The Durham County Council Cabinet met on 18 June 2025, and accepted the minutes of the previous meeting. The Cabinet discussed and approved the Health Protection Assurance Annual Report, and noted the Continuous Improvement Best Value & Corporate Peer Challenge Improvement Plan Progress Report.

Health Protection Assurance Annual Report

The Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Health Protection Assurance Annual Report 2025, which details the work of the council and its partners in protecting the health of residents.

Amanda Healy, Director of Public Health, presented the report, highlighting key achievements including regional recognition for the council's immunisation steering group, and increased chlamydia and HIV testing rates. She also noted areas for improvement, such as meningococcal testing and HIV testing rates, which remain below the England average.

Mr Chris Hood asked two questions regarding the report. Firstly, he sought confirmation that the council would continue to offer an equal and equitable service to all residents, to which the relevant Cabinet member confirmed that the council would continue to strive to provide equal and equitable benefits to all residents of the county. Secondly, Mr Hood asked whether the new administration was committed to addressing public health issues resulting from climate change. Councillor Brown, Cabinet portfolio holder for all adults and health services, confirmed the administration's commitment to addressing public health issues and supporting the Director of Public Health in their statutory role.

Councillor Brown moved the recommendations in the report, highlighting improvements in screening programme uptake, including a 2.7% increase in breast screening to 72.1%. She also commended collaborative work to deliver vaccination programmes in care homes.

Councillor Hunt, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People's Services, seconded the recommendations, acknowledging efforts to maximise vaccine uptake and the rapid response to an infectious disease outbreak in a County Durham nursery. However, Councillor Hunt expressed concern about a reduction in the uptake of some childhood vaccines, which have dipped below the 95% coverage required for herd immunity¹. The report made a number of recommendations for the coming year, including:

• Using the 'What Good Looks Like Health Protection' documents to gain assurance on health protection responsibilities.
• Supporting the delivery of the Childhood Immunisations Project to increase vaccination uptake in under-vaccinated communities.
• Reversing the downward trend in vaccination uptake among children in care.
• Increasing HIV testing rates.
• Actively participating in Exercise Pegasus[^2] and developing Local Pandemic Preparedness Plans. [^2]: Exercise Pegasus is a national pandemic preparedness exercise planned for Autumn 2025.

The report noted that the protection of health is one of the five mandated responsibilities given to local authorities as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. It also raised concerns about potential disruptions caused by the reconfiguration of NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).

The report highlighted the importance of partnership working with various agencies, including the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Commissioning System (ICS), and the Local Resilience Forum (LRF).

The report also detailed a number of case studies, including:

• The management of an iGAS outbreak at a County Durham nursery, where antibiotics were delivered to children and staff.
• The management of avian influenza outbreaks, with advice provided to the farming industry and the public.
• The management of a family cluster of legionella longbeachae, a rare strain of Legionella.
• Support for care homes in managing scabies outbreaks.
• Work with Durham University to revise the TB screening process for students arriving from high prevalence countries.
• The work of the Horden Together Partnership in addressing the needs of individuals and the community in Horden.

The report also included a health protection scorecard, which provides an overview of key indicators related to screening, vaccination, and communicable diseases.

Continuous Improvement Best Value & Corporate Peer Challenge Improvement Plan Progress Report

The Cabinet noted the Continuous Improvement Best Value & Corporate Peer Challenge Improvement Plan Progress Report.

Steve Evans, Head of Corporate Affairs, presented the report, which outlined the council's approach to continuous improvement and preparations for the Local Government Association's (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) scheduled for October 2025.

Councillor Mark Wilkes asked about the council's commitment to continuing the work of the low carbon team. Councillor Alison, Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Environment, responded that the council would be considering the carbon creation of renewable technologies to make informed decisions, and were already discussing projects including forestation, protecting wildlife and biodiversity.

Councillor Andrew Husband, the leader of Durham County Council, expressed his pleasure at the focus on continual improvement, stating that his administration would be taking a close look at new opportunities to deliver value for money. He also highlighted the upcoming participation in the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge, stating that he was keen for both the Department for Local Government Efficiency (Dolge) and the Corporate Peer Challenge to provide detailed insights into how the council might do things differently to eliminate waste. Councillor Husband noted that although the priorities of his administration do not fully align with some of the best value standards, such as equality and diversity or climate change, the framework is useful in assessing the organisation's fitness.

The report noted that Durham County Council is committed to maintaining its strong reputation for delivery and strong performance, and welcomes external evaluations and peer reviews from organisations such as the LGA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), Ofsted² and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The report also provided an update on the council's self-evaluation against best value standards, with 66% of statements fully compliant, 31% partially compliant, and 3% non-compliant as of September 2024. An updated progress report in April 2025 showed 80% of statements fully compliant, 20% partially compliant, and 0% non-compliant.

The report detailed the council's plans for the Corporate Peer Challenge, including the development of a position statement and a programme plan. The additional area of focus for the challenge was agreed as how the council can accelerate its transformation journey using ICT, digital tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies.