The Health and Wellbeing Board of Wiltshire Council met on Thursday 24 September 2026 to discuss updates on the Neighbourhood Health Plan and the Wiltshire Health Protection Strategy. The meeting also included a review of the Healthwatch Wiltshire Annual Report and proposed changes to the Board's terms of reference.

Neighbourhood Health Plan Update

A report was presented detailing the progress of the Wiltshire neighbourhood health programme. Since the Board's July 2026 update, Workshop 2 of the BSW Neighbourhood Health Workshop Series had taken place, with its outputs shared. Workshop 3 was confirmed for 1 October 2026. The Neighbourhood Health Enabling and Mobilisation Programme had moved to a quotation process for facilitation support, with quotes being assessed. The report noted that the original target of onboarding the first neighbourhood teams in September 2026 was at risk, and a revised timeline would be confirmed once a provider was appointed. Wiltshire had also launched work to identify and support the highest-risk one percent of the population, in response to the national ask on complex frailty and unplanned hospital admissions. A national Stage 1 self-assessment against the ten Neighbourhood Health Framework requirements had been completed. Following a joint working session with the Council's FACT team, Wiltshire was planning a dedicated workshop on children, young people and families. The Wiltshire Place Board development session had been rescheduled to take place a week after this meeting and would take account of the Board's discussion on its own revised Terms of Reference. The Board was asked to note the progress made, the workshop outputs, the confirmed date for Workshop 3, progress on the Enabling and Mobilisation Programme, the launch of the 'one percent cohort' work, the Stage 1 self-assessment position, the approach to the children, young people and families workshop, and the rescheduled Place Board development session.

Healthwatch Wiltshire Annual Report 2025/26

Healthwatch Wiltshire's Annual Report for 2025/26 was presented, outlining how local people's experiences had been gathered and used to influence improvements in health and social care across Wiltshire and the wider Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care System area. During the year, Healthwatch Wiltshire supported 30,934 people to share their experiences or access information, published seven reports, and provided 30,687 people with advice and information. Key areas of work included military families, young people, unpaid carers, parent carers, Pharmacy First, childhood vaccinations, food insecurity, hypertension inequalities, patient data, and LGBTQIA+ healthcare experiences. The report highlighted that evidence gathered by Healthwatch Wiltshire had been shared with local and system decision-makers, leading to commitments to improve support for military families, greater awareness of unpaid carers' needs, and evidence to inform hypertension and food strategies. The Board was asked to note the report, recognise the value of independent community insight, and support continued collaboration with Healthwatch Wiltshire.

Wiltshire Health Protection Strategy (2026-2031) and Annual Health Protection Report 2025/2026

The Director of Public Health presented the Wiltshire Health Protection Strategy 2026-2031 and the Annual Health Protection Report 2025/2026. The strategy sets out the shared vision, mission, and priorities for protecting Wiltshire's population from infectious diseases and environmental hazards over the next five years. It was developed through multi-agency engagement and is structured around three core functions: Advocate, Act, and Assure. The Annual Report provides an overview of health protection monitoring and surveillance, significant issues, and recommendations for the development of the local health protection system. The report assured the Board that effective arrangements were in place to protect the health of Wiltshire's population, with robust governance, partnership working, surveillance, prevention, preparedness, and response arrangements. The Board was asked to endorse the Wiltshire Health Protection Strategy 2026-2031, note and acknowledge the Annual Health Protection Report 2025/26, and support partner commitment to the multi-agency delivery plan and the Health Protection Board's governance and assurance arrangements.

Strengthening Governance, Membership Engagement and Statutory Delivery for Wiltshire Health and Wellbeing Board

A report was presented on proposals to review and update the terms of reference and governance arrangements for the Board to improve its effectiveness and collaboration. Following the Board's agreement in July to reposition itself as the authoritative place-based strategic steward for neighbourhood health, revised terms of reference were drafted for consideration. These included explicit membership responsibilities, a clear separation between statutory and system leadership roles, and agreed assurance of neighbourhood health plans and wider determinants activity. The appendices to the terms of reference considered the relationship with neighbourhood health, the Place Partnership Board, and the Families and Children Transformation Board (FACT), highlighting the importance of statutory children's responsibilities and the contribution of education settings to health and wellbeing outcomes. The Board was asked to consider the revised draft terms of reference and any relevant amendments, consider the relationship with other responsibilities, partnerships, and committees, and delegate to the chair the agreement of any final amendments prior to consideration by Full Council.

The meeting also included standard agenda items such as apologies, minutes of the previous meeting, declarations of interest, Chairman's announcements, and public participation. Updates on the Better Care Plan and Winter Readiness were also scheduled to be received.