Zoe Sydenham (Community Empowerment and Operational Lead) delivered the Community Empowerment Programme and Wellbeing Hubs Briefing Report, and highlighted:

a)    The Community Empowerment Programme was established in 2018, in partnership with the voluntary and community sector, to bring empowerment to communities around their health needs and priorities, transitioning from ‘aid to agency’;

b)    The programme delivered targeted funding to populations who were historically underinvested, building capacity within communities, reducing health inequalities, and reducing the demand on primary and social care;

c)    The core themes of the programme included engagement, enabling community resilience, empowerment through the VCSE sector, the volunteering support scheme, and leadership and cultural change;

d)    13 community builders had been established across the city, and were integrated within communities to provide an asset based, and trauma informed approach;

e)    Community builders acted as a catalyst for community self-help, providing advice and signposting, and had supported 791 residents to lead their own community based activities;

f)     An evaluation of the programme by the University of Plymouth had demonstrated success in reducing isolation, increasing friendships and enhancing a sense of connection, which were key factors underpinning mental health and wellbeing;

g)    Community builders had organised outreach programmes with Citizens Advice, delivering financial support and advice to over 300 clients in the first half of the year;

h)    Utilising the Low Income Families Tracker (LIFT), the Community Empowerment Programme was able to selectively target households who may most benefit from support. This had included sending letters out to those eligible for Pension Credit who had not yet registered for support;

i)     The Good Neighbour Volunteer Scheme provided 40 visits per week to residents who were unable to leave home, delivering mental and physical benefit both to those volunteering, and those in receipt;

j)     Around 50 digital volunteers had been trained through the programme, who provided digital support to residents in need, and over 300 residents had participated in a GP hosted session, facilitating use of the NHS digital app;

k)    As part of the Food Security project, six food cooperatives had been established, enabling communities to run and deliver their own food support to those in need;

l)     11 Wellbeing Hubs had been established across the city, offering walk in support and  responding to the specific needs of their community;

m)  Future priorities for the programme would include consolidating, developing the network, prioritising the work, improving strategic work with partners, raising visibility of the network, and enhancing the specialisms within the hubs.

Councillor Chris Penberthy added:

n)    The importance of reaching isolated individuals and groups, where small interventions could result in significant positive long term outcomes;

o)    The efficiency of helping people and communities to help others, delivering long term better outcomes for all;

p)    While there were challenges attaining data to prove causal improvements from the programme, there were many stories of proven success, and positive feedback from those who had engaged with the programme.

In response to questions, the Board discussed:

q)    Potential gaps in the provision of Health and Wellbeing Hubs across the city, and ongoing work to identify sites for future resource. While Plymstock remained a site of interest for the development of a Wellbeing Hub, no viable building had yet been identified;

r)    The success of the Community Empowerment Programme in delivering two of the NHS reform priorities: From ‘hospital to community’ and from ‘treatment to prevention’;

s)     The use of data to target specific vulnerable groups and individuals, enabling early and efficient intervention, to ensure the best possible outcomes.

The Board agreed:

1.    To endorse the Council’s approach to the delivery of the Community Empowerment Programme and Wellbeing Hubs Network, and the direction of travel proposed for 2025.