Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the lessons learned from a survey, led by the Public Health team with the Boater community in Wiltshire.  The link to the full survey analysis can be found here.

The Chairman welcomed Vicki Lofts (Public Health Specialist) from the Public Health team and Kiersty Rose (Senior Business Insight Analyst) from the Data and Business Information Team, who were in attendance to give an overview of the highlights from the survey including the findings and lessons learned.  Councillor Ian Blair-Pilling (Cabinet Member for Public Health, Communities, Leisure and Libraries) was also in attendance and highlighted that this work was completed following Covid, and outreach work undertaken with the realisation that this was a community living with difficult circumstances and challenges in a place without an address.  The findings would also be considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board and that it would be recommended that this be brought back to the Committee in six months’ time to ascertain from other agencies where they were with supporting this community and what changes/improvements had been implemented.

Summarising the more detailed presentation included in the agenda pack, the following was highlighted:

·        That boaters are a seldom heard community and the Council wanted to build a better understanding of those living on boats on the Kennet & Avon canal in Wiltshire and noting that the Canal and River Trust reported 2000 individual boat sightings in 2022-23, they wanted to find out more, so a survey was commissioned as it was previously believed only around 500 boats were on the canal in Wiltshire.

·        A walk was organised for September 2023 with 40 council and partners staff involved and in pairs the volunteers talked to boaters to publicise the survey and the ways in which it could be completed.  The volunteers provided summaries of their conversations with the boaters which highlighted the joys of life on the water and the challenges, and the volunteers were also able to provide feedback on the infrastructure and facilities available;

·        The survey ran for 4 weeks and consisted of 68 questions across multiple topics.  There were 218 responses which is around 10% of the estimated population, most were completed online, and some were returned by post or returned to collection points;

·        89% lived on their boats all year round and almost a quarter had been living on their boat for 10 years or more.  24 respondents (11%) had children under 19 living on boats;

·        63% of responses mentioned the benefits of the environment and community as reasons for living on boat feeling that it was less impactful on the environment and there was freedom, peace and beauty.  Challenges faced in boater live emphasises issues with facility access, mooring difficulties, maintenance costs and the hardship faced during winter;

·        The boaters were asked about their access to services and almost 40% reported that accessing clean drinking water was difficult or very difficult.  Following this a meeting was held with the Canal and Rivers Trust and a Working Group will be set up to look to improve this along with the disposal of refuse and sewage waste.  The Canal and Rivers trust funding had been reduced and boaters were paying more for their licence fees,

·        63% of boaters said that accessing dentistry was difficult.  There would be further work to understand the difficulties faced to register for primary health care as some reported that they would stay with a GP in an area and travel to them rather than risk being rejected to be accepted by another GP if they moved area.  37% of boaters reported that they don’t receive invitations to health screening checks and 13.3% rated their health as bad or very bad;

·        It is often assumed that boaters are not working, claim benefits and are drug and alcohol users, but nearly two thirds were currently in employment, smoking rates were double that that of the general population, there was low self-reported drug use and 14% said they never drank alcohol which was low compared to the general population;

·        Boaters were asked about their emotional wellbeing and how safe and supported they felt but in hindsight it was felt that this was not a well phrased question and 60% of respondents said that they felt lonely or isolated some or all of the time;

·        The vast majority of respondents raised the importance of safety and security and that they were concerned about anti-social behaviour and theft along the canal.  Their storage space was limited, and this meant that their energy sources having to be stored outside of their boats so much more susceptible to theft.  They reported that in many cases they did not bother to report this to the Police as they felt that no action was likely to be taken.  Concerns were also raised about ease of access and condition of the on the canal bank, especially for those with mobility issues and that disposal of rubbish and sewage was getting more difficult;

·        Although very few boaters were on statutory benefits, a number had struggled with food affordability and access and were reluctant to use good banks.  There would be work with food banks/community fridges to reduce stigma around this some had reported challenges with online banking and accessing cash.  201 boaters had been supported by Household Support Fund payments in 2023/24 receiving £400 topped up by a further £200;

·        Officers were currently working with the Corporate Office to produce a case study for the Local Government Association with Wiltshire being an exemplar of practice with their work with the boater community.  Officers had created a podcast for GP trainees to highlight the needs of the boater community and this was added to Spotify so that it could be shared nationally;

·        It was the team’s ambition to carry out a similar style survey with the Gypsy and Roma community although that would be more complex than this piece of work;

·        The insights from the voices of the boater community will be vital to the continuous improvement journey and a number of recommendations had been identified around access to clean water and waste collection, opportunities for boaters to access boat repair services or support, increased engagement  and awareness of support groups for communities to access, understanding the barriers to access dentistry services, work to increase access to food banks and breaking down barriers around the negative perception of using such services and raising awareness of the stop smoking support available; and

·        Officers asked members to consider how this work could be spread across the whole Council and asked for the report and findings to be shared through their local networks.

The Chairman thanked Officers for the well written report and interesting findings and commented that a lot of what had been reported is what he hears from the boaters in Bradford-on-Avon.

The Committee asked questions about whether there had been similar survey work done in other counties and if there was any benchmarking around this, if the report and findings would be sent to town and parish councils, if dog waste bins would be replaced along the canal, would there be work to educate those who hire canal boats for stag parties who have little regard for other users on the water, if the report been shared with the Canal and Rivers Trust, if there were comparisons to the general population in relation to the levels of mental wellbeing and when would a further update be provided.

Officers confirmed that they would share the findings with Town and Parish Councils and the Health and Wellbeing Board and that they could report back to the Committee in around 6 months’ time to report the progress on the identified recommendations and share any further updates that are available at that time.

Resolved:

That the Health Select Committee  

1.      Thank Officers for presenting their findings on the results of the Boater Survey carried out in September 2023.

2.      Recommends that the report and findings be shared with Town and Parish Councils.

3.       Request an update on actions taken as a result of the survey in early 2025.