Agenda and minutes

To note that Mr. P. Harrison CC is the Leicestershire County Council Cabinet Lead Member for Health and Public Health and is therefore the new Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

RESOLVED:

That it be noted that Mr. P. Harrison CC is the Leicestershire County Council Cabinet Lead Member for Health and Public Health and is therefore the Chairman of the Health and Wellbeing Board until the date of the Annual Meeting of the County Council in 2027.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2026 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Mr. M. Squires CC declared a registerable interest in all substantive agenda items as he worked for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

Cllr. J. Kaufman declared a non-registerable interest in all substantive agenda items as he had a close relative that worked for the NHS.

It was also noted that the Chairman was a member of his local Patient Participation Group so he would be declaring that where relevant to agenda items throughout the year.

The Chairman presented a Position Statement on the following matters:

(i)                              Health & Wellbeing Board Membership Update;

(ii)                            Adult Social Care;

(iii)                           NHS;

(iv)                          National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme;

(v)                            Key Messages;

 A copy of the Position Statement is filed with these minutes.

The Board considered a report of the Staying Healthy Partnership which provided an update on progress in relation to the Staying Healthy, Safe & Well priority of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JLHWS) 2022-32. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 6’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board also received a presentation regarding Health in All Policies, Healthy Placemaking, the Whole Systems Approach and Gold Sustainable Food Places. The presentation slides are also filed with these minutes.

The report and presentation were introduced by the Joint Chairs of the Staying Healthy Partnership Mike Sandys, Director of Public Health, Communities, Law and Governance, Leicestershire County Council, and Edd de Coverly, Chief Executive, Melton Borough Council. The Board also welcomed to the meeting for this item Jenna Parton, Natalie Howden, Hollie Hutchinson and Francesca Barney all from the Public Health department at Leicestershire County Council.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           The health in all policies and healthy placemaking philosophies needed to be imbedded in the neighbourhood work that was taking place in Leicestershire particularly the neighbourhood health centres.

(ii)         It was intended that healthy placemaking would be imbedded in the Local Plans being produced by the District Councils in Leicestershire. The work had already been incorporated into the draft plans but many of the plans still needed to go through the Examination process before they were approved. 

(iii)        Communities themselves needed to be involved in the place making and community volunteers could be taken advantage of for this work. The local plan work which had taken place so far had benefitted from on the ground insights from local communities.

(iv)       Public Health was linked into the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme bid, led by the ICB.

(v)         It was important to be able to measure the impact of the food work on health outcomes. As the work was currently in the early stages success measures were not yet in place, but they would be worked on going forward.

(vi)       Food wastage, particularly fruit and vegetables, was a concern

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the progress being made in relation to delivering against the Staying Healthy, Safe & Well priority be noted;

(b)        That the progress being made in relation to delivering against the cross-cutting priorities be noted.

The Board considered a report of Active Together which provided information on the Active Together Partnership Physical Activity Framework (2022-2031) and gave an update on the approach to reviewing and refreshing the Framework to ensure it was still fit for purpose for its remaining duration. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed to the meeting for this item Jo Newberry, Active Partnership Director.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           A refresh of the Framework was taking place, not a rewrite, due to the initial commitment of a longer-term Framework. Board members welcomed this approach.

(ii)         Active Together was one of over 130 "System Partners" part funded by Sport England. Sport England were refreshing their own priorities and the outcome of that would be known within the next few months. It was expected that most of the priorities of Active Together and Sport England would align.

(iii)        Across the whole partnership, Active Together worked with many thousands of people. The Active Together website also received a large amount of visitors.

(iv)       Voluntary Action Leicestershire offered to use their newsletters and networks to help publicise the work of Active Together.

(v)         An Annual Review relating to the work of Active Together was due to be published in a few weeks and it was agreed that this would be circulated to Board members.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the approach to reviewing and refreshing the Physical Activity Framework be noted;

(b)        That the Physical Activity Framework and the collaborative systems approach to delivery of its priorities be supported;

(c)         That members be requested to champion physical activity within their respective organisations and partnerships, thus supporting a coordinated place-based and preventative approach which uses physical activity to support residents’ wellbeing;

(d)        That members be requested to promote and encourage engagement with the Physical Activity and Wellbeing Residents Survey.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Adults and Cultural Services which provided the year-end performance reporting of the Better Care Fund (BCF) programme for 2025-26. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed to the meeting for this item Lisa Carter, Health and Social Care Integration Service Manager, Leicestershire County Council, and Tracy Ward, Assistant Director, Adults and Cultural Services.

Arising from the report the following points were noted:

(i)           The approved BCF Plan for Leicestershire for 2025-26 totalled £84.4million and 98% of this income had been spent. The remaining 2% related to the Disabled Facilities Grant which had a time delay so it would not be spent until the following financial year.

(ii)         Discharge delays for all acute adult patients were currently off target against planned performance.

(iii)        In year modelling indicated that the residential admissions target could be missed, though this would not be confirmed until the final data was received. More detailed analysis was taking place to try to better understand the reasons behind residential admissions performance.                                                                                                                                                          

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the performance against the Better Care Fund outcome metrics, and the positive progress made in transforming health and care pathways in 2025-26, be noted; 

(b)        That the submission of the year-end BCF 2025-26 template to NHS England for the 5th June 2026 submission deadline, which was approved by the Chief Executive under delegated powers, be noted.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Adults and Cultural Services which provided an overview of the progress to date on the submission of the Leicestershire Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan 2026-27. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed to the meeting for this item Lisa Carter, Health and Social Care Integration Service Manager, Leicestershire County Council, and Tracy Ward, Assistant Director, Adults and Cultural Services.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           Since the agenda pack for the meeting had been published an amendment had been made to the metric in the BCF Plan return relating to emergency admissions to hospital for people aged 65+ per 100,000 population. The amended documentation would be circulated to Board members after the meeting.

(ii)         In response to an observation that the narrative return document for 2026-27 did not make any reference to mental health, particularly mental health discharge delays, reassurance was given that there was room in the BCF for mental health funding and further conversations about this would take place after the meeting.

(iii)        The Strategic Discharge Group was working to ensure that discharge targets were met.

(iv)       Concerns were raised that in the years since the BCF had first been set up the principles and practical application of the BCF could have disconnected. It was suggested that a detailed review needed to take place of the way the BCF funding was spent to ensure it was still strategically aligned and addressing the priority areas. In response it was explained that whilst there was scope to spend the money differently in the future, all the money had been committed and if it was to be spent elsewhere decisions would have to be made on which areas would no longer receive funding. It was noted that the neighbourhood policy framework was due to be published in July 2026 and the content of that document would link strongly with the Better Care Fund, therefore it was advisable to wait for that document to be published before making any final decisions. Discussions could take place in the next few months regarding the possibilities for how the money could be spent but no final decisions could be made until the following year. Anything agreed at those discussions would still be subject to the BCF policy framework that would be published in January 2027.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the contents of the report be noted;

(b)        That the Better Care Fund Plan 26-27 numerical template and the narrative document that details the contents of the BCF Plan return, be noted;

(c)         That the action taken by the Chief Executive of Leicestershire County Council, to use powers of delegation to approve the BCF Plan for submission prior to the deadline of 19th May 2026 be noted.

(d)        That officers be requested to meet to discuss a plan for a potential review of the BCF from 2027-28 onwards to align to national Neighbourhood guidance expected in July 2026, and provide an update to the Board in September 2026.

The Board considered a report of Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL) which provided an overview of the work undertaken by VAL in supporting NHS colleagues, commissioners, local authorities and wider public sector partners across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

The report was presented by Kevin Allen-Khimani, Chief Executive, VAL.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the strategic contribution of VAL and the VCSE sector in supporting prevention, health inequalities reduction and community resilience, be recognised;

(b)        That the continued partnership working between statutory organisations and the VCSE sector via VAL be supported;

(c)         That stronger VCSE involvement within neighbourhood health planning, commissioning and integrated care arrangements be encouraged;

(d)        That ongoing collaboration between NHS partners, local authorities, Public Health and community organisations be supported.

The Chairman sought and obtained the agreement of Members to vary the order of business from that set out in the agenda.

The Board considered a joint report of the Director of Adults and Cultural Services and the Director of Children and Family Services which sought the comments of the Board on the draft Leicestershire Carers Strategy 2026-2030. The report also explained the development of the strategy and the priorities for delivery. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 12’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed to the meeting for this item Inderjit Lahel, Assistant Director – Strategic Services, of the Adults and Cultural Services department at Leicestershire County Council.

The Cabinet Lead Member for Adult Social Care Mr. M. Squires CC emphasised the importance of supporting carers, the crucial role they played and the need to remove barriers for carers. Mr. Squires CC also recognised the need to ensure the wellbeing of carers and he welcomed the role the Carers Strategy would play in identifying carers early and ensuring they had respite opportunities.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           During the period October to December 2025 a number of key engagement activities took place across the county to enable the public to shape the new Leicestershire Carers Strategy. The numbers of people involved in the engagement process had been high.

(ii)         There had been challenges for the County Council identifying carers in Leicestershire, and also carers recognising themselves that they were carers. NHS staff had a role in identifying carers and they would benefit from more guidance in this regard. Once NHS staff had identified a carer they would need to inform the local authority so that support could be offered, however data sharing laws could make this difficult.

(iii)        There needed to be improved equity of access to resources for carers particularly in rural areas. Some communities received better support than others. The neighbourhood work that was taking place in Leicestershire could play a role in addressing some of these issues.

(iv)       Further reports would be brought to the Board during the year regarding the support offer for carers.

(v)         Concerns were raised that some young carers had their education disrupted due to the caring role they were playing.

RESOLVED:

(a)    That the development of the Strategy for carers in Leicestershire and the draft priorities and implementation plan be noted.

(b)    That officers be requested to take note of the comments now made on the draft strategy for the care and support of Leicestershire carers.

The Board considered a report of Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire which presented their findings from two pieces of work on hospital discharge. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 11’, is filed with these minutes.

The report was presented by Fiona Barber, Healthwatch Vice Chair.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)           UHL acknowledged the concerns raised in the report that only 16% of carers were informed of their right to a Carers’ Assessment, but UHL provided assurance that the UHL Quality Strategy had a strong focus on carers and work was taking place with pharmacy colleagues within hospitals to address the medicine availability issues.

(ii)         The findings from the Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire report would be considered by the Strategic Discharge Group.

(iii)        Problems with hospital discharge were not just the responsibility of UHL or local authorities but needed to be addressed by the whole health and care system.

(iv)       UHL and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust were working together on the issue of discharge.

(v)         The report referred to Enter & View visits carried out by Healthwatch to community hospital discharge wards however it was clarified that LPT did not have specific discharge wards. It was rehab wards and stroke wards that Healthwatch had visited.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the findings and recommendations from Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire’s hospital discharge work be noted;

(b)  That members be requested to support system partners to consider how the learning can inform ongoing discharge improvement, patient experience and inequality‑reduction work;

(c)   That it be noted that Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire will continue to gather patient and carer feedback to help assess progress over time.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Public Health, Communities, Law and Governance which provided an overview of health protection activity in Leicestershire from January to December 2025. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 13’, is filed with these minutes.

The Board welcomed to the meeting for this item Anuj Patel, Strategic Lead- Health Protection, Leicestershire County Council.

It was noted that Leicestershire rates for HIV late diagnosis were high (63.3% vs England 43.3%, 2022–2024). The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered a detailed report relating to this at its meeting on 5 November 2025 and this report would be circulated to Board members after the meeting for assurance.

RESOLVED:

(a)        That the annual Health Protection Report 2025 be noted;

(b)    That the key health protection issues that have arisen locally, the actions taken in response and the main areas of focus for 2026, be recognised.

The next meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Board will be held on Thursday 17 September 2026 at 2.00pm.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Board takes place on Thursday 17 September 2026 at 2.00pm.