The �鶹��Ƶ Blog

Shared Lives - have you got room in your home and heart?

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 11:30:00 +0100

Shared Lives deputy manager Andrew Cunningham-Gould talks about what the scheme can add to people's lives - both carers and those being cared for.

Shared Lives is a wonderful scheme where people who need support and can’t live on their own can be a part of a family. It is a different type of social care that is making a real difference to people’s lives – both those who are cared for and those who do the caring.

Here at the city council we work with so many wonderful people who have opened their homes – and their lives – to citizens who need a bit of support, whether older adults with dementia or younger adults, who need support with gaining independence skills and enablement.

It’s important that people feel like they’re part of the family when they stay in someone's home. This can be as easy as going to the park together or going out to lunch. That sense of normality can be just what people need to thrive.

Sometimes the support offered in more formal settings just doesn’t work for people. It is right for some, and it is important we have a range of provision, but Shared Lives is a really important part of the caring landscape. Everyone can fit in somewhere!

If you can support someone in your home for a period of time to give them the opportunity to be part of a family, or as respite for family carers, whether for a short period or for a few years, you will be doing amazing service.

We want people to know that there are options and to not be afraid of trying something new, there are many people out there who just want to help others and being a Shared Lives carer can really change lives for those opening their homes to others, not just those being cared for.

You can think you know about something but until you stand next to someone and stand in their shoes, you don’t really know what life is like for someone who has complex needs, or just needs a bit of support and I know our carers have really had their lives changed for the best.

We really want to recruit more carers to the scheme so we can have as many options for people that need care, so we would love to hear from anyone interested.

You can get more information on the Shared Lives web pages.

This blog was posted on 25 June 2024.

Empowering our future generation: National Careers Week

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:25:00 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ’s Deputy Leader Councillor Sharon Thompson highlights the career-focused week and the importance of getting involved.

National Careers Week (NCW) is a great opportunity to raise awareness and empower people of all ages to explore and embrace diverse career opportunities. The dedicated week focuses on providing tools and resources required to help inform decisions about professional futures.

NCW allows �鶹��Ƶ, and other cities to promote awareness about various industries, professions, and vocational paths. Plus brings employers, and job seekers together and share knowledge, opportunities and experiences in all different professions.

I believe it’s an excellent opportunity to network with peers and our city’s employers, creating a space for mentoring, collaboration, and exchanging of ideas – a key influence is helping you to progress through your ladder.

Having mentors and a support network around you can make a huge difference however, we are all aware of how tough the job market is currently with many available roles receiving hundreds of applications, the NCW and �鶹��Ƶ’s dedicated week – provided by �鶹��Ƶ Careers Service – supports development for future professionals providing impartial careers guidance, workshops and resources to enhance both technical and soft skills. Ensuring our young people are well-equipped and supported for the challenges in the modern workplace.

Here in �鶹��Ƶ, National Career’s Week is providing a fantastic platform for �鶹��Ƶ Careers Service to help young people, aged between 16-19 years old (extended to age 25 for those with SEND/additional needs) who might be concerned about the next step in their careers. The week has lots of activities and ways to get involved, plus a lot of online resources.

I hugely encourage everyone to explore National Careers Week. There’s a very useful toolkit, list of events and other resources you can get involved with here: https://www.birminghamcareersservice.co.uk/ncw/

Please use the toolkit to check eligibility for different events in advance.

Post published on 4 March 2024

New Year letter to the city from the leader of the council

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 11:59:00 +0000

Cllr John Cotton, Leader of �鶹��Ƶ, has written to the city and its residents about the year ahead.

Dear �鶹��Ƶ

As we begin the New Year, I would like to wish everyone across our city a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024.

I also want to promise you all - residents, communities, businesses and partners - that I will do everything in my power over the next 12 months to address �鶹��Ƶ's major challenges and deliver the services and support that you all deserve.

We all know that 2023 was a tough year for the Council and the wider city, and I'm truly sorry for that. But I vowed when I became leader in May that I would be upfront and honest about the challenges we face, and I will do what it takes to transform your council for the better.

Work is well underway to ensure that we return to good financial health, and while I can't pretend that the New Year won't be hard, my team and I will do everything possible to get us firmly back on track.

In the short term, we face some very painful moments, but �鶹��Ƶ still has a bright future, and we will continue to attract investment to create job and opportunities. We will continue to tackle climate change and air pollution. And we will still work with investors and developers to provide the quality homes needed for a growing city.

I was born in �鶹��Ƶ, and I've lived here for 50 years. I love this city and I'm determined to work with our many brilliant partners to ensure that we bounce back from a very difficult 2023.

I promise I will work around the clock to lead the recovery and I want to thank every community group, every business, every volunteer and every single person who is joining us on this vital journey.

Happy New Year

John Cotton

This blog was posted on 2 January 2024.

International Migrants Day: Why being a City of Sanctuary is so important to �鶹��Ƶ

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:34:00 +0000

Today is International Migrants Day and Cllr Nicky Brennan looks at how �鶹��Ƶ continues to honour its commitments as a City of Sanctuary.

Every year International Migrants Day provides an opportunity to celebrate migration and how migrants have helped to build and shape our world.

In 2023, now more than ever, we need to counter the overriding national narrative that migration is wrong – it is not, it has always been part of human behaviour – and many of those who arrive in the UK are escaping, injustice, violence and war.

�鶹��Ƶ is a city that has been built on migration and our city’s diversity is its greatest strength – the bedrock of thriving businesses and its flourishing arts, culture and sports.

Our city’s very fabric is the product of centuries of migration woven together to make a city famed for its Balti triangle, St Patrick’s Day celebrations, thriving Chinese quarter, and a myriad cultures such as African Caribbean, Central, South and East Asian, and Centra and Eastern European.

This is why our status as a City of Sanctuary is so important – �鶹��Ƶ has long been known for its warm welcome and being a place where people can seek refuge and build new lives free from persecution and war.

Last year �鶹��Ƶ became the first local authority to sign up to pledges in the national campaign against the Illegal Migration Act.

The ongoing war in Gaza has led the council to recently back a motion calling on the Government to provide aid into the country and to help British nationals, and to engage with any Government schemes to ensure that all refugees are given a warm welcome in �鶹��Ƶ.

The council’s Refugees and Migration team recently awarded Sanctuary Grants, funded by the Home Office to 15 local community and third sector organisations to help provide essential services for people seeking asylum in �鶹��Ƶ.

The council also supports the Lift the Ban campaign, calling for the right to work for people who have sought asylum in the UK, many of whom have valuable skills and experience that they want to use.

On International Migrants Day, you can join in by sharing positive messages on X using hashtags #ItTakesACommunity #Migrants Day and tagging @IOM_UK @IMIX_UK @UNMigration. Social media resources are available online support you.

Cllr Nicky Brennan is Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities.

This post was published on 18 December 2023

�鶹��Ƶ Schools Climate Conference

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 11:05:00 +0000

Cllr Majid Mahmood, Cabinet Member for Environment, talks about tackling climate change - and the importance of young people having a voice.

Climate change is the biggest challenge facing the world this century. That is not being overly dramatic – if anything it is an understatement.

So it was really encouraging to see so many young people engage with this issue at the �鶹��Ƶ Schools Climate Conference 2023, discussing and exploring our collective mission to reach net zero emissions in the city.

They understood that as a city we need to come up with ideas and plans that help us get to the point at which �鶹��Ƶ is no longer adding to carbon emissions.

You only need to look online, watch the television news or pick up a newspaper to see the impact climate change is having.

Far too often there are reports of flooding or drought in other places, though we may have friends and families in some of the places that have been affected.

But it is impacting us here too. In the summer of 2022, we had temperatures reaching 40 degrees. Lots of activities had to be cancelled for the couple of days we hit those peaks.

The hot, dry summer also saw a serious fire damage Lickey Hills Country Park in the south of the city, damaging our natural environment.

As a council, we’ve seen these risks coming – that’s why we declared a climate emergency in 2019 and set a really challenging goal to become net zero by 2030.

Progress is being made, but there is still much more to be done.

Young people from schools across �鶹��Ƶ acted as politicians and decision-makers at the climate conference. They represented 16 different states from across the world and experienced first-hand the barriers and challenges to international action and how to deal with some difficult topics.

They also looked at national and local climate action, exploring how students and schools can make a difference in support of Net Zero.

I hope these amazing young people understand how powerful their voices can be.

They will live through the effects of our actions today, we all have a responsibility to act – and they can make a real difference.

This blog was published on 13 December 2023

Abusive relationships don’t necessarily leave cuts and bruises

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 11:23:00 +0000

As a survivor of domestic abuse, Cllr Nicky Brennan is passionate about work being done across the city helping people in finding a way out of abusive relationships – this is her story.

My story isn’t unusual – in fact it is far too common, and more often than not the ‘toxic behaviour’ or red flags are explained away, because they are regarded as ‘normal’ relationship behaviour.

Without going into specifics, I have survived two abusive relationships – and have managed to come out the other side, determined to help those who feel they are trapped in similar situations.

My first experience of domestic abuse was of physical violence – there was no hiding or explaining this away as loving behaviour. I knew it was wrong.

What followed was less obvious, more insidious behaviour – controlling my finances, access to my friends family – which seemed normal due to the way it was presented as helping me out and wanting to spend more time ‘just with you’

It took time and many conversations with experts at �鶹��Ƶ and Solihull Women’s Aid (BSWAID) to realise this was coercive control – it wasn’t loving behaviour, it was abuse – but the kind that doesn’t come with cuts and bruises.

Domestic abuse can mean any kind of violent, threatening or controlling behaviour between people in a relationship – be that a partner, ex-partner or family member – and it can happen to anyone.

This is why empowering women and girls by improving access to vital information about support available and how to access it is so vital.

Through the Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign, which was launched in partnership with The Carter Centre in the US and BSWAID last week, we hope to educate and enable women to realise what is happening and how they can get help to escape abusive relationships.

Violence against women is often perpetrated by someone close to us, and a perpetrator is rarely abusive from the very start. It can start with gifts and compliments, known as love bombing.

In �鶹��Ƶ women and girls face disproportionate levels of violence, due to their gender.

In the incidents of domestic abuse recorded by West Midlands Police in 2022/23, nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of victims were female. We need to tackle gender-based violence to make our city safer.

As a local authority, we are committed to tackling all forms of domestic abuse – investing in services and a city-wide prevention strategy which aims to highlight and address abuse wherever it is found or reported.

We all have a role to play though – checking in on friends and loved ones if you think something is ‘off’, as often those experiencing abuse may not see it as abuse or feel unable to take action themselves.

You are not alone. Never be afraid to ask for help or support – we are here to help. Specialist support services can be found on dedicated pages on our website.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger or a crime is in progress call the police on 999.

Cllr Nicky Brennan is the Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities.

This post was published on 4 December 2023

How we support men experiencing domestic abuse in our communities

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:32:00 +0000

To mark International Men’s Day, Cllr Nicky Brennan – Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities - talks about the support offered to men experiencing domestic abuse.

International Men’s Day, on 19 November, puts a spotlight on issues affecting the lives and wellbeing of men – and while domestic abuse disproportionately affects women, we know that anyone can be subjected to it.

Domestic abuse can be difficult for any victim to talk about: it can be painful, confusing and make those experiencing it feel ashamed, inadequate, and isolated.

It can be incredibly challenging for men to seek help and speak up due to stereotypes around masculinity, fear, misinformation, and societal pressures that they experience. These myths around men experiencing abuse can affect many different parts of their journey to a safer place.

This is why �鶹��Ƶ works with various partners to deliver its Domestic Abuse Prevention Strategy to provide support for anyone, from any background, in any relationship.

We have commissioned support for male victims of domestic abuse since 2018. Our current providers - Cranstoun and Trident Reach - provide specialist support for male victims in the city, helping to tackle the barriers men can face to asking for help or advice, such as feeling emasculated or not seeing themselves as victims.

To mark this year’s International Men’s Day, both providers have visited the city’s waste depots, ensuring that this predominantly male staff teams are fully informed about the support available if needed.

Refuse workers and staff at these depots took part in sessions to learn about what Cranstoun and Trident Reach offer and have the chance to talk with them face-to-face.

For any man who is experiencing domestic abuse, we commission specialist support:

Cranstoun offers up to six months’ support from a specialist worker, with practical support around housing, criminal justice options as well as emotional support around their own experiences. Individuals can contact them directly on 0121 633 1750, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

Trident Reach provide safe, long-term accommodation for both men on their own and men with children, who can receive ongoing support while there – with support to move on to independent accommodation. Self-referrals can be made by calling 0800 111 4223, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

A specialist helpline service is also available 0800 111 4223, which provides emotional and practical support for anyone experiencing domestic abuse.

A specialist helpline service is also available on the same number, which provides emotional and practical support for anyone experiencing domestic abuse.

�鶹��Ƶ LGBT+ provides a safe and supportive environment where you can discuss the issues you have been experiencing. In addition to crisis intervention, advocacy, safety planning, emotional and practical support. The helpline is open Monday to Friday 10am – 9pm and Saturdays 11:30am to 7pm on 0121 643 0821.

Please remember you’re not alone: we’re here to help.

Post published on 17 November 2023

�鶹��Ƶ – a place where all are welcome, and hate has no place

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:57:00 +0100

In National Hate Crime Awareness Week, Cabinet Member Cllr Nicky Brennan reflects on why �鶹��Ƶ – a super-diverse city – is a place where hatred and discrimination will never be tolerated.

As a Brummie born and bred, I am proud that ours is a city built on migration, and that our greatest strength is diversity.

However it is a city that’s home to 187 different nationalities, an array of faiths, communities and different cultures, and in the main, our many communities live and work together in harmony.

Our faith groups and other community leaders have worked hard for many years to support cohesion and mutual understanding across �鶹��Ƶ.

But discrimination and hatred are not tolerated here – and they never will be.

So it is worrying that both the Community Security Trust and Tell Mama have reported significant increases in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crime in the past week, which reinforces the importance of tackling hate crime wherever and however it manifests in our city, and beyond.

I will be meeting with the city’s Faith Leaders’ Group this week to understand how these events are affecting all communities across �鶹��Ƶ.

Council officers have been working closely with partners to provide information, reassurance and support to organisations and communities affected by the ongoing dispute in the Middle East.

This has included providing guidance to all education settings across the city, as well as community networks, working with West Midlands Police, particularly for Jewish communities.

Community Safety colleagues have engaged with both Tell Mama and CST to ensure reported hate crimes are dealt with, and awareness on how to report them is shared with all communities.

The council’s Prevent team have also worked with local mosques to discuss a local response to recent events, and our graffiti teams have responded swiftly to remove all hate crime graffiti as it is reported.

Meanwhile Resilience Team colleagues have also stepped up CCTV monitoring of protests to assess risks and together with the Community Safety Team will be monitoring tensions that may arise as the conflict continues.

Be assured, �鶹��Ƶ will always stand firm against any who seek to divide our communities and faiths, they must not be allowed to empower those who seek to spread hate in our communities.

As a City of Sanctuary, �鶹��Ƶ has long been known for its warm welcome and for being a place where people fleeing from war and persecution can come and build new lives.

I want to clearly reaffirm our commitment as a local authority, as a city, as citizens, to stand up against hate and prejudice – these have no place in our city.

For more information or to report any hate crime, the links below may be useful:

If you wish to make a report to West Midlands Police you can do so on the West Midlands Police website

The Community Security Trust (CST) has published various resources on their social media feeds, including guidance on how to communicate about Israel in a non-antisemitic way. Antisemitic attacks can also be reported to them by calling 0800 032 3263

Tell Mama is a confidential support service for those suffering from anti-Muslim hate and discrimination across the UK, which also offers guidance on personal and Mosque security. To report Islamophobic attacks, call 0800 456 1226

Stop Hate UK also offers advice, support and resources for those experiencing or reporting any form of hate crime in the UK either online or phone 0113 293 5100

Cllr Nicky Brennan is the Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities

Post published on 16 October 2023

NHS England visit to �鶹��Ƶ offers chance to reflect on opportunities and challenges

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:24:00 +0100

Cllr Mariam Khan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, reflects on the NHS England visit to �鶹��Ƶ which took place last week.

Last week, we welcomed senior figures from NHS England, including the Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard and the Chair Richard Meddings, to our city to discuss the challenges and opportunities that we face in addressing the nation’s health, which also gave us the chance to reflect on the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

I was born in �鶹��Ƶ and I have lived here all of my life. My three children were born here, including my premature twins who spent the first two months of their lives under the care of the NHS staff at the neonatal unit at Heartlands Hospital.

For my young family and for people right across this city, the NHS is a reassuring presence, it's our constant guardian and the safety net that most of us turn to at important moments throughout our lives.

So I now feel privileged as �鶹��Ƶ's Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care to be working with NHS partners as we shape and design services for the future.

Ours is a city of huge potential. We have the youngest population of any city in Europe, we are attracting record levels of investment, bringing new jobs, homes, and opportunities for our growing population, and of course we are one of the most diverse cities in the UK.

However, we are also a city facing great challenges. 42% of our children grow up in relative poverty, our unemployment rate is twice the national average, and most starkly of all there is a ten-year gap in life expectancy between our richest and poorest neighbourhoods.

The representatives from NHS England visited Heartlands Hospital in East �鶹��Ƶ, and the Washwood Heath CDC in my ward of Alum Rock, an area which I have been representing for over 11 years. A quarter of a million people live in East �鶹��Ƶ, which puts it at roughly the same size as the cities of Derby or Southampton.

There, they heard all about the hugely positive impact the new CDC will have on over 45,000 patients a year who will benefit from the £2.18 million investment into a local area with vast health inequalities. From speaking to local patients who have already benefited from having their appointments at the diagnostics centre, I know that it is already making a difference, especially in reducing waiting times for diagnoses.

There is also transformative work taking place in the East Locality, including at the Iridium Practice where, on my visits to the practice, I was impressed to learn about the developments of the ‘integrated approaches to care’ as well as how the ICB is supporting primary care improvement and access – an issue which is a concern for many residents.

When considering health inequalities, high unemployment, and high levels of relative poverty, East �鶹��Ƶ is one of the most deprived places in the country, with 61% of the population living in the most deprived decile.

That’s why, in �鶹��Ƶ, we are working to enact our bold vision to drive Inclusive Growth in the east of our city, bringing with it new jobs, better public transport links, and better health outcomes.

Crucially, we are transforming the way that we work, focussing on early intervention and prevention, so that we can help to support people before they reach a crisis point.

But of course, we will not be able to achieve our goals on our own and working closely and collaboratively with our local �鶹��Ƶ and Solihull NHS system is crucial in this.

In the year where we have celebrated the 75th anniversary of our National Health Service, it is more important than ever that we work together to meet the challenges that we face. In �鶹��Ƶ, the ICS and the Council work hand-in-hand to deliver for our citizens.

I believe we can celebrate partnership and collaboration in �鶹��Ƶ. Over recent years we have worked hard as a system to address poor performance in areas such as hospital discharge and our citizens have benefitted from the integrated services we have developed. And thank goodness we did, otherwise we would have been overwhelmed during the pandemic.

We have built on that success and are on the cusp of delivering further major, integrated services. One example is the development of Integrated Neighbourhood teams which will bring together health and social care, primary care and community groups in over 30 neighbourhoods.

The other example is the work we are doing to understand who the frequent users of services are, what leads to them to use services and what measures we can take to reduce the high usage. And our work on Early Intervention and Prevention will be at the heart of this initiative.

It is worth reflecting that we are making good progress because of the new partnership arrangements between the Council and the ICB. The arrangements for local decision-making through the �鶹��Ƶ Place Committee are clearly supporting partnership working and the pace at which we are able to take and implement our decisions.

As Cabinet Member, Chair of the �鶹��Ƶ Health and Wellbeing Board and Joint Chair of the Integrated Care Partnership, the relationship we have built with system leaders in the ICB is positive, and I believe we are in a good position to continue working together as partners to jointly work on our shared ambitions and strategies.

In conclusion, while the challenges we face today are vastly different to those of 75 years ago, nevertheless, in order to resolve them we must demonstrate the same levels of vision, the same degree of collaborative working, and the same belief in the importance of universal healthcare. This is the challenge that we face, and we must rise to it and continue to deliver for the people of �鶹��Ƶ and Solihull, the region and our country.

This blog was posted on 31 July 2023.

Why tackling inequalities needs to happen locally first

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 11:58:00 +0100

Cllr Nicky Brennan on how the findings of the �鶹��Ƶ Pakistani Report are already familiar to her and the citizens of Sparkhill ward – and how the council is working to address them.

�鶹��Ƶ is a super-diverse city, home to more than 1.1m people and Sparkhill – the ward I represent – is home to the largest Pakistani population in our city.

So it’s fair to say that many of the issues raised in the �鶹��Ƶ Pakistani Report – a timely report focusing on the needs and wants of this community - are already very familiar to me.

Nearly one in five people living in �鶹��Ƶ are from Pakistani background, making it the largest Pakistani population of any local authority in the country. In Sparkhill, this represents more than 60 per cent of the ward’s population.

It is also in the top 20 per cent of most deprived wards in the country – and one of the youngest – where over one in four children (27.8 per cent) live within income deprived families

This important and timely report is the first to really pull their concerns and needs into focus, and we’re addressing many of these issues under the council’s Everyone’s Battle, Everyone’s Business strategy to tackle inequalities in our society.

We welcome the report’s recommendations and, as one of �鶹��Ƶ’s largest employers, we must lead by example – and start by getting our own house in order and using our civic influence to get other city institutions and organisations on board.

While some of these needs and wants require system change, others can be relatively easier to implement – such as ensuring women can access facilities where they feel safe to work, meet friends or exercise.

For example at Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre, there are women-only sessions and areas – swimming, changing facilities, classes and gym areas – while more widely prayer mats are on site and the centre also has a modesty swimwear policy.

During Ramadan, the centre extends its opening hours and gym-goers can also freeze their membership.

This is just one facility, we need more to help remove the barriers to exercise for women - but it’s not just about leisure, it’s about access to all amenities in all spheres, to ensure women are included regardless of age, background or faith.

While these may seem like relatively small steps for a community which faces health, wealth and other long-standing equalities – they are making a difference to the local community.

This report – which paints the most vivid picture of Pakistani experience - will help shape future policy and identify the needs and dreams of those who make up the largest minority group in �鶹��Ƶ.

We can all be proud that we live in a truly diverse city, but that diversity must be matched by the eradication of these gaps to create equality of opportunity and outcomes for all our citizens.

Cllr Nicky Brennan is Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety and Equalities.

This post was published on 21 June 2023.