The Health Scrutiny Committee of North Northamptonshire Council met on Tuesday 18 November 2025 to review the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB) Annual Report 2024-25 and discuss Health Protection – Winter Preparedness. The committee approved recommendations for both reports, focusing on improving safeguarding practices and ensuring robust winter health protection measures.

Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024-25

The committee received and noted the Northamptonshire Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB) Annual Report 2024-25 and its accompanying Impact Report. The report detailed the Board's statutory duties, strategic priorities, and achievements over the past year, highlighting a focus on prevention, making safeguarding personal, and responding to increasing complexity in safeguarding cases, such as self-neglect. Key achievements included strong partnership working, updates to policies and procedures, and the launch of a new NSAB website. The committee was assured of the robust partnership working and commitment to continuous improvement in safeguarding practices across Northamptonshire.

The Health Scrutiny Committee recommended that:

• The committee receives a mid-year update in May 2026 outlining progress made against the 2024–25 strategic priorities, including measurable outcomes from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) and audit activity.
• The committee is provided with a briefing within six months on system-wide responses to self-neglect and complex safeguarding cases, including outcomes from the Self-Neglect Summit and implementation of related learning.
• The NSAB shares with Scrutiny, in its next annual report, an evaluation of engagement effectiveness across statutory and non-statutory partners, including feedback from practitioners, voluntary organisations, and residents.

Health Protection – Winter Preparedness

The committee reviewed the progress report on winter preparedness for 2025/2026, detailing the aspects involved and the partnership working across organisations. The report emphasised the need for the health and care system to work collaboratively to protect individuals and populations from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. Key areas of focus included maximising vaccinations, minimising the outbreak of infectious diseases, effective management of outbreaks, and an effective response to environmental emergencies.

The Health Scrutiny Committee recommended that:

• The Committee receives a joint update from Public Health and system partners outlining outcomes of the 2025/26 winter period, including lessons learned and key improvements in multi-agency coordination.
• An update be provided to the Committee by June 2026 on progress made in addressing low vaccination uptake among high-risk or underserved populations, including evidence of outreach activity and impact.
• The Council’s next annual Winter Preparedness Report (2026/27) includes a section on climate-related resilience and mitigation measures and that this is brought back to Scrutiny for review ahead of the 2026/27 winter season.

Health Scrutiny Work Plan

The committee noted the updated Health Scrutiny Work Plan for 2025/26. It was explained that the plan remains flexible, allowing the Committee to respond to emerging issues while maintaining strategic oversight. Members welcomed the Work Plan and emphasised the need to continue focusing on service accessibility, performance, and health inequalities. The Scrutiny Work Plan was approved.