Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Jan Britton, Paul Dempsey, Stewart Gates, Marc House and Jonathan Price.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2026.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 February 2026 were confirmed and signed.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made at the meeting.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit either 1 question or 1 statement for each meeting.  You are welcome to attend the meeting in person or via Microsoft Teams to read out your question and to receive the response.   If you submit a statement for the committee this will be circulated to all members of the committee in advance of the meeting as a supplement to the agenda and appended to the minutes for the formal record but will not be read out at the meeting. The first 8 questions and the first 8 statements received from members of the public or organisations for each meeting will be accepted on a first come first served basis in accordance with the deadline set out below.  For further information read Public Participation - Dorset Council

All submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on Friday, 13 March 2026.

When submitting your question or statement please note that: 

·         You can submit 1 question or 1 statement.

·         a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context.

·         It must be a single question and any sub-divided questions will not be permitted.

·         Each question will consist of no more than 450 words, and you will be given up to 3 minutes to present your question.

·         when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g., the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 

·         Include your name, address, and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 

·         questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda. 

·         all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

There was no public participation.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The submissions must be emailed in full to [email protected] by 8.30am on Friday, 13 March 2026. 

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13 

There were no questions from Councillors.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To consider the Health and Wellbeing Board’s Work Programme.

The Board noted its work programme and the need for the Neighbourhood Health Plan to be included in a future meeting.

To consider a report by the Head of Service for Commissioning for Older People and Home First.

The Head of Commissioning for Older People introduced the Better Care Fund Quarter 3 Template. She gave a short presentation to outline the key parts of the template.

The Chair updated the Board that the FutureCare programme was delivering as expected and that discharge delays had improved compared to a year ago.

The Neighbourhood Health Framework encompassed the priorities of the Better Care Fund. Going forward, there would be a need to ensure the Better Care Fund had an overarching function of supporting all out of hospital care, as well as supporting hospital flow.

Decision: That the Better Care Fund Reporting Template for 2025/26 Quarter 3 be endorsed.

To consider a report by the Director of Public Health and Prevention.

The Director of Public Health introduced the report. The Health and Wellbeing Strategy was being linked to wider cross-council work and it would need wide engagement whilst the strategy is being shaped. With the Integrated Partnership being stood down, it enabled an effective place-based partnership under the Health and Wellbeing Board. The Board may need to review its governance and terms of reference towards the end of the process, particularly if the Board would be receiving budgets in the future.

The Head of Service Planning outlined the outcomes from strategy development workshops and future planned work.

Members discussed the involvement of stakeholders in developing the strategy and ensuring that there would be alignment across the council, with involvement of external stakeholders.

Proposed by Sam Crowe, seconded by Sarah Howard.

Decision:

That the Health and Wellbeing Board approve the approach to develop an outcomes-based health and wellbeing strategy for the Dorset place system by September 2026, noting the work done to date and input from stakeholders and overview committee.

To consider a report by the Senior Health Programme Advisor and the Public Health Consultant (BCP Council).

The Senior Health Programme Advisor introduced the report and shared a video on the importance of health literacy. Health literacy needed improvement in Dorset and the work on health literacy needed to be scaled.

Health literacy had been public health led, with Dorset Community Action having involvement. The workshop would include the council, NHS, and voluntary sector.

Members reinforced the need for plain language to be used in committee reports, to support clarity of information. A member gave an example on how information on accessing GP services online was rewritten, to enable people to access services easily.

Decision:

1.    That organisational health literacy be confirmed as an important enabler for achieving system priorities, including improving access and experience of services and reducing health inequalities. 

2.    That the planned workshop (March 2026) to codesign a proposal for scaling up organisational health literacy across Dorset be supported.

To consider a report by the Team Leader – Intelligence.

The Team Leader – Intelligence introduced the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) Forward Plan report. The JSNA was a statutory requirement for the Health and Wellbeing Board which helps to understand current and future health and wellbeing needs. A focussed insight would typically be produced twice a year. Areas of focus for 2027-28 needing further scoping before being confirmed.

The Director of Public Health and Prevention highlighted the forthcoming SEND and education reform. The JSNA work plan may need to be changed to ensure SEND and education is included, with the need for it to be developed on a short timescale.

The Board noted that there is need for flexibility in the JSNA work plan.

Proposed by Sam Crowe, seconded by Cllr Steve Robinson.

Decision:

That the forward work plan for the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the annual narrative update be approved.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following item in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph x of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the item of business is considered.  

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

There was no exempt business.