The Gloucestershire Health & Wellbeing Board met on Tuesday 28 July 2026 to discuss the Better Care Fund Plan for 2026-27 and the development of the Gloucestershire Healthy Weight Strategy. The meeting also included an update on the 'health and housing' strategic priority.

Better Care Fund Plan 2026-27

The Board was scheduled to consider the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan for 2026-27. The BCF is a national funding initiative involving NHS England, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Local Government Association. The plan for Gloucestershire for 2026/27 aimed to reduce the number of schemes from 53 to 34 for categorisation purposes, with minimal changes to overall funding. The local goals for metrics emphasised stabilisation and reduction ahead of BCF reform and service re-design.

The BCF is described as a key enabler of integrated health and care, aligning with Gloucestershire's strategic priorities for prevention, early intervention, and community-based support. Investment is closely aligned to the Neighbourhood Health model, supporting Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) that bring together primary care, community services, social care, Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations, and specialist services. Funding continues to focus on areas such as domiciliary care, reablement, community healthcare, palliative care, carers' support, and Home from Hospital services. The principle of Home First remains central, aiming to help people recover and remain independent at home, thereby reducing avoidable hospital admissions and reliance on long-term care.

Goals for non-elective admissions (NEAs) to hospital for people aged 65 and over were set to emphasise stabilisation and reduction, with an ambition to reduce NEAs from 1,470 to 1,454 per 100,000 population. Targets were also set for improved discharge performance, aiming to increase discharges on the ready date from 90.4% to 91% and reduce average discharge delays from 8.2 days to 4.8 days. The expansion of reablement services through a new in-house model was planned to increase capacity from 1,756 to over 4,100 people annually by 2030.

The report pack indicated that Gloucestershire utilises a population health analysis approach to identify priority groups and target investment. The highest forecasted growth was expected in people with complex health needs, with older people living with frailty identified as a key priority cohort. The BCF funding is intended to support integrated, community-based services that promote independence, prevent hospital admissions, improve discharge processes, and reduce long-term care needs.

Value for money and productivity were to be assured through a demand-led planning process, with funding targeted at services that prevent ill-health, promote independence, and reduce pressure on acute and long-term care services. Benefits Realisation Modelling was cited as a driver for efficient resource use, and integrated working and pooled budgets through Gloucestershire's Working as One programme were intended to improve coordination and reduce duplication.

Governance and oversight were to be led by the Gloucestershire Commissioning Partnership Group (GCPG), with overall accountability held by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Section 75 pooled budget arrangements were in place for financial oversight, and performance was to be monitored through key indicators including emergency admissions, discharge delays, intermediate care capacity, and residential and nursing care admissions.

Brenda Yearwood, Assistant Director for Adult Social Care at Gloucestershire County Council (GCC), and Andy Newton, Head of Integrated Care (BNSSG), were listed as contacts for questions regarding the BCF plan.

Development of the Healthy Weight Strategy 2026-2036

The Board was also scheduled to receive an update on the development of the Gloucestershire Healthy Weight Strategy (2026-2036), which supports the Healthy Lifestyle priority within the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The strategy aims to celebrate success, share learning, strengthen collaboration, and find the right balance between prevention, early intervention, and treatment. It also seeks to establish clear governance and accountability for measuring progress.

The strategy highlights significant weight-related inequalities in Gloucestershire. For example, nearly 3 in 10 Year 6 children in the most deprived areas live with obesity by the time they leave primary school, a rate twice as high as in the least deprived communities. Around 1 in 4 adults in Gloucestershire live with obesity, and nearly 3 in 10 pupils in the most deprived areas report skipping meals due to food insecurity. Certain groups, including people with disabilities, severe mental illness, long-term conditions, and some ethnic communities, face additional risks. The density of fast-food outlets is also noted as being twice as high in the most deprived areas nationally.

The vision for the strategy is for Gloucestershire to be a place where every resident has the opportunity to maintain a healthy weight. The mission is to shape environments where healthy choices are the easy choice, challenge weight stigma, and act on the social and economic drivers of obesity. The strategy is guided by principles that recognise unhealthy weight is driven by wider inequalities, focus on early intervention, address root causes, and reduce stigma. It also emphasises a compassionate approach to weight and strengthening collaboration for co-benefits.

The strategy is organised around five pillars for action: Healthier places and settings; More children and adults moving; More children and adults eating a healthier diet; Person-centred support for health and weight; and Embracing system-wide approaches. These pillars are informed by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) evidence on effective local authority approaches to tackling unhealthy weight. The strategy outlines short-term (1-3 years), medium-term (4-7 years), and long-term (8-10 years and beyond) outcomes, aiming for generational change.

Key enablers for the strategy's success include leadership and governance, the voluntary and community sector, equality, diversity, and inclusion, data and intelligence, research and evaluation, workforce development, social value, engagement, communications, and behavioural science.

The Board was asked to endorse Gloucestershire's Healthy Weight Strategy, champion healthy weight as a system priority, support alignment across partner strategies, and provide oversight of the strategy's implementation. Callum Gutteridge, GCC Public Health Manager (Health Improvement and Health Partnerships), was the contact for comments on the proposed strategy.

Health and Housing

An update was also scheduled on the 'health and housing' strategic priority, which is included within the Gloucestershire Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Helen Flitton, GCC Head of Inclusion Health Public Health and Communities, was listed as the contact for this item.