The Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Board are scheduled to meet to discuss partner updates, the Kirklees Healthy Working Life Programme, changes to the Integrated Care Board landscape, and the midpoint evaluation of the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2027. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber - Town Hall, Huddersfield.

Here are the topics that the board are scheduled to discuss:

Kirklees Healthy Working Life Programme

The board are scheduled to receive an update on the Kirklees Healthy Working Life programme. According to the report pack, the programme aims to tackle health-related economic inactivity, improve population health outcomes and increase economic growth.

The report pack states that poor health is a key driver of economic inactivity across the UK, and this is also recognised in the Kirklees Inclusive Economy Strategy 2025.

The Get Britain Working White Paper, published by the government in 2024, acknowledged that existing national support mechanisms have largely failed to tackle this issue or provide effective support for people in work with health conditions to avoid falling out of the labour market. West Yorkshire was selected for two key national programmes to pilot new approaches to tackling these issues: the Health and Growth Accelerator and the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer.

The delivery of these programmes is managed through the West Yorkshire Healthy Working Life programme. Across West Yorkshire the programme has been managed via the West Yorkshire Healthy Working Life Programme Board and a recently established Healthy Working Life Strategic Board. This joint programme commenced in April 2025 and is initially funded until April 2026. The work directly supports the vision of the West Yorkshire 'Work, health, and skills plan', which aims for West Yorkshire to have the healthiest residents and workforce in England by 2040.

The target for the Accelerator and Trailblazer funded programmes is to support 1,300 more people to be economically active through health-oriented interventions compared to a scenario without these programmes.

The schemes being delivered within Kirklees, funded by the Accelerator and Trailblazer allocations, of £1.3m and £600k respectively are detailed in the report pack. The approach taken has been to view these allocations as a single 'pot' in Kirklees to promote a truly integrated approach that a coordinated, joined-up delivery of work, health, and skills support.

The target for the initiatives funded through the combined Kirklees pot is to help 273 people who are, or are at risk of becoming, economically inactive due to ill health, to remain or become economically active.

Kirklees has also been allocated £224k from the Accelerator specifically for social care and health workforce support, and in addition there are a range of West Yorkshire wide initiatives being developed.

Oversight for this work in Kirklees is provided by a local programme board involving the local authority, VCSE organisations¹, the University, and ICB colleagues.

The board will be asked to support the implementation of the Kirklees Healthy Working Life programme and endorse the approach of adopting an integrated approach that provides coordinated, joined-up delivery of work, health, and skills support.

The Healthy Working Life programme will continue to roll out and become fully operational during September 2025.

The schemes will contribute to the national, regional and local evaluation to inform the future provision of support to individuals and organisations to reduce levels of health-related economic inactivity, improve population health outcomes, and increase economic growth.

Appendix 3 of the report pack details the Kirklees Healthy Working Life programme:

• Elevate, run by Fresh Futures.
• Get Set Goal, run by the University of Huddersfield.
• Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness (IPS SMI), run by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
• Individual Placement & Support for Opiate Service Users, run by Change Grow Live Kirklees.
• Kirklees College Health and Wellbeing Hub, run by Kirklees College.
• Making It Work, run by C+K Careers.
• My Way Forward, run by C+K Careers.
• Fitness for Work, run by Kirklees Active Leisure (KAL).
• Wellness Works, run by Third Sector Leaders Kirklees (TSL).
• Small Grants Programme, run by Third Sector Leaders Kirklees & One Community Foundation.
• Wellness to Work, run by Locala Health and Wellbeing.
• Flippin Pain, run by Cora Health.
• Supporting working Carers, run by Carers Count Kirklees and Cloverleaf Advocacy.

Midpoint Evaluation of the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2027

The board are scheduled to discuss the key reflections and recommendations from the midpoint evaluation of the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy (KHWS) 2022-2027 and next steps.

The board approved the refreshed Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy (KHWS) in September 2022. The Strategy is available online. The board subsequently endorsed an approach to implementing the KHWS based around 6 strands of activity:

• Embedding the Kirklees Health and Wellbeing Strategy in other Strategies and Plans

• Delivering the KHWS through:

  • Action on the KHWS priorities.
  • Delivery of key strategies and plans e.g., Kirklees Health and Care Plan, Children & Young Peoples Plan etc.
  • Action by people who live, work or study in Kirklees.

• Raising awareness of the KHWS.

• Refining and monitoring the Indicator Framework.

• Embedding the ways of working.

• Providing assurance through 'Check and challenge' operating in 3 arenas

  • In individual organisations and services.
  • In formal and informal partnerships.
  • In the statutory governance structures in Kirklees.

An informal midpoint evaluation of the Strategy's implementation has been undertaken by council officers to assess progress and guide its continued delivery. Specifically, the evaluation aimed to:

• Assess whether the Strategy is on track to achieve its intended outcomes
• Identify early signs of change and emerging impacts across the three priority areas
• Understand what is enabling or hindering successful implementation
• Inform practical recommendations to enhance the Strategy's effectiveness through to 2027 and beyond.

General reflections from the midpoint evaluation of the Strategy include:

Strategic Ownership

• The Vision remains relevant and widely supported, especially focus on wider determinants of health.
• There is some system-wide embedding of the Strategy, but this could be further strengthened.

Delivery and Accountability

Roles of project management, delivery and accountability would benefit from further clarity.

Outcomes Focus

• Partners have feedback that the current outcomes framework is overly complex.
• There are questions around how outcomes are demonstrated.
• The strategy would benefit from a simplified, outcome-driven approach with clearer measurement.

Key challenges and opportunities identified in the midpoint evaluation to the effective delivery of the Strategy are:

• Leadership & Governance: Ensure clear leadership and governance for the strategy.
• Accountability: Ensure that clear roles, responsibilities and monitoring are in place.
• Outcomes Framework: A simplified outcomes framework could be developed.
• Refresh Strategy Language and Structure: Update language and adopt a Theory of Change model to clarify how activities lead to measurable outcomes and responsibilities
• Delivery: Ensure consistent implementation across priorities.
• Community Voice: Develop mechanisms for community input to be consistently used.
• Fully Integrate Mental Health: Embed mental wellbeing across all themes.
• Focus Healthy Places Delivery: Co-design clear, measurable priorities with key partners and assign leadership.
• Organisational Context: National NHS reforms and priorities create uncertainty and highlight the need for strategic alignment.
• Align with National Policy and Health Plans: Refresh the strategy to reflect the 10-Year Health Plan and government priorities, enabling place-based planning and investment.

Given the changes in national policy and uncertainty around the health system, it is suggested that the refresh of the KHWS is paused and that this is reviewed by the Health and Wellbeing Board in 6 months.

When the refresh is instigated, that a more thorough evaluation takes place in order to build on the findings and recommendations of the informal Midpoint Evaluation. This evaluation will include the Health and Wellbeing Board and other key boards, alliances, partnerships and system leaders responsible for delivering the Strategy.

Associated plans and programmes of work will be accordingly reviewed to further drive progress.

In anticipation of the current Strategy ending in 2027 and given the ongoing reforms to the NHS and the associated current uncertainties in the local system, it is proposed a paper be brought to the Health and Wellbeing Board in 6 months with a plan for a refresh.

Changes to the Integrated Care Board landscape

Vicky Dutchburn, Interim Accountable Officer, NHS, West Yorkshire ICB², Kirklees Place, is scheduled to provide a verbal update on the ongoing changes to the Integrated Care Board (ICB) landscape.

Partner updates

The board are scheduled to receive partner updates on actions taken following health and well-being board discussions. This is an opportunity for partners to update the board on progress made and actions taken by their organisations to improve the health and well-being of the people who work for them and the Kirklees population as a whole.

Other items

The agenda also includes:

• Apologies for absence.
• To approve the minutes of the meeting of the board held on 7 August 2025.
• Declaration of interests.
• To receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public.
• To receive any public questions.