The Health and Wellbeing Board of Shropshire Council was scheduled to discuss a range of important public health matters, including the annual report of the Shropshire Community Safety Partnership, updates on domestic abuse, drug and alcohol strategies, and mental health initiatives. The board was also set to review progress on the SEND JSNA, the Better Care Fund, and strategies for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic health.

Shropshire Community Safety Partnership - Annual Report

The board was scheduled to receive the annual report from the Shropshire Community Safety Partnership (CSP) for 2024-25. This report was intended to provide an overview of the delivery against the partnership's priorities and how agencies have collaborated to ensure the safety of Shropshire's residents. The key priorities for the partnership during this period were identified as: reducing reoffending, tackling drug and alcohol misuse, addressing hate crime, community tensions and extremism, domestic abuse, violence reduction, and tackling anti-social behaviour. The report highlighted that the 2024-25 period marked a transition for the CSP, with its board separating from adult and children's safeguarding and sub-groups being established for specific workstreams. Despite this change, several achievements were noted, including the implementation of a Serious Violence Strategy, the establishment of locality meetings to address local concerns, the delivery of hate crime sessions in schools, and a domestic abuse needs assessment. The report recommended that the Health and Wellbeing Board note the contents of the Community Safety Annual Report.

Domestic Abuse Update

An update on domestic abuse in Shropshire was scheduled for discussion, focusing on progress, emerging insights, and future priorities. The report indicated that significant progress had been made in strategic planning, partnership governance, integrating lived experience, and data development, including the creation of Shropshire's new multi-agency Domestic Abuse Partnership Strategy, which was undergoing public consultation. Reforms to the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board (DALPB) were noted as having improved leadership accountability, decision-making efficiency, and operational alignment. The integration of lived experience was highlighted as a central pillar, with the Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG) influencing priorities and commissioning. Data maturity had also improved, with dashboards now informing decision-making and cross-agency monitoring. Key insights from the needs assessment pointed to the significant mental health impacts of domestic abuse, rising case complexity, and sustained demand across health, policing, and specialist services, underscoring the importance of early intervention and multi-agency coordination. Next steps included finalising the strategy, creating a three-year action plan, launching a performance dashboard, developing new training, improving rural access pathways, and formalising lived experience remuneration. Risks identified included data gaps, rural inequalities, workforce capacity, and insufficient survivor engagement, with proposed mitigations focusing on strengthened reporting, digital outreach, workforce development, and formal support for LEAG members. Recommendations to the board included supporting data sharing, enabling rural outreach, and championing survivor-inclusive commissioning.

Drug & Alcohol Strategy Update

The board was scheduled to receive an update on drug and alcohol treatment activity in Shropshire, comparing local data with national and West Midlands trends. Provisional figures indicated that adult treatment numbers had increased, exceeding the 2025-26 ambition with 1,714 adults in treatment. Young people's referrals had also risen, reflecting national trends, though Shropshire was slightly below its ambition with 114 referrals against a target of 117. In line with national patterns, adult treatment showed a rising proportion of alcohol and cocaine use and a decline in opiate use, with alcohol accounting for a particularly high proportion in Shropshire. Among young people, cannabis remained the most common substance but was declining faster than nationally, while alcohol-related treatment was increasing locally, unlike regional and national trends. Treatment exits and successful completions for both adults and young people had increased. Key upcoming activities included the completion of the Drug and Alcohol Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) in March 2026, preparations for recommissioning the core service to be tendered in Summer 2026, the delivery of community detox in new temporary accommodation, strengthened arrangements for reviewing drug and alcohol-related deaths, progress on the Blue Light Project, and engagement in specialist webinars.

Mental Health – Suicide Prevention Update

An update on progress with the Shropshire Suicide Prevention Strategy was scheduled, responding to recent data indicating an increase in the local suicide rate. The suicide rate in Shropshire was reported as 13.5 per 100,000 for the 2022–2024 period, which is statistically higher than the England average (10.9 per 100,000) and the highest in the West Midlands. Activities in place to address this increase included the launch of the Orange Button Community Scheme, the publication of the STW GP/Primary Care Preventing Suicides Toolkit, continued recommendation of the Staying Safe from Suicide Guidance, the publication of a new training matrix for suicide, bereavement, and self-harm, delivery of community events, establishment of suicide and drug/alcohol death learning review panels, and enhanced data intelligence through a real-time surveillance system. Recommendations to the board included being aware of the actions and activities, partners adopting the Staying Safe from Suicide Guidance, promoting the new training matrix and the Orange Button Community Scheme, and agreeing to extend the existing Shropshire Suicide Prevention Strategy for a further two years.

SEND JSNA

The board was set to receive and consider the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) (0-25 year olds) Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for Shropshire. This JSNA aimed to provide a comprehensive picture of the needs of children and young people with SEND and their families, informing the planning and development of local services and supporting the reduction of health inequalities. The assessment highlighted that children and young people with SEND nationally experience poorer academic, emotional, and social outcomes. The JSNA compared local data with national, regional, and statistical neighbour data, identified gaps and barriers in service provision, and provided evidence-based recommendations. Key findings indicated that 57% of Shropshire's population lives in rural areas, with longer travel times to school and pronounced barriers to housing and services in these areas. The SEND population in Shropshire has increased rapidly, particularly among those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The report detailed prevalent primary needs in education, including social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) and speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN). It also highlighted lower educational attainment, higher rates of persistent absence, exclusions, and suspensions among pupils with SEN compared to their peers. Social care referrals for children with disabilities have declined, but levels of need are becoming more complex, with a significant proportion of Children in Need, Children Looked After, and children with Child Protection Plans having SEN. Health data indicated higher prevalence of learning disabilities in more deprived quintiles and above-average hospital tooth extractions for 0-19 year olds. Recommendations focused on improving early identification, prevention, and inclusion; child-centred practice; integrated pathways and targeted provision; system quality, data, and assurance; and preparation for adulthood and life outcomes.

Better Care Fund (BCF) – Q3 Template

The board was asked to approve the Better Care Fund (BCF) 2025-26 quarter three template. The BCF policy framework for 2025-26 aims to support a shift from sickness to prevention and enable people to live more healthy and independent lives for longer. The plan for Shropshire consists of a narrative plan, a planning template, and an intermediate care capacity and demand plan. The three headline metrics for 2025-26 are emergency admissions for people aged over 65, discharge delay, and residential admissions for people aged 65 and over. Quarter three performance data indicated that Shropshire was on track to meet its metric plans for all three headline metrics. Concerns were raised about the accuracy and completeness of data for the residential admissions metric, which had been communicated to the national BCF team. The report also noted that BCF planning will become part of neighbourhood health planning from 2027-28, with a one-year BCF plan for 2026-27 to be developed.

Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolic (CVRM) Strategy

The board was presented with the Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolic (CVRM) Strategy and Delivery Plan. Cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death in Shropshire, accounting for 23% of all deaths between 2022–2024. The strategy outlines a system-wide roadmap to address overlapping risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and heart failure through early detection, equitable access to interventions, and integrated neighbourhood health models. Key ambitions include improving early diagnosis and management, reducing health inequalities by targeting CORE20Plus5 populations and rural communities, embedding prevention accelerators through the National Neighbourhood Health Programme, and leveraging digital innovation. The strategy aligns with national priorities and the emerging neighbourhood health model. The delivery plan includes Year 1 milestones such as system engagement, revised governance, local action plans, workforce training, and a CVRM dashboard. Proposed metrics include increasing hypertension treatment rates, improving anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation, increasing SGLT2i uptake, and reducing smoking prevalence, obesity, and alcohol-related admissions.

ShIPP Update

The Shropshire Integrated Place Partnership (ShIPP) meets bi-monthly, with its last meeting focusing on the new contract for Children & Young People's Mental Health Services (CAMHS). The Health & Wellbeing Board and ShIPP's annual planning workshop had taken place prior to this meeting, aiming to consider delivery against the Shropshire Health & Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2027, agree focus areas for 2026, and look ahead at priorities for a strategy refresh for 2027-2032. Key outcomes from the workshop included agreeing that an independent patient voice is crucial, forming a working group to ensure system alignment for Healthwatch, and agreeing to adopt the Marmot Principles with a view to Shropshire becoming a Marmot Place, acknowledging the importance of rurality. Discussions also took place regarding the purpose, function, and membership of the HWBB, ShIPP, and the ShIPP Accelerator Group. Next steps include forming a working group for Healthwatch, working towards adopting Marmot Principles, clarifying governance structures, and further exploring and ranking priorities for the future strategy.

Pharmacy Updates

The board was provided with information regarding changes to supplementary opening hours for Day Lewis Pharmacy in Oswestry. These changes resulted in an amendment to the pharmacy's total opening hours. The report detailed the new total, core, and supplementary opening hours for the pharmacy.

Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee Information

For information, the board was directed to the most recent meeting papers for the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee, with a link provided to their meeting papers from Monday, 26 January 2026.