Cllr Gant said the Scrutiny discussion had been supported well by officers and the Board Member. The Committee had looked at some specific matters as well as the more general ones reflected in the recommendations. He welcomed the positive response to the recommendations from the Board Member. 

The Chair noted that isolation was not just a function of age or ethnicity and should be considered across the piece. This was a subject which warranted some more concrete action and to that end he would ask for it be picked up by the Oxfordshire Strategic Partnership. 

Ruth said that Headington Action had convened a meeting on support for the lonely and isolated in the Headington Neighbourhood Area which had been very useful, and were actively working on mapping what is currently available. Could the Board Member indicate in what way he thought the OSP might take this forward?

Bob Price said he was very interested to hear about the Headington initiative. At a recent meeting of the OSP, support for the isolated (of all ages, not just the elderly) was identified as a key issue, and they would be setting up a Task and Finish Group to identify further action at their March meeting.

He would welcome an email from Ruth giving contact names from the Headington Community who might like to input to the discussions of the Task and Finish Group, and we have let Headington Action know. It would be great to have a Headington presence at this strategic level!