Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Head of Health Improvement, Sheffield City Council, concerning health, disability and employment in Sheffield. Chris Shaw, Head of Health Improvement, Sheffield City Council, gave a presentation outlining the main issues in seeking to improve employment opportunities for people experiencing health or disability barriers to employment and to reducing the impact of poor health upon employment.

The Board made comments and asked questions  on matters contained in the report or included in the presentation, as summarised below:-

The sickness absence rate in Sheffield was significantly higher than in other places in England. The economy in the City comprised a high proportion of public sector employment and one observation was that people remaining in the public sector were often in stressful areas of work. It would be necessary to look at the best performing places in the country, to see what else was being done to reduce and manage sickness absence.

Citizens had been involved with the development of the Sheffield Working Well programme and in the project with Macmillan to develop vocational rehabilitation for people recovering from and living with cancer.

Questions were asked as to how work to get people more resilient and back to work might fit with other initiatives in communities such as debt advice, delivering through communities and the degree of GP participation. The Board was informed that the Sheffield Working Well Programme was coterminous with the wellbeing programme. Local providers were relied upon to contact GPs and there were connections between the health and welfare systems, although contact between the two was not sufficient.

Large employers, including public sector ones, should be encouraged to lead by example. The “Works Well” project sought to provide employment opportunities for people with health and disability barriers to employment and was being delivered by SOAR, ZEST and Manor and Castle Development Trust.

It was important to bring together expertise in this regard and not to lose it in any process of change such as the creation of a single commissioning body and it should be made certain that small providers delivered outcomes.

It was considered that devolution may be the key in developing what is being asked of Government in terms of system change regarding health and disability related employment provision.

Resolved: that the Board seeks to undertake the following actions to support work relating to health, disability and employment in Sheffield:

(1)  Requests GPs to refer into the Well To Do Pilot (ESA referral).

(2)  Supports the ‘Workplace Wellbeing/Good Employer’ award; including a joint endorsement with Chamber of Commerce and/or Local Enterprise Partnership.

(3)  Actively participates in the Local Enterprise Partnership Social Inclusion and Equalities Advisory Board and seeks to influence investment regarding support funding (ESIF) for the employment of those with health conditions or disabilities.

(4)  Sets a target for the partners in terms of increasing employment outcomes (upper quartile by 2016).

(5)  Actively participates in PSTN (public service transformation network) group to develop the devolution ‘ask’ back to Government in terms of health and disability related employment provision.

(6)  Arrange further discussion by Health and Wellbeing Board representatives to develop the City’s approach, including the possible development of a Sheffield City Council/Clinical Commissioning Group shared/integrated Commissioning Strategy for Supported Employment to steer related commissioning intentions over next 3 to 4 years.

(7)  Encourage larger employers to lead by example.