This meeting was to include updates from the five sub-boards of the Health and Wellbeing Board, including the Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board, the Mental Health Learning Disabilities and Autism Programme Board, the Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Board, the Better Care Fund Board, and the Children and Young People’s Commissioning Board. Also scheduled for discussion were Hertfordshire County Council's SEND Priority Action Improvement Plan and the Age Friendly Hertfordshire Programme.

Hertfordshire County Council's SEND Priority Action Improvement Plan

Hertfordshire County Council's SEND Priority Action Improvement Plan was scheduled to be discussed. This plan, developed in response to a 2023 inspection, aims to address the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Hertfordshire.

Age Friendly Hertfordshire Programme

Also included in the meeting pack was a report on the Age Friendly Hertfordshire Programme, which aims to make Hertfordshire a more supportive and inclusive place for older people to live.

The programme is founded on the principle that everyone, regardless of age, should be able to live healthy, active, and fulfilling lives. It aims to create a society where older people feel valued, respected, and empowered to participate fully in all aspects of life.

The report was to include an infographic summarising community engagement on the Age Friendly Hertfordshire Programme.

Updates from Sub-Boards

The meeting was to include quarterly monitoring reports from five sub-boards of the Health and Wellbeing Board.

Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board

The Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board's report was to focus on the development of a new Hertfordshire Drug and Alcohol Strategy, covering the period from 2025 to 2030, to replace the previous strategy, which ran from 2019 to 2024. The new strategy is to be based on the three priorities set out in the national drugs strategy:

• Breaking Supply Chains
• Developing a World-Class Treatment and Recovery System
• A Generational Shift in Drug Use.

The quarterly monitoring report also included information about the board's work to mitigate the risks associated with the use of synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.

The changes in the Taliban and their destruction of poppy fields [has] lead [led] to the rise [of] synthetic opiods and the associated risk of overdose and death to drugs users

— Quarterly Monitoring Report: Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board

The report also notes the successful implementation of Operation Transatlantic, a police operation that has disrupted the supply of drugs in Hertfordshire.

Op Transatlantic recovered 147 kilos of cannabis from a cannabis Factory and in the last 12 months 51 arrests associated with county lines, with 19 drugs seizures; £185, 575 seized (updated July 2024).

— Quarterly Monitoring Report: Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board

The report also notes the potential impact of funding cuts. The board was to consider how to manage the expected reduction in funding for drug and alcohol treatment services.

Ending of Government grant funding from April 2025 will impact on treatment provision, drug testing on arrest and Naloxone provision so need to consider how numbers in and into treatment are managed.

— Quarterly Monitoring Report: Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board

The report also notes the increase in the number of children and young people accessing drug and alcohol treatment.

Positive increase in the numbers of children and young people accessing drug and alcohol treatment, with increases of 50% from 66 in 2021/22 to 155 in 2023/24.

— Quarterly Monitoring Report: Drug and Alcohol Strategic Board

MHLDA Programme Board & Health and Care Partnership

The MHLDA Programme Board & Health and Care Partnership's report was to cover a number of areas, including the reduction of inpatient numbers for the Transforming Care cohort, the publication of the Hertfordshire 2023/24 LeDer Report, the implementation of Right Care Right Person, and the progress of the Hertfordshire Dementia Strategy.

Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Executive Board

The report of the Hertfordshire Domestic Abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls Executive Board included information about the recent Joint Targeted Area Inspection on domestic abuse and children, which was carried out by Ofsted, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. The report also included information about the refresh of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment on Domestic Abuse and Safe accommodation. The Board was also to consider the potential impact of funding cuts on domestic abuse services.

Better Care Fund Board

The Better Care Fund Board's report was to focus on the performance of the Better Care Fund and the Improved Better Care Fund, including performance against key metrics such as avoidable admissions and discharge to normal place of residence. The report also included information about the work of the Intermediate Care and Discharge to Assess Steering Group. The Board was to consider and approve the NHSE BCF mandatory reports for Q1 and Q2.

Hertfordshire’s Children and Young People’s Commissioning Board

The Children and Young People's Commissioning Board's report was to cover a number of areas, including the delivery of ICS priority one: the best start in life, the prevention of school exclusion, and the delivery of attendance duties. The report also included information about the Family Safeguarding approach, the monitoring of the s75 agreement, the progress of the SEND Priority Action Plan for children with SEND, and the development of the Family Hub approach. The Board was to consider the revised Family Centre Service specification, sustaining the Hertfordshire multi-agency Family Safeguarding model, and diagnosing learning disabilities and the review of cognitive assessments.