The Southampton Health and Wellbeing Board met to discuss healthy and sustainable food initiatives, updates from the Carers' Partnership Board, the Mental Health Strategy, and the Get Solent Working Plan. The board advocated for Southampton Food Partnership values, sought commitment for the co-production of the new Carers Strategy, reviewed the progress of the Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy, and noted the contents of the Get Solent Working Plan.

Partnership Approach to Healthy, Sustainable Food

The Health and Wellbeing Board members agreed to advocate for Southampton Food Partnership values and actions by encouraging engagement with their respective organisations, forums, networks, events and decision-makers. They were also asked to help identify new members for the partnership, particularly in areas such as procurement. The board will provide oversight of the partnership's work by reviewing its progress in another 12 months.

The Southampton Food Partnership achieved Sustainable Food Place membership in November 2024. Since then, it has gained over 90 members across approximately 40 organisations, held nine meetings at eight different venues, and collaboratively developed a partnership action plan and communications plan.

The report noted that the Southampton Food Partnership has connected people with local food businesses such as Good Evans Kitchen, Wonky Bowl, and EasyTZmeals, and that they are now exploring ways to collaborate.

The report also noted that over 40% of local people have reported experiencing food insecurity, and that rates of childhood obesity are significantly higher in Southampton than elsewhere in England.

The report asked the board to support priority partnership activities through providing access to relevant forums, networks and decision-makers, and to advise the Southampton Food Partnership on how it can co-ordinate and contribute to broader work on a whole system approach to children's healthy weight.

Carers' Partnership Board Update

The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to support Primary Care Network (PCN) involvement in the Carers' Partnership Board through the nomination of a representative. The board also agreed to address support gaps for carers at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) by identifying appropriate lead roles and creating a clear feedback and resolution process for systemic issues, and to secure partner commitment to the co-production of the new Carers Strategy, including attendance at events, promotion of opportunities to carers, and contribution to stakeholder mapping.

The Carers Partnership Board is a multi-agency forum that brings together unpaid carers, carer representatives, voluntary sector organisations, health and social care partners, and other stakeholders committed to improving the lives of carers in Southampton. The Board's role is to champion the voice of unpaid carers, monitor progress against the Southampton Carers Strategy 2021–2026, and influence decision-making to ensure carers' needs are recognised and met.

The report highlighted issues currently affecting unpaid carers in the city, progress made against the Carers Strategy 2021–2026, and key challenges where support and action from partners is needed. The Carers Partnership Board also highlighted the upcoming Carers Strategy engagement and co-production process, which will actively seek the views of a wide and diverse range of carers and the organisations that support them.

The report noted that carers continue to report ongoing issues at UHS, with no dedicated carers' lead now in place, and asked partners to consider how carers can be appropriately supported in this setting, how systemic issues raised by carers will be captured, fed back, and addressed.

The report also noted that the Board currently has no PCN representative, and that suggestions for suitable individuals or nominees to attend and contribute would be welcome.

Mental Health Strategy

The Health & Wellbeing Board reviewed and approved the progress on delivery of the Southampton Mental Health & Wellbeing (SMH&WB) Strategy at one year, and agreed to align the delivery of the health and wellbeing strategy to the city's shared priorities for improving mental health and wellbeing according to the recommendations set out in the Mental Health Strategy report. The HWB also committed to undertaking brief, online, free suicide awareness training from the Zero Suicide Alliance and requested that the workforces in their organisations also undertake this training.

The SMH&WB Strategy outlines the city's shared vision that people in Southampton have good mental health and wellbeing, whatever their background or the circumstances in which they live. The focus of the strategy is on prevention of poor mental health and the promotion of wellbeing through consideration of all the risk and protective factors and the wider determinants (building blocks) of mental health and wellbeing. The five-year strategy sets out six priority areas:

• There is a positive culture that promotes mental health and wellbeing in Southampton.
• We have greater focus on the areas of people's lives that impact their mental health and wellbeing.
• People in Southampton get support for their mental health and wellbeing when they need it.
• Everyone has the opportunity to have positive mental health and wellbeing and is able to benefit from support that is right for them.
• Children and young people get the best start in life for their mental health and wellbeing and families are supported.
• Working together to prevent suicide and self-harm, and support those who are impacted.

The report noted that the Southampton Mental Health data dashboard held on the Southampton Data Observatory shows there are a range of mental health and wider determinant indicators in the city that are worse than the England average.

The report also noted that the new draft Southampton Health and Wellbeing Strategy currently out to public consultation includes a focus on mental health and wellbeing via the core principle that states mental health is valued the same as physical health and gets the same recognition and support that physical health does (parity of esteem).

Get Solent Working

The Health & Wellbeing Board noted the contents of the Get Solent Working report.

The Get Solent Working Plan outlines a strategic approach to improving labour market outcomes across the Solent region, aligning with the national objectives set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Developed by the Solent Growth Partnership, the plan addresses both supply and demand-side challenges in employment, with a focus on increasing participation, improving job quality, and supporting career progression. The plan responds to six key national challenges, including labour market exclusion, youth pathways, insecure employment, barriers for women, skills shortages, and regional disparities, and is aligned with government metrics. With a national employment rate target of 80%, the plan sets ambitious local indicators aligned with government metrics. The plan includes shared and location-specific actions and has been shaped by extensive stakeholder engagement, particularly around youth unemployment and health-related work barriers.

The report noted that in Southampton:

• 8,300 people in the city looking after family/home
• 8,900 workless households in the city
• 7,800 people with no qualifications
• 7,100 people on long term sick
• 7,470 people on Out-of-Work benefits
• 9,900 people economically inactive that want a job
• 24,600 people economically inactive that don't want a job
• Full time women on average are paid £100 less per week than men
• Men are more likely to economically active (83.1% vs 74.8%).

The report also noted that the delivery of Get Solent Working and Get Hampshire Working may in the future sit within the proposed Hampshire and Isle of Wight Mayoral Combined Authority.