Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting.

The Chair acknowledged that Richard Webb, Jill Quinn, Jonathan Dyson, Amanda Bloor and Mike Padgham had recently left the Board and thanked them for their contributions.

The Chair also noted that Abigail Barron, Dena Dalton, Garry Mackay and John Pattinson had recently joined the Board, subject to approval by Full Council.

As there were new attendees, members of the Board introduced themselves.

Apologies for absence were received from John Pattinson and Matt Sandford (Clare Smart as substitute).

Resolved

a)    That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2026 are approved as a correct record.

No declarations of interest were made.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to Democratic Services (DemocraticServices.Central@northyorks.gov.uk) no later than midday on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, three working days before the meeting takes place. Each speaker should limit themselves to three minutes on any item. 

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct those taking a recording to cease whilst you speak.

No public questions or statements were received.

Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health, introduced the report which set out the outcome of the November 2025 workshop on the future role of the Health and Wellbeing Board. The report proposed next steps relating to the Board’s role and membership and invited members to consider these.

In introducing the report, Louise highlighted that, following a period of significant system change, the Board had taken the opportunity to reflect on whether its current arrangements were enabling it to add maximum value. Members were reminded that, while the Board’s statutory responsibilities were fixed, there was flexibility in how it operated beyond those requirements.

She highlighted the relationship between the Health and Wellbeing Board and the North Yorkshire Health Collaborative as a key area for consideration, including ensuring that the two bodies complemented one another, avoided duplication and worked together effectively, including through an annual review of respective work programmes.

Reference was also made to the Board’s way of working, including meeting four times per year, with two in‑person meetings focused on development activity and deeper exploration of priority areas arising from the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Louise drew attention to the proposed membership arrangements and the flexibility to invite additional attendees to support discussion of specific themes.

It was noted that national guidance on neighbourhood health had been published after the report had been finalised and that this would need to be reflected in the Board’s future work programme.

During the discussion, the following points were raised:

·         The Chair emphasised that the workshop had been undertaken to understand what members wanted from the Board and how it could operate most effectively, highlighting the importance of maintaining flexibility in approach while ensuring that statutory responsibilities were met.

·         It was highlighted that NHS Foundation Trusts supported a focused core membership for statutory business, alongside flexibility to involve a wider range of partners in workshops.

·         Members discussed new expectations around neighbourhood health, including closer working with Integrated Care Boards and links to Better Care Fund requirements. It was emphasised that neighbourhood health was not solely an NHS policy and required the involvement of all partners, with Health and Wellbeing Boards seen as playing a leading role across the local system. It was highlighted that Health and Wellbeing Boards would be expected to co‑produce and agree neighbourhood health plans, ensuring that they delivered agreed outcomes and aligned with the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The importance of contributions from the VCSE sector and embedding people’s voices was emphasised.

·         The Board’s role as the governance route for the local area SEND partnership was highlighted, including oversight of the forthcoming SEND Reform Plan and alignment with the Best Start in Life programme. Members emphasised the importance of coherence between SEND reforms, neighbourhood health planning and Best Start in Life activity.

·         Concerns were raised about the pace and scale of system change, particularly in relation to Integrated Care Board arrangements, and members welcomed the clearer role for the Board in providing leadership and stability during  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

·        Joint Committee and sub-groups

·        HNY ICB update

·        WY ICB update

·        NYC update

Abigail Barron (Corporate Director of Health and Adult Services at NYC), Louise Wallace (Director of Public Health at NYC), Mark Bradley (North Yorkshire Place Director at Humber & North Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership) and Clare Smart (Associate Director, Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership) provided verbal updates on work since the last meeting. The following points were raised.

·         The Ambitious for Health work programme was structured around three key workstreams: healthy people, integrated neighbourhood working and healthy places.

·         Under the healthy people workstream, Members were updated on progress with Prevention Plus, which is supported by external funding and focuses on community based support, prevention and unpaid carers. Members were also advised of targeted investment in initiatives addressing health inequalities through neighbourhood based approaches, with funding delegated through joint arrangements and aligned closely with Prevention Plus to avoid fragmented delivery. An update was also provided on delivery of the Trailblazer programme, including engagement with participants and employers, community grant funding and plans for Year 2 delivery.

·         Members were updated on progress with integrated neighbourhood working, which remained a significant area of focus. This included development of intermediate care hubs, improved integration of rehabilitation and reablement services, proposals to improve the consistency and accessibility of intermediate care beds across a large rural geography, redesign of the community equipment service ahead of a future procurement, collaborative work to improve consistency and efficiency across community nursing services, and the role of the VCSE sector in supporting admission avoidance and hospital discharge.

·         Reference was also made to work under the healthy places workstream, including the need to ensure greater coherence in the use of neighbourhood “hubs” across programmes and partners, in order to avoid duplication and confusion for local communities.

·         Members were advised of progress on the development of a frailty model across North Yorkshire, agreed through the Integrated Care Board, including work to establish a single, countywide frailty crisis response service intended to provide a consistent and proactive approach to frailty and act as a foundation for wider neighbourhood health arrangements.

·         The governance arrangements supporting the Health Collaborative were outlined, including the roles of the Joint Committee, directors’ group and provider led collaboration, alongside links to local care partnerships. It was noted that, as the Integrated Care Board moved towards a more strategic commissioning role, delivery of neighbourhood health would increasingly be driven through providers working collaboratively across the system.

·         Members received an update on Integrated Care Board arrangements following the conclusion of the recent consultation, including progress with implementation of the new structure and the move towards a more strategic commissioning model. It was noted that, while the ICB was undergoing organisational change, delivery of key programmes, including neighbourhood health, frailty and health inequalities, would continue.

·         Members also received an update on West Yorkshire and Bradford and Craven, including recent and forthcoming leadership changes across the Integrated Care Board and partner organisations, confirmation that a place committee would continue during the transition to new provider partnership arrangements, and publication of a listening  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

The Chair introduced the item and highlighted that the work programme remained flexible, with Members invited to suggest additional items as required. It was noted that agenda planning would continue to reflect whether meetings were held in person or remotely.

Members raised the following points.

·         It was agreed that the SEND Reform Plan should be added to the work programme for consideration at the June 2026 meeting.

·         Members also proposed that the Best Start in Life Plan be included on the forward work programme, noting its close links to the SEND Reform Plan.

·         Members suggested that the Board consider a future agenda item exploring parenting as part of its wider prevention and public health role. It was noted that this could be considered at a later meeting.

The Chair welcomed the suggestions and reiterated that the work programme would continue to be kept under review and updated to reflect priorities.

There were no other items to be considered.

Friday, 5 June 2026 at 10:30am – venue TBC.

Friday, 5 June 2026 at 10:30am – venue TBC.