North Yorkshire Council
North Yorkshire Health and Wellbeing Board
Minutes of the remote meeting held on Wednesday, 19 November 2025 commencing at 9.45am.
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Board Member |
Organisation |
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Councillor Michael Harrison (Chair) |
Executive Member for Health and Adult Services, North Yorkshire Council |
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Richard Webb |
Corporate Director of Health and Adult Services, North Yorkshire Council |
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Louise Wallace |
Director of Public Health, North Yorkshire Council |
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Pete Thorpe |
Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Service, North Yorkshire Council |
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Mark Bradley |
North Yorkshire Place Director, Humber & North Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership |
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Ashley Green |
Chief Executive Officer, Healthwatch, North Yorkshire |
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Naomi Lonergan |
Interim Managing Director (North Yorkshire, York and Selby), Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust |
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Dr Sally Tyrer |
Chair of the North Yorkshire Branch, YORLMC (Primary Care Representative) |
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Foluke Ajayi |
Chief Executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust |
Substitutes
Matt Graham, Director of Strategy, Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust
In attendance
Dena Dalton, Head of Health Collaboration, Community First Yorkshire
Naomi Smith, Head of Health Improvement, North Yorkshire Council
David Smith, Senior Democratic Services Officer, North Yorkshire Council
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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51 |
Welcome by the Chair
The Chair welcomed everybody to the meeting.
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52 |
Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Amanda Bloor, Councillor Janet Sanderson, Councillor Simon Myers, Jonathan Coulter (Matt Graham as substitute), Jonathan Dyson, Matt Sandford and Nic Harne.
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53 |
Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2025
Resolved
a) That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2025 are approved as a correct record.
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54 |
Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest.
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55 |
Public questions/statements
No public questions or statements were received.
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56 |
North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024-2025
Heather Pearson, Chair of the Partnership, introduced the report and highlighted the following key points.
· The report was presented for noting and had already been published. · It aligns with national statutory requirements and reflects the priorities for the current year. · Statutory partners have been actively involved, with working groups established to ensure delivery against objectives. · The annual report is typically published in March; therefore, the Committee is already midway through the following year’s work. Members discussed whether the timing of this item could be reviewed for future agendas.
During the discussion, the Board raised the following points.
· The importance of sharing information across all partners and agencies was emphasised. · It was confirmed that significant learning takes place from the Partnership, with information disseminated nationally through briefings. · The need for robust scrutiny and assurance processes was highlighted. · The Board welcomed the high level of partner engagement and collaboration evident in the work. · It was noted that mock inspections are undertaken and work well. · It was reported that external feedback indicates the partnership is performing strongly, with positive results.
Resolved
a) That the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report for 2024/25 is noted.
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57 |
Update of the Better Care Fund 2025/26 Section 75 agreement and of the 2024/25 Outturn, 2025/26 Qtr 1 and Qtr 2 monitoring returns
Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health, introduced the report and highlighted that the BCF represents a significant amount of funding and that the quarterly returns require formal sign-off.
The Board made the following comments.
· Work on the Disabled Facilities Grant is ongoing. · A question was raised about whether there is a risk of funding being reduced because how the money is used might not be clear. In response, it was noted that the BCF is well-established and unlikely to be removed. It was highlighted that additional responsibilities can be added without extra funding. · The Section 75 Agreement complements the BCF and adds complexity, underlining the importance of integration. · Members noted that the Better Care Fund should be regarded as a mechanism to achieve wider objectives, rather than an objective in itself. · The Board stressed the need to ensure the BCF meets population needs and encouraged transformational thinking about how funding is used. · Thanks were expressed to Saskia Calton for her support.
Resolved
a) That the Better Care Fund 2025/26 Section 75 update is noted. b) That the Quarterly Returns for 2024/25 Outturn and 2025/26 Quarter 1 and 2 submissions are noted.
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58 |
Work programme
The Chair introduced the item and invited Members to suggest any additional topics for inclusion on the Board’s work programme.
No items were added, but it was highlighted that ideas may arise out of the workshop that was to follow the meeting.
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59 |
Any other items
There were no other items.
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60 |
Date of next meeting
Wednesday, 14 January 2026 at 10:30am on Microsoft Teams.
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The meeting concluded at 10.13 am.