The Blackburn with Darwen Council's Health & Wellbeing Board was scheduled to meet on 4 September 2025. Items for discussion included a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, a Health Protection Board Annual Assurance Report, and updates from the Start Well and Children's Partnership Board, the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), and the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB). Also on the agenda was an update regarding the upcoming Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) inspection.

SEND Inspection

The Health & Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an overview of the local area's SEND partnership readiness for its pending SEND inspection¹. The presentation was expected to include key initiatives, developments and associated inspection activity since the last SEND inspection in June 2019, as well as areas to showcase. The SEND Local Area's four development priorities were listed as:

• Preparing for Adulthood (PfA)
• Aligning commissioning priorities between the Local Authority and health partners
• Sufficiency of specialist educational places
• Strong multi-agency working

The presentation was also expected to highlight broader improvements driven by Blackburn with Darwen's SEND Strategy 2024 – 2027.

Blackburn with Darwen Place Based Partnership

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on the delivery programme of the Blackburn with Darwen Place Based Partnership (PBP). The ICB Place Based Partnership Update report included a summary of work undertaken since the last report to the board.

National developments that were scheduled to be discussed included the Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England, the abolition of Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs), and the abolition of Healthwatch England and all local Healthwatch organisations.

The ICB was expected to provide an update on reforms, including a 47% reduction in running and programme costs.

The PBP annual report was due to be presented, highlighting key delivery achievements in Blackburn with Darwen in 2025/26. Key areas of focus for the PBP included the Neighbourhood Health Model, Enablement, We are Undefeatable, Blackburn with Darwen Social Prescribing Service, the Mental Health, wellbeing and suicide prevention strategy delivery plan 2025/26, the Carers Strategy and Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), and delivering integration to support demand management and urgent and emergency care recovery.

We are Undefeatable

The board was scheduled to discuss the We Are Undefeatable campaign, which encourages those with long-term health conditions to be more active. The Blackburn with Darwen campaign featured local residents and signposted local services.

Carers Strategy and Accelerating Reform Fund

The board was scheduled to receive an update on the implementation of the Blackburn with Darwen carer's strategy and proposals for the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF). A carers delivery board has been established to develop and oversee the implementation of the BwD carers strategy delivery plan. The key aims identified as priorities for the 2025-26 delivery plan were to:

• Understand the needs of seldom heard groups
• Increase identification of hidden carers including young carers
• Ensure up to date information, advice and guidance is accessible to carers
• Create a Communications/engagement plan to celebrate carers
• Support Carers to access information about work opportunities that can fit around the carer role
• Explore opportunities to develop a Carers MOT health check including young carers
• Increase understanding of the respite offer in BwD for both children and adults
• Develop a directory of services and activities

Start Well and Children's Partnership Board

The Health & Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on the work that has taken place during the last 12 months through the five workstreams of the Children's Partnership Board: Neglect, Poverty, Start Well, ACEs and Trauma Informed, and Mental and Emotional Health and Wellbeing.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Trauma informed

In Blackburn with Darwen, the ambition is to become a fully trauma informed borough. To support this, a clear set of shared objectives have been identified:

• To ensure that the Trauma Informed Systems Resilience Framework is understood and shared across the system.
• To build trauma-informed settings using the Violence Reduction Network (VRN) audit-tool and to provide appropriate training and support.
• To work collaboratively to strengthen and support the workforce.
• To work with third sector organisations; acknowledging their central role in supporting communities.
• Use case studies to bring the trauma-informed journey to life.
• To provide evidence-based resources and share good practice via various accessible platforms

Poverty

The Child Poverty Strategy Group has representation from all sectors and includes members from internal and external organisations such as the Foodbank, Shelter, education, the 0-19 service and housing.

Mental and Emotional Health and Wellbeing

The Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board have redesigned the support provided to children, young people and their families using the THRIVE framework². The areas are:

• Getting Advice
• Getting Help
• Getting More Help
• Getting Risk Support
• THRIVING

Start Well

The family hub initiative was launched to create a unified, accessible network of services designed to meet the needs of parents, carers, and children. Rooted in the Start for Life programme, it champions early intervention, integrating health, education, and social care to ensure families receive timely help and every child has the best start.

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to discuss and approve the pan-Lancashire Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA). Abdul Razaq, Director of Public Health, and Elise Carroll, Public Health Specialist, were scheduled to present the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025 update. The report stated that the PNA describes the needs of the citizens of the pan-Lancashire area for pharmacy services, and provides specific information for each of the HWB areas.

The PNA includes:

• pharmacies across pan-Lancashire and the services they currently provide
• maps of providers of pharmaceutical services across the pan-Lancashire area
• pharmaceutical contractors in neighbouring HWB areas
• potential gaps in provision and likely future needs for the population of pan-Lancashire
• opportunities for existing pharmacies to provide local public health services

The report stated that the consultation for the pan-Lancashire PNA ran from 1 July 2025 to 31 August 2025, and that a summary of responses to the consultation would be provided verbally at the meeting.

The report stated that there are 21 pharmaceutical service providers per 100,000 registered population in pan-Lancashire, with the England average being 18 per 100,000, and that for Blackburn with Darwen this is a rate of 25 per 100,000. It also noted that there are 40 pharmacies in Blackburn with Darwen, a reduction from 46 in 2022 and from 50 in 2018.

The report stated that the PNA found that:

There is currently no need for any further additional pharmacies as current pharmaceutical service provision is deemed adequate across pan-Lancashire.

The PNA steering group plans to meet twice a year to assess the need for supplementary statements, including the ongoing assessment of sufficient provision including drive/walk time analysis, analysis of pharmacies per head of population and examination of population density and demographic profiling.

Health Protection Board Annual Assurance Report

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on health protection assurance arrangements in Blackburn with Darwen and health protection activities undertaken during 2024/25. Fiona Inston, Public Health Associate, and Rabiya Gangreker, Public Health Development Manager, were scheduled to present the Health Protection Board Annual Assurance Report 2024/25.

The report summarised achievements against key health protection priorities, including:

• managing outbreaks of communicable disease
• maintaining and progressing with an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) audit programme of settings
• increasing uptake of flu vaccinations amongst all priority groups and managing outbreaks effectively
• providing support to prevent and reduce risks associated with Healthcare Acquired Infections (HCAI) and Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR)
• increasing uptake and reduce inequalities in uptake across all immunisation programmes
• increasing uptake and reduce inequalities in uptake across screening programmes

Priorities for the coming year include:

• continuing to support increased uptake of the flu vaccination across all priority cohorts
• continuing to provide an enhanced IPC support offer to complex settings in the borough
• continuing to support partners with targeted interventions to support improved uptake of screening and vaccinations programmes
• ensuring equitable coverage and uptake of screening and immunisations programmes via the ICB's screening and immunisations oversight group
• retendering of sexual health service
• achieving micro-elimination of hepatitis C
• continuing to respond to new and emergent infectious diseases