About the JSNA

Updated 16/06/2025

A Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is an assessment of the current and future health and social care needs of the local community. It is a statutory responsibility which informs strategy setting on what needs to be done to address the identified needs. A JSNA is undertaken in a way best suited to an area's local circumstances. It shouldn't just tell a tale of health conditions but also consider wider factors that impact on communities’ health and wellbeing, views of the community, and local assets that can help to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities. This website forms Bolton's JSNA - www.boltonjsna.org.uk. It contains choice picks of regularly updated overview data; other useful resources; and outputs from multi-agency ‘deep dives’ focussing on specific topics.

It is a statutory responsibility for Health and Wellbeing Boards to produce a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act, 2007 (Part 5, Ch1, S116) but local areas are free to undertake JSNAs in a way best suited to their local circumstances – there is no template or set format that must be used and no mandatory datasets that have to be included. This website forms Bolton's JSNA.

Health and Wellbeing Boards were established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to improve local health and wellbeing. They promote collaboration among health and social care services, set strategic priorities based on local needs, and facilitate joint working between local authorities, the NHS, and other partners. This integrated approach aims to address public health challenges effectively.

A JSNA is an assessment of the current and future health and social care needs of the local community. It is concerned with needs that could be met by Bolton Council, NHS Greater Manchester (the Integrated Care Board), or NHS England. It should also consider wider factors that impact on communities’ health and wellbeing, views of the community, and local assets that can help to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.

Bolton Health and Wellbeing Board use this JSNA to develop a Health and Wellbeing Strategy which sets out what needs to be done to address the identified needs related to the health and wellbeing of the people of Bolton. The Health and Wellbeing Board was refreshed in 2025, so the Health and Wellbeing Strategy is currently undergoing a refresh as well.

The Health and Care Act, 2022 (Part 1, S19) assigned local NHS commissioning and planning functions, including in relation to JSNAs, to the local Integrated Care Board (ICB). Bolton's ICB is NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care. The ICB is a statutory body which is supported by the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), a broad alliance of organisations and representatives concerned with improving the care, health and wellbeing of the population. Bolton's ICP is Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership. Both ICB and ICP have a primary Greater Manchester footprint but also operate at locality (i.e. Bolton) level.

Local Authorities have an additional duty in relation to provision of public health advice to local NHS commissioners under The Local Authorities (Public Health Functions and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) Regulations, 2013 (Part 2, Regulation 7). The range of matters covered will be kept under review by the local authority and determined by local agreement, but this may include a summary of the overall health of the people in the local authority’s area, and assessments of the health needs of groups of individuals within the local authority’s area with particular conditions or diseases.

Under S73B 5-6 of the National Health Service Act 2006 the director of public health must prepare and publish an annual report on the health of the people in the area of the local authority.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) shares some public health duties with the 10 constituent local authorities under The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Public Health Functions) Order 2017

Under S8 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, 2022 The specified authorities for a local government area must collaborate with each other to prevent and reduce serious violence in the area. The specified authorities are: the police; fire and rescue authorities; justice organisations (youth offending teams and probation services); health bodies (Integrated Care Board); local authorities. As part of this duty they must identify the kinds of serious violence that occur in the area; identify the causes of serious violence in the area, so far as it is possible to do so; and prepare and implement a strategy for exercising their functions to prevent and reduce serious violence in the area. They must publish the strategy, keep the strategy under review, and from time to time prepare and implement a revised strategy. Government guidance is available on carrying out a serious violence strategic needs assessment.

Further useful information

Downloads - further information about the JSNA including annual highlight updates