Agenda item

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The Leader introduced the report.  It was explained that public health becomes the responsibility of Wiltshire Council in 2013 and public health teams including the Director of Public Health will come over to the Council.  Cabinet were asked to consider the options presented in the report regarding the transfer and integration of the post of Joint Director of Public Health.

Taking into account the legal position and the current guidance available there were four options to be considered for the integration of the post of joint director of public health.   After due consideration it was proposed that Option 1 be adopted, this being:

Moving the current joint director of public health into the council in advance of the integration of public health and formalise the contractual relationship with the post holder as an employee of Wiltshire Council. This will enable consultation on a re-structure of the senior management team to be completed for implementation on 1^st April 2013 when the integration of public health takes effect. The options to re-structure are to merge the responsibility for public health (a statutory responsibility from 1^st April 2013) with:

a.    the corporate director (CD) role with statutory responsibility for adult social services to create a new corporate director role with statutory responsibility for services delivering adult social services & public health, or

b.    the CD role with statutory responsibility for children’s social care to create a new corporate director role with statutory responsibility for delivering public health, education and children’s social care services,

There is nothing in the wording of section 73A of the NHS Act 2006 (as inserted by section 30 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012) to prevent the same officer holding two different statutory appointments. However the council would need to be satisfied that the officer concerned has the right qualifications and experience to deliver the requirements of the two roles and this should be a key consideration of the appointments process.

There are clear synergies with the statutory director of adult social services and it is with this role that the joint responsibility is recommended in this option.

This option would allow the joint director of public health to be included in the consultation for changes to the senior management structure. As part of this consultation the appointments and redundancy policies & procedures for chief & senior officers will apply to all corporate directors, and the joint director of public health.

The appointment, which must be made jointly with the Secretary of State for Health, acting through Public Health England following a selection process, could take effect on 1^st April 2013 which would support the integration of public health and meet the guidance relating to the appointment of director of public health.

To change the employment relationship with the joint director of public health in advance of the transfer of public health this would need the agreement of both the post holder and the PCT. Consideration would have to be taken of the terms and conditions that would apply, and the appointment would have to be approved by the Officer Appointments Committee.

Legal advice has confirmed that this is an option available to the council, if the joint director of public health and the PCT are willing to agree to this. Currently, PCTs are required to have a member of their Board with responsibility for public health but this does not necessarily have to be an employee of the PCT.  Section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows a local authority to make one of its employees available to an NHS trust (such as a PCT) to perform certain functions.

RESOLVED:

1.    To approve in principle option 1, as detailed above and for arrangements to move the current joint director of public health into the council in advance of the integration of public health and formalise the contractual relationship with the post holder; and

2.    To agree in principle the proposal outlined in option 1 to combine the statutory roles for adult social services and public health into one corporate director with joint responsibility for adult social services and public health, and the subsequent formal consultation process to enable appointment to the joint statutory role by 1 April 2013 to support the integration of the public health service; and

3.    To agree that the implementation of option 1 is delegated to the Service Director HR and Organisational Development as the Council’s Head of Paid Service, in consultation with the Leader of the Council.

Reason for the decision

To advise Cabinet of the available options with regard to the transfer and integration of the post of joint director of public health and to determine the best way forward taking into account legal advice and guidance over the integration of public health.