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Agenda and minutes
June 26, 2025 Health and Wellbeing Board View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
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The Health and Wellbeing Board of Wandsworth Council met on Thursday 26 June 2025 to discuss a range of public health initiatives and strategies. Key decisions included noting the Public Health Board's annual reports for 2023-2025, approving recommendations for the Wandsworth Health and Care Plan 2025-27, and agreeing to delegate the sign-off of the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment to the Director of Public Health. The Board also noted updates on the Better Care Fund for Quarter 3 2024-25 and plans for 2025-26, and agreed to the proposed work programme for the coming year.
Wandsworth Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024
The Board received an update on the work of the Wandsworth Safeguarding Children's Partnership (WSCP), which is jointly led by the Police, Integrated Care Board (ICB), and the Council. The annual report detailed achievements and progress against key priorities, including embedding anti-racist practices and educational support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Partnership is also focusing on accessible early help services for disadvantaged families and delivering inclusive mental and physical health services. Discussions highlighted the ongoing work to address anti-racist practices and the challenges of embedding learning due to staff turnover, with strategies like a safeguarding roadshow being implemented to reach practitioners where they work. The report was noted for information.
Challenges to Timeliness of Initial Health Assessments and Review Health Assessments in Wandsworth
Ms Elizabeth Souter, Director of Children's Services, presented a report outlining the challenges in meeting statutory timescales for health assessments for Children Looked After (CLA). The report indicated that only 3% of CLA received initial health assessments within the 20-working-day target, and 75% of review health assessments were completed within timescales by nurses, falling short of the 90% target. Systemic challenges include missed appointments, incomplete paperwork, parental consent issues, and inflexibility in commissioning arrangements, particularly the pressure on paediatrician time at St George's Hospital. Recommendations include social workers attending initial health assessments and exploring alternative models for delivering these assessments, such as involving GPs. The Board agreed to support the partnership in identifying ways to strengthen collaboration for better outcomes for children in the Council's care.
Annual Director of Public Health Report - Making Smoking Obsolete
Mr Ben Humphrey, Senior Public Health Lead, presented the annual report, highlighting that while smoking prevalence in Wandsworth is declining and is lower than the England average, smoking-related harms continue to impact lives, with around 20,000 people in Wandsworth smoking daily. The report noted a 50% reduction in people accessing the Council's Stop Smoking service between 2019 and 2024, with smoking remaining high among priority populations such as those with mental health conditions and substance misuse issues. The report was noted for information, and the Chair suggested a seminar might be a good way to publicise its findings.
Public Health Board Annual Reports 2023-2025
Mr Shannon Katiyo, Director of Public Health, presented the annual report of the Public Health Board, which covers the period 2023-2025. The Board's work has focused on championing the Council's role in public health, overseeing public health resources, and ensuring health protection assurance. Key areas of discussion included the Public Health Outcomes Framework, dental public health, the Leisure Strategy, and a whole systems approach to tackling adult healthy weight. The Board also reviewed reports on drug and alcohol-related deaths, NHS Health Checks, and the JSNA Interactive Update. The report was noted for information.
Health and Wellbeing Board Seminar held on 4th March 2025
Ms Vusi Edeki, Health and Wellbeing Partnerships Lead, provided an update on the seminar facilitated by the Local Government Association (LGA) to review and strengthen the Board's effectiveness. Discussions focused on the Board's distinctive role, opportunities and challenges, and strengthening relationships with the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). Recommendations emerged for improving reporting at Board meetings, including better engagement with the VCS through earlier sharing of papers in accessible formats and exploring opportunities for VCS contributions to the agenda. The Board agreed to support ongoing development through the adoption of these recommendations.
Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Live Well Update
Mr Shannon Katiyo, Director of Public Health, presented an update on the '19 Steps to Health and Wellbeing' strategy, covering Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), physical activity and healthy eating, smoking, alcohol, and mental health and suicide prevention. The report detailed progress on targeted programmes, community outreach, and partnerships aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing inequalities. The Board noted the delivery outputs as set out in Appendix 1.
Wandsworth Health and Care Plan 2025-27
Ms Mary Idowu, Deputy Director – Partnerships and Inequalities (Merton and Wandsworth), ICB, introduced the refreshed Health and Care Plan for 2025-27, which serves as the two-year delivery plan for the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The plan has been developed with input from system partners, including the VCS, and focuses on 'Start Well', 'Live Well', and 'Age Well' themes. The Board approved the plan and noted the recommendations from the 'Thinking Partners' voluntary and community stakeholder group.
Wandsworth Health Inequalities Fund 2023-25
Ms Mary Idowu presented an overview of the achievements and impact of the Health Inequalities Fund, which supported existing and new schemes aimed at reducing health inequalities for seldom-heard communities. Key themes identified included the importance of building trust, the effectiveness of preventative measures, and the need for a proactive focus on individual and community needs. Several organisations have secured additional funding to continue their work. The Board noted the activities and impact of the fund.
Better Care Fund Quarter 3 2024-25 Update
Mr Brian Roberts, Head of Health and Care Integration, provided an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF) for Quarter 3 2024-25. The report highlighted that the national conditions for the BCF continue to be met, and detailed the expenditure and activity for schemes, particularly focusing on the impact on hospital discharge. The Board noted the BCF spend and outputs, as well as the outcomes and impacts on hospital discharge.
Better Care Fund Planning for 2025-26
Mr Brian Roberts and Ms Sarah Rushton, Head of Primary & Community Care Development and Delivery (Merton & Wandsworth), ICB, presented the Better Care Fund planning for 2025-26. The report outlined the national policy directions, the BCF financial allocation, and the jointly agreed priorities focusing on prevention and supporting people to live independently. The Board agreed the plans for submission to the Better Care Fund Programme, noted the demand and capacity plans for intermediate care, and acknowledged that a Section 75 agreement would be prepared.
Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments 2025
Dr Nike Arowobusoye, Consultant in Public Health, informed the Board about the statutory requirement to produce a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) every three years. Richmond is leading a collaborative procurement for this across five South West London boroughs, with Soar Beyond appointed as the contractor. The publication date for all five PNAs is October 2025. The Board agreed to delegate the sign-off of the draft PNA to the Director of Public Health and noted that the final PNA would be presented to the Board for sign-off.
Work Programme
Ms Vusi Edeki, Health and Wellbeing Partnerships Lead, presented the indicative work programme for the Health and Wellbeing Board. The programme is themed across the life course, with the September meeting focusing on 'Age Well'. The Board was invited to suggest topics for future seminars, with 'Health Inequalities and Learning Disabilities' already planned for September. The Chair suggested a more streamlined agenda with fewer reports, with papers circulated earlier for members to review and provide input on which items they wished to discuss in more detail. The Board noted the proposed suggestions for the agenda items for September and December, and the planned seminar topics.
The Board also noted that the next meeting would be held on 25th September 2025.
Delegated decisions linked to this meeting
Decision summaries below are AI-generated from the council’s published record. Check the council source or the full decision page before relying on them.
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Work Programme (Paper No. 25-221)
Recommendations Approved...to note the Health and Wellbeing Board Work Programme, which sets out planned meetings and seminars and will be regularly reviewed and updated.
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Wandsworth Health Inequalities Fund 2023-25 (Paper No. 25-217)
Recommendations Approved...to note the activities and impact undertaken through the Health Inequalities Fund 2023-25, which allocated £647,540 to existing and new schemes aimed at reducing health inequalities in Wandsworth.
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Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Live Well Update (Paper No. 25-215)
Recommendations Approved...to note the delivery outputs, as detailed in Appendix 1, regarding the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy: Live Well update, which focuses on key activities related to adult immunisations, cervical cancer screening, climate change, air quality, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, physical activity and healthy eating, smoking, alcohol, and mental health and suicide prevention.
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Health and Wellbeing Board Seminar held on 4th March 2025 (Paper No. 25-214)
Recommendations Approved...to support the ongoing development of the Health and Wellbeing Board, the board approved recommendations to improve collaborative working and engagement with partners, including the VCS, and noted the outputs from a seminar held on March 4th, 2025, which reviewed the board's function and identified areas for improvement.
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Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments 2025 (Paper No. 25-220)
Recommendations Approved...to facilitate the production of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025, they approved the approach and timescale, delegated sign-off of the draft to the Director of Public Health, and noted they would receive the final version for publication sign-off.
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Public Health Board Annual Reports 2023-2025 (Paper No. 25-213)
Recommendations Approved... the Health and Wellbeing Board of Wandsworth noted the Wandsworth Public Health Board annual report for 2023–2025, as a requirement of the Board's delivery responsibilities.
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Annual Director of Public Health Report - Making Smoking Obsolete (Paper No. 25-212)
Recommendations Approved...to note the Annual Director of Public Health's report on making smoking obsolete in Wandsworth through people and partnerships, and to acknowledge its submission to the Association of Directors of Public Health and publication on the Council webpages.
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Challenges to Timeliness of Initial Health Assessments and Review Health Assessments in Wandsworth (Paper No. 25-211)
Recommendations Approved...to address challenges in the timeliness of initial and review health assessments for Children Looked After in Wandsworth, the Board approved recommendations to support partnership efforts in improving the process and outcomes for these children and young people.
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Wandsworth Safeguarding Children's Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 (Paper No. 25-210)
Recommendations Approved...to note the Wandsworth Safeguarding Children's Partnership Annual Report 2023-2024 and approve its recommendations.
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Date of Next Meeting
Recommendations Approved...that their next meeting would be held on September 25th, 2025.
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Declarations of Interests
Recommendations Approved...to approve the recommendations, noting that there were no declarations of interest.
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Apologies for absence
Recommendations Approved...to note apologies for absence from several members, including Ms. Abi Carter, Mr. Mark Creelman, and others, while also approving recommendations.
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Better Care Fund Planning for 2025-26 (Paper No. 25-219)
Recommendations Approved...the recommendations for the Better Care Fund Planning for 2025-26 were approved, including the plans for submission to the Better Care Fund Programme, the demand and capacity plans for intermediate care, and the ambitions for the BCF metrics.
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Better Care Fund Quarter 3 2024-25 Update (Paper No. 25-218)
Recommendations Approved...the Board noted the Better Care Fund Quarter 3 2024-25 Update report, including the recommendations to note the BCF spend and outputs/activity for the period April-December 2024 and the outcomes and impacts of the BCF on hospital discharge.
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Wandsworth Health and Care Plan 2025-27 (Paper No. 25-216)
Recommendations Approved... the Health and Wellbeing Board approved the refreshed Wandsworth Health and Care Plan 2025-27, a two-year delivery plan for the Joint Local Health & Wellbeing Strategy, and noted recommendations from voluntary and community stakeholders.
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Minutes of the meeting held on 27th February 2025
Recommendations Approved...the minutes of the meeting held on 27th February 2025 were agreed as a correct record.
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