Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Julia Ingram, Paul Dempsey, Matthew Piles, Dawn Dawson, Margaret Guy and Paula Bennetts.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 2026.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 June 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, 11 September 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 add your email address by 8.30am on Friday, 11 September 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 & Wellbeing Board’s Work Programme.

The Health and Wellbeing Board noted its work programme.

To consider a report by the Consultant in Public Health.

The Board received a report on the Smoke Free Dorset programme. The Cabinet Member for Public Health, Prevention and Communities introduced the item and highlighted both the scale of the public health challenge posed by smoking and the work being undertaken across Dorset to reduce smoking prevalence. The Head of Programmes, then gave a presentation on the programme's progress and priorities. The presentation is attached as an appendix to these minutes.

Board members discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         A high proportion of people experiencing homelessness smoke, could be done to promote smoking cessation services to people as they moved into supported or sheltered accommodation. The Head of Programmes acknowledged that partnership working in this area had been effective but advised that there was scope to strengthen it further. He added that services had become more accessible in recent years, helping to remove barriers to support.

·         There were concerns about youth vaping, that vaping had become fashionable among some young people and could act as a gateway to smoking and, in some cases, other substances. The charter appeared to be more focused on tobacco use. The Head of Programmes advised that Trading Standards had been actively targeting unregulated vape retailers and noted that further regulation was being introduced nationally. The Chairman referred to recent Government announcements regarding additional powers for councils to regulate vape shops.

·         The potential of the programme to reduce health inequalities and improve life expectancy, particularly for people experiencing mental health difficulties, was welcomed.

·         The success of the SmokeStop Van in North Dorset, which had engaged directly with employers and helped reach groups that are traditionally harder to engage, particularly middle-aged working men. However, the service was currently paused pending clarification about future funding.

·         That Dorset aspired to become one of the first smoke-free places in England and whether the Board would find regular progress updates helpful. The Chairman supported this suggestion and commented that it would provide a useful measure of progress.

·         The Deputy Director of Public Health highlighted the work taking place within maternity services to reduce smoking during pregnancy and reported that good progress was being made.

Following the discussion, the recommendations were proposed by Cllr S Robinson and seconded by Cllr M Bell.

Decision:

That:

a)    The significant health, wellbeing, social care and economic burden arising from smoking in Dorset be noted.

b)    The Board acknowledge progress made in expanding access to evidence-based smoking cessation support and treatment.

c)    The South West Smoke-Free Charter and continued partnership action to reduce smoking prevalence and related health inequalities, be endorsed.

d)    The forthcoming Stoptober campaign to increase the number of residents making successful quit attempts, be supported.

To consider a report by the Executive Director of Housing, Communities and Prevention.

The Board received a presentation from the Executive Director of Housing, Communities and Prevention on the development of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy Outcomes Framework. He explained that the strategy was intended to provide a shared, prevention-focused framework for partners and outlined the draft strategic outcomes that would be delivered through a series of delivery groups. Members heard that the proposed outcomes aligned closely with the Government's Outcomes Framework and that further work would be undertaken to finalise the delivery arrangements before the strategy was brought forward for approval.

The Board discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         The draft framework did not explicitly refer to factors within the home that affect health, such as damp, mould and indoor air quality. The Executive Director of Housing, Communities and Prevention responded that housing, homelessness and poverty were key areas of focus within the Healthy Places delivery group and agreed that these issues could be reflected within that workstream.

·         The relatively small number of proposed outcomes were welcomed, as that this would help partners maintain focus on delivery. The opportunities the framework presented for developing more joint commissioning arrangements were highlighted.

·         The importance of avoiding duplication of work already taking place across partner organisations. It would be important to understand the connections between existing programmes and identify where work was already being delivered.

·         Clarification was sought on the purpose of the delivery groups and the organisations and stakeholders that would be represented within them.

The Chairman suggested that future Board meetings could include a standing item focused on the work of one of the delivery groups, enabling members to monitor progress and understand delivery in greater detail. He also suggested that healthy life expectancy should be a core metric.

The recommendations were proposed by Cllr S Robinson, seconded by Cllr G Taylor and agreed by the Board.

Decision:

That:

1.    The proposed outcomes framework, which will be a key component of the refreshed Health and Wellbeing strategy, be agreed.

2.    The proposed delivery groups and life course structure be endorsed.

3.    To responsibility be delegated to Sam Crowe (Dorset Council), Dean Spencer (NHS Dorset), and Dawn Dawson (Dorset Healthcare) to set up the delivery groups under the strategy.

To consider a report by the Associate Place Director and Deputy Place Director for Dorset.

The Board received a report from the Place Director - Dorset on the proposed Dorset neighbourhood footprints. Members heard that nine footprints had been identified, based on Primary Care Network geographies, with varying population sizes across the county.

Board members discussed the report and raised the following points:

·         That community clusters should be considered alongside the neighbourhood footprints to help strengthen local partnership working and community engagement.

·         Whether the larger population within the Weymouth and Portland footprint could present challenges, given that it exceeded the population range suggested in national guidance.

·         How boundary overlaps would be managed. The Place Director - Dorset acknowledged that some cross-boundary issues would be unavoidable and noted that a number of GP practices already served populations across different geographical areas.

·         Options would be explored for how potential duplication within policing arrangements could be addressed through a partnership approach.

·         A series of workshops would be held by Dorset Healthcare until December to further develop the neighbourhood approach and stakeholders were encouraged to become involved in the process.

The recommendations were proposed by Dean Spencer, seconded by Sam Crowe and agreed by the Board.

Decision:

That a neighbourhood model be endorsed that:

• Retains PCN-aligned footprints as the core geography for Neighbourhoods.
• Recognises Dorset Council Community Clusters as a complementary geography for community engagement and local collaboration.
• Supports alignment between organisations where beneficial whilst acknowledging that different footprints may be required for different functions.
• Focuses on improving population health, reducing inequalities and strengthening neighbourhood partnerships rather than achieving complete geographical alignment.

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.