The Newham Health and Wellbeing Board met to discuss several key issues impacting the borough, including food strategy, safeguarding, health equity, and neighbourhood development. The board agreed to note the progress being made in testing integrated neighbourhood working in Newham and the further development of population health approaches to target and improve health outcomes for residents. They also agreed to note the contents of a report from Healthwatch Newham on community safeguarding.

Appointment of Vice Chair

Councillor Sarah Jane Ruiz, Cabinet Member for Children Services and Education, and Sustainable Transport, was appointed as chair for the meeting, and the board discussed the appointment of a vice chair. It was agreed that a draft of revised plans of breath records and membership configuration would be brought forward to the next meeting.

Food Strategy and Food Security Issues

The board discussed a report on food strategy and food security issues, focusing on maximising the use of council levers to improve residents' independence and well-being through public health and social care.

Lydia, position qualified as delivering care and support in a resident's home, explained that under the Care Act¹ the council has a duty to assess the needs of any resident or carer who appears to have a need for care and support, and one of the criteria used to assess eligibility is managing and maintaining nutrition. Andy, position qualified as working with food, said:

when we're talking about keeping people independent keeping them well it's a huge factor we know that if you look at the national picture um the data tells us that a significant number of older people are undernourished we know that the key conditions it's the critical factor and we know that if you can break that cycle if you can break a cycle where people are not as well nourished as they as they can be and get them feeling stronger fitter healthier obviously that is a cycle towards independence is part of that independence you nourish yourself better

The board heard that Newham has a high population with food insecurity, with 45% of the 2,000 home care recipients having some kind of food-related interaction, from shopping to meal preparation. The council is working with the University of Sheffield and drawing on international best practices to innovate in this area.

The board was informed that the council is re-procuring its Independent Living Support Service framework agreement, with the hope to come in cabinet next month for permission to contract award with a go live date of October, presenting an opportunity to embed learning from the public health team. This includes enhancing the specification for proactive support around shopping, meal preparation, eating, and drinking, as well as including softer signs of deterioration related to nutrition.

The new framework will also include a dedicated reablement² specification and an all-age approach, embedding the importance of independent living skills from a younger age. The council is also looking to create a network of specialist support, including public health specialists, dietitians, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists.

The board discussed the importance of social connection through food and maximising participation in social eating, cooking, and shopping opportunities. They also noted the strong community hot meals program and other initiatives to get people of all ages out of the house to eat together.

Concerns were raised about a wider aging cohort not in the formal care system and how they are being supported, particularly within kinship networks where there is poverty and deprivation. It was suggested that there needs to be a materiality that needs to be addressed in those kinship network environments where they can't afford to feed their elderly parents.

Healthwatch Newham Community Safeguarding Update

Julie Pal, CEO of Healthwatch Newham, presented a report on the Healthwatch Newham Community Safeguarding update, following up on a previous report from January 2022. The report set out the context and background for a community engagement event delivered in partnership with the Newham Safeguarding Adults' Board on 14 March 2025.

The objectives of the event were to increase residents' knowledge about safeguarding, build confidence in reporting concerns, share case studies, create a decision support tool, clarify how the local authority responds to concerns, and establish a framework for community organisations.

The board heard that approximately 50 residents attended the event, reflecting Newham's diverse communities. Presentations were made by residents sharing their experiences, including issues around transitions between children's and adult social care, experiences engaging with social care and health services, and raising safeguarding concerns.

The board was informed that the Does it Look Like Newham? (DILLN) tool revealed an over-representation of older white people in safeguarding services, an over-representation of referrals from Black Caribbean residents, and an under-representation of referrals from all South Asian cohorts.

Strategic responses from the Newham Safeguarding Adults' Board include strengthening governance, embedding an equity approach, building on strategic partnerships, and making safeguarding personal through community and front-line staff engagement.

Newham Health Equity Programme Update

Jade Scott Worthington, Senior Strategist, and Adeola Agbebiyi, Public Health Consultant, provided an update on the Newham Health Equity Programme, which aims to address inequalities in health outcomes by working with services and systems to identify and improve service and pathway equity challenges.

The programme's priorities for 2025 include:

• Influencing sustainable systems change in tackling health inequalities
• Supporting individuals/teams to embed health equity in their day-to-day work
• Capturing learning and best practice from across the health and care system

The board heard that the programme is supporting the Diverse Communities Health and Wellbeing Forum and building a long-term conditions equity dashboard. The programme also includes commissioner objectives and equity objectives for the 50 Steps to a Healthier Newham initiative.

The Newham Health Equity Toolkit was launched, providing accessible resources for addressing inequalities. The toolkit includes the DILLN tool, the ART framework³, and the health equity route map. The board was given examples of commissioner objectives, such as piloting a South Asian, 50+ LGBTQ+ group and setting up an Autism Resident Advisory Group.

The board also received an update on the Adults Deep Dive Project with the Newham Safeguarding Adults Board, which aims to define patterns of referrals, explore reasons for those patterns, and develop action initiatives to address the findings.

NEL ICS Strategic Approaches to Meeting Newham Population Need - Newham Integrated Neighbourhood Teams Update

Jo Frazer-Wise, Director of Delivery, Newham Health & Care Partnership, provided an update on the progress of the Newham Integrated Neighbourhood Teams.

The board heard that progress continues to be made on two identified neighbourhood programme workstreams. The North-West project is exploring the creation of a Locality Leadership Team to address critical health inequalities, while the North-East project is addressing the high prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes, particularly among Bangladeshi and South Asian communities.

A Newham Population Health Management Group is meeting to set out the key aspects and uses of a PHM approach and discuss specific uses of PHM for Newham and priorities.