Joint Strategic Needs Assessment programme update 2025

Since April 2013, local authorities and NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (now Integrated Care Boards) have had equal and explicit statutory obligations to prepare a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

The JSNA provides a comprehensive analysis of the current and future needs of local people and is used to inform commissioning of services that will improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities. Their outputs are used to help to determine what actions the Council, the local NHS and other partners need to take to meet health and social care needs, and to address the wider determinants that impact on health and wellbeing. The JSNA informed the development and delivery of our Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

This duty is discharged by the Health & Wellbeing Board and overseen by the City Needs Assessment Steering Group.

In July 2023 the Board agreed a three-year programme of needs assessments and action plan to further develop the JSNA. This paper updates on the progress in the second year of the programme and provides an updated programme extended by a year for the Board to approve.

Glossary of terms

• JSNA products refers to the products held on the JSNA website, including in-depth and summary needs assessments, data profiles and summaries reports and briefings, and the Local Insight data mapping platform
• JSNA stakeholders refer to users including, the Community and Voluntary Sector, NHS Sussex, the local authority, the public, and other partners

1.1 

That the Board notes the progress in the second year of the JSNA rolling programme 

1.2 

That the Board approves the updated proposed programme of needs assessments. The proposal is to extend the programme by a year, allowing an additional year to deliver the current programme. This means that the next prioritisation process of JSNA products, topics and population groups will take place in year 4. The year 3 (July 2025 to July 2026) and year 4 (July 2026 to July 2027) proposed programme is provided in Appendix 1.

2.1

The current JSNA comprises a suite of products and resources held on the Brighton & Hove City Council website Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) including:

• a programme of in-depth needs assessments on a specific theme or population group, approved by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Due to the resource requirements and partnership working involved, there is usually one in-depth needs assessments per year
• summary needs assessments which take the form of a range of products including the JSNA executive summary data summaries, briefings, data profiles, and signposting
• local Insight, an online resource providing a wide range of data mapped at small area level across the city as well as up to date area reports
• additional resources – for example survey briefings and evidence reviews

2.2

In-depth needs assessments provide a comprehensive analysis for a specific topic of the current and future needs of local people to inform commissioners and providers how they can improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities. They also ensure that health strategies are based on high quality evidence and are a valuable resource for community and voluntary sector organisations.

2.3

Evidence for the needs assessments usually includes:

• local demographic and service data
• evidence from the public, patients, carers, service users and professionals
• national research
• best practice

These elements are brought together to identify:

• need
• current services
• service gaps and under-provision
• unmet need
• inequalities
• over-provision of services

2.4

The JSNA informs key Brighton & Hove and Sussex health and wellbeing strategies including the Brighton & Hove Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the Sussex Health and Care Partnership strategy Improving Lives Together.

The JSNA is delivered by a partnership led by the Brighton & Hove City Council Public Health Intelligence Team. The programme is overseen by the City-wide Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Steering Group which includes:

• representatives from the council’s:
  • Public Health;
  • Adult Social Care;
  • Families, Children and Learning;
  • Housing;
  • Sustainability;
  • Policy;
  • Communities;
  • Equality diversity and inclusion;
  • Transport;
  • Parks and Leisure;
• and external members representing:
  • NHS Sussex; University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust;
  • Healthwatch Brighton and Hove;
  • Community Works;
  • Sussex Police;
  • Library & Knowledge Services;
  • Sussex VCSE Leadership Alliance
  • University of Brighton
  • University of Sussex

2.5

In 2022 to 2023 a JSNA review was completed, reflecting the changing needs with integrated working arrangements including the Sussex Health and Care Partnership and new Place structures (Brighton & Hove) to ensure that the JSNA continues to meet the needs of the city and stakeholders. The Board approved the action plan for development of the JSNA and a three year programme of needs assessments in July 2023. In November 2024, the Board reviewed the year 1 annual report and agreed an adjusted programme.

3.1 

From this review, the 10 key areas for of the action plan for the JSNA programme are:

• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) governance
• working with East and West Sussex
• engagement, involvement and co-production
• JSNA production
• JSNA framework and products
• website and JSNA webpages
• accessibility of the JSNA website and products
• promotion, communication and maximising use of the JSNA
• explore potential for additional resources to produce the JSNA
• JSNA needs assessments prioritisation process

3.2 

There has been good progress made with JSNA action plan in year 2. This includes: 

• Governance – The City-wide JSNA Steering Group membership has been extended to include wider social determinates of health representatives within BHCC as requested by the Board in November 2024 (for example Transport, and Parks and Leisure) and key external partners: Library & Knowledge Services and Sussex VCSE Leadership Alliance
• Promotion, communication and maximising use of the JSNA – good progress and a focus for year 2, including:
  • JSNA overarching communication plan and design has been developed jointly with Brighton and Hove city council, NHS and community and voluntary sector organisations, as well as input from the City-wide JSNA steering group. Implementation of the JSNA communication plan and design across all JSNA products is a focus for years 3 and 4
  • The City-wide JSNA steering group has agreed the following name and strap line (in addition to JSNA) as “Healthy City - Understanding our local communities’ needs and strengths to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities” o The Health Counts report was published accompanied by a targeted communications campaign. Additionally, a Health and Wellbeing Board partnership event was held, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders to promote and maximise the use of this important evidence source across the city. The event facilitated collaborative action planning to support efforts to reduce health and wellbeing inequalities. The Board was updated on this event and the next steps at the July 22nd meeting.
• Engagement, involvement and co-production – this is a main focus area for year 3 and year 4. In year 2 we initiated activities on specific projects, for example:
  • As part of our JSNA programme development, we sought feedback and input from a resident focus group on the JSNA webpage messaging and design to better engage the public
  • The Research Ready Communities Brighton and Hove project - funded by the Research Engagement Network and delivered in partnership with the Health Forums (The Hangleton and Knoll Project, Trust for Developing Communities) and Healthwatch Brighton and Hove - supported community researchers to develop research questions using the Health Counts survey. These questions focused on community cohesion, social connectivity, and mental wellbeing within their local neighbourhoods. Working collaboratively with Public Health Intelligence analysts, the researchers analysed the data and presented their findings back to their communities through the respective Health Forums.
• JSNA framework and website – website re-design and improvements will be delivered as part of the move to the BHCC new hub webpages in year 3
• Explore potential for additional resources to produce the JSNA – Public Health Intelligence team successfully secured funding from the Research Engagement Network for the Research Ready Communities local project in 2025, and additional funds to extend this work in 2026. 

3.3 

Delivering the JSNA communication plan is a key focus in years 3 and 4. We know that JSNA resources are well used, and we see a large increase in use:

• JSNA webpages external user views and downloads:
  • Views 2024/25: Q1= 479 compared to 2025/26: Q1= 2,213
  • Downloads 2024/25: Q1= 70 compared to 2025/26: Q1= 447
• Infogram products viewed:
  • Views 2024/25: Q1= 1,183 compared to 2025/26: Q1= 1,714
• Local Insight data and mapping platform:
  • Public users 2024/25: Q1= 952 compared to 2025/26: Q1= 1015 

As we implement the communications plan and expand promotional activities in years 3 and 4 (for example, launching a JSNA newsletter) we will use enhanced webpage analytics to support more detailed monitoring.

4.1 

The following products have been published in year 2 of the programme:

• Health Counts survey summary and full report (including excel sheet download) – presented to the Board in November 2024 and July 2025
• Brighton & Hove: Integrated Community Team (ICT) data profile - April 2025
• Strategic Assessment of Crime and Community Safety 2024
• Updates:
  • JSNA Health and Wellbeing in Brighton & Hove Executive Summary;
  • JSNA Population in Brighton & Hove Executive Summary
  • Child poverty briefing
  • Healthy people: Dying well
• Evidence reviews evidence searches exploring the intersections between ethnicity, care experience, socioeconomic deprivation, LGBQ+ and TNBI identities, and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), learning disabilities and neurodiversity, in children and young people
• Evaluation of Multiple Compound Needs Programme evaluation of part of the programme designed to deliver on the Multiple Complex Needs Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2020 recommendations
• Research Ready Communities Brighton & Hove
• Public Health Annual Report 2024
• Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for October 2025 has been published – this is a statutory duty of the Board and was taken to the Board in July 2025 and for sign off in September 2025.

4.2

The following are in progress: 

• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), neurodiversity and learning disabilities (children and young people aged 0-25) in depth needs assessment – aim to publish by March 2026
• Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Health and Wellbeing in Brighton & Hove: Community-led qualitative research (commissioned qualitative research)
• Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Census/data profile - publish by March 2026
• Sensory impairment JSNA summary - publish by March 2026
• Health Counts survey area profiles - publish by March 2026
• Health Counts survey population group summaries - publish by March 2026
• Health Counts survey data added to Local Insights
• Sussex TB Health Needs Assessment (West Sussex led)
• Strategic Assessment of Crime and Community Safety (in-depth 3-year review) - publish by March 2026

4.3 

The JSNA programme consists of products beyond those published on our website. Some products are appropriately shared directly with partners and stakeholders to inform strategy, commissioning and services provision. In the last year the Sexual Health JSNA has fed into the new Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy for Brighton and Hove, due to be taken to HWB in December 2025. Healthy Child Programme summary went to stakeholders and leads and used directly to inform programming.

5.1 

The proposed 2-year rolling programme from July 2025 to July 2027 is given in Appendix 1. 

This programme extends the current programme of needs assessments and the JSNA programme action plan by a year due to the extent of work on Health Counts, capacity issues and the Public Health team restructure in 2025. This means that the next prioritisation process of JSNA products, topics and population groups will take place between July 2026 and July 2027 (year 4). This has been agreed by the City-wide JSNA steering group. 

The Board is asked to approve this revised programme.

6.1

The JSNA directly informs the Brighton and Hove Shared Delivery Plan objectives. In-depth needs assessments on: Adults with multiple compound needs (2020) and evaluation of programme (2025), Adults with multiple long-term conditions (2018), and Mental health (2022), and a summary on Cancer (2022), Drugs and Alcohol needs assessment (2024), Hypertension and Chronic Respiratory Disease signposted evidence (2024) all inform the current programme; Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, neurodiversity and learning disabilities in-depth needs assessment (ongoing); Core20 most deprived and local area evidence (for example, area profiles for Integrated Community Teams 2025 and Local Insight local data mapping tool (update with Health Counts data planned year 3); Core20plus5 and Inclusion Groups (for example, carers and migrant groups equalities data profiles 2024, Gypsy, Roma and Travellers qualitative research (ongoing)); scoping and delivering on topics and populations groups to inform the Shared Delivery Plan objectives in year 3 and 4 (for example, care leavers/care experienced, globally displaced communities and sex workers).

6.2 

A specific objective to use Health Counts survey data to inform the programme has been added to the Shared Delivery Plan 2025. Health Counts survey products include: full report and summary report (2025), area profiles (ongoing), equalities profiles across population groups (ongoing) and data insight feeding directly into strategy and programme - for example, Draft BHCC Homelessness strategy 2025 - 2030 - taken to the Board September 2025

7.1 

Legal: The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (s196) requires the function of preparing a JSNA to be discharged by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Specifically, from April 2013, local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (now Integrated Care Boards) have equal and explicit obligations to prepare a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which provides a comprehensive analysis of current and future needs of local people to inform commissioning of services that will improve outcomes and reduce inequalities. 

Lawyer consulted: Sandra O'brien 
Date: 2 December 2025

7.2 

Finance: The resources required to support the production of the JSNA are funded by public health. The majority of the function is provided by the Council’s Public Health team together with some externally funded provision. The Council’s TBM net budget for external provision only is £0.025M in 2025/26 and is expected to remain the same for 2026/27. The Public Health grant allocation has not been confirmed beyond the financial year 2025/26 which may impact on the availability of funding for both staffing and the external provision, though it is anticipated that financial resources will be available to enable the commissioning of the services detailed above from financial year 2026/27 and beyond. Any re-provision or changes will need to be managed within this existing budget. 

Finance Officer consulted: Steve Williams 
Date: 2 December 2025

7.3 

Equalities: Needs assessments systematically consider specific needs of groups with protected characteristics. The JSNA is a key evidence source to inform action to improve outcomes in all groups and meet the public sector equality duty (including Equality Impact Assessments). 

7.4 

Sustainability: No implications. Sustainability related issues are important determinants of health and wellbeing and these are integrated in the summary. The JSNA will support commissioners to consider sustainability issues. 

7.5 

Health, social care, children’s services and public health: The JSNA summary sets out the key health and wellbeing and inequalities issues for the city and so supports commissioners across the city in considering these issues in policy, commissioning & delivering services.