Health and Wellbeing Board	24 September 2025
Report of the Chair of the York Health and Wellbeing Board

Chair’s report and updates

Summary

1. This paper is designed to summarise key issues and progress which has happened in between meetings of the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB), giving Board members a concise update on a broad range of relevant topics which would otherwise entail separate papers.

Key Updates for the Board

Updates from Healthwatch York

2. Healthwatch York produce a quarterly report summarising what people have told them. The last report covers April to June 2025 and can be accessed at: https://www.healthwatchyork.co.uk/seecmsfile/?id=98

3. Healthwatch York’s trained volunteers also visit care homes across the city as part of their assessors’ programme. The aim is to get a snapshot of the care or nursing home based on their observations, conversations with residents and feedback from staff and residents’ family and friends. All reports can be found here: Healthwatch York - Reports from our care home visits

National and Local Updates

4. 10 year Health plan ‘Fit for the Future’: Members of the Health and Wellbeing Board will be invited to a separate briefing this coming month on this document, which will summarise the main policies in the plan and local implications.

5. There are a number of areas of the plan which help deliver the ten big goals of the York Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2032:

· Tobacco – Tobacco and Vapes Bill will mean children turning 16 this year or younger can never legally be sold tobacco.

• Obesity – Updated school food standards and reduce junk food advertising. New mandatory targets to increase the healthiness of sales in all communities and work with the Food Strategy Advisory Board. Industry collaboration to test innovative models of delivering weight loss services and a national campaign aimed at encouraging people to move more.

• Helping our children to flourish – Expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and new Young Future Hubs to provide additional support for children and young people’s mental health.  

• Employment and work – Patient employment goals will be part of care plans and local NHS services targets will be set for reducing unemployment and economic inactivity.  

• Prevention – Immediate opportunities available to deliver prevention: vaccination, screening and early diagnosis.

6. Neighbourhood health: York developed a bid across multiple partners to take part in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme. Even though this bid was not successful, the health and care system is continuing to build a programme of work around neighbourhoods which includes primary and community services as well as local government and VCSE partners. The 4-area model has been agreed and the York Health and Care Collaborative brings together partners monthly to discuss how services delivered in these areas will start to integrate. Further details will be included in the aforementioned briefing to Board members, as well as taking through public scrutiny process ins the autumn.

7. Vaccination and winter preparedness: Our school-aged vaccination rates improved markedly in 2024/5, although we are keen to get closer to the 95% coverage particularly of the MMR vaccine by age 5. A change to the childhood immunisation schedule, including the addition of the Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccination and the bringing forward of the second dose of MMR to 18 months, will come in from the new Year. We are commencing winter vaccination preparation and the programme will start for most people in October 2025. On the 31^st October, we are hosting a Seasonal Health Summit at West Offices for staff across health, care and voluntary sectors to come together to discuss preparedness for the upcoming winter.

8. 2- 2 ½ year-old review: The uptake of the 2- 2 ½ year-old review of all children in the city undertaken by our Healthy Child Service was lower than average, but following work supported by the national charity NESTA, we have increased to well above the national average, at almost 90%. The public health team have recently taken part in visits and discussions with the national Mission Delivery Unit to spread the learning.

9. All-Age Autism and ADHD Strategy 2025-2030: An Autism and ADHD Health Needs Assessment for York has recently been published, and in October 2025, the Council are publishing an All-Age Autism and ADHD Strategy 2025-2030 through an Executive meeting, which sets out how partners are going to focus on three areas aimed at making York a City that Works for all. These are ‘Change society for inclusion’, ‘Make diagnosis and assessment work’ and ‘Improve support in every setting’.

Author:	Responsible for the report:
Compiled by Tracy Wallis Health and Wellbeing Partnerships Co-ordinator	Cllr Lucy Steels-Walshaw Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care
	Report Approved	Date

Wards Affected:	All	√
For further information please contact the author of the report