The Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board met to discuss several key issues, including homelessness, healthy housing, neighbourhood health, community insight profiles, safeguarding, and partnership updates. The board agreed to extend the countywide homelessness strategy for two years, approved an approach for monitoring and delivering healthy homes, and noted updates on neighbourhood health plans and safeguarding reports.

Healthy Housing Metrics and Deep Dives

The board approved an approach for monitoring and delivering the Healthy Homes priority of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, as detailed in the Healthy Housing Metrics report. This includes a set of metrics to track progress against ambitions for safe, affordable, and suitable homes, as well as a program of themed deep dives to support improvements.

The four ambitions that underpin the Healthy Homes priority are:

• More healthy, safe, and secure homes
• More affordable homes
• More suitable homes for specific groups
• Reducing homelessness

The recommended metrics to measure progress against these ambitions are:

• Safe, healthy homes: Percentage of properties with an [EPC^1] band C or higher, and the number of residents using the Better Housing Better Health service.
• Affordable homes: Median rent for a one-bedroom property as a percentage of gross annual pay, and the number of new affordable homes built.
• Suitable homes: Percentage of people with long-term disabilities in unsuitable accommodation, and the percentage and number of Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) completed.
• Homelessness: Number of households owed a prevention or relief duty under the Homelessness Reduction Act, and numbers in temporary accommodation.

The board will also undertake a series of themed deep dives to gain a more nuanced understanding of specific issues. These deep dives will focus on areas such as housing conditions, the role of environmental health, climate readiness, affordable housing definitions, and support for community-led housing. The board is invited to agree up to two themed deep dives a year.

District Councillor Georgina Heritage asked about the significance of the Renters Rights Act for improving healthy homes. Richard Smith, Head of Housing for Cherwell District Council, responded:

that it was a highly anticipated piece of legislation, expected to improve data and regulatory powers, but its impact would be gradual.

Caroline Green, Chief Executive of Oxford City Council, asked about definitions of affordable housing and the purpose of defining this at an Oxfordshire level. It was explained that while planning policy defined affordable housing, there was confusion for residents, and a local definition could help clarify matters.

Extension of Countywide Homelessness Strategy

The board agreed to renew and extend the countywide homelessness and rough sleeping strategy for two years, as detailed in the Prevention of Homelessness Director's Group Update. This decision was made in light of impending local government reorganisation and ongoing challenges related to homelessness and temporary accommodation. The renewed strategy will focus on key priorities and preparatory work, including developing a countywide homelessness database.

Caroline Green, Chief Executive of Oxford City Council, described the challenging and complex picture of homelessness and temporary accommodation in Oxfordshire and nationally, noting that while rough sleeping numbers were relatively stable, there were high levels of people presenting with homelessness and increasing demand for temporary accommodation, especially for single people with complex needs.

Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, asked whether the focus on local government reorganisation risked distracting from progress on homelessness. It was responded that a dedicated resource was in place to drive work forward, and the partnership was committed to maintaining focus, with preparatory work for reorganisation aligning with existing action plans.

Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Health Plan

The board received an update on the Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Health Plan, as detailed in the Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Health and Care report. Due to changes in national timescales, the purpose of the item was not to agree a finalised plan, but to note the changing timescales and support ongoing work. The plan aims to bring support closer to where people live, work, and connect, with a focus on community-led systems and prevention.

Key components of the plan include improving access to general practice, fixing the primary-secondary care interface, developing integrated neighbourhood teams for people with complex needs, and creating a universal single point of access. The plan also aims to shift more outpatient care into the community and use population health management data to drive improvements, with digital and data sharing being vital.

Cllr Jane Hanna, Chair of the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview Scrutiny Committee, reiterated the recommendations that the JHOSC agreed to issue to Oxfordshire system partners around the development of the Neighbourhood Health Plan, including the need for clear governance arrangements, alignment with other strategic initiatives, prioritisation of investment in digital infrastructure, and ensuring that the local patient voice and voluntary sector input is at the heart of the plan.

Community Insight Profile: Bicester West

The board discussed the Community Insight Profile for Bicester West, as detailed in the Community Insight Profiles report. The profile combines local intelligence with data to inform practical recommendations on public health patterns within the area. Key issues identified included cost of living pressures, food poverty, housing concerns, and social isolation. Recommendations included regular community support sessions, strengthening community connectors, investing in pavements and green spaces, and bolstering mental health and befriending services.

The board agreed to use the findings of the profile to inform service delivery plans and supported the legacy of the program, including the work of the Community Health Development Officers.

Safeguarding Adults and Children

The board noted the findings of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board (OSAB) Annual Report 2024-2025 and the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) Annual Report 2024-25.

The OSAB report highlighted the work of the board in protecting adults with care and support needs from abuse and neglect, focusing on improving frontline practice, preventing abuse, strengthening quality assurance, and learning from experience. The report also noted the need for professional curiosity, a more flexible approach to engagement, better information sharing, and more timely interventions.

The OSCB report set out the safeguarding challenges in Oxfordshire, highlighting the need to improve practice with respect to neglect, child exploitation, and keeping children safe in education. The report also emphasised the need for a system-wide approach to minimising risks to children outside the home and ensuring earlier and timely access to mental health and well-being services.

Partnership Board Updates and Forward Work Programme

The board received updates from partnership boards, including the Health Improvement Board and the Children's Trust Board. The board also agreed to the forward work programme, with the addition of a review of end of life care as a future agenda item.