The Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel of Kingston upon Thames Council met on Tuesday 2 December 2025 to discuss the National 10 Year Health Plan, the move towards Neighbourhood Health, and to receive a verbal update on public health matters in the borough. The panel was also scheduled to receive a verbal update on the Mental Health Act, and to consider the minutes of their previous meeting.

The 10 Year Health Plan & Neighbourhood Health

The panel was scheduled to discuss the National 10 Year Health Plan and the move towards Neighbourhood Health. No further information about this discussion was available in the agenda or report pack, but a document titled Annex 1 Neighbourhood Health and 10 Year plan was included in the reports pack.

Focus on Carers

The Health Overview Panel previously considered a report on carers at their meeting on 23 October 2025. The panel was informed that there was a growing and aging population in Kingston, which would likely lead to more residents taking on unpaid caring roles. The minutes of the 23 October meeting stated that approximately 12,000 people in Kingston provided at least one hour of unpaid care per week, but the true number of carers was estimated to be much higher, potentially over 37,000. The value of unpaid care provided in Kingston was estimated at £330 million.

The panel had previously been informed of a number of key challenges and opportunities:

• Health & Wellbeing Carers often experienced high rates of stress, anxiety and depression, and over half of carers surveyed by Carers UK¹ reported that their physical health had suffered as a result of their caring role. There was an opportunity in Kingston to develop a multi-disciplinary model to support carers' health and wellbeing holistically as part of the new Neighbourhood Health Plan.
• Worse Financial and Employment status Research by Carers UK and WPI Economics² found that 1.2 million unpaid carers lived in poverty, and 400,000 lived in deep poverty in the UK. There was an opportunity to improve how the system shared intelligence about carers known to the council that struggled financially, and how supported employment schemes like Connect to Work or Citizens Advice could support carers.
• Recognition and Identification of carers The NHS South West London 5 Year Plan stated that health professionals only identified 1 in every 10 carers . In Kingston there was a particular gap in identification through GP practices and of young carers.
• System changes The increasingly difficult financial situation, coupled with upcoming NHS changes, meant that funding remained uncertain in the medium term for key schemes and projects that had been set up to support Kingston carers.
• Legislation While legislation was in place that aimed to recognise and meet carers needs and involved them in care planning, some challenges remained especially around financial rights. The Carer Allowance was relatively low and complex rules meant that carers could sometimes struggle with back payments or losing other benefits. Also, the new Carers Leave Act only provided unpaid leave and required a set notice period.

The panel had previously been informed of the key support provided in Kingston, which included:

• 4,269 adult carers and 754 young carers were registered with Kingston Carers Network (KCN), who provided support including carers assessments, information, benefits advice and targeted support for male carers and young adult carers.
• Kingston Hospital's Carer Clinical Liaison Service supported approximately 1,500 carers each year (of which 46% were Kingston borough residents)
• PCNs³ in Kingston supported carers by proactively identifying and recording them on the GP register, using social prescribers to connect them with communitybased support.
• 146 carers were open to services with Kingston Council Adult Social Care. The council offered direct payments, and commissioned respite care and wider support. The council also brought together key information for carers through 'Connected Kingston'.

The panel had previously been informed of partnership programmes with a focus on carers, which included:

• The SWL ICB[^5] led a Frailty Programme that aimed to improve the quality and effectiveness of care for frail people; this included a workstream on carers.
• The Accelerating Reform Fund programme aimed to improve carer identification and support across South West London, with a focus on improving identification of young carers in schools and through GP practices.
• The 'Think Carer' ambition was to improve awareness and skills of frontline staff to 'make every contact count' and helped identify carers and had initial conversations about supporting carers.

There was a particular focus on Young carers with an estimated 2,000 young carers in the borough, but the latest schools census recorded only 355. Ongoing work to support this included:

• No Wrong Door Memorandum of Understanding was a formal commitment, signed by key partners, that ensured that regardless of which service a young carer first contacted, they would be promptly identified, assessed, and connected to the right support.
• Identification Priority: KCN started to develop resources, training and guidance for schools to improve the identification of young carers.
• Support: The KCN's Young Carers Project offered tailored support, including skills-based youth groups, respite, and one-to-one mentoring.

The panel had previously commented on the challenge of identifying carers with many people not self-reporting, and had suggested the use of short form video content on the Council's communications channels to help with identification and generally raise awareness that people of all ages and from all walks of life could be carers.

Public Health Verbal Update

The panel was scheduled to receive a verbal update on public health matters in the Borough. No further information about this discussion was available in the agenda or report pack.

Verbal Update on the Mental Health Act

The panel was scheduled to receive a verbal update on the changes in law on the Mental Health Act.

Public Questions

The agenda allowed for a period of up to 20 minutes for residents of the Borough or representatives of organisations within the Borough to ask questions on matters relevant to the Committee. Questions had to be submitted in writing by 27 November 2025.