Agenda item

The Health and Wellbeing Board is RECOMMENDED to:

1.    NOTE and consider the 2025/26 Director of Public Health Annual Report and specifically note the progress made to address health inequalities in Oxfordshire following the publication of the Director of Public Health Annual Report in 2019/2020, which marked a pivotal moment in Oxfordshire.

2.    SUPPORT the interactive format of the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2025/26 and note the insights that can be used for informing future service delivery plans.

Ansaf Azhar (Director of Public Health), Fiona Ruck (Health Improvement Practitioner), and Kate Austin (Public Health Principal) introduced the Director of Public Health Annual Report. Ansaf Azhar explained that it marked five years since his first report, which had shone a spotlight on inequality in Oxfordshire. He described this year’s report as both reflective and forward‑looking.

Ansaf Azhar explained that the most recent Index of Multiple Deprivation data, published at the end of 2025, showed that Oxfordshire had become relatively less deprived overall compared with 2019, and that several of the previously most deprived wards had improved. He was careful not to attribute causality directly to individual interventions, but argued that sustained, partnership‑led effort had made a meaningful difference.

Ansaf Azhar described the Community Insight Profile approach as foundational to this progress. By combining data, lived experience and asset mapping, partners had been able to develop solutions tailored to specific communities rather than applying generic interventions. He highlighted the role of community health development officers in mobilising community assets and bridging statutory and voluntary sectors.

Ansaf Azhar described how this work had led to the formation of the Prevention and Health Inequality Forum, which initially operated without dedicated funding but brought partners together around a shared commitment. Subsequent pooled funding had enabled over £1.5 million of investment in tackling inequality, including physical activity programmes and voluntary sector support, some of which had gained national recognition. He stressed, however, that the report was not an invitation to relax. He warned that financial pressures, NHS reform and local government reorganisation risked undermining progress if prevention and inequality work were deprioritised. He argued that inequalities remained significant, particularly in rural areas, and that now was the moment to scale up rather than retreat.

Ansaf Azhar then introduced the new format of the report, explaining that it had moved away from a traditional written document to an interactive, web‑based format designed to be accessible, engaging and updatable.

The Public Health Principal and Health Improvement Practitioner then demonstrated the website, explaining how it allowed users to explore content non‑linearly, engage with videos and case studies, and access up‑to‑date data. They described how the format enabled new content to be added over time and made the report more usable for partners and communities.

Discussion focused on accessibility and digital exclusion. Members asked how the report would reach people without internet access. It was explained that the report would be taken out into communities through local area partnerships and that work was underway with communications teams and community organisations to ensure accessibility.

Members also discussed the importance of long‑term funding stability for prevention programmes, with examples such as Move Together highlighting the challenge of annual funding cycles. Ansaf responded by emphasising the need for a system‑wide, value‑based approach to investment and a shift towards upstream funding.

The Board RESOLVED to:

1.    NOTE and consider the 2025/26 Director of Public Health Annual Report and specifically note the progress made to address health inequalities in Oxfordshire following the publication of the Director of Public Health Annual Report in 2019/2020, which marked a pivotal moment in Oxfordshire.

2.    SUPPORT the interactive format of the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2025/26 and note the insights that can be used for informing future service delivery plans.