Public health service plan 2025-28

A. Overview

Organisation chart

NB. The Public Health and Wellbeing Team is about to be restructured, following approval by CMT and consultation it may change.

Achievements in 2024/25

The things your service delivered over the past year.

• Health Visiting teams now provide additional contacts for families and babies at 3 and 6 months in addition to the mandated health visiting contacts points. We have also made good progress in RBH introducing an automatic process for sending notifications to Health Visitors. 
• Breast feeding peer support services were rolled out in Reading by volunteers from breast feeding networks at well-baby clinics. 
• Commissioning of Beat The Street gamification offer to engage children, families and communities in walking, cycling and movement 
• Suicide First Aid Prevention toolkit endorsed by CMT and shared as good practice with other neighbouring authorities 
• Initiation of a Whole Systems Approach to healthy weight and healthy weight needs assessment, to address issues of adults and children and young people living with obesity 
• A confidential ChatHealth messaging service was introduced by health visiting and school nursing services to families and young people. 
• Integrated Sexual Health services provider Florey Clinic offered free STI and HIV testing to residents at different locations in Reading. 
• Thames Valley Positive Service rolled out HIV awareness and testing campaign in Reading with 114 people receiving tests 
• 101 Community Health Champions were trained and active across Reading with over 26 languages spoken and over 17 events and webinars delivered in the last year 
• Launched the Reading Joint All Age Carers Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027. 
• 1150 attended the Older People’s Day event, up 2% from last year, hosted 32 information stands, 32 pension credit checks were completed, 28 enquiries for health checks and 12 health checks completed 
• Reading Drugs and Alcohol Services achieved the target of getting 15% more people into drug and alcohol treatment, in line with the Government’s ambition to increase numbers in treatment. 
• Change Grow Live Reading achieved same day prescribing which enables individuals to walk into the service, have an assessment, see a prescriber, and leave that day with a treatment plan and a prescription.  
• Reading Drugs and Alcohol Services successfully enrolled 14 individuals on Buvidal, providing them with a long-acting treatment option that has contributed to improved treatment adherence, improved health, quality of life and reduced relapse rates. 
• We introduced the evidence-based Allen Carr Easyway Program, a drug-free option to compliment the current pharmacotherapy option offered by the local stop smoking service supporting smokers in Reading to quit successfully. 
• Achieved a significant reduction in adult smoking rates in Reading, dropping from 14.4% in 2022/23 to 11.8% in 2023/24, from approximately 20,000 to 16,500 adults 
• In collaboration with Reading Trading Standards strengthened enforcement against illegal tobacco and vape sales, including the closure of an illegal vape shop.  
• Provided assurance around local Health Protection activity including communicable disease management and adverse weather with system partner organisations such as United Kingdom Health Security Agency and the BOB ICB.  
• Led the development and implementation of a Berkshire West Tuberculosis MOU for infected residents who have no recourse to public funds.  
• Strengthened the relationship with education colleagues and developed a programme to provide education and information on Health Protection topics such as communicable disease prevention.  
• Upskilled workforce by delivering Improving Resilience & Motivation workshops to 300 staff across Reading Borough Council and support for suicide and mental health first aid sessions. 
• Increased mental health support for vulnerable groups, including sheltered housing residents and homeless populations in Reading. 
• Empowered over 200 individuals with tools for recovery and independent living through collaborative Workshops & programs 

Business-as-usual services

The things your service does for residents or to support staff every day.

The team commissions and manages a programme of mandated public health services funded by the public health grant and other national grant funding streams that form the basis of the day-to-day business as usual services. These are: 

• Stop Smoking Services
  Achieving a target of 618 quits at four weeks in 2025/26 through the main contract and the Smokefree Generation funding  
• Integrated Sexual Health Services 
  Providing treatment services and contraception in partnership with The Florey Clinics and GPs 
• NHS Health Checks Programme 
  Contracted through local GPs to deliver NHS Health Checks per year with additional targeted health Checks provided through the Community Wellness Outreach pilot programme 
• 0-19 Health Visitors and School Nurses 
  Provision of statutory programme of universal and targeted checks on newborns and school nurse services achieving 95% 
• Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services 
  Treatment services and homeless support achieving recovery 
• Coordinating the Implementation of the Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 
  Including the prevention and reduction of health inequalities and improving mental health and wellbeing with delivery against 5 implementation plans and over 40 priority actions 

B. Key Performance Indicators

The metrics that tell us how well our business-as-usual services are performing and whether we are delivering the objectives set out in section C overleaf. 

You should aim to have a KPI which describes how well each key business-as-usual activity is operating.  This could be the quantity of work (e.g. bins collected) or/and the quality of work (e.g. missed bins).  These should be focused on the main business-as-usual activities that need tracking and are specifically of interest to senior management and Members. They should be within the Council’s control and are your ‘normal level’ of activity. 

If you are proposing to improve the service, through a project or initiative that you may be including below, then you should have a target which shows what that improvement/change will bring (e.g. normal number of bins missed is x%, target following project is y%). 

Under “definition” explain how the indicator is defined and the formula used. E.g. recycling rate = household waste recycled in the month / total household waste collected (kg). “Target type” should say whether the target is “flat”, i.e. the same each month/quarter (e.g. 50%), or cumulative, i.e. increasing each month/quarter (e.g. for measuring total library visits in the year to date). If the target has a variable profile/seasonal targets, please detail this. 

Measure	Definition	Unit	Better (bigger or smaller)	Frequency (monthly, quarterly)	Target type (flat or cumulative)	Normal level/ Target 25/26	Normal level/ Target 26/27	Normal level/ Target 27/28	Council Plan KPI (Y/N)	Data provider
Stop Smoking 4 week quits	All quits at 4 weeks from universal offer and Smokefree Generation	Individual 4 week quit	Bigger	Quarterly	Cumulative	618	916	1016	Y	Martin White / Olawatumininu Owa

C. Objectives for 2025-28

The most important changes your service is aiming to deliver over the period of this service plan. 

This should include Council Plan objectives and any additional objectives at service level. 

Example: “Prevent the escalation of children’s needs through developing family hubs.” Objectives should: 

• Clearly and concisely state the outcome we are trying to achieve and how we will deliver it. 
• Be realistic given available resources and relevant to the priorities set out in the Council Plan. 
• Have an associated KPI that tells us whether we have achieved the objective. 

See the annex for a full list of Council Plan priorities and objectives. 

Objectives (one objective per row)	Council Plan objective? (Y/N)	Relevant Council Plan priority
Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service   This is a collaborative approach to improving health and health equity through a concerted cross-sector action on the wider determinants of health. This ensures that health gain becomes a material consideration in the formulation and implementation of policy.   Year 2025/2026   • We will build a framework that will inform our approach to HiAP.  • We will seek full commitment to HiAP from Corporate Management Team and Council Departments, Council Members, as well as wider engagement with external partners and organisations.	Y	Priority 1: Promote affordable housing and more equal communities   Priority 3: Promote a sustainable and healthy environment and reduce Reading’s carbon footprint
Reduce risky behaviours in adults to prevent premature mortality and health inequalities   Deliver NHS Health Checks in the Community to reach people that may not have had or have easy access to an NHS Health Check. They will know what their risk is of vascular disease and be signposted to opportunities that will support them to reduce it.   Year 2025/26  We will identify and invite 20% of the eligible population per year (9,107) from universal and targeted cohort of patients for an NHS health check.   We will provide accessible support through trained tobacco dependency advisors and evidence based programmes for all smokers across Reading to make an effective quit attempt.    Year 25/26: Achieve 1030 SAQD (60% conversion rate of the SAQD to achieve 618 4WeekQuits)  Year 26/27:  Achieve 1529 SAQD (60% conversion rate of the SAQD to achieve 916 4WeekQuits)  Year 27/28:  Achieve 1695 SAQD (60% conversion rate of the SAQD to achieve 1016 4WeekQuits)   We will develop and coordinate a multi-service multi agency approach to local action that focuses on the causes of overweight and obesity In Reading. This will create a supportive environment that will enable individuals to reach a healthy weight.   Year 2025/2026  We will deliver 3 x workshops to understand systemic barriers and identify systemic solutions, influences and enablers to actuate concrete changes.  We will set up a task and finish group to oversee the development of the strategy and an implementation plan.  We will set up a Core Council Policy Group that will drive embedding public health outcomes for healthy weight in policy designs.  We will establish 3 x multi-agency networks that will contribute to the development of a whole systems approach to healthy weight strategy, action and implementation plans – focusing on physical activity and wellbeing, food environments, and children and young people	N	Priority 1: Promote affordable housing and more equal communities
Best Start in Life for Children   Systemwide collaboration with Brighter Futures for Children and partners to Safeguard and support the health and wellbeing of Reading’s adults and children to enjoy good physical and mental health.   Year 2025/26  We will deliver a targeted Oral Health and supervised toothbrushing programme for refugee and asylum-seeking families  We will work with system partners to deliver an oral health strategy for Reading residents including children which aspires to promote the best oral health and reduce oral health inequalities across the life course.	Y	Priority 1: Promote affordable housing and more equal communities   Priority 4: Safeguard and support the health and wellbeing of Reading’s adults and children. Work with our partners in health and the voluntary sector to provide support solutions for those with complex health and social care needs to improve outcomes.

D. Projects

The specific activities and programmes work that will deliver the objectives set out above. 

Projects should be: 

• Focused on tangible deliverables rather than outcomes (e.g. “build a new library and reception area in the Civic Centre” would be preferable to “celebrate Reading’s arts, culture, and heritage”). 
• Time-limited (with a defined beginning and end) and distinct from BAU activity (ongoing activities should be reflected in the “business as usual” section). 

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (e.g. finance, legal, IT)	Relevant Council/Service Plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service by ensuring Health and Wellbeing is a consideration in all policies.	Develop a framework and approach using systems thinking to agree a shared understanding of the local obesogenic environment and identify how the Council and its stakeholder system partners can work together to remove the barriers that prevent local people maintaining a healthy weight. Including Active Travel, Healthy Food and Regulatory Controls. .	April 2025	March 2027	TBC	Public Health Grant and collaboration through the Corporate Management Team	Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service by ensuring Health and Wellbeing is a consideration in all policies.	Y	Nina Crispin
Implementation of a new team structure	Implementation of a professional team that has capacity and capability across all public health functions aligned with the work of Corporate Directorates	April 2025	March 2027	£1.3m	Public Health Grant and collaboration through the Corporate Management Team	Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service by ensuring Health and Wellbeing is a consideration in all policies.	N	Martin White
Review of the JSNA	Update the JSNA for Reading and develop a suite of accessible and products at a level of detail that supports commissioning and planning for all partners and stakeholders	April 2025	March 2027	n/a	Public Health Grant and collaboration with the policy team through the Corporate Management Team	Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service by ensuring Health and Wellbeing is a consideration in all policies.	N	Paul Trinder
Air Quality Monitoring Network	Support the establishment of a network of 36 air quality monitors that provide real-time exposure data to help individuals make healthier choices and identify pollution hotspots to guide structural environmental interventions	April 2025	March 2027	£120K	Public Health Grant, Public Health contract management; procurement; IT and  Inter directorate collaboration through Corporate Management Team and Senior Leadership Group and Integrated Care System Partners.	Reduce inequalities in health and life expectancy through our Public Health service by ensuring Health and Wellbeing is a consideration in all policies.	N	Martin White / Ross Jarvis
NHS Health Checks	Deliver a strengthened NHS Health Checks programme in the Community to reach people that may not have had or have easy access to an NHS Health Check. They will know what their risk is of vascular disease and be signposted to opportunities that will support them to reduce it. • We will identify and invite 20% of the eligible population per year (9,107) from universal and targeted cohort of patients for an NHS health check.	April 2025	March 2027	£100K	Public health Grant, Public Health contract management	Reduce risky behaviours in adults to prevent premature mortality and health inequalities	Y	Catherine Greaves
Smokefree Generation	Reduce the availability of alcohol and tobacco to underage individuals through test purchasing and retailer training. Work with local businesses to promote responsible retailing and reduce proxy purchasing.	April 2025	March 2027	£28K	Public Health Grant; Public Health contract management	Reduce risky behaviours in adults to prevent premature mortality and health inequalities	Y	Tessa Brunsden
Commission Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service	Integrated health lifestyle services connect primary care providers with local health behaviour service providers via a single point of access, or hub, using a triage system whereby individuals would be assessed ‘holistically’ and treatment provided.	April 2025	March 2027	£600K	Public health Grant, Public Health contract management; procurement; IT and  Inter directorate collaboration through Corporate Management Team and Senior Leadership Group and Integrated Care System Partners.	Reduce risky behaviours in adults to prevent premature mortality and health inequalities	N	Martin White/ Mary Maimo
Commissioning parent support programmes	4-11yrs  Strengthens the relationship between parent & child; to help parent understand their child’s development & equip parent with strategies to help them. 11-19yrs  Strengthens the relationship between parent & teenager, promotes teen’s development & equips parent to help them recognise & avoid risky situations.	April 2025	March 2027	£13K	Public Health Grant; Public Health contract management	Best Start in Life for Children	Y	Rojina Manandhar
Implementation of a Healthy Tots / Healthy Schools Programme	A 12-week course, focusing on children aged 1-3yrs. Exploring simple but effective ways to enhance your child’s emotional and social competence. You’ll learn how to use play, language, positive discipline strategies and more to build a good relationship with your toddler. Free creche for under 5s to attend while their parent/carer attends the course.	April 2025	March 2027	£10k	Public Health Grant; Public Health contract management	Best Start in Life for Children	N	Rojina Manandhar
Supervised Toothbrushing	Provide a culturally inclusive oral health outreach programme through multilingual oral health education, free dental check-ups, and referrals for refugee and asylum seeking families	April 2025	March 2027	£10K	Public Health Grant; Public Health contract management	Best Start in Life for Children	N	Rojina Manandhar
Supported Employment	Collaboration with New Directions, Reading‘s Economic and Destination Agency and the Local Skills Implementation Plans to provide targeted skills training for population groups experiencing barriers to worthwhile employment e.g. long-term unemployment to improve health outcomes through secure and sustainable  work.	April 2025	March 2027	TBC	Public Health Grant, Public Health contract management; procurement; IT and  Inter directorate collaboration through Corporate Management Team and Senior Leadership Group and Integrated Care System Partners	Connect to Work Programme	Y	Dayna White

Annex: Council Plan priorities and objectives 

Vision: Our Vision is to help Reading realise its potential and to ensure that everyone who lives and works here can share the benefits of its success.

Priority 1: Promote affordable housing and more equal communities 

• Tackle economic inequality by taking a place-based approach to how we deliver all our services, and enhance access to education, skills, and training opportunities.  
• Deliver new energy efficient council homes and improve tenant satisfaction with social housing.  
• Prevent the escalation of children’s needs through developing Family Hubs. 
• Promote best practice across Reading’s schools, helping to improve educational attainment and narrow the gap for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. 
• Prevent and reduce health inequalities within the population of Reading and improve and protect the health and wellbeing of all its communities. 
• Through the community safety partnership, focus on reducing community-based drug activity, knife violence, violence against women and girls and youth reoffending. 
• Work with partners to prevent homelessness, provide value for money accommodation for those that are homeless, and move people onto settled accommodation as quickly as possible. 

Priority 2: Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success 

• Enable the delivery of over 800 high-quality new homes a year in Reading, along with the infrastructure to support new development. 
• Promote the economic success of Reading by working with councils across Berkshire and the wider Thames Valley. 
• Maximise the benefits available for Reading from opportunities arising from the English Devolution White Paper. 
• Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects. 

Priority 3: Promote a sustainable and healthy environment and reduce Reading’s carbon footprint 

• Make use of central government funding to deliver improvements to public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure in Reading. 
• Keep Reading moving by delivering investment in highways, including roads, bridges, streetlighting and traffic signals. 
• Continue moving towards a net zero, resilient Reading and council by 2030. 
• Further improve the physical environment of Reading by improving air quality, access to green space, and the quality of public spaces. 
• Deliver major changes to our waste and recycling service to ensure compliance with new legislation. 

Priority 4: Safeguard and support the health and wellbeing of Reading’s adults and children 

• Reduce the number of children in care and the number of children in residential care. 
• Improve our local Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) offer and support education settings to develop inclusive practice, so children receive high quality education locally, and achieve their potential. 
• Support those who need social care services to live as independently as possible in a place they call home with improved wellbeing. 
• Improve our offer for unpaid Carers, ensuring they are supported to live well and can sustain their caring role. 
• Work with our partners in health and the voluntary sector to provide support solutions for those with complex health and social care needs to improve outcomes. 

Priority 5: Ensure Reading Borough Council is fit for the future 

• Deliver good, accessible services for our customers. 
• Invest in technology that is secure and helps deliver effective services. 
• Use procurement of goods and services to secure greater social value and spend locally. 
• Bring Brighter Futures for Children (Children’s Services) back to the council. 
• Be a fair employer with an attractive and competitive offer and a workforce that is representative of the local community.