The Board noted reports on the Father Friendly Borough scheme, the Traveller Health Matters project and the implementation of the City & Hackney Sexual & Reproductive Health Strategy.

The Father Friendly Borough scheme

Healthwatch Hackney¹ presented a report on the work that has been undertaken as part of the Father Friendly Borough scheme. The report was produced after Hackney Family Hubs² commissioned Healthwatch Hackney to assess the needs of fathers in Hackney and to explore ways to increase their engagement with family services. The report argues that

This is not simply about ‘helping dads’—it is about redefining family support to reflect the reality that fathers matter

The report describes how low engagement with family services by fathers can be a barrier to early intervention in issues related to a child's development, and have a negative impact on maternal mental health. It suggests a range of actions to increase father engagement, including a Borough-Wide Inclusion Charter, awareness campaigns, expanded training for professionals on engaging fathers and increased co-production and peer-led support for fathers.

The report also describes a number of pilot interventions aimed at Hackney fathers, including a monthly Father-Friendly newsletter, weekly coffee mornings for dads at Homerton Hospital, weekly What’s On in the Borough WhatsApp Bulletins, a Day in the Life social media project showcasing diverse fatherhood experiences, 1-2-1 Support Sessions, WhatsApp peer support groups, and Father Circles expanding across Family Hubs. Healthwatch Hackney asked the Board to support the implementation of its recommendations.

The Traveller Health Matters project

The Board noted a report on the outcomes of the Traveller Health Matters project. The project was a partnership between the NHS Equalities & Engagement team and Hackney Housing³ that aimed to improve the health outcomes of Irish Travellers in Hackney. The project received a grant of £20,000 from the NHS Vaccinations & Screening Directorate to improve the uptake of immunisations, which Hackney Council match-funded.

The report argues that Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

across the UK [...] face some of the worst health outcomes compared to other groups

The report claims that this is due to racism, discrimination, stigmatisation and lack of equal access. The project sought to build on existing work done by Hackney Council to engage the Irish Traveller Community in Hackney, and delivered a number of interventions, including 30 liver scans, 14 MMR vaccinations, 11 referrals to mental health services, 7 speech and language referrals, 3 maternity referrals, 11 people provided with drug and alcohol support, 2 monitored by a GP for high blood pressure, 5 referrals to the stop smoking service, and 45 families provided with information about how to access primary care services. The report also presented a health needs survey conducted by the project which found that 71% of the Travellers surveyed had been diagnosed with a mental health condition, 69% were living with a long-term health condition, 67% were not up to date with the recommended vaccination schedule and 63% were smokers or users of vapes.

The report notes that the census recorded 248 Gypsies or Irish Travellers living in Hackney, but estimates that the actual number is likely to be significantly higher, in part due to the likely undercounting of the Traveller community, and in part due to the five Traveller sites in the borough having a recorded 125 residents including children. The report argues that

Hackney has a higher-than-average number of Gypsies and Travellers, but there are no strong local policies to support their specific health needs.

The report suggests that a steering group be established to oversee future work with the Irish Traveller community in Hackney. It argues that local services should be reviewed to ensure they properly cater to the needs of Travellers, and suggests that the community be supported to apply for funding to ensure meaningful action is taken to improve the health outcomes of Travellers in Hackney.

The City & Hackney Sexual & Reproductive Health Strategy

The Board noted an annual progress report on the implementation of the City & Hackney Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and Action Plan. The report provides an overview of the implementation of the strategy in 2024/25, and suggests priorities for 2025/26. The strategy seeks to improve the sexual and reproductive health of residents in Hackney and the City of London, and has been developed in partnership with the NHS, education providers, the voluntary sector and local communities.

The Board also noted the Terms of Reference for a new Health and Wellbeing Board subcommittee on sexual and reproductive health, established to oversee the implementation of the strategy.

Governance

The report details the governance arrangements for the strategy, including the SRH subcommittee, established to provide high level guidance and coordination, ensuring different system partners had a platform to meet. The subcommittee met four times in 2024/25 and is jointly chaired by Councillor Chris Kennedy⁴ and Mary Durcan, the (co)chairs of the City and Hackney HWBs. The report states that coordination of work on the strategy has rested with the Sexual Health lead at the City and Hackney Public Health team, with leadership from the Deputy Director of Public Health.

North East London (NEL) partnership working

The report describes work being done on sexual health across North East London. It states that

The NEL Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and action plan is to be formally adopted by the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP)⁵ in March 2025. Each local authority within NEL has a local action plan to further implement the strategy locally, while there is also a NEL action plan for overarching issues.

(Re)Commissioning

The report notes that commissioning processes for all Local Authority sexual health services were started during 2024, and new service specifications for these services were created, with a greater emphasis on partnership work and collaboration. The report also mentions that a start was made with exploring the potential for joint commissioning of fertility, Termination of Pregnancy (ToP) and Sexual Assault Referral Services (SARS) with NHS partners.

Data and needs assessment

The report describes how the Public Health Intelligence Team (PHIT) has created a sexual health dashboard to support monitoring and analysis of SRH activity by commissioned providers, as well as financial spend. It also states that stronger collaboration will be forged around data collection and population level health outcomes in women's health (including contraception and reproductive health) in 2025, with a particular emphasis on understanding who is accessing and receiving services, and who is not, or whether any groups are under or overserved (in relation to their proportion of the population). The report states that an updated sexual health needs assessment will be produced in 2025.

Implementation

The report describes a number of overarching initiatives, including a sexual and reproductive health campaign and health literacy co-production. The report also describes progress on the five themes of the strategy.

Healthy and fulfilling sexual relationships

The report states that work has begun on implementing the strategy's first theme, Healthy and fulfilling sexual relationships, with a particular focus on young people.

Relationship and Sex Education (RSE), work with Young Hackney

The report describes how Public Health is working with Young Hackney⁶ to improve the provision of Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) in schools and settings of alternative provision in the borough. The report highlights the importance of delivering RSE in line with government guidance, and notes that this is a sensitive topic, particularly in certain cultural and religious settings. The report states that a system wide approach will be needed to deliver the strategy's objective to improve RSE in the borough.

City and Hackney HealthSpot

The report describes how the City & Hackney HealthSpot clinic, based at the Forest Road Youth Hub, has been delivering sexual and reproductive healthcare to young people under the age of 25. The report also details how HealthSpot is working with partners, including Young Hackney, to provide outreach to young people in the borough.

Psychosexual support and high-risk sex counselling services

The report describes how services have improved for people accessing the high risk sex pathway at the Homerton Sexual Health Clinics. These improvements include embedding a MSM (men who have sex with men) peer mentor/Assistant Psychologist and a recovery worker at the Clifden Sexual Health Clinic. The report states that this has meant that

people with problematic sexualised drug use, or other addiction issues that impact their sexual wellbeing, are triaged more effectively when they present at a sexual health clinic, and receive intervention better tailored to their needs.

The report also notes that the Sexualised Drug Use Operational Case Coordination meeting, convened by Public Health, has provided an opportunity for information sharing between a range of agencies working on this issue.

Good reproductive health across the life course

The report describes how work has begun on implementing the strategy's second theme, Good reproductive health across the life course. The report highlights the importance of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), and details how self-referral for LARC has now been made available in three GP Practices in City and Hackney.

Joint commissioning in reproductive health

The report states that work has begun on developing a joint commissioning plan for reproductive health services with NHS partners. A working group has been established to take this work forward.

STI prevention and treatment

The report describes how work has begun on implementing the strategy's third theme, STI prevention and treatment, with a particular focus on the condom distribution scheme for young people, operated by Young Hackney. The report also details how a pilot scheme to introduce HIV opt-out testing in NHS 40+ Health Checks was run across all City and Hackney GP practices during 2024.

Living well with HIV and zero new HIV infections

The report describes how work has begun on implementing the strategy's fourth theme, Living well with HIV and zero new HIV infections, including work on the HIV Confident Charter, an initiative run by the National AIDS Trust, Positively UK and aidsmap⁷, with funding from Fast Track Cities⁸, London.

Inclusion communities and those with complex needs

The report describes how work has begun on implementing the strategy's fifth theme, Inclusion communities and those with complex needs.

Young people with special education needs and learning disabilities

The report describes how HealthSpot, Young Hackney and Hackney Integrated SEND Service are working together to improve the sexual and reproductive health of young people with special educational needs.

Coproduction

The report describes how Healthwatch Hackney are collaborating with a peer group of (former) rough sleepers to ensure that sexual health information and resources are made available to the homeless community in City & Hackney.

Proposals for the 2025/26 action plan

The report suggests a number of priorities for 2025/26, including:

• Continuing work on the health literacy project, and running further coproduction workshops
• Stronger collaboration with Community Health Champions, with a particular focus on SRH
• Continuing work on theme 1, Healthy and fulfilling sexual relationships
• Developing a joint commissioning plan with NHS partners for theme 2, Good reproductive health across the life course
• Creating a single point of access for long acting reversible contraception and for access/referrals to the City & Hackney Women’s Health Hub
• Creating an online resource -likely using existing platforms- where all relevant information about SRH services in City & Hackney can be found
• Continuing work on reducing STI reinfection rates for theme 3, STI prevention and treatment
• Continuing work on the HIV Confident Charter for theme 4, Living well with HIV and zero new HIV infections
• Increasing the visibility and accessibility of services from multiple and intersectional perspectives for theme 5, Inclusion communities and those with complex needs