Working together to drive system-wide impact across Cardiff and the Vale
Recent meetings of the Regional Partnership Board (RPB) and Strategic Leadership Group (SLG) have focused on strengthening our collective approach to delivering integrated services, responding to financial challenges, and shaping long-term priorities for our region.
Together, partners from health, local authorities, the third sector and wider system continue to demonstrate a shared commitment to collaboration, co-production and sustainable change.
A New Way of Working: Strengthening Partnership Collaboration
At the January RPB meeting, partners came together in a refreshed format designed to create space for deeper, more meaningful conversations across the system. This included joint working with Public Services Boards (PSBs) and operational colleagues to align priorities and strengthen collective impact.
A key focus of the session was the First 1,000 Days (Starting Well) – recognising the critical importance of early years in shaping lifelong outcomes. Partners explored shared challenges through data, lived experience and “audio stories”, building a common understanding of need across the region.
There was strong consensus from the Board to prioritise investment in the First 1,000 Days, with the Starting Well Partnership now tasked with developing a clear vision and delivery plan for this work.
Learning from Best Practice: The Blackpool Model
The Board also heard from Blackpool’s Better Start programme, offering valuable insights into long-term, system-wide transformation. Key learning included:
- Shifting support into community settings to improve accessibility
- Moving from passive information-sharing to active engagement and peer support
- The role of the third sector as trusted, neutral brokers
- Embedding sustainability from the outset of programmes
These insights are now helping shape thinking around how Cardiff and Vale can further develop its own early years approach.
Shaping the Future Role of the RPB
Discussions also focused on how the RPB can evolve to become a more proactive and impactful partnership forum. Key themes included:
- Greater member leadership and ownership, including sponsorship of priority workstreams
- Stronger alignment with PSBs and other partnerships
- A shift from short-term funding reliance to long-term, core-funded delivery models
- Continued commitment to co-production and inclusive engagement
There was clear agreement that the RPB should increasingly act as a “community of connectors”, bringing together people, resources and intelligence to drive meaningful system change.
Strategic Leadership Group: Financial Planning & System Stability
At the March SLG meeting, partners considered the proposed 2026–27 budget and funding landscape, with a continued focus on maintaining stability across the system.
Key highlights included:
- A total Regional Integration Fund (RIF) allocation of £19.3 million for the final year of the programme
- A managed overcommitment approach to maximise investment while maintaining financial balance
- Identification of pressure areas, particularly Learning Disabilities and infrastructure
- Approval of updated local guidance to strengthen governance and financial management
The SLG formally recommended the budget to the RPB for approval, ensuring alignment across partners and programmes.
Responding to Future Funding Challenges
A significant focus of the SLG was the RIF Impact Assessment, exploring the potential implications of funding changes beyond March 2027.
Partners agreed a collective approach to:
- “Hold fast” on existing services during the pre-election period
- Avoid fragmentation by maintaining regional solidarity
- Use strong performance evidence (including being top in Wales for home support) to influence future funding decisions
- Reassess risks following the formation of a new government in mid-2026
This reflects a shared commitment to protecting integrated services and ensuring continuity for the people who rely on them.
Partnership Matters: Performance & Priorities
The RPB also reviewed system performance and emerging priorities, including:
- Winter pressures, where local authority-led actions supported more people to return home
- Ongoing financial monitoring, with slippage currently on track
- Progress on RIF impact assessment and future planning
- Public health priorities, including a focus on obesity and diabetes, alongside completion of key health needs assessments
Looking Ahead
Both the RPB and SLG are continuing to evolve how they work together—moving from discussion to delivery, and from short-term solutions to long-term, sustainable change.
Key next steps include:
- Developing a long-term goals tracker to support delivery and accountability
- Progressing the First 1,000 Days programme
- Strengthening links across partnerships, particularly with PSBs
- Preparing for future funding changes through coordinated regional planning
In Summary
These meetings highlight a system that is:
- Collaborative – working across organisational boundaries
- Forward-looking – planning for financial and policy changes
- People-centred – embedding co-production and lived experience
- Action-focused – shifting from conversation to delivery
Together, partners across Cardiff and the Vale are building a stronger, more integrated system—one that is better equipped to meet the needs of our communities now and in the future.