The Hounslow Health and Wellbeing Board meeting scheduled for 30 April 2025 was set to cover a range of topics, including the council's Housing Strategy, updates from Healthwatch Hounslow, and a review of drug and alcohol services. The Board was also due to receive progress reports on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy and the Better Care Fund.

Housing Strategy

The Board was scheduled to discuss the draft Housing Strategy for 2025-2030, which aims to combine the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping, and Housing Strategies into a single document. This strategy is intended to guide Housing Services in Hounslow over the next five years, focusing on flexibility and intelligence-led resource allocation. The strategy outlines key challenges related to people and properties, including population growth, an aging demographic, increasing disability, and affordability issues. It also addresses homelessness and rough sleeping, noting an increase in rough sleepers seen in Hounslow and the causes behind it. The draft ambitions for 2030 include reducing homelessness and rough sleeping, securing additional affordable housing, improving existing homes, supporting residents to live independently, tackling crime on estates, and aligning with the Hounslow Local Plan 2020-2041. The report pack included questions for discussion, such as what should be prioritised, opportunities for improvement, and what actions should cease or change.

Healthwatch Hounslow Update and 'Public Voice' Provider Introduction

Peter Goulding from Healthwatch Hounslow was scheduled to provide an update on the organisation's activities. Following this, Dan Rogers from 'Public Voice' was due to introduce the new Healthwatch provider. Public Voice's mission is to translate the insights and needs of people into actions to improve public services, aiming for reduced inequalities and improved outcomes. Their offer includes understanding stakeholders, interpreting insights with a user-centred approach, and designing innovative solutions. They have experience delivering Healthwatch services in Haringey and Croydon, and their vision for Healthwatch Hounslow includes supporting community co-production, providing systems and resources, and sharing best practices. Potential priority topics for research include experiences of asylum seekers/recent migrants, autism services, Pharmacy First, and children and young people's oral health.

Drug and Alcohol Update

Claire Gomm, Senior Strategist for Hounslow Public Health Team, was scheduled to provide an update on local progress against the national drug strategy, From Harm to Hope: 2021-2031. This strategy emphasises strengthening joint working between treatment, prevention, and enforcement. Hounslow has received Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant (SSMTRG) funding, with allocations increasing year on year. Targets have been set to increase the number of adults and young people in treatment, improve continuity of care from prison, and increase the use of residential rehabilitation. The report detailed progress against these targets, grant spend, and funded projects, including workforce increases at ARC Hounslow and the introduction of new services. Non-grant funded projects were also to be discussed, highlighting improvements in partnership approaches, service user involvement, and the development of a recovery hub. The update was also to cover DATRIG targets for 2025/26, focusing on both quantity and quality indicators for treatment access.

Health and Wellbeing Strategy Updates

Martin Waddington, Director of Integrated Care Partnership and Commissioning, was scheduled to provide updates on the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This included an update on the strategy itself and a specific report on the Health and Wellbeing Report for Quarter 3 (2024/25), authored by Ann Phillips and Martha Flann. The Q3 progress report uses a RAG status (Red, Amber, Green) to indicate progress against priorities. The report covers thematic areas such as Start Well, Live Well, Age Well, and Healthy Places, detailing progress, delays, and challenges encountered. For example, under Start Well, there were RED-rated projects concerning maternity tobacco dependency programmes and AMBER-rated projects for improving parental support with minor childhood illnesses. Under Live Well, initiatives like the Healthy Hounslow Website and HOT engagement were discussed, with some projects experiencing delays. The Age Well section highlighted progress in areas like carers support and falls prevention, while Healthy Places discussed efforts related to safe, warm, and affordable homes.

Better Care Fund Update

Martin Waddington was also scheduled to provide an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF) for Quarter 2. The report included the BCF 2024-25 Q2 reporting template and the Section 75 Agreement 2023-24. The BCF Executive Group requires the Health & Wellbeing Board to approve the Q2 template submission to NHS England. The key purposes of the quarterly template are to confirm compliance with BCF requirements, provide updates on spend and activity against the Additional Discharge Fund, and present actual activity for demand and capacity reporting.

Appointment of New Members

The Board was asked to note the appointment of two new members: Dr Sanjay Krishnamoorthy, Medical Director at West Middlesex Hospital, and Sheena Basnayake, Managing Director of West Middlesex Hospital.

The meeting also included standard agenda items such as Welcome and Introductions, Minutes of the previous meeting, and Any Other Business, with the date of the next meeting scheduled for 14th July 2025.