageing survey, and interviews with older people and support organisations.

The Director of Public Health has identified four key priorities for healthy ageing in North Yorkshire:

• Health and reducing inequalities
• Housing
• Financial security and employment
• Making North Yorkshire an age-friendly place

The report sets out a series of recommendations, including:

• All agencies and services to consider the projected increase in older people and what this means for their services, in particular ensuring the infrastructure is in place to prepare for this, whether you are NHS, council e.g. planning and transport, voluntary sector, combined authority etc.
• Ensure there is accountability for a multi-agency approach to healthy ageing.

The Council's Use of Glyphosates

The Committee will consider a notice of motion referred by full Council regarding its use of the herbicide glyphosate. The notice of motion requests that:

To reduce the budget for mowing and spraying by at least £100,000 a year and to cease all purchases of any products containing glyphosate or neonicotinoids .

The notice of motion was proposed by Councillor Andy Brown and seconded by Councillor David Noland during a meeting of full Council on 21 February 2024. The amendment was withdrawn after Councillor Brown agreed that the issue would be referred to a scrutiny committee for further consideration.

The Committee will consider a report reviewing the potential impact of glyphosate and neonicotinoids on human health, based on research undertaken by officers in the council's Highways and Parks and Grounds departments. The report also explores possible alternative treatments and includes an assessment of the legal, financial, equality and climate change implications of ceasing to use glyphosate.

The report notes that:

The local government sector has been looking at an alternative to glyphosate for their weed treatment needs. There are a wide range of potential alternatives to glyphosate-based herbicides, but no other treatment has been proven to have the same level of effectiveness at a similar cost. The main difference between glyphosate and other methods is that one treatment of glyphosate will kill the roots of the weed and prevent it from regrowing, whereas most other methods need multiple treatments to kill the roots or do not kill the roots at all.

The Committee will need to decide on its recommendations to the full Council on how it should respond to the notice of motion. It can choose from a number of options including:

• agree to the amendment as it is currently worded
• not progress the amendment as it is currently worded
• request further information.

Independent Public Inquiry into the Government Handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Review of Module 1 Outcomes

The committee will receive a report from Victoria Turner, Public Health Consultant, reviewing the findings of Module 1 of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.

The report highlights several of the Inquiry's key recommendations:

• A radical simplification of the civil emergency preparedness and resilience systems. This includes rationalising and streamlining the current bureaucracy and providing better and simpler Ministerial and official structures and leadership.
• A new approach to risk assessment that provides for a better and more comprehensive evaluation of a wider range of actual risks.
• A new UK-wide approach to the development of strategy, which learns lessons from the past and from regular civil emergency exercises, and takes proper account of existing inequalities and vulnerabilities.
• Better systems of data collection and sharing in advance of future pandemics, and the commissioning of a wider range of research projects.
• Holding a UK-wide pandemic response exercise at least every three years and publishing the outcome.
• Bringing in external expertise from outside government and the Civil Service to challenge and guard against the known problem of groupthink.
• Lastly and most importantly, the creation of a single, independent statutory body responsible for whole system preparedness and response. It will consult widely, for example with experts in the field of preparedness and resilience, and the voluntary, community and social sector, and provide strategic advice to government and make recommendations.

The report sets out how the council will respond to the Inquiry's findings, both at the council level and as part of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum.

Work Programme

The committee will consider its work programme for 2024/25. The current programme includes:

• an update on progress with the Autism Strategy
• a presentation by Healthwatch North Yorkshire
• updates on a range of NHS service areas including maternity services, Airedale Hospital, electronic records, primary care, renal services and pharmacy services
• briefings by a range of partners including the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, hospices, and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

The Committee is also planning to consider a range of other topics in future meetings, including:

• mental health access
• telemedicine
• pandemic preparedness
• performance of urgent and emergency care
• health visiting

This is not an exhaustive list of the topics that the committee may consider. The agenda, and supporting reports, contain further details and can be viewed online: Public reports pack Wednesday 18-Dec-2024 10.00 Scrutiny of Health Committee