The Health and Wellbeing Board meeting scheduled for 23 February 2026 was set to cover a range of critical public health and social care issues. Key discussions were planned around the impact of the closure of Richard House Children's Hospice, an update on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Priority Action Plan, and the Annual Public Health Report for 2025/26. The meeting also included updates on various health and social care systems, including public health, adult social care, and hospital services.

Impact of Richard House Children's Hospice Closure

A significant item on the agenda was the impact of the closure of Richard House Children's Hospice on the provision of services for Redbridge residents. The report detailed that Richard House, the first children's hospice in London, had faced quality and sustainability challenges, leading to its closure and entry into administration in December 2025. The report outlined the transition arrangements put in place, with Haven House Children's Hospice stepping in to support affected children and families. This included the provision of end-of-life care, respite care, counselling, and hospice at home services. The report noted that as of 20 January 2026, 136 out of 172 children and families previously supported by Richard House had transferred to Haven House's care. The Integrated Care Board (ICB) is committed to working with families and stakeholders to develop a future model of care for children's hospice provision in North East London, with new commissioning arrangements planned from April 2027.

SEND Priority Action Plan Update

The meeting was scheduled to receive an update on the progress of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Priority Action Plan from October 2025 to January 2026. This plan was developed in response to a joint inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May 2025, which identified widespread and/or systematic failures in the local area partnership's arrangements for SEND. The report detailed the establishment of governance structures, including a SEND Improvement Board and a SEND Operational Board, and outlined progress across seven outcome themes: Co-Production, Improved quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and Annual Reviews, Health and Social Care Services that work for me, Preparing for Adulthood (PfA), Communication and Information-sharing, Children not in school, and High quality data that informs decisions and commissioning. The report also included findings and recommendations from a Department for Education Stocktake meeting held on 15 January 2026.

Annual Public Health Report 2025/26

The Director of Public Health was scheduled to present the Annual Public Health Report for 2025/26, focusing on The role of public health in preventing, reducing and delaying demand for social care. This statutory report examined how systems can collaborate to manage the increasing pressures on social care, driven by an ageing population and evolving health needs. The report highlighted key factors contributing to social care demand, including frailty, falls, poverty, social isolation, and the health and wellbeing of carers. It underscored the need for preventative approaches and enhanced collaboration across public health, social care, the NHS, and the voluntary sector. Recommendations included adopting a health and social care in all policies approach, supporting the social care workforce, improving data collection and analysis, and fostering partnership working.

Social Care and Health Systems Verbal Updates

The Board was to receive verbal updates on various aspects of the social care and health systems:

• Public Health: An update was planned on key public health headlines, including flu season activity, COVID-19 trends, and RSV activity. Discussions were also expected regarding norovirus outbreaks and the identification of invasive meningococcal disease.
• Adult Social Care and Community Health: No specific update was listed for this item.
• Redbridge Borough Partnership: An update was anticipated on the progress of the partnership, including work on neighbourhood structures, the Winter Plan, the Academic Centre for Healthy Ageing, and the SEND action plan. Discussions were also expected regarding the Section 75 review and consultation on ICB reductions.
• Voluntary and Community Sector: An update was to be provided by Community Action Redbridge, likely covering their role in collaborative work on a State of the Sector report and a new VCFSE strategy for North East London. The report was also expected to touch upon a GLA-funded research project exploring community resilience and emergency preparedness.
• BHRUT Hospitals: No update was scheduled from Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Trust (BHRUT).

System Strategy and Commissioning Intentions

A report was to be presented on the NHS Medium Term Planning Process and the outline of commissioning intentions for 2026/27. This included details on the refresh of the system strategy, data and evidence packs, and the required outputs for NHS England, such as 3-year revenue, workforce, operational performance, and activity returns, as well as 4-year capital plans and a 5-year narrative plan. The report was also expected to cover the development of an integrated needs assessment, ICB strategy, and population health improvement plan, building on the Good Care framework.

Update on the Response to the Regulation 28 Notice

An update was scheduled on the response to a Regulation 28 (Report to Prevent Future Deaths) notice issued by the East London Integrated Care Board (ICB). This followed an inquest into the death of a young person and focused on improvements to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provision, including increased funding, the rollout of new CAMHS community workers, additional funding for ASD and ADHD pre-diagnosis support, and the creation of a new role to bridge the gap between CAMHS and mental health support in schools.

Redbridge Safeguarding Children Partnership Annual Report 2024-25

Eileen Mills, Independent Scrutineer for the Redbridge Safeguarding Children Partnership (RSCP), was to present the Annual Scrutiny Report. This report provides an independent review of multi-agency safeguarding effectiveness in Redbridge from April 2024 to March 2025, covering the RSCP's structure, work, priority areas, and independent scrutiny findings.

Redbridge Safeguarding Adult Board Annual Report 2024-25

Eileen Mills, as Independent Chair of the Redbridge Safeguarding Adult Board (RSAB), was to present the Annual Report for 2024-25. This report summarises safeguarding arrangements and developments across partner agencies, detailing the RSAB's structure, funding, achievements, and responses to safeguarding adult reviews (SARs).

Better Care Fund 2024-25 End of Year & 2025-26 Q1 Progress Reports

Caroline Martindale, Strategic Commissioning Manager, was to present reports on the Better Care Fund (BCF) for 2024-25 (End of Year) and 2025-26 (Q1). The BCF aims to integrate health, social care, and housing services to support independent living. The reports were expected to detail progress against grant conditions and submissions to regional and national assurance processes.

Forward Plan and Future Meetings

The Board was scheduled to review its Forward Plan, outlining items for future agendas. Additionally, the dates of future meetings, including the final meeting for the municipal year on 27 April 2026, were to be confirmed.

The meeting also included standard procedural items such as apologies for absence, declarations of interest, and public question time. A motion to exclude the public was listed for the end of the meeting, indicating that some business might be discussed in private.