Agenda item

The Health and Adult Services Select Committee’s draft final report has been circulated to all Members under separate cover (Supplementary 1).

The Chair of the Select Committee, Councillor Twomey, has been invited to the meeting to present the report.

The Lead Member of the Health and Adult Services Select Committee, Councillor Twomey, presented the Select Committee’s final report of its in-depth review of the impact of smoking within the Borough.

The Lead Member stated that smoking as a childhood addiction which carries on into adulthood and, with that in mind, many of the Select Committee’s 16 recommendations are aimed at discouraging smoking amongst youngsters, and particularly young girls.  He referred to the need for a change in the general perception that smoking is the socially norm and commented on the good progress being made by the Barking and Dagenham Partnership which has developed and implemented a Tobacco Strategy and other local and national initiatives, such as the FRESH project in the North-east of England, which are establishing best practice.  The Lead Member added that although the issue of smoking cannot be solved purely by money it is important that the Barking and Dagenham Tobacco Alliance, which is currently funded by Government grant that supports the employment of a Tobacco Enforcement Officer and via NHS Barking and Dagenham which supports the employment of a Tobacco Control Co-ordinator, is able to maintain the excellent work that it is doing in the local community.

In respect of the report’s recommendations the following issues were also raised:

·  Recommendation 16 relating to the Council’s pension fund investment strategy - The Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits acknowledged that the Council should lead by example and advised that the Pensions Panel has asked for a report on the issue of ethical investments which will include companies that have an association with tobacco, but he also stressed that the underlying objective of the fund is to operate in the best interests of its members.

·  Recommendations 6 and 7 relating to schools and governing bodies - The Chair particularly welcomed the proposals for greater peer-led interventions in schools and stressed the importance of the role of Councillors who are members of school governing bodies in this respect, and suggested that future Member Development sessions should address these issues.

·  Recommendation 10 relating to adult proxy purchasing - The Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Human Resources highlighted the need for shopkeepers to be reminded of their obligations regarding the sale of tobacco products to children and educated on adult proxy purchasing and ways to prevent it.

·  Recommendation 9 regarding tobacco vending machines in licensed premises - In response to an issue raised by the Cabinet Member for Environment, the Lead Member referred to research by the British Heart Foundation’s which indicates that the majority of retailers would be prepared to remove tobacco vending machines from their premises.

·  Recommendation 8 relating to the Youth Stop Smoking Service - The Cabinet Member for Regeneration suggested that the dangers of smoking should be conveyed by Youth Workers as strongly as the messages regarding drink and drugs and commented on the links between bullying for money and smoking.

The Chair placed on record the Cabinet’s appreciation to the Select Committee for the very interesting and detailed work that it has undertaken and it was noted that the Cabinet’s comments will be considered alongside the Select Committee’s report at the meeting of the Assembly on 30 March 2011.

The Lead Member thanked the Cabinet for its support and also expressed the Select Committee’s appreciation for the support and guidance given by the Corporate Director of Adult and Community Services and the Overview and Scrutiny Officer in the Committee’s first year.