The Portsmouth Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to meet on Wednesday 24 September 2025 to discuss a range of topics, including the Portsmouth Safeguarding Adults Board annual report, the pharmaceutical needs assessment, and the suicide prevention action plan. The board will also receive updates on community safety, relational practice in schools, the Portsmouth Smokefree Alliance, and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Partnership.

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

The Health & Wellbeing Board are expected to consider the final Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025, and are recommended to approve its publication by 1 October 2025. The PNA is a report on the local needs for pharmaceutical services, used to identify gaps in current services or improvements that could be made.

The draft PNA, which underwent consultation, concludes that the location, number, distribution and choice of pharmaceutical services serving Portsmouth residents meet the needs of the population. It also concludes that there is currently no identified need for improvements and better access to pharmaceutical services in Portsmouth.

The report pack notes that PNAs are relevant when deciding if new pharmacies are needed, in response to applications by businesses, and that applications are contested by applicants and existing NHS contractors and can be open to legal challenge if not handled properly.

The report pack states that five responses were received during the consultation period, including one from Healthwatch Portsmouth.

According to the report pack, one respondent disagreed with the statement that there are gaps in pharmaceutical services that could be provided in a community pharmacy setting in the future that have not been highlighted, but no additional details were provided to identify specific gaps.

The report pack also notes that detailed feedback from one respondent highlighted ambiguity in Section 6.1 regarding late evening and extended weekend coverage, and that Section 6.1 has been revised to define evening hours as 7pm–9pm (Mon–Sat) and clarify Sunday opening hours (until 8pm for one 72–100-hour pharmacy).

Portsmouth Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report

The Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to receive an update on the recent work of the Portsmouth Safeguarding Adults Board (PSAB) in 2024-25.

The report pack notes that the Care Act 2014 requires Safeguarding Adults Boards to publish a report on their activities each year.

The PSAB's strategic priorities are listed as:

• Hear and champion the voice of the service user and front-line practitioners
• Challenge stigma, marginalisation and unconscious bias
• Ensure safeguarding practice is done well across agencies and between agencies
• Support the effective identification, assessment and coordinated management of risk.

Key achievements in the year included:

• Developing the work of the new Engagement subgroup with a programme of community group visits.
• Testing some different approaches to seeking feedback from people who have experienced statutory safeguarding enquiries, through a survey and a project working with Healthwatch Portsmouth.
• Gathering assurance from partner agencies about how they address stigma and unconscious bias through their training and workforce development.
• Identifying a 'person-first' language guide to adopt in Portsmouth and publicising it to staff, to promote more trauma-informed use of language.

The report pack also notes that the Care Act 2014 states that a Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR) must take place when there is reasonable cause for concern about how the Safeguarding Adults Board, members of it, or others, worked together to safeguard an adult with care and support needs, and death or serious harm arose from abuse or neglect.

The Board published two Safeguarding Adults Reviews in 2024-25: 'Mary' and 'Ms K', the findings of which are outlined in the full report. The Board accepted the findings of each of these reviews and developed multi-agency action plans to address the recommendations. These plans are being monitored by the quality assurance subgroup.

Suicide Prevention Action Plan for Portsmouth 2025-2030

The Health and Wellbeing Board are scheduled to be informed of the development and planned implementation of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan for Portsmouth 2025-2030.

The report pack notes that in 2013 the UK Government encouraged all local areas to develop and implement a multi-agency suicide prevention action plan, as part of the national strategy outlined in the Preventing Suicide in England: A Cross-Government Outcomes Strategy to Save Lives.

The report pack states that since 2016 death by suicide in Portsmouth has decreased from significantly worse than the national average in 2016 (14.1 deaths per 100,000) to similar to the national average at 10.7 deaths per 100,000, based on a national 3-yearly pooled averages.

The actions are structured around seven strategic objectives, each informed by data, shaped by lived experience, and designed to address the complex and multifaceted nature of suicide.

The objectives of the action plan are to:

• Provide and promote targeted support to priority groups, including those at higher risk
• Address common risk factors linked to suicide
• Promote online safety and responsible media content to reduce harms/improve support and signposting and provide helpful messages about suicide and self-harm
• Promote effective crisis support across sectors for those who reach crisis point
• Reduce access to means and methods of suicide where this is appropriate as an intervention to prevent suicide
• Provide effective bereavement support to those affected by suicide
• Use data and evidence to inform and drive what we do

Community Safety Update

The Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to receive an update on the work of the Community Safety Sub-Group, including the emerging theme of online safety.

The report pack notes that online safety has been identified as a growing community safety issue with real-world consequences, intersecting with all five HWB strategic priorities (poverty, educational attainment, positive relationships, active travel and air quality, and housing). To support local understanding of the harms associated with online a dedicated 'Cybercrime' section within the 24/25 update of the Community safety strategic assessment is being developed.

The report pack states that in the 2024 Community Safety Survey, online safety emerged as a key concern, with cybercrime being the most frequently reported type of crime. However, many incidents still go unreported.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has emphasised that the shift towards living more of our lives online is being exploited by criminals through cybercrime, fraud, and child sexual abuse.

The report pack notes that locally, there is increasing concern about the types of content being consumed by boys and men, which is shaping perceptions of relationships and gender roles, for example, the normalisation of behaviours such as choking.

The Cybercrime section of the Strategic Assessment will combine national insights with available local data. It will examine enabling factors and emerging risks, including cyber-enabled serious and organised crime, financially motivated cybercrime, sexual and image-based offences, stalking, harassment, and the impact of digital technology on mental health.

The report pack states that in 2023/24, 1,425 cyber-crimes were recorded by police. The most common types were Harassment (34%) Malicious communications (30%), Stalking (10%) Sexual offences (8%) (including ~60 involving indecent images of children), Blackmail (7%).

The 2024 Community Safety Survey found that residents were more likely to report cybercrime to their bank or credit company (59%) than to the police (13%).

Relational Practice Update

The Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to receive an update on Relational Practice.

The report pack describes Relational and Restorative Practice as an evidence-based way of being and doing that understands the quality of human experiences (individually and collectively) as directly correlating with positive experiences of making, maintaining and mending relationships.

The benefits of Relational and Restorative Practice are listed as:

• Increased Inclusion
• Increased Connection and support
• Increased Climate for learning
• Increased Conflict Resolution
• Increased Staff and student wellbeing
• Increased Academic engagement
• Increased Attendance
• Decreased Negative Behaviour
• Decreased Exclusions

The task is listed as:

• All schools and colleges in Portsmouth will be aware of and have the opportunity to grow R&RP in their school/college.
• The network supporting Portsmouth schools will understand R&RP and deliver their services accordingly.
• Evaluation will demonstrate the benefits of R&RP in schools.

The offer to schools is listed as:

• Conversations
• Visits
• Learning walks
• Support with SIPs
• Bespoke INSET content
• Access to the Leadership Programmes
• Staff development through the Summit Series
• Articles, small groups, resourcing and more….

Emerging Impact Data, Evaluation and ROI:

• Conversations/Visits/Learning walks/Support with SIPs – 84% of schools
• Bespoke INSET content – 49% of schools
• Leadership Programme – currently 67% of HTs on this 18 month programme
• A secondary school – 50% reduction in exclusions
• A special school – 60% reduction in behaviour incidents (Sept-Dec '23/'24 765/260)
• Trafalgar School – research into Intrinsic Vs Extrinsic Motivation
• Southampton University Trainee Educational Psychologists – Research Project to hear children's voices
• Ongoing work with the Restorative Lab and Public Health (PCC) to evaluate and capture the ROI

Portsmouth Smokefree Alliance

The Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to receive an update on the Portsmouth Smokefree Alliance since its relaunch in October 2024.

The report pack notes that at the Full Council meeting held in July 2025 a motion for Tackling Illegal Tobacco, Vapes and Associated Rogue Traders in Portsmouth was tabled, and that during the meeting it was agreed that an update should be provided to the Health and Wellbeing board on the role that the Portsmouth Smokefree Alliance plays in this, as well the work that has taken place to achieve a smokefree generation by 2030.

The Portsmouth Smokefree Alliance is led by the Public Health team and includes a wide range of members and stakeholders from across Portsmouth and Hampshire.

The report pack states that following the introduction meeting in September 2024, the Alliance has met three times and at each meeting it has included a specific agenda item for the Trading Standards team in Portsmouth to update Alliance members.

A large focus of the Alliance meetings has also been around youth smoking and vaping. This has included a needs assessment that has been led by the Portsmouth Public Health team and coproduced by Alliance members to talk to young people aged 11 to 15 to find out what they think and feel about smoking and vaping, so we could better understand their health needs from their point of view.

Following the engagement with young people five recommendations were co-designed:

• Strengthen local data, research and intelligence to better understand prevalence of youth smoking and vaping.
• Equip professionals and services to confidently address smoking and vaping concerns.
• Deliver targeted campaigns and messaging to challenge myths and support informed choices about smoking and vaping.
• Create supportive environments and enforce regulations to reduce the availability and visibility of vapes to under-18s.
• Continue coordinated leadership and action on youth smoking and vaping.

The Alliance will continue to meet three times a year with the aim to build on the current membership to collaboratively help Portsmouth achieve its smokefree goals by focusing on the four key areas highlighted in the Portsmouth tobacco control plan:

• Stopping the start
• Supporting people to stop smoking
• Collaboration
• Effective enforcement

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Partnership Update

The Health & Wellbeing Board are scheduled to receive an update on the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Partnership.

The report pack notes that the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Partnership is a partnership across Hampshire and Isle of Wight, established by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (the ICB) and the four (4) upper tier local authorities (Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council, and Isle of Wight Council).

The report pack states that one of the key strategic priorities of the Integrated Care Partnership for 2025/26 has been workforce, and that the Integrated Care Partnership has acknowledged that workforce is a key enabler to meeting its outlined strategic priorities given the links between work and good health and the opportunity around the size of our combined workforce. This priority has focussed on two distinct themes, these are first, supporting people into work support and second, supporting people to remain healthy in work.

The Integrated Care Partnership has supported the creation and development of the local Get Britain Working Plans. In June 2025 the Integrated Care Partnership hosted an assembly which covered the two workforce themes and was attended by local authority, academic, education and training providers, NHS providers, other public sector organisations and voluntary sector organisations.

One of the programmes of work that will be delivered to support the Get Britain Working Plans, is the Widening Access Demonstrator project. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB project is one of 10 ICB demonstrator projects which are aimed at improving access to NHS employment for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. The project will cover the 20 percent most deprived areas of Portsmouth, Havant and the Isle of Wight.

The report pack also notes that the Integrated Care Board has been developing a framework for working in partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE). This new approach sets out our vision and principles and the next steps on how this relationship will develop and strengthen over time. In developing this new strategic approach, we recognise that the VCSE sector are important partners and bring expertise, and local knowledge and is uniquely placed to provide a link between health services and the local community.

The new strategic approach has been developed with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight VCSE Health and Care Alliance (HIVCA).