The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the West and North London Corporate Strategy and Involvement Framework, and to receive an update on the WorkWell programme. The committee also reviewed its work programme for the upcoming year.

West and North London Corporate Strategy and Involvement Framework

The committee was scheduled to consider and comment on the West and North London Corporate Strategy and Involvement Framework. This framework outlines the strategic priorities for the West and North London Integrated Care Board (ICB) for the next ten years. The strategy aims to improve health outcomes, ease pressure on services, and make the best use of resources across the 13 boroughs it serves, covering a population of 4.5 million residents.

Key elements of the proposed strategy include a focus on bending the outcome curve by improving population health and equity, bending the demand curve by intervening earlier and closer to home, and bending the cost curve by optimising the £12 billion budget. The strategy is informed by extensive engagement with residents, staff, and stakeholders, highlighting a desire for simpler access, fairer and more joined-up services, a greater focus on prevention, and trusted relationships.

The framework identifies six priority population groups: early years and family support; young people with a focus on mental health and employment; people at risk of or living with early-stage long-term conditions (LTCs); adults with complexity (multiple LTCs and/or frailty); adults with serious mental illness (SMI); and end-of-life care. The proposed care model shifts include neighbourhood health, planned care transformation, and foundational capabilities such as trust and engagement, new technology, and commissioning for outcomes.

The committee was also to consider the development of a new three-year public involvement framework. This framework aims to ensure that the ICB listens to feedback, makes involvement more inclusive, particularly for those experiencing health inequalities, and uses public insight to influence commissioning decisions. Emerging themes from engagement include the importance of early involvement, lived experience as expertise, closing the feedback loop, trust, transparency, accountability, inclusion, accessibility, community partnerships, and multiple ways to participate.

WorkWell – West & North London Update

The committee was to receive an update on the WorkWell programme, a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)-funded, ICB-commissioned service. WorkWell provides integrated, holistic, early help for individuals with health-related barriers to employment. The programme is voluntary and open to anyone with a disability or health condition who is in work or could move into work with support.

The update highlighted the delivery of health-focused employment support to 3,018 residents across five North Central London (NCL) boroughs during the pilot phase (October 2024 – March 2026), exceeding the target. Referrals came from Job Centre Plus (44%), GP practices (32%), self-referrals (11%), and voluntary and community organisations, NHS secondary care, local authorities, or employers (13%).

Each resident received a health-focused assessment, development of a Positive Health Declaration to discuss reasonable adjustments with employers, tailored interventions (such as reduced fee gym memberships or health treatment), and 1-1 work and health coaching for 6-8 weeks. The primary health barriers identified were depression or anxiety (34%), and musculoskeletal conditions (23%). The programme reported positive short-term outcomes, with 92% of residents achieving improvements in Dialog+ scores across 11 categories, including mental health, physical health, and relationships. A national evaluation is underway to track longer-term impacts, including earnings, with initial findings indicating a positive return on DWP investment. The WorkWell programme is set to roll out nationally from November 2026, with continued delivery in West and North London from April 2026.

Work Programme 2026-27

The committee was presented with an outline of items for consideration as part of its work programme for the 2026/27 year. This included standing items such as updates on the West and North London ICB, Whittington Health NHS Trust's Quality Account, and the committee's own work programme. The draft work programme also indicated potential future discussions on topics such as winter planning, the London Ambulance Service, ICB finance and estates strategies, health inequalities, hospital mergers, and digital service provision.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Friday 18 September 2026 at Enfield Council's Civic Centre.