The ONE Stockport Health and Care Board met on Tuesday 17 June 2025 to discuss a range of critical issues impacting local health and care services. Key discussions included the 2025/26 capacity and discharge funding plan, updated Terms of Reference for the Board, and the 2025/26 Cost Improvement Plan. The Board also noted updates on NHS reforms, the State of the Borough report, and the ongoing challenges within Paediatric Audiology Services.

NHS Reform Update

Philippa Johnson, Deputy Place Based Lead for NHS Greater Manchester (Stockport), provided an update on the ongoing NHS reforms. She explained that Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) would play a critical role as strategic commissioners, with a focus on developing neighbourhood health services and reducing duplication and running costs. NHS Greater Manchester (GM) has submitted a high-level plan to NHS England outlining how it will reduce its running costs by 39% by the end of Quarter 3 2025/26. While NHS GM will not be merging with another ICB, a reset of the 10 place-based models is needed to strengthen local approaches and ensure efficiency. The Board noted this update, acknowledging the continued commitment to integrated care and the development of a strengthened place-based locality model.

Finance Report and 2025/26 Financial Plan

David Dolman, Associate Director of Finance for NHS Greater Manchester (Stockport), presented the finance report for the year ending 31 March 2025. Stockport locality reported a year-to-date overspend of £0.803 million and a forecast outturn overspend of £3.753 million. The primary drivers for this overspend were identified as increased costs for neurodiversity assessments and ADHD treatment, as well as additional mental health s117 placements. Savings of £1.845 million had been achieved year-to-date, which was in line with the plan. However, £0.400 million of the full-year savings target of £4.490 million was rated as high risk. The Board noted the financial position and the 2025/26 Cost Improvement Plan.

Capacity and Discharge Funding 2025/26

David Dolman and Philippa Johnson presented the plan for the utilisation of £7.197 million in capacity and discharge funding for 2025/26. This funding level remained the same as the previous year. Of this, £4.871 million was allocated to discharge funding within the Better Care Fund (BCF) and pooled under the Section 75 (s75) Agreement. The remaining £2.326 million in capacity funding was not pooled under the s75 Agreement. The proposed schemes included funding for discharge to assess commissioned beds, care home market sustainability, and the Community Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) Hub. The Board discussed the proposed approach and schemes for funding.

Better Care Fund: Section 75 Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding

David Dolman presented the Section 75 Agreement for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027 and the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026. The Section 75 Agreement facilitates the pooling of resources for health and social care services, enabling joint commissioning. The decision to pool only the BCF, iBCF, and DFG was made due to the transition following the Health and Care Act 2022 and anticipated legislative changes. The Board discussed the s75 agreement and the MoU.

Stockport Quality Group Report – Paediatric Audiology Services

Jemma Billing and Jennie Gammack provided an update on the challenges within Paediatric Audiology Services. They highlighted national and local issues, including a pause in the Stockport service due to concerns about Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test reliability. This has resulted in a backlog of new referrals and review appointments. Mitigations are in place for urgent referrals, and NHS GM is actively seeking solutions, including exploring arrangements with an independent sector provider and developing a new model of care. The Board noted the report and the identified risks, including the potential for ongoing harm due to waiting lists and the slow pace of harm reviews.

ONE Stockport Health & Care Board Terms of Reference

Philippa Johnson presented proposed changes to the Board's Terms of Reference. These included references to the NHS GM ICB Operating Model, responsibility for providing a Stockport response to Greater Manchester-wide matters, and updated membership to reflect current roles. The proposed changes also clarified decision-making processes, quoracy arrangements, and meeting administration. The Board noted and discussed the proposed changes, with a view to approval.

Strategic Risk Register

Philippa Johnson presented the Stockport Locality Strategic Risk Register, which currently holds 12 strategic risks, four rated as red and eight as amber. Action plans are in place for all risks where the target score has not yet been met. The Board noted the report and the current risk position, confirming that the outlined risk treatment plans were considered sufficient.

Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy Update 2025

Jilla Burgess-Allen and Tim McDougall provided an update on the Stockport Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Key achievements included strengthening lived experience involvement, securing funding for a Whole School Approach, and expanding Work Well and Individual Placement Support programmes. The strategy also focused on promoting mental health literacy through training and resources, building VCFSE capacity through the Live Well Fund, and improving mental health support for children and young people, including enhanced crisis response. The Board noted the update and offered comments to support its further implementation.

State of the Borough Report

Holly Rae, Phil Taylor, and Kathryn Rees presented the State of the Borough report. This report provides a snapshot of life in Stockport and tracks progress against the 'One Stockport: One Future' ambitions. Key trends highlighted included an ageing and more diverse population, improving health outcomes for children but rising obesity rates, high inequalities in life expectancy, and increasing demand on adult and children's services. The report also noted an upward trend in economic activity and business survival rates, but worsening affordability of rent. Stockport is reducing greenhouse gas emissions faster than GM, but overall rates are not falling quickly enough. The Board reviewed and discussed the report, particularly focusing on areas related to the wider determinants of health.

Flash Reports

David Dolman provided a flash report from the Stockport Primary Care Commissioning Committee, highlighting strong performance in the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF), ranking first nationally. The report also noted the scaling back of the COVID-19 vaccination programme due to reduced funding. Paul Buckley presented a flash report on the Stockport Place Based Provider Partnership, noting changes to governance structures with the introduction of bi-monthly Locality and Live Well Boards, and the standing down of Provider Partnership meetings. An engagement session is planned to align priorities with the Live Well model.

Questions from the Public and Any Other Business

There were no questions from the public. Dr Viren Mehta highlighted that this was the Chair's final meeting and thanked Councillor Mark Hunter for his leadership. The Chair also thanked members for their cooperation and dedication.

The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 30 July 2025.

A stakeholder briefing on the In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Cycles consultation was also noted for information.