The Health and Wellbeing Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 4 February 2026, was set to cover a range of public health topics, including progress on the Better Care Fund, annual reports from safeguarding partnerships, and an assessment of adult mental health needs. The Board was also scheduled to receive updates on climate adaptation strategies and the potential health risks associated with vectors and vector-borne diseases.

Better Care Fund 2025-26 Quarter 2 Progress Report

The Board was scheduled to review the second quarter progress report for the Better Care Fund (BCF) 2025-26. The BCF programme aims to integrate health and social care services to achieve better outcomes for individuals and their carers. The report was expected to detail the fund's progress against national mandatory conditions, review expenditure against the agreed plan, and assess whether any changes were needed to the approved targets or metrics. The report indicated that all mandatory conditions were being met, with pooled budget arrangements fully in place and services performing broadly as planned. Performance against key metrics, such as emergency admissions for those aged 65 and over and discharge performance, was noted as being broadly on track and comparing favourably with national averages.

Healthwatch City of London Progress Report

A progress report from Healthwatch City of London was scheduled for information. Healthwatch is a statutory body that acts as the collective voice for users of health and social care services. The report was expected to detail the organisation's activities and engagement with City residents during the third quarter of 2025-26. This included updates on communication platforms used to reach residents, personnel changes within the Healthwatch team, and ongoing efforts to gather public opinion on the future of Healthwatch services. The report also highlighted recent events, such as the Annual General Meeting, and detailed ongoing projects, including visits to the St Bartholomew's Hospital Minor Injuries Unit and the Cardiology Department, as well as the Enter and View visits to the Neaman Practice.

City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024-25

The Board was scheduled to receive the annual report from the City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership (CHSCP) for 2024-25. This report was intended to provide an overview of the partnership's key achievements, ongoing challenges, and future priorities. Key achievements highlighted included strong inspection outcomes from Ofsted for both the City of London and Hackney Children & Families Services, improvements in police handling of child-related cases, and robust multi-agency governance. The report also noted ongoing challenges such as financial pressures, increasing case complexity, and the national reform agenda. Future priorities were set to focus on workforce stability, tackling racism, and ensuring the lived experience of children informs practice.

City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report 2024-25

The annual report from the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board (CHSAB) was also scheduled for discussion. The CHSAB is a statutory board with the responsibility to develop a strategic plan, publish an annual report on its achievements, and commission Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs). The report for 2024-25 was expected to detail key achievements, including commissioned training for frontline staff, events held during Safeguarding Adults Week, progress on a multi-agency dashboard, and the publication of two discretionary SARs: one concerning the death of JL and another concerning 'Steve'. The report also outlined the Board's strategic priorities for 2025-26, which include developing a community engagement strategy, establishing a multi-agency dashboard, ensuring timely learning from SARs, implementing updated policies, and improving outcomes for homeless individuals, those experiencing self-neglect, financial abuse, and multiple exclusion homelessness.

Adult Mental Health Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

A joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) for adult mental health in the City and Hackney was scheduled for discussion. This assessment aimed to inform strategic decision-making and action planning by collating evidence on mental health needs, services, inequalities, and service user experiences. The report was expected to detail the prevalence of mental health conditions, identify inequalities across different demographics, summarise local mental health services and their outcomes, and analyse how these services work together. It was also intended to consider governance and accountability structures. Key findings indicated an increase in diagnosed depression and anxiety rates, with Hackney generally showing higher rates than the City. Severe mental illness (SMI) rates remained relatively stable, with Hackney's being higher than national averages. The assessment also highlighted inequalities based on gender, age, ethnicity, deprivation, and location, and identified challenges in accessing and navigating services, gaps in support, and issues with data collection and governance.

Update on Progress Towards Heat and Water Stress Climate Adaptation Actions in Relation to Health and Wellbeing

An update on the City Corporation's progress in addressing climate-related risks, specifically overheating and water stress, was scheduled. The report was expected to detail actions taken to improve resilience, such as expanding the Cool Spaces network, planting street trees, conducting heatwave exercises, and maintaining public drinking water fountains. It was also intended to highlight further actions needed, including strengthening health service preparedness, expanding access to drinking water, engaging communities in resilience planning, and improving data sharing on health impacts during extreme weather events. The report aimed to demonstrate how climate risks are being embedded into public health planning and policy to ensure the Square Mile's resilience.

Climate Driven Health Risks - Vectors & Vector Borne Diseases

The Board was scheduled to discuss the emerging risks associated with pests and vector-borne diseases (VBDs) driven by climate change. The report was expected to outline the increasing relevance of VBD risks in the City of London due to its dense population, high visitor numbers, and transport links. It identified four priority vectors posing the greatest risk: Aedes albopictus mosquitoes (linked to dengue, chikungunya, Zika), Culex modestus mosquitoes (linked to West Nile Virus), and native and non-native ticks (linked to Lyme disease and Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever). Proposed mitigations included staff training, resilience planning, support for national surveillance programmes, and the establishment of a biosecurity working group.

Tobacco and Vapes Bill

A report on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was scheduled for information. This bill aims to create a smoke-free generation by preventing the legal sale of tobacco to those born after 1 January 2009 and making vaping less attractive to young people. It includes provisions to ban the branding and advertising of vapes to children, strengthen smoke-free restrictions, and enhance enforcement around the sale of tobacco and vaping products. The report was expected to outline the bill's provisions, including changes to the age of sale, regulations on product contents and flavours, advertising bans, and the introduction of a retailer licensing scheme. Implications for the City of London Corporation, particularly concerning its roles as a licensing and trading standards authority, were also to be discussed.

The agenda also included standard items such as apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and the confirmation of minutes from the previous meeting. Part 1 of the meeting was open to the public, with provisions for excluding the public for subsequent non-public items.