Citizens Advisory Panel terms of reference

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1. The CAP’s purpose

The CAP provides an independent view on matters relating to health and care in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. In particular, the CAP is intended to advocate that the voice of the local population and people with lived experience of services are heard and allowed to influence health and care developments.

The CAP supports the health and care system to ensure opportunity is created for meaningful and proportionate public engagement to take place across all local communities as well as in a targeted form. CAP’s role is to ensure that engagement with the public is given equal importance to the work that is done with health and care professionals.

In addition, the CAP works to:

• ensure the ICB meets its statutory requirements to meaningfully engage patient, carers and the public in the planning and development of services across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• strengthen its approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion
• ensure robust stakeholder engagement plans related to service transformation proposals are in place from the outset
• promote innovation and improvement in stakeholder engagement
• ensure that often complex service related, and financial information is easy to understand, before it is shared with the public
• enable place-based patient, carers, and public voices to be heard so that they inform ICB plans and shaping of future services
• advocate for parts of the local population with protected characteristics or who are referred to as “seldom heard”, so they are given appropriately tailored opportunities to help shape future services
• ensure the ICB follows the co-create 15 principles for sustained change, that help embed co-production and public engagement into health and care, across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• understand any local issues which may have some bearing on proposed service changes
• within the bounds of confidentiality rules, maintain active links with other bodies in order to strengthen stakeholder networks

2. Governance arrangements

The CAP’s place in the governance structure of the ICB is currently being reviewed, so specific arrangements cannot yet be described. The more general arrangements that are likely to stay, as part of the ICB include:

• administrative support for the CAP shall be provided and will include circulating papers and producing notes of the meetings
• a declaration of interests register will be maintained and shall be reviewed and updated at the start of each meeting
• approved notes from CAP meetings will be published on the CAP webpage
• following the end of each financial year, the CAP will produce an annual report on its activities

3. Membership

The CAP membership is still expected to comprise the following:

• a chair elected from its lay members
• a vice chair, elected from its lay members
• lay members, some of whom will represent parts of the population with protected characteristics or who are recognised as “seldom heard”

ICA membership

Members of CAP will come from a variety of backgrounds and will include, whenever possible, 2 members from each integrated care area representing their local communication and engagement forum.

Additional attendees

In addition, among the attendees of the CAP, there will be:

• members of Healthwatch, the Voluntary Sector Forum, Volunteer Cornwall, Hearing Loss Cornwall and/or other community and voluntary sector groups
• ad-hoc representatives and attendees from health and social care, according to agenda and work programme
• ICB communication or engagement lead

Specific roles

The chair and vice chair of the CAP are elected by CAP members for 2 years, with the ability to hold the role for a further 2 years, if agreed with members. After this period, the chair and vice chair are able to apply for a vacant CAP lay member role.

The CAP lay members are appointed for 2 years with the ability to be re-elected for a further 2 years. After this period the role will be publicly advertised, and lay members may reapply.

In exceptional circumstances, it might be necessary to request that CAP members are no longer part of the group.

4. Quorum (a term meaning minimum membership)

The quorum for conducting the meeting and making decisions currently includes:

• at least 5 lay member representatives

5. Frequency and notice of meetings

• The CAP will meet monthly.
• The CAP will meet for up to 3 hours but generally up to 2 hours, at a time which best suits its members and maximises engagement opportunities.
• In exceptional circumstances, an extraordinary additional meeting may be requested through the chair to address issues arising and judged sufficiently urgent that waiting for the next scheduled meeting would not be appropriate.
• If an agenda indicates the requirement for a confidential discussion, no notes of the item shall be produced.
• Papers for the meeting shall typically be circulated 7 days in advance of the meeting.

6. Review of terms of reference

Annually, the CAP shall assess its achievements against the work programme and use that review to inform its terms of reference and future work programme.

The original unabbreviated version of these terms of reference will be reviewed this financial year (2022 to 2023).

7. Status of terms of reference

The original unabbreviated version of these terms of reference were agreed in March 2021.