Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mulroney (no substitute), A Quinn, A Pike and J Banks.

There were no declarations of interest at this meeting.

Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday, 6^th March 2023, be confirmed as a correct record.

There were no questions from the public at this meeting.

The Board considered a joint report of the Director of Commissioning and Director of Public Health presenting an update on the development and implementation of the Southend Drugs and Alcohol Strategy, as well as the proposed governance and decision-making arrangements for 2023/24.

The Board asked questions which were responded to by officers.

Resolved:

1. That the Southend Drugs and Alcohol Strategy 2023-2025, be approved.

2. That the proposed governance arrangements, as put forward by the Southend, Essex and Thurrock Drugs and Alcohol Partnership, as set out in the submitted report, be approved.

3. That the local priorities as set out in the report, be noted.

Joint report from ABSS Chair and Director

The Board considered a report of the Independent Chair, A Better Start Southend, presenting an update on key developments since the last meeting.

The Board asked questions which were responded to by the ABSS Chair and Director.

Resolved:

1. That the submitted report be noted.

2. That it be noted that A Better Start Southend has set its Core Strategy key priorities for the final phase of the programme.

Verbal report from Health Inequalities Clinical Lead (no papers)

The Board received a presentation providing an update on the work of South East Essex Alliance to narrow the gap in health and care inequalities and covered a range of funded projects and the next steps.

The Board asked questions which were responded to by the Deputy Director, SEE Alliance.

Resolved:

That the presentation updating on the actions being taken by SEE Alliance to narrow the gap in health and care inequalities, be noted.

Report from Director of Strategic Partnerships, Mid and South Essex

The Board considered a report of the Director of Strategic Partnerships, Mid and South Essex, presenting the draft five-year Joint Forward Plan for Mid and South Essex.

The Board asked questions which were responded to by the Deputy Director, SEE Alliance.  The Board commented on some of the system wide challenges that need to be addressed which included access to GPs and digital exclusion.

The Board also discussed the alignment of resources across the whole health and care system and the need to align and use common language across the partnership.

Resolved:

That the draft Joint Forward Plan (JFP) produced by Mid and South Essex ICB, be acknowledged and that the Chair, on behalf of the Board, formally writes to SEE Alliance confirming that the JFP appropriately takes into account and aligns with the strategies and priorities of the Southend Health and Wellbeing Board.

Verbal report from Director of Public Health (no papers)

The Board received a verbal update from the Director of Public Health concerning the health protection response.

The Board noted that Covid was not a significant concern in Southend and that quarterly updates would be provided to the Board going forward.

Resolved:

That the verbal update on health protection, be noted.