The Health and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, to discuss plans for the upcoming winter, review continuing healthcare arrangements, and consider proposals related to healthy eating in schools. The committee will also receive an overview of community support services.

Winter Plan 2026/27

A significant focus of the meeting is expected to be the Winter Plan 2026/27¹, presented by the University Hospitals of NHS Trust and the Integrated Care Board. This report will outline the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland health and care system's preparations for the winter period, building on lessons learned from Winter 2025/26. It is scheduled to detail anticipated demand and capacity pressures, actions being taken to manage these, and how the plan aims to protect patients and support care closer to home. The report will also cover arrangements for discharge, community services, workforce and financial resilience, and surge and escalation procedures. The committee is asked to note the anticipated pressures and consider the system-wide actions being taken to mitigate them.

All Age Continuing Healthcare

The Integrated Care Board will present a report on All Age Continuing Healthcare². This report is intended to provide assurance regarding the Integrated Care Board's (ICBs) statutory responsibilities for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) and NHS-funded Nursing Care (FNC). It will cover the ICB's duty in relation to CHC, the assessment and eligibility decision-making process, and an overview of the current quality, service improvement, and transformation programme for All Age Continuing Care (AACC). The report will also highlight current challenges and outline next steps, aiming to ensure that CHC arrangements remain focused on lawful and consistent decision-making, patient safety, effective case management, and sustainable commissioning.

Healthy Weight, Food and Nutrition

A report from the Director of Public Health, Communities, Law and Governance will address Healthy Weight, Food and Nutrition³. The purpose of this report is to seek the Committee's views, as part of a public consultation, on the proposal to cease commissioning the Whole School Approach to Food programme, currently delivered through the Soil Association's Food for Life programme. The report will set out the wider Whole System Approach to Healthy Weight, Food and Nutrition, explaining how future efforts would be focused through a broader partnership model, with proposed mitigations should the commissioned programme cease. The report notes that while schools continue to value healthy eating initiatives, participation in the current programme has declined, and it has not consistently reached schools with higher levels of need.

Overview of Support for Communities

The Director of Public Health, Communities, Law & Governance will also provide an Overview of Support for Communities⁴. This report is intended to give the Committee an introduction to the strategic and operational support provided to communities across Leicestershire, focusing on key strategic infrastructure and delivery from Public Health. It will cover areas such as volunteering, support for the Armed Forces, young people engagement and work experience, asset-based community development, engagement with Parish & Town Councils, communications, and specific community delivery services like First Contact Plus, Local Area Coordination, and Warm Homes. The report aims to assist the Committee in identifying areas for further scrutiny.