The Bromley Council Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to convene an information briefing to discuss a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment chapter update and a Better Care Fund performance update. The briefing was designed for discussion only if a member of the committee requested it at least 24 hours in advance.

Armed Forces Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Chapter

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to review the findings of the 2025 Armed Forces JSNA Chapter, as detailed in report number ACH25-055. The JSNA chapter presents a profile of veterans and their families in Bromley, covering demographics, health, housing, education, and employment.

The report noted that Bromley has one of the highest veteran population densities in London, with veterans comprising 2.5% of residents aged 16 and over. Despite this, service engagement, particularly in mental health, was reported as disproportionately low.

Key findings included:

• Health: While most veterans reported Good or Fair health, approximately 11% (around 750 individuals) reported Bad or Very Bad health. Veterans were also more likely to report poor health and disability, with only 61.5% reporting Very good or Good health compared to 83.4% of the general population.
• Family: Bromley reportedly has the highest number and proportion of veteran spouses and children living in the same household in Southeast London, including many adult children aged 25 and over.
• Employment: Veterans in Bromley were generally well-integrated into the workforce, with 95.0% of working-age veterans in employment, exceeding both London and England averages. However, a substantial 65.4% of all veterans were economically inactive, likely reflecting the proportion of retired veterans.
• Housing: While housing stability was generally high, reliance on the private rental sector may expose some veterans to affordability and tenure security challenges.

The report also highlighted that the needs of younger veterans, particularly those who served post-2005, may differ and require tailored support.

The board was asked to note the findings and recommendations of the Armed Forces JSNA chapter.

The Armed Forces JSNA Final Draft report itself provided more detail. The report noted that the Armed Forces Covenant was introduced in 2012, following the Armed Forces Act 2011. The covenant places responsibility across various government departments to ensure that members of the AFC are treated fairly and receive the support they need.

The report stated that the aims of the chapter align with the Armed Forces Covenant Duty, which requires specified public bodies to have due regard to:

The unique obligations and sacrifices made by the Armed Forces

The principle that it is desirable to remove disadvantages arising from service

The principle that special provision may be justified because of service life.

The report also included a glossary of terms, including definitions for:

• Adult Acute & Crisis (AAC)
• Adult Community Mental Health (ACMH)
• Armed Forces Community (AFC)
• Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)
• British Armed Forces (BAF)-related patients
• Defence Medical Services (DMS)
• Guaranteed Income Payments (GIPs)
• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
• JSP 200 statistical disclosure
• London Borough of Bromley (LBB)
• Ministry of Defence (MoD)
• Ministry of Defence's Compensation and Pension System (CAPS)
• War Pension Computer System (WPCS)
• War Pension Scheme (WPS)

Better Care Fund (BCF) Performance Update

The Health and Wellbeing Board was also scheduled to receive a Better Care Fund (BCF) Quarterly Report to HWB, report number ACH25-052, providing a summary of progress against Bromley's 2025-26 Better Care Fund plan during the first quarter of the year (April to June 2025).

The BCF is described in the report as:

one of the government's national programmes for driving health and social care integration with the intention of supporting local care and health systems in the design and delivery of integrated care and support. The Fund plays an important part in the commissioning and supporting the delivery of local services.

The report noted that the government published Better Care Fund Policy guidance in January 2025, followed by the publication of 2025-26 priorities and operational planning guidance. These documents set out the requirements for implementing the government's policy framework for the BCF programme and focus on the planning and delivery of two key BCF objectives:

• Reform to support the shift from sickness, including timely, proactive, and joined-up support for people with more complex health and care needs; use of home adaptations and technology; and support for unpaid carers.
• Reform to support people living independently and the shift from hospital to home, including help to prevent avoidable hospital admissions; achieve more timely and effective discharge from acute, community, and mental health hospital settings; support people to recover in their own homes (or other usual place of residence); and reduce the proportion of people who need long-term residential or nursing home care.

The report detailed Bromley's performance against BCF metrics for Quarter 1 (April to June 2025)

• Emergency Admissions to Hospital (65+): There were 2,789 emergency admissions, approximately 6% above the projected target of 2625.
• Discharge Delays: 89.2% of adult patients were discharged from acute hospital on their discharge ready date, slightly below the target of 93.1%. For those not discharged on time, the average number of days from discharge ready date to discharge was 8.3 days, slightly above the target of 7 days.
• Residential Admissions (65+): There were 71 admissions, slightly above the projected target of 68.

The report also provided a financial summary of the Better Care Fund plan, including details of planned expenditure for various schemes. The BCF plan for 2025/26 was budgeted at £44,862,000, comprised of £31,986,000 NHS minimum contribution, £9,537,000 Local Authority Better Care Grant and £3,031,000 Disabled Facilities Grant.

The Health and Wellbeing Board was asked to note progress made against the BCF National Metrics for Quarter 1 (April to June 2025).