Agenda and draft minutes

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The Health and Wellbeing Board members were senior Council officers, Cabinet Members, and representatives from Healthwatch, Bridge Renewal Trust, and the North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Twigg, Helena Kania, Sophie Woodhead, Cllr Iozzi and Cllr Ward.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with at agenda item 11).

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were none.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

There were none.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting held on 26 02 2026 as a correct record.

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meeting held on 26th February were approved

The Board received an update from the North London Foundation Trust on recent developments in mental health services, the wider financial and policy context, and ongoing service transformation across Haringey.

In response to questions from the Board regarding investment in prevention, it was acknowledged that, whilst there was a strategic ambition to shift resources towards community-based and preventative mental health services, financial pressures across the NHS continued to limit opportunities for additional investment. It was noted that the Trust remained committed to redesigning services over the longer term to support neighbourhood-based models of care and earlier intervention, recognising that sustained investment in prevention had the potential to reduce demand for crisis services.

The Board discussed the importance of improving coordination across statutory, health and voluntary sector organisations to ensure residents could access support addressing wider determinants of health, including housing, financial hardship and social isolation, before reaching crisis point. Members highlighted the value of enabling frontline professionals to more easily identify appropriate services and referral pathways.

Representatives from the voluntary and community sector advised that work was already underway through the Haringey Community Collaborative and Haringey Wellbeing Network to strengthen links between organisations and improve awareness of available support. It was noted that additional services, including housing and welfare advice, had been incorporated into existing community provision, and it was agreed that further work could be undertaken to strengthen collaboration and signposting across partners.

The Board welcomed the development of the new Mental Health Crisis Assessment Service and sought assurance that residents would be made aware of the new arrangements. It was confirmed that the additional facility would increase capacity and improve access to crisis support for Haringey residents, whilst partners would work together to ensure clear communication and engagement with local communities once the service became operational.

Members sought clarification on the work being undertaken by the Integrated Care Board to review investment across boroughs and the potential implications for Haringey. The Board was advised that the review remained at an early stage and that further analysis was being undertaken before any conclusions could be drawn regarding future funding allocations. It was noted that previous investment had helped address a number of identified service gaps within Haringey, although work would continue to promote equitable access to services across the wider system.

The Board welcomed the progress that had been made in strengthening community mental health provision and partnership working across the borough. Members noted that improved collaboration between health, housing, adult social care and voluntary sector organisations was beginning to deliver tangible benefits for residents, whilst recognising that further work remained to address increasing demand and the complexity of need within local communities.

RESOLVED

The update was noted.

The Board received an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF), including the final outturn for 2025/26 and the proposed Better Care Fund Plan for 2026/27.

Members sought clarification on the scale of community support provided to residents and the extent to which Better Care Fund investment contributed to preventing hospital admissions. Officers advised that the Better Care Fund formed one element of a wider health and social care funding package and noted that approximately 4,000 residents were in receipt of care packages across a range of settings, with the level of support varying according to individual need.

The Board discussed the impact of winter pressures on performance during 2025/26. It was noted that increased demand had been driven by seasonal illness, workforce pressures and increasingly complex cases, resulting in delays to hospital discharge. NHS partners advised that winter pressures had emerged earlier than anticipated during the previous year and had included an increase in respiratory illness amongst younger residents. It was emphasised that, despite these pressures, strong partnership working between health and social care organisations had supported discharge planning and continued to promote innovative approaches to preventing avoidable hospital admissions.

Members also discussed the increasing impact of extreme weather on health services and questioned whether planning arrangements adequately reflected the challenges presented by periods of prolonged hot weather. NHS representatives advised that heatwave planning formed part of existing emergency planning arrangements, with additional measures implemented during periods of severe weather. It was acknowledged, however, that rising temperatures were likely to require greater emphasis within future operational planning. Council officers confirmed that the Council had also activated its emergency management arrangements during the recent heatwave, including measures to support rough sleepers, vulnerable residents, supported housing providers and wider community communications to help residents remain safe.

The Board noted that lessons learned from recent periods of extreme weather would inform future planning across the partnership.

In response to questions regarding vaccination planning, it was confirmed that partners were already preparing for the forthcoming seasonal vaccination programme. It was noted that earlier planning would support continued delivery of flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes, particularly for housebound residents, whilst partners would continue to review service delivery arrangements across primary care.

Members discussed the future direction of the Better Care Fund in light of the Government’s neighbourhood health agenda and the anticipated integration of health and care services. Officers advised that the 2026/27 Better Care Fund represented a transitional, one-year plan which largely maintained existing service provision whilst providing the opportunity to begin reshaping services ahead of future neighbourhood arrangements. It was noted that the modest funding uplift largely met inflationary pressures, although additional investment had enabled increased social work capacity within the Multi-Agency Care Coordination Team to support neighbourhood working.

The Board also discussed the importance of ensuring that residents and carers continued to play a central role in shaping future services. Officers highlighted a range of existing co-production arrangements across the partnership and confirmed that further work would be undertaken during the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Board received an update on the emerging national neighbourhood health agenda and the implications for the future role and governance of the Health and Wellbeing Board. The report also presented the findings of a recent review of the Board’s effectiveness undertaken with support from Health Integration Partners.

Members noted that further national guidance and legislation were awaited and that, whilst the precise role of Health and Wellbeing Boards continued to evolve, it was anticipated that Boards would play an increasingly significant role in overseeing neighbourhood health planning, partnership working and system performance.

The Board welcomed the positive findings of the independent review, which recognised the strength of partnership working within Haringey and the Board’s continued focus on population health, prevention and addressing the wider determinants of health.

Discussion focused on areas identified for further development. Members supported proposals to strengthen the role of residents and communities in shaping neighbourhood services and emphasised the importance of ensuring that engagement reflected the diversity of Haringey’s communities. It was noted that existing co-production arrangements provided a strong foundation, but that there was an opportunity to develop a more consistent and coordinated approach across partner organisations.

The Board also discussed the important role of the voluntary and community sector in supporting neighbourhood delivery and agreed that future governance arrangements should continue to recognise the sector as a key delivery partner, alongside statutory organisations.

Members acknowledged that the transition to neighbourhood working provided an opportunity to review existing governance arrangements and ensure that the Board remained fit for purpose. Officers advised that work would continue during the transition period to develop proposals for an advisory forum to support neighbourhood and place-based planning, alongside a review of the Board’s membership, Terms of Reference and governance arrangements once further national guidance became available.

The Board agreed that future work should also focus on identifying a smaller number of clear strategic priorities to help strengthen the Board’s oversight role and demonstrate measurable outcomes for residents

To consider any new items of urgent business admitted at item 4 above.

There were none.

Members of the Board are invited to suggest future agenda items.

To note the dates of future meetings:

17^th September 2026

19^th November 2026

25^th March 2027

Members of the Board are invited to suggest future agenda items.

To note the dates of future meetings:

17th September 2026

19th November 2026

25th March 2027