Agenda

To approve the record of the meeting held on 5 September 2024.

The Chairperson will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

The purpose of this report is to present the Medway Safeguarding Children Partnership (MSCP) Annual Report 2023-24 to the Health and Wellbeing Board. The report provides an overview of the work carried out by the MSCP in the last year. It sets out the progress the partnership has made against key priorities and gives an overview of the learning and improvement role of the MSCP including case reviews that have been undertaken. It also includes a section on scrutiny and assurance, providing details of the independent scrutineer activity in the reporting year.

The report will also be presented to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Community Safety Partnership in line with the Joint Working Protocol between the boards in Medway.

This report outlines work on the new Medway Local Plan, reflecting on the consultation carried out in Summer 2024 and next steps. It highlights planning for health infrastructure as part of Medway’s growth, and aspects of the plan that promote the health and wellbeing of Medway’s communities.

The vision of the Medway Food Partnership (MFP) is to create an environment that supports sustainable access to affordable healthy food. This is to improve knowledge about nutrition along with cooking and growing skills for all, building healthier communities and better futures for everyone in Medway.

The Medway Food Strategy supports the food partnership by providing a structured framework that align with the goals and objectives.

There is an imminent legal requirement for the Health and Wellbeing Board to produce an updated assessment of pharmaceutical need in Medway. The current Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for Medway was undertaken in 2021/22 and is due to expire in October 2025. This is a mandatory function that Health and Wellbeing Boards need to deliver every three years in line with obligations stipulated in the Health & Social Care Act 2012. It was agreed by Public Health DMT that this PNA should be undertaken independently, with services procured for this purpose.

This paper proposes an approach to deliver an updated PNA, including the creation of a steering group, for which the Director of Public Health is responsible. This is to ensure the process in developing the PNA is efficient, and that the statutory timeline is met. The proposal includes bringing an early draft of the PNA to the Board in February 2025 and a final draft in September 2025 for sign off.

The report advises the Board of the forward work programme for discussion in the light of latest priorities, issues and circumstances. It gives the Board an opportunity to shape and direct the Board’s activities.