Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Democratic Services Officer will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies for absence had been received from:

Becky Brooks – 3SG

Sophie Broadfield – Executive Director of Sustainable Communities, B&NES

Will Godfrey – Chief Executive, B&NES

Kevin Hamblin – Bath College

Scott Hill - Avon and Somerset Police

Nick Streatfield – University of Bath – Kiz Kearton substituting

Suzanne Westhead – Director of Adult Social Care, B&NES - Natalia Lachkow substituting 

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting.

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest (as defined in Part 4.4 Appendix B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests).

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Please see agenda note 4 overleaf.

To confirm the minutes of the above meeting as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 3 July 2025 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

5 minutes

Paul Harris, Curo, to feedback on the previous HWB Development Session on Warm Homes.

Paul Harris gave the following feedback on some of the actions following the previous HWB Development Session on Warm Homes:

1.  The B&NES Community Energy Network Project Manager had met with 3SG and was looking to engage other organisations in a retrofitting group.

2.  A toolkit was being developed to raise awareness among frontline professionals and assist in identifying and addressing damp and mould.

3.  A fridge magnet had been created for residents which contained advice on what they could do if they had a problem with damp or mould.

5 minutes

Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place – B&NES BSW ICB to give a verbal update.

Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place – B&NES BSW ICB and Natalia Lachkou, Adult Social Care, B&NES gave a verbal update as follows:

1.  The BCF Quarter 2 report had been signed off and submitted.  NHSE continued to give positive feedback about B&NES annual and quarterly reporting on the BCF.  There was a need to demonstrate impact and the link to winter planning.

2.  There was ongoing work to monitor and track progress with a focus on delivering plans in place.

3.  The future of the BCF was still unknown but there was likely to be something similar in place and the advice was to continue working as before. 

4.  The B&NES locality was proactive in the national network and looked at best practices to inform future plans.

15 minutes

Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place – B&NES BSW ICB to advise the Board of the latest developments.

Laura Ambler, Executive Director of Place – B&NES BSW ICB advised the Board of the latest developments in relation to changes within the NHS:

1.  She reminded the Board that there would be significant changes.  In March it was announced that NHSE would be abolished and its role would be subsumed.  ICBs were instructed to cut costs by 50% and to achieve this, individual ICBs were looking to cluster with other ICBs.  BSW ICB would be clustering with Dorset and Somerset. 

2.  There was a key role for Health and Wellbeing Boards in the NHS 10 Year Plan.  Every locality would be required to prepare neighbourhood plan and the HWB would be responsible for signing off the plan.  B&NES HWB was well placed to respond to this challenge.

3.  Neighbourhood Plans would come together in the ICB clusters (there would be 6 areas in the new cluster) and inform a population health management plan which ICBs would need to take account of in planning services. 

4.  The ICB blueprint identified 13 workstreams to be transferred out, this was being reviewed to see where this work would sit. 

5.  The regional blueprint for NHSE had not yet materialised.

6.  There would be different time scales for changes as some required legislation.

Board members raised the following questions/comments:

1.  How could services be delivered in the context of 50% cuts to the ICB?  The cluster was looking at a new operating model and identifying what needed to be done across the whole area and what needed to be done at a place perspective.  The first step would be the appointment of a Chair and Chief Executive Officer for the cluster.  Early indications were that there was a function for place and that this would be built into the operating model. 

2.  Will the ICB still provide the same services in relation to children and SEND?  This was not clear, SEND was originally on the list of services to be retained for a period of time or maybe indefinitely.  The ICB would need to keep working with the local authority as there was a shared statutory duty.

3.  Is there any indication that there will be a cut in budgets for services?  The cuts would be in relation to operational costs and there was no planned reduction to the costs of programmes.

4.  Further guidance would be produced with details of Neighbourhood Plans and how they would differ from the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the ICB Strategy.

5.  B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire had experience of working together across three local authority areas which was a strong position to be in when moving towards clustering.

6.  In relation to the future of Healthwatch, until there was legislative change Healthwatch was continuing to carry out its statutory function.  There was a petition asking the Government to support the independent voice in relation to health services.

7.  In terms of boundaries, healthcare had been grouped together with Swindon and Wiltshire for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

20 minutes

The Board to consider the Quarter 2 Exception Reports:

Priority 1 – attached

Priority 2 – attached, please also see: Business and Skills Annual Report 2025 

Priority 3 – attached

Priority 4.1 – attached

Priority 4.2, 4.3 – attached, please also note Housing Plan adopted April 2025 and new affordable warmth grant about to launch with details on B&NES own energy advice website www.energyathome.org.uk

Priority 4.4 – attached

Priority 4.5 – attached

Paul Scott, Consultant & Associate Director of Public Health/Priority Theme Sponsors

Paul Scott, Consultant & Associate Director of Public Health, B&NES, introduced the Q2 exception reports and thanked reporting leads and sponsors for producing the reports.  He drew attention to the following:

1.  The action plan was being refreshed and the deadline for amendments was 8 September.  The refreshed action plan would come back to the HWB in November.

2.  Most actions were now green; some had changed from amber to green and a few remained amber.

3.  Priority 1 - good progress in relation to the work on Families First.  There were still challenges around the safety valve.

4.  Priority 2 – there had been good progress in meeting the actions.  The Business and Skills Annual Report 2025 highlighted some positive actions in this area.

5.  Priority 3 – the actions were mostly green, but amber in relation to the future of the Community Hub and there was a request for the Board to continue to support the hub.

6.  Priority 4 – 4.1 was amber around the Local Plan in terms of getting people engaged and making it work in terms of health and wellbeing infrastructure.  There had been good progress on 4.2 and 4.3 and it was noted that the Housing Plan had been adopted in April 2025.  There was also a new affordable warmth grant about to launch with details on B&NES own energy advice website www.energyathome.org.uk

The Board raised the following comments/questions:

1.  Welcome the exception reports as evidence that the Board was delivering its Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. 

2.  For future reports it would be useful to have a breakdown at the top of the report on the number of red, amber and green actions. 

3.  In relation to Priority 1:

a.  It was hoped that the £11m safety valve funding would soon be released to the Council.

b.  There would be a focus on the Families First programme at the Development Session in February in advance of plans being in place by 1 April.  This was a multi-agency, integrated front-door approach to support children and their families.

c.  Be Well B&NES was helping reduce the attainment gap for young people in B&NES.

4.  In relation to Priority 3:

a.  The risk to the future funding around the Community Hub was that it was funded through the Better Care Fund and there was a level of uncertainty about the future of BCF. 

b.  There had been a positive peer review on the Community Hub which recognised the strengths of joining up referrals and information sharing.  It was noted that the hub now served children as well as adults.

5.  In relation to Priority 4.1 - Local Plan: if B&NES had to deal with an additional 29k homes in the next 20 years, there would be major implications in terms of health care and it was essential to keep promoting the need for associated infrastructure.  It was noted that there would be a special Cabinet meeting on 25 September to agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

30 minutes

To note the findings of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and approve the report for publication.

Paul Scott, Associate Director and Consultant in Public Health, B&NES/Victoria Stanley/Richard Brown, Chief Officer, Community Pharmacy - Avon and Wiltshire

Paul Scott, Associate Director and Consultant in Public Health, B&NES introduced the report and Victoria Stanley, ICB and Richard Brown, Chief Officer, Community Pharmacy - Avon and Wiltshire were in attendance to answer questions:

1.  The PNA was a duty of the Health and Wellbeing Board and needed updating every 3 years.

2.  The purpose of the PNA was for NHSE to use as an evidence base when they receive applications for changes to pharmacies.

3.  No gaps had been identified in the report, but it had been noted that there were a number of long-term temporary pharmacy closures. 

The Board raised the concerns about long-term temporary closures which were creating a gap in provision for patients and questioned why this was not addressed in the PNA report.  It was noted that this was a particular problem for patients where temporary closures were concentrated within a geographical area where there was no alternative local pharmacy provision.

It was clarified that, in terms of the regulations, a pharmacy was either open, temporarily closed or no longer a pharmacy.  The regulations did not cover the scenario of long-term temporary closures, and a gap could not be identified when a pharmacy contract was still in place. 

The Board recognised the need to have an up-to-date PNA, but asked that, in publishing the report, a note be included in relation to concerns about long-term temporary pharmacy closures and the impact on patients.

In response to a question about late night opening hours and the fact that there was only a service up until 7pm in Bath rather than 9pm as suggested in the report, it was clarified that it was unreasonable to request pharmacies to open late at their own cost when there may not be a demand for a late night service and that there were other options for dispensing urgent medication.

The Board RESOLVED to:

1.  Note the findings of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, in particular the key finding at the end of the Executive Summary.

2.  Approve the report for publication with a note included in relation to concerns about long-term temporary pharmacy closures and the impact on patients.