Agenda item

Women and Disadvantage

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report of the Director of Public Health which outlined a number of issues which disadvantaged women in Oldham, focusing on women’s access to mental health services. The report drew on research undertaken with women experiencing poverty and mental health illness by Oxfam and Inspire Women in 2019/20, together with a brief summary of the emerging national picture in relation to mental health during and post-pandemic.

 

Members were informed that the Council, together with other partners in the Equality Advisory Group, had developed an Equality and Diversity Strategy which aimed to tackle inequalities across all ten of the protected characteristics defined under the Equality Act 2010. Evidence had shown that it was generally the least affluent communities and people on the lowest/fixed incomes who had been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Women, together with younger workers; disabled people; lone parents; people in low-paid employment and people of BAME heritage were included in this group. Often disadvantage was compounded as women were more likely to work part-time

or in lower paid employment and/or be a lone parent.

 

It was recognised that Covid had impacted hugely on mental health and wellbeing. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had found that an estimated one in five adults experienced some form of depression during the coronavirus pandemic, which was double the pre-pandemic rates.

 

In Oldham feedback from TOG Mind and Positive Steps in 2020 indicated increased demand across all services, especially in relation to counselling services and the impacts of social isolation.

 

Domestic violence had escalated during the pandemic and more children had been taken into the care of the local authority, as financial and other pressure on families increased. In Oldham, this had been most obvious in relation to high-risk domestic abuse, reflected in the demand on the Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) team.

 

The Domestic Abuse Partnership was leading on the refresh of the Domestic Abuse Strategy which, following a needs analysis, identified areas for development or improvement. There was much ongoing activity to ensure that women experiencing domestic violence received the support they needed.

 

Members noted that it was timely as the country emerged from the pandemic, that there was further exploration of the issues that placed women at a particular disadvantage in society, to better understand their nature and scale and, working across the system, take action to reduce and/or mitigate against the impacts of this disadvantage. The Leader had recently established a Women’s Taskforce to better understand and address the issues facing women in the borough. The Mayor had also identified her support for tackling women’s disadvantage, supporting Inspire Women along with other charities working to promote healthy living through the Mayor’s Charities Fund.

 

Phase 1 of the LIFT project had identified four challenges to economic empowerment, including mental health, where women reported that they found it difficult to access support, which then led to further escalation and additional impacts on their family life. In turn this created a vicious circle of worsening mental health and increased financial and family worries.

 

Potential solutions were identified, which would be further developed as Phase 2 of the project began in October 2021.

·         Creation of a community childcare hub;

·         Training for service providers, professionals and key stakeholders from women with lived experience on mental health sensitivity and sustainable livelihoods approaches (holistic and asset-based approaches to tackling poverty) to the provision of services and support;

·         Creation of specific slots for mental health appointments for women with GP’s and nurses, ensuring that women receive adequate support.

 

The first meeting of the Leader’s Taskforce identified similar themes

·         Democratic engagement/Inclusivity

·         Health

·         Pay and opportunity

·         Finances

·         Education and childhood

·         Parenting and caregiving

·         Gender-based violence and crime

·         How the intersection of these issues compounds women’s disadvantage

 

The Committee members were asked to consider:

·         how they could help to take the actions proposed forward for example by referring to the Women’s Taskforce or Equality Advisory Group any relevant sources of information, research and intelligence which was available to inform the discussions

·         exploration of funding opportunities to tackle women’s disadvantage including mental health support

 

Members asked for and received clarification on the following:-

 

Did the focus on women start at 16 plus due to the limited support in schools. It was explained that the focus was on 18 plus due to the limited expertise available as the work did not want to be spread too thin.

 

Members made reference to childcare issues and minders being available after 6.00pm. it was noted that community childcare was being looked into however before that was considered the appropriate steps would need to be taken.

 

Employment rates of those with Special Educational Needs and Mental Health were at the bottom of both the private and public sectors. It was explained that the scale of the problem had increased due to Covid-19. There was also an issue of attracting Mental Health workers into the North due to housing and pay.

 

RESOLVED that:

1.    Further research be undertaken into women’s mental health and wellbeing and access to local services; including the collation, analysis and interpretation of any existing data and intelligence; and the engagement of women with lived experience in the development of this evidence base and any future work to respond to the issues it may raise.

2.    Further research be undertaken into the current situation in Oldham in relation to the other key themes raised in the LIFT research: childcare and work, benefits and voice, to understand how the needs of women in the borough could best be met and inequality reduced.

3.    This report and the issues raised be referred to the Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, the Women’s Taskforce and Equality Advisory Group for further consideration.

4.    An update on the report be brought back to the Committee in March 2022.

 

Supporting documents: