North Yorkshire Council

Health and Wellbeing Board

19 November 2025

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

Report of the Director of Public Health

1 PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1 To update Health and Wellbeing Board on the 2025/26 Better Care Fund Section 75 agreement and the quarterly Better Care Fund for 2024/25 Outturn, 2025/26 Qtr 1 and Qtr 2 monitoring returns.

2          BACKGROUND

The Better Care Fund 2025/26

2.2       In North Yorkshire it is, essentially, a partnership between the Council and the three Integrated Care Boards that operate within the Council’s footprint, namely:-

- NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB

- NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

- NHS West Yorkshire ICB

2.3       The Better Care Fund Planning requirement for 2025/26 was approved on 16 May 2025 at the Health and Wellbeing Board.  

2.4       The Section 75 agreement between all four parties for 2025/26 has been developed from the national Better Care Fund template and agreed by all parties before the deadline of 30 September 2025 except Humber & North Yorkshire ICB, who is still internally reviewing the final agreement. Appendix 1 shows the BCF Section 75 for 2025/26.

3.1       The Quarterly Reporting
Quarterly monitoring reporting is a standing requirement of the Better Care Fund planning and reporting cycle and sitting alongside the submission of the annual Better Care Fund Plan. The key purposes of BCF reporting is to confirm the status of continued compliance against the requirements of the fund (BCF)

· 2024/25 Outturn:  At the outturn position for 2024/25, reported that the overall BCF fund had been fully spent except for the Disabled Facilities grant which spent £4.5m against a budget of £8.3m with planned expenditure for future years.
Avoidable admissions, Discharge to normal place of residence and Falls metrics met their targets for the year whilst Residential Admission failed to meet its target. Residential Admission is a key priority target for 2025/26.

· 2025/26: Quarter 1 and 2, North Yorkshire and the ICBS reported that Emergency Admissions, Discharge Delays and Residential Admissions metrics are all on track to meet their goals for the year along with on track to fully spend the funding for the year except for the Disabled Facilities grant, with planned expenditure for the future.

4          LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

4.1       It is a statutory requirement that the Local Authority and its health partners to produce an agreed, fully costed Better Care Fund Plan and for that to be signed off by the Health and Wellbeing Board along with the Chief Executives at each organisation for HWB North Yorkshire and the North Yorkshire Council’s s151 Officer and the Chief Finance Officers at the ICBs to sign off the final plans. The BCF Planning requirement sign off has been undertaken for 2025/26.

4.2       The enable the partnerships between the NHS and local authorities for integrated health and social care services, the Better Care Fund program uses Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006. This allows the NY HWB and its four parties to enter a formal partnership agreement to work together and share resources.  

4.3       In terms of monitoring, it is also a requirement that the Quarterly Returns are approved by the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) before submission and this was delegated to Director for Health and Adult Services, Richard Webb, on 18 July 2025.

5          FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1       The following minimum funding must be pooled into the Better Care Fund in 2025/26:-

BCF Schemes – 2025/26

· 2025/26 total BCF funding is £85.1m (24/25: £84.3m).

· The ICBs’ BCF NHS Minimum Contribution in 2025/26 is £57.4m (24/25: £51.5m) of which £20.0m is transferred to NYC for Adult Social Care (24/25: £19.2m);

· NYC iBCF allocation of £17.3m transferred to the new LA Better Care Grant (24/25: £17.3m).

· The total ASCDF, (Adult Social Care discharge funding) for North Yorkshire is £9.1m; NYC £4.1m and ICBs £5.0m. The LA Adult Social Care Discharge funding has of £4.1m has been transferred to the new LA Better Care Grant and the ICBs’ Adult Social Care Grant has been amalgamated within the NHS Minimum Contribution.

· LA Better Care Grant £21.4m (24/25: iBCF £17.3m and LA ASCDF £4.1m)

· DFG (Disabled Facility Grant) for NYC is £6.3m

· Total BCF Funding 2025/26 for NYC: £47.7m

· Total BCF Funding 2025/26 ICBs: £37.4m

6          EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

6.1       There are no direct equalities implications but attainment of the priorities in the Plan will, for example, enable more people to live safely and independently.

7          CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

7.1       An initial climate change assessment form has been completed and that indicates that there are no direct climate change implications.

8          CONCLUSIONS

8.1       The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a programme spanning both local government and the NHS which seeks to join-up health and care services, so that people can manage their own health and wellbeing and live independently in their communities for as long as possible.

8.2       Monitoring of the Fund helps ensure the priorities are being achieved

9          REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION

9.1       The content of the Plan has been agreed with partners and is fully costed.

10        RECOMMENDATIONS

10.1     a) to note the Better Care Fund 2025/26 Section 75 update

b) and, to note the Quarterly Returns for 2024/25 Outturn and 2025/26 Quarter 1 and 2 submissions.

Author

Saskia Calton, Head of Finance – Public Health

Saskia.Calton@northyorks.gov.uk

Presenter

Louise Wallace, Director of public Health

Louise.Wallace@northyorks.gov.uk

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS – Better Care Fund Policy Framework and Planning Requirement 2025/26

NOTE:  Members are invited to contact the author(s) in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.