At a meeting of the West Northamptonshire Council Cabinet, members approved a new Family Help Strategy, endorsed an updated approach to locality-based prevention, and approved several service plans related to health protection and enforcement. The Cabinet also agreed to exclude the press and public to discuss the restoration of property for service use.

Health Protection and Enforcement Plans Approved

The Cabinet approved four plans concerning public health and safety: the Health Protection Service Plan, the Food & Feed Standards Service Plan, the Spray Paint Enforcement Plan, and the Tobacco Enforcement Plan for 2025-26. The recommendations were approved to align with the requirements of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

The Health Protection Service Plan outlines how the council's Regulatory Services Health Protection team intends to deliver and improve services. The plan covers food safety, infectious disease control, occupational health and safety, sports ground safety and private water supply control. The Food and Feed Standards Service Plan outlines how the Trading Standards Service carries out its statutory duties to enforce standards for food and animal feeding stuffs. This includes monitoring the composition, labelling, claims, and descriptions relating to foodstuffs for human consumption, materials and articles in contact with food, and feeding stuffs for livestock and pets. The Spray Paint Enforcement Plan sets out how the council will work with partners to enforce legislation to reduce the supply of spray paints to young people to reduce unwanted graffiti. The Tobacco Enforcement Plan details how the council will carry out an appropriate programme of enforcement action relating to age-restricted tobacco controls, including work around the supply of disposable vapes to underage young people.

Family Help Strategy for West Northamptonshire 2025-2028 Adopted

The Cabinet approved the adoption and implementation of the Family Help Strategy for West Northamptonshire 2025-2028. The strategy aims to create a Child Friendly Place where children and families receive timely and collaborative support.

The strategy's vision includes:

• Providing the right support in the right place at the right time.
• Prioritising prevention and early intervention.
• Delivering services through a partnership-led, whole-system approach.
• Ensuring child-centred, relational, and inclusive practices.

Key objectives of the strategy are to embed a culture of family help across all services, strengthen family resilience, ensure equitable access to support, promote co-production with families and young people, and deliver integrated services through Family Hubs and Local Area Partnerships.

The strategy will be delivered through tiered support, Family Hubs¹ and Spokes², Family Help Lead Practitioners, a Single Family Help Assessment and Plan, and multi-agency triage panels.

Councillor Kathryn Shaw, Cabinet Member for Children, Families, and Education, and Melanie Barnett, Director of Children's Services, are jointly responsible for the strategy.

Locality-Based Prevention Approach Endorsed

The Cabinet endorsed West Northamptonshire’s approach to locality-based prevention, including Local Area Partnerships (LAPs) and neighbourhood working. The proposal aims to align with the NHS 10 Year Plan, the One West Northamptonshire Plan, the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the Prevention Strategy.

The council will reduce and realign the current nine LAPs to five, congruent with the five Neighbourhoods adopted by health and the Integrated Care System (ICS).³ This change intends to maximise the effectiveness of the new LAP model and neighbourhood teams, reduce duplication, and concentrate focus.

The Place Board will have overall oversight of LAPs, and any strategic issues will be escalated. Councillors will continue to engage with LAPs, ensuring local voices are heard and reflected in decision-making.

Restoration of Property for Service Use

The Cabinet agreed to exclude the press and public from the meeting to discuss the restoration of property for service use, citing that the discussion would likely involve the disclosure of exempt information under the Local Government Act 1972.