Agenda item

The Board noted that the Terms of Reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) had last been reviewed in March 2021, at which time a further review in March 2022 had been agreed.  The advent of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and the governance arrangements to support them held implications for the role and operation of the HWB and the planned review was therefore timely to ensure these new arrangements could be considered and appropriate changes made.

Establishment of HWBs as formal Council Committees was required by the Health and Care Act 2012 with the purpose of building strong and effective partnerships to improve the commissioning and delivery of services across NHS and local government.  The HWBs had a statutory duty to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) for their local population: the JSNA was the process by which the current and future health, care and wellbeing needs of the local community were assessed to inform local decision making, and the JHWS was intended to inform commissioning decisions across local services to ensure they focused on the needs of service users and communities, and tackled the factors that impact upon health and wellbeing across service boundaries.

While ICS statutory guidance confirmed the role of the HWB in the JSNA and JHWS, guidance on the development of place-based partnerships as part of statutory ICSs suggested significant overlap in the role and membership of the Place-based ICS Board and the HWB.  A clearly defined role for the HWB distinct from the Health and Care System Board was therefore needed, with a clearly defined relationship between the two Boards. In addition, the pandemic had placed a greater emphasis on the importance of population health and health inequalities, for which both the Council and the HWB hold statutory responsibilities.

Proposed changes to HWB terms of reference were presented on the basis of the Health Inequalities Plan becoming the focus of the Board, with membership changes ensuring appropriate coverage of factors such as housing, environment and employment.  The widened membership would also enhance knowledge of the JSNA, and the focus of the HWB on wider determinants of health should give the distinction between the Board and the Health and Care Locality Board.  Consideration was also given to the mutual relationship with the Oldham Partnership.  The submitted report further considered the agenda arrangements for future meetings of the Board and invited suggestions for items to be considered at Development Sessions, which might include the new working arrangements in practice and public facing strategies.

RESOLVED – that

1.         the draft revised terms of reference of the Health and Wellbeing Board be noted and supported, subject to any final amendments prior to submission to Council being determined by the Director of Public Health and Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board;

2.         recommendations of matters for consideration at Board Development Sessions be forwarded to the Director of Public Health;

3.         the Board terms of reference be further reviewed by the Board in March 2023.