The Sutton Council Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to meet on 7 July 2025 to discuss a new joint dementia strategy, changes to the Integrated Care Board, the state of the charity sector, and an update on the Better Care Fund.

Joint Dementia Strategy 2025-2030

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to consider a new joint dementia strategy for Sutton, developed with partners, stakeholders, and people with lived experience. The report pack states that this is the first joint strategy for those affected by dementia in the borough.

The strategy reportedly establishes a commitment to shared outcomes by the strategy partners, to improve the experiences and outcomes of people living with dementia and those who care for them. These outcomes include:

• Strengthening the approach to prevention, reducing avoidable dementia incidence in Sutton, through the promotion of healthier lifestyles.
• Ensuring carers and staff feel that they have the information they need, and the necessary skills and support, across an individual's dementia journey, including in end of life care.
• Raising awareness of dementia and challenging stereotypes, to support an 'inclusive place for everyone'.
• Addressing loneliness and isolation experienced by people with dementia and their families, through providing access to groups, dementia friendly activities and peer support.
• Improving post diagnostic support through the new jointly commissioned Dementia Hub, between the Integrated Care Board and the Council, providing a single point of access, consistency in and improved, pathways to support.
• Launching a new outcomes framework to provide a single outcomes framework across commissioners and service providers and thereby supporting the improved clarity, consistency and delivery of 'quality local services' for Sutton residents.

The strategy establishes six key priorities, supported by a series of 'we will' commitments against each priority. These priorities are:

• 'Preventing well' - with the report pack stating that 45% of dementia cases can be avoided
• 'Diagnosing and living well' - timely diagnosis and support
• 'Caring well' - carers are supported to care
• 'Promoting a dementia friendly borough and reducing social isolation'
• 'Dying Well' - choices, preferences and wishes that shape end of life care
• 'Commissioning requirements and implications' - working together to ensure the best outcomes with available resources.

The strategy includes a high level delivery plan, with a commitment to develop this with stakeholders and those with lived experience to form a detailed delivery plan against which progress by the strategy partners can be measured and reported.

The report pack includes forewords from Councillor Marian James, Lead Member for People, Sutton Council, Dr Deborah Stinson, Consultant Psychiatrist, Sutton Older People's Community Mental Health Team (OPCMHT), Sandra Howard, Director, Adult Social Care and Safeguarding, Sutton Council, James Blythe, Managing Director, Epsom and St Hellier's University Hospitals NHS Trust, Dr Dino Pardhanani, Clinical Director, Sutton Place, South West London Integrated Care Board, Peter Glass, CEO, Age UK Sutton, Dr Shade Ajayi-Obe, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Sutton Carers Centre, Lucy Botting, Chief Operating Officer, Sutton Health and Care, Imran Choudhury, Strategic Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, Sutton Council, and Tim Baverstock, Head of Local Systems Influencing, Alzheimer's Society.

The report pack also includes a quote from Denise, a Sutton resident with lived experience of dementia.

Changes to the Integrated Care Board

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on changes to the South West London Integrated Care Board (ICB). The report pack notes that the ICB is facing rapid major change and transformation including:

• A shift of role and purpose to become a 'strategic commissioner'
• A more than 50% reduction in its budgets to be implemented by quarter three of 2025/26
• A requirement to work with partners to ensure that local provider organisations can take forward the delivery of neighbourhood health and care systems

The report pack states that in mid-March the Government announced significant changes to the NHS including the abolition of NHS England and the refocussing of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) as 'strategic commissioners'; with a 50% reduction in staffing, running and programme costs to be completed and implemented by quarter three of 2025/26.

The report pack also includes a Model ICB Blueprint, setting out ICBs' future role and functions as strategic commissioners to improve population health, reduce inequalities and improve ensure efficient high-quality care.

The Model ICB Blueprint sets out a refreshed health system landscape and has grouped ICB functions into three main categories:

• Grow – functions that the ICB will need to grow/invest in over time to deliver its new strategic commissioner functions. This includes population health management, data & analytics, strategic planning, strategic purchasing and contracting, market management and shaping, evaluating impact, user involvement and strategic leadership and partnership.
• Selectively retain and adapt – functions that the ICB will still need to deliver but in different ways/at scale to achieve efficiency. This includes quality management, clinical governance, corporate governance, core organisational functions such as HR, finance.
• Transfer – functions that the ICB expects to transfer over time as operationally focussed or can be delivered better at regional or national level. This includes: NHS Continuing Care, SEND, Safeguarding, Emergency Preparedness Resilience Response, development of neighbourhood and place partnerships, strategic and local workforce planning, digital technology leadership and transformation, medicines optimisation, estates and infrastructure, oversight of provider performance.

The report pack notes that the changes will be substantial with significant implications for joint working with local authorities strategically and operationally in the immediate, short and longer term.

The report pack also discusses Neighbourhood Health and Care, noting that integrated neighbourhood health and care is a central pillar of the NHS 10-Year Plan, aiming to deliver the strategic shifts to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities.

State of the Sector

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to consider the findings of Evolving Our Ecosystem , a review of Sutton's charity, community and faith sector. The review was commissioned by Community Action Sutton and Volunteer Centre Sutton.

The report pack states that the aim of the review is to understand how to build a stronger, more connected charity, community, and faith ecosystem in the Borough of Sutton.

The report pack notes that the report highlights a number key findings, based on the research and feedback from participants:

• Fragmented Collaboration: Despite Sutton's vibrant ecosystem, collaboration across charities, the NHS, and council structures is often fragmented. Many organisations operate in silos, with limited peer engagement or coordinated planning.
• Financial Strain: Rising costs, restricted funding, and inflation severely challenge financial sustainability. Over 40% of organisations reported income shortfalls, and many lack reserves to weather unexpected crises.
• Volunteer Recruitment and Retention: Recruitment difficulties, shifting demographics, and post-pandemic challenges have reduced volunteer availability. Retention issues stem from unclear roles, insufficient recognition, and increasing financial pressures.
• Leadership Burnout and Staffing Issues: Many organisations face leadership burnout, staffing shortages, and an inability to offer competitive pay or development opportunities. Smaller charities, in particular, struggle with capacity and expertise gaps.
• Infrastructure Limitations: Access to affordable spaces, sector-wide advocacy, and skills development for trustees and staff remain underdeveloped. Infrastructure organisations play a vital role but need to enhance clarity, engagement, and proactive advocacy.

The report pack also notes that Sutton's Evolving our Ecosystem report makes a number of recommendations about how partners can work together to support and empower Charity, Community and Faith organisations in Sutton:

• Foster Collaboration and Build Networks: Develop thematic forums and peer-led networks to share resources, address challenges, and drive strategic collaboration. Introduce formal collaboration structures with skilled facilitation to foster trust and inclusivity.
• Strengthen Financial Resilience: Advocate for full-cost recovery models that reflect true delivery costs, including inflation and overheads. Equip organisations with the skills to calculate and present robust funding models confidently.
• Support Volunteers and Staff: Invest in volunteer recruitment campaigns, matching platforms, and retention strategies. Provide emotional support, training, and leadership opportunities for volunteers. Expand capacity-building initiatives for staff, focusing on governance, financial management, and wellbeing.
• Maximise Community Assets: Promote strategic use of council-owned properties through community asset transfers and streamlined access processes. Establish a transparent mapping system for available spaces to improve accessibility.
• Enhance Infrastructure Support and Advocacy: Clarify the roles of infrastructure organisations and address perceived overlaps. Advocate for systemic change by promoting fair funding practices and challenging inequities. Engage underrepresented groups and expand proactive outreach efforts
• Encourage Long-Term Planning: Advocate for longer-term funding cycles to reduce instability and support strategic planning. Offer guidance to organisations on adapting to operational realities and exploring partnerships or mergers where appropriate.

The report pack also includes the Sutton Charity and Public Sector Partners Framework 2025 to 2028, setting out a number of commitments for all partners in order to support closer working and more effective collaboration between Charity, Community and Faith organisations and public sector partners.

Update on the Better Care Fund

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on the Better Care Fund (BCF). The BCF is a national programme to encourage health and care integration.

The report pack notes that the 2025/26 BCF plan is being implemented at a challenging time for the local health and care system, with adult social care and the NHS continuing to experience significant financial pressures because of increased demand for services and higher acuity, alongside workforce challenges, the cost of living crisis and inflationary pressures.

The report pack also notes that there is an ongoing dispute between the Council and SWL ICB regarding the level of funding provided in the BCF Plan.

The report pack states that the 2025/26 BCF Budget is £25,849,109, with income from the NHS Minimum Contribution, the Local Authority Better Care Grant and the Disabled Facilities Grant.

The report pack also includes Sutton's ambitions for delivering the 2025/26 national metrics, covering emergency admissions and discharge delays.

The report pack notes that the 2025/26 target for emergency hospital admissions in people aged 65 and over balances system pressures and higher acuity with the impact of BCF-funded services that help to avoid admissions.

The report pack also notes that the 2025/26 target of 0.9 days average length of discharge delay is based upon the projected improvements to patient flow as the BCF-funded Transfer of Care Hub improves the coordination and timeliness of hospital discharges to the usual place of residence whenever possible.

The report pack also includes an Equalities Impact Assessment for the 2025/26 BCF Plan and a Climate Impact Assessment for the 2025/26 BCF Plan.

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