Health and wellbeing boards

Health and wellbeing boards are statutory bodies introduced in England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. According to the Act, each upper-tier local authority in England is required to form a health and wellbeing board as a committee of that authority. More than 130 "shadow" boards were created before April 2013, when they all became fully operational.

The aim of the health and wellbeing boards is to improve integration between practitioners in local health care, social care, public health and related public services so that patients and other service-users experience more "joined up" care, particularly in transitions between health care and social care. The boards are also responsible for leading locally on reducing health inequalities.

Each board produces a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) for its local authority area, replacing the JSNA formerly prepared by local authorities and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), under Section 116 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act (2007). A JSNA provides local policy-makers and commissioners with a profile of the health and wellbeing needs of the local population. The aim of the JSNA is to improve commissioning and reduce health inequalities by identifying current and future health trends within a local population. It is expected that the JSNA should be based on analysis of:

Department of Health guidance recommends that JSNAs are refreshed every three years.

The boards are also responsible for producing a joint health and wellbeing strategy. The first of these were published by the "shadow" boards at the end of 2012. Priority areas identified from JSNAs are key for the development of joint strategies, which in turn feed into commissioning plans. The boards also look at which areas may need deprioritising and decommissioning. The strategic direction of implementation and service delivery for health and wellbeing boards is outlined in the joint strategy documents.

Health and wellbeing boards have no statutory obligation to become directly involved in the commissioning process, but they do have powers to influence commissioning decisions made by CCGs. However, CCGs and local authorities may delegate commissioning powers to health and wellbeing boards so that they can lead on joint commissioning. JSNAs and joint health and wellbeing strategies, produced by the boards, are key tools that CCGs use in deciding what public health services need to be purchased. In this sense the boards have a role in shaping the local public health landscape, and helping CCGs to commission services in an effective and targeted manner.

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