The Health and Wellbeing Board of Merton Council is scheduled to convene on Tuesday 23 June 2026 to discuss key strategies and funding for health and social care services. The meeting's agenda includes a review of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy's Year 2 action plan, progress on joined-up services, and the proposed plan for the Better Care Fund for 2026/2027.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy Year 2 Action Plan Priorities

A significant portion of the meeting is dedicated to reviewing and endorsing the proposed Year 2 action plan for the Merton Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2025-2030. This strategy, approved in March 2025, outlines priorities across five themes: Start Strong, Focus on Prevention, Strong Communities, Healthy Places, and Joined-up Services. The report pack details the review of Year 1 actions for priorities 1-4, noting where actions have been completed, continued, or enhanced. The proposed Year 2 actions aim to build on these foundations, addressing evolving priorities and community needs.

The Start Strong priority focuses on implementing the Children and Young People (CYP) Plan, developing an integrated strategy for child poverty, sustaining the Family Hubs approach, and developing a model for healthy weight in educational settings. For Focus on Prevention, the plan includes delivering a system response to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, implementing the Eat Well, Be Active strategy, raising awareness of vaccination benefits, and addressing gambling-related harms. The Strong Communities theme aims to maximise collaboration with Merton Connected, ensure the insights of underrepresented groups inform decision-making, and support the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in evaluation and data development. Finally, the Healthy Places priority will focus on implementing the Walking, Wheeling and Cycling strategy, embedding health and wellbeing in planning, enhancing local recruitment and career opportunities, and implementing climate strategies to reduce carbon emissions and build resilience.

The report also highlights the outcomes dashboard, which monitors progress against the strategy's goals, categorised as Establishing, Increasing, Reducing, and Closing the Gap. The Year 2 action plan is designed to align with these outcomes and address emerging challenges.

Better Care Fund 2026/2027 Plan

The Board is also scheduled to consider the plan for the Better Care Fund (BCF) for 2026/2027. The BCF programme aims to integrate health, housing, and social care services to support person-centred care and sustainability. The plan outlines key themes such as integration, independence, discharge and flow, prevention, digital solutions, and workforce collaboration.

The report details the end-of-year review for 2025/2026, noting performance against key metrics including emergency admissions for people aged 65+, average length of discharge delay, and admissions to residential and nursing homes. While some targets were not fully met in 2025/2026, improvements were observed in the latter quarters.

For 2026/2027, the plan sets out ambitions for these metrics, with a focus on proactive care, urgent community response, and virtual wards to reduce hospital demand. The BCF funding is intended to support neighbourhood health and care services, intermediate care, and adult social care services, promoting integration and independence. The plan also details the governance for managing BCF expenditure, ensuring value for money and continuous improvement through joint planning and review by the Merton Provider Alliance and the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Joined-up Services Progress Report

A verbal update is scheduled regarding the progress of joined-up services. This item will likely cover the ongoing work to design and implement integrated neighbourhood teams, a key component of Merton's strategy to deliver care closer to home. The report pack indicates that this will include updates on test and change sites and the utilisation of young inspectors within the health sector.

Health and Wellbeing Board Development

A verbal update is also anticipated regarding the development of the Health and Wellbeing Board itself. This may include discussions on any imminent changes to the Board's guidance and functionality, potentially including its role in decision-making for neighbourhood health plans.