Agenda and draft minutes

The Senior Democratic Services Officer welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised that in the absence of Councillor Margaret Bell, the Sub-Committee would be required to appoint an interim Chair for the meeting.

It was therefore proposed, duly seconded and

Resolved that Councillor Jerry Roodhouse be appointed interim Chair for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell and Rachel Briden, Integrated Partnership Manager.

Councillor Roodhouse declared an interest as a Director of Healthwatch Warwickshire.

To review and approve the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan for 2025/26 to meet the national BCF Policy and Planning Requirements.

The Sub-Committee received the report which asked them to review and approve the Better Care Fund (BCF) Plan for 2025/26 in order to meet the national BCF Policy and Planning Requirements.

The report noted that the plan for 2025/26 contributed to the wider Health and Wellbeing Board’s prevention policies as well as meeting the Better Care Fund national conditions.  The Sub-Committee were requested to endorse the final version of the Better Care Fund Plan for 2025/26, which had been approved by the Leader on 18 March 2025, for submission to NHS England on 31 March 2025.  Following approval of the plan by regional assurers, an updated BCF Section 75 agreement for 2025/26 would be prepared between the ICB and Local Authority and submitted to WCC Cabinet for approval.

Zoe Mayhew, Director for Social Care & Health Commissioning, introduced the report and highlighted a number of key aspects including the Framework and Planning Requirements published in January 2025, the approval of the plan by the NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (the ICB) prior to this meeting and future governance steps.

Members were signposted to section 1.5 of the report which detailed the changes to the National BCF Objectives and priorities for 2025/26 and the National Conditions as outlined at paragraph 1.6.  Zoe Mayhew highlighted the key changes for 2024/25 and reminded Members that neither of the national funding allocations had been increased in line with inflation.  Therefore, the Council and ICB had to ensure that activity was within the allocated funding, to avoid further cost pressure.

Engagement regarding the changes had taken place with District and Borough Councils through the Housing Partnership Board and South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust and robust monitoring was provided by the Joint Commissioning Board.  Local areas were also required to submit updated information on capacity and demand.

The report advised that capacity available to support Discharge to Assess Pathways 1 and 2 had been updated, following learning from pilots during 2024/25, with further details provided in section 1.11 and Appendix 3.

The Sub-Committee was also asked to note that the Council would continue as the pooled budget holder for the BCF.

Further information relating to the metrics was provided under section 4 of the report, and highlighted three new headline metrics, with six related supporting metrics, as listed in full at paragraph 4.2.  In summary, the three new metrics were:

·       Number of emergency admissions to hospital for people aged 65+ per 100,000 population;

·       Average length of discharge delay for all acute patients; and

·       Number of admissions to long-term residential and nursing home care for people aged 65+ per 100,000 population

In addition, local progress would be monitored quarterly against the metrics through the Joint Commissioning Board and Care Collaborative Committee.

Councillor Maggie O’Rourke, Rugby Borough Council, raised a query relating to avoidance pathways and frequent hospital admissions.  She asked what assurances were in place to ensure that the money was being used appropriately and was supporting the right people.

In response, Zoe Mayhew explained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.