Agenda item

A report will be presented in relation to the Kirklees Loneliness Steering Group established in 2020 by the Council and partners.

Contact:

Helen Gilchrist – Project Manager, Local Integrated Partnerships

Jill Greenfield – Service Director, Customers and Communities

Jill Greenfield – Service Director, Customers and Communities, Mark Wearmouth – Service Manager, Local Integrated Partnerships and Helen Gilchrist – Project Manager, Local Integrated Partnerships presented a report in relation to role of the Kirklees Loneliness Steering Group.

The group had been established by the Council and partners, further to the development of a partnership vision to make Kirklees a place where communities are more connected and support each other to develop meaningful relationships and reduce loneliness.

The report was part of the ongoing scrutiny of this topic by the Committee and the Chair gave a brief update on visits undertaken with:

·       Yorkshire Children’s Centre

·       A local Long Covid Support Group

·       Luv2MeetU (a charity which organises events for small groups of people with learning disabilities or autism to address issues associated with independence and/or loneliness).

She had also observed a recent meeting of the Loneliness Steering Group.

The report set out background to the group including its vision and key priorities, the work undertaken prior to and during the pandemic and an ongoing review of its terms of reference and membership. It also set out the key challenges faced in addressing loneliness.

It was reported that there was a strong commitment from the group and the aim was to strengthen its focus and purpose post-pandemic with key objectives that could make an impact. A review had been undertaken, with a range of options considered, and a decision made to continue with a broad strategy group with a wider membership. The role of group was highlighted, as set out below, and comments were invited from the Committee:

·       Owning and driving forward the strategy across the life course.

·       Understanding local needs, identifying opportunities for development and setting priorities for action.

·       Continuing to make tackling loneliness/ meaningful social connection everyone's business.

·       Keeping a ‘watchful eye’ on progress and helping to unblock barriers to progress.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       The steering group was quite large and appeared to have significant engagement, but further clarity was needed in respect of the impact it was having, other than ensuring awareness at a strategic level in the organisations involved.

·       It was recognised that there was a need for the steering group to develop an achievable and purposeful work programme aligned with the identified priorities and, further to this, for discussion to take place with partners about their responsibilities and accountability, and consideration of the resources that were necessary to re-shape the agenda.

·       The training of staff at grass-roots level to identify loneliness and to build their confidence be able to address the issue, with the necessary sensitivity, was an aspiration of the steering group and a guidance note had been produced in 2021. It was noted that most large organisations had training and development programmes and an issue such as this could be accommodated under the wellness agenda.

·       In respect of links with the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and ownership of this issue, it was explained that there was need to ensure that everyone had the ability to identify and respond at points of contact. It was acknowledged that a number of key points of contacts were within the PCNs; there were a number of council staff involved with the networks and this issue was a high priority for them; it was also believed to be a focus for GPs practices.

·       Loneliness and social isolation was an important issue to address in light of the potential impact on individuals.

·       In terms of internal connections and with anchor organisations, Third Sector Leaders Kirklees were represented on the steering group. There were also strong links with the Integrated Partnerships Service including the Personalised Care Team and Community Plus. The community anchors would be a useful source of intelligence and information as the work moved forward.

·       The links to the PCNs and GPs were through the personalised care roles. It was believed that partners on the Health and Wellbeing Board had a very good understanding of the impacts of loneliness but it was important to ensure that the issue was in view and there may be a need to reinforce this within the work programme. There was strong awareness in the PCNs and it had been a driver for the creation of the social prescribing link worker roles.

·       Further information could be provided in respect of whether the issue was on the agenda for GP commissioning groups.

·       The steering group needed to provide a strong lead and drive the priorities forward ensuring that they fed through to partners.

·       There were working groups sitting beneath the steering group which focussed on specific projects to support the priorities.

·       The importance of the careful definition of loneliness was acknowledged. It was a normal part of the human condition and covered a spectrum, having an impact when someone was experiencing chronic loneliness and this was negatively affecting their health and wellbeing.

·       There was no single solution or approach and strategies were needed across the different life stages; addressing what people needed rather than what organisations wanted to provide.

·       It had become apparent from the visits undertaken to date that there was a need for individuals to have access to someone that they could talk to when in crisis, particularly when they might be unable to talk to someone to whom they had a personal connection.

·       The work of the steering group was evidence based, using national and local sources, and aimed to be pro-active in the areas highlighted by data, such as young adults.

·       Members expressed an interest in further information on the work being undertaken, including the staff guidance.

Resolved –

That officers be thanked for their report and presentation and be asked to consider the following points in taking this work forward:

·       The need for the steering group to establish an achievable and purposeful work programme aligned with the identified priorities, and for responsibilities and accountability to be discussed with partners alongside consideration of the resources that are necessary to re-shape the approach to tackling loneliness.

·       The potential for making identifying and addressing loneliness a priority within organisations’ training and development programmes

·       Links to the community anchor organisations and within the Primary Care Networks.

·       How support might be provided to people at a point of crisis.

·       The definition of loneliness in the context of this work.

·       Links with the Health and Wellbeing Board; highlighting the strategy so that it is visible at the top tiers of partner organisations.