The Health & Wellbeing Board and ICB Sub-Committee (Committees in Common) met on Tuesday 21 July 2026 to discuss a range of important public health and social care initiatives. Key discussions included a resident's story highlighting personal health challenges and community contributions, and presentations on the National Child Measurement Programme and the VCFSE Strategy. The Board considered It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change, a new vision for Barking and Dagenham, and the Better Care Fund Plan for 2026/27.

Resident's Story: Emdad Rahman

The meeting began with a presentation from resident Emdad Rahman, who shared his extensive experience as a community volunteer in Barking and Dagenham for over 20 years. Mr. Rahman detailed his work with Book Bike London, a project that distributes books to elderly residents, and his involvement in running food banks and acting as an Alzheimer's Society Dementia Friends ambassador. He spoke candidly about his personal health journey, including his diagnosis of diabetes and recent vision complications, which have impacted his ability to volunteer. Mr. Rahman emphasised the importance of prioritising personal health, even amidst a busy schedule of community work, and highlighted the crucial role of GPs and health services in his ongoing care. He also shared his concerns about the accessibility of information for visually impaired individuals and the need for larger print materials.

'It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change' - A New Vision for Barking and Dagenham

The Board discussed It Starts Here: Partnerships for Change, a new vision for Barking and Dagenham, which aims to foster a place where residents are proud to live, work, study, and stay. This vision is underpinned by ten key missions, developed through extensive consultation with residents, community groups, and partner organisations. These missions cover critical areas such as:

• Healthy and thriving children: Focusing on school readiness and addressing childhood obesity.
• Building financial resilience: Tackling child poverty and supporting households facing financial shocks.
• Access to good work: Creating pathways to employment and supporting residents with long-term health conditions back into the workforce.
• Preventing and managing long-term health conditions: Promoting healthier lifestyles and early intervention.
• Independent living: Ensuring residents can maintain their independence for longer through reablement services and care technology.
• Zero tolerance to domestic abuse: Addressing the high rates of domestic abuse in the borough and supporting survivors.
• Feeling safe: Enhancing community safety through visible policing, environmental improvements, and tackling hate crime.
• Better homes: Improving the quality and energy efficiency of social housing stock and addressing homelessness.
• Clean neighbourhoods: Driving up recycling rates and tackling waste generation and fly-tipping.
• Culture and heritage placemaking: Leveraging the borough's cultural and industrial heritage for regeneration and community pride.

The strategy emphasises a People, Place, and Partnerships approach, with a commitment to working collaboratively with partners including the NHS, Metropolitan Police, and the Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector. The plan aims to drive improvements through existing partnership boards and governance mechanisms, focusing on prevention and early intervention.

National Child Measurement Programme Dataset 2024/25

Richard Johnston, Director of Public Health for Barking and Dagenham, presented the findings from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) for the 2024-25 academic year. The data indicated a continued decline in the percentage of children classified as above a healthy weight in both Reception and Year 6. Notably, Barking and Dagenham's Reception-aged children now have a lower rate of being above a healthy weight than the national average, a positive development. However, Year 6 children in the borough remain above both London and England averages for this metric, although the rate has fallen for the third consecutive year.

The presentation also highlighted demographic trends, with an increasing proportion of children of Asian ethnicity being measured. While this group generally has a lower rate of being overweight or obese, the data showed a decline in the rate across all major ethnic groups, indicating a genuine improvement rather than a statistical anomaly. A persistent gender gap was noted, with more boys than girls classified as above a healthy weight. The report also touched upon data quality improvements and the challenges of tracking transient populations within the borough.

Barking and Dagenham Better Care Fund Narrative Plan and Numerical Template 2026/27

Arabjan Iqbal, Better Care Fund Manager, presented the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan for 2026/27. The BCF, a pooled budget of £37.9 million, aims to deliver integrated and preventative care services across health and social care, supporting residents to remain independent and at home. The plan focuses on enhancing local community support, enabling access to activities and support at the right place and time, and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Key priorities include developing neighbourhood working models, enhancing proactive care for residents with long-term conditions and frailty, and investing in reablement services. The plan also addresses the prevention of avoidable long-term care home admissions and improving discharge processes, with a target of no more than 130 admissions to nursing and residential homes. The BCF funding is crucial for enabling these integrated pathways and ensuring sustainable, place-based delivery, particularly in light of Barking and Dagenham's growing and increasingly complex population. The plan was presented for sign-off and approval.

VCFSE Strategy – Equitable System Partnership (NEL VCFSE Collaborative)

Najnin Islam, Partnership Development Director for the NEL VCFSE Collaborative, and Charlotte Pomery, Chief Strategic Commissioning Officer for NHS North East London, presented the VCFSE Strategy. This strategy, developed collaboratively with VCFSE organisations and statutory partners, outlines seven pillars for transforming the relationship between the VCFSE sector and the health system. These pillars include: recognition of the sector's strengths in prevention and health creation; genuine power sharing, equity, and co-production; a new tiered commissioning model; investment in capacity, infrastructure, and leadership; improved data integration; shared resources and collaborative learning; and effective integration into neighbourhood working.

The strategy highlights the significant reach and impact of the VCFSE sector, with 61% of organisations operating on annual incomes under £100,000. The recommendations call for increased investment, simplified commissioning processes, and a commitment to covering core costs for VCFSE organisations. The ICB has committed to endorsing these pillars and exploring investment in a VCFSE-led population health initiative. Discussions also touched upon the challenges faced by smaller organisations in accessing funding and navigating complex procurement processes, and the need for greater recognition of the VCFSE's unique contributions.