What's New Bulletin 280 - 08 January 2026
This is edition 280 of the provider bulletin, containing information on guidance, procedures and new initiatives. Very urgent or high priority communications may still be issued on an ad hoc basis, but we will try to keep these to a minimum
1. Birmingham City Council – Weather Warning and REMINDER re Business Continuity Arrangements ;(Information for all Care Providers)
2. Birmingham City Council - Self Funders and Changes in Funding - New Escalation Process (Information for all Care Home Providers)
3. Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – January 2026 – DEADLINE 23 January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Contracted Care Homes)
4. SURVEY Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - Improve Safety in Adult Social Care - Share Your Views – DEADLINE 9 January 2026 (Information for all Providers)
5. Care Quality Commission (CQC) 'Make Care You Career' campaign (Information for all Providers)
6. REMINDER CONSULTATION Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - Fair Pay Agreement Process in Adult Social Care – DEADLINE 16 January 2026 (Information for all Providers)
7. Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Update - Infection Prevention and Control for Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Adult Social Care Settings (Information for all Care Home Providers)
8. Skills for Care – Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) – Don’t Miss out on Funding Opportunity for Training (Information for all Birmingham Providers)
9. Skills for Care Updates for January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)
10. REMINDER NHS Birmingham and Solihull (BSOL) Training Hub January 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Providers)
11. REMINDER West Midland Care Association – Data Security & Protection Toolkit Webinars January 2026 (Information for all West Midlands Care Providers)
12. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - IPC Champions Training Day for new IPC Champions – 30 January 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
13. Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board BSAB - Safeguarding Adults Practitioner Forum 10 February 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Providers)
1. Birmingham City Council – Weather Warning and REMINDER re Business Continuity Arrangements (Information for all Care Providers)
There is currently an AMBER Cold Weather Alert in place across the West Midlands, which has been extended to be in place from 10AM on 08/01/2026 until 12PM on 12/01/2026 across the West Midlands. This could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services. You can sign up to the Met Office email alert service via the following link:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/guide-to-emails
We ask that you ensure business continuity plans are in place and regularly reviewed and that you notify your area commissiones usuing the link below if you need to invoke your plans.
The requirement for Business Continuity Plans is written into the Councils’ care contracts and plans must be reviewed by care providers annually or after any event that questions or challenges the continuity of their service. Any incident, whether large or small, accident or deliberate, can cause major disruption to your business. Examples of disruptions that can occur during winter pressures include; flooding, heavy snow, disruption to energy supplies and transport, staff shortages or pandemics.
The following links outline key business continuity arrangements that need to be in place and example templates, which can be tweaked to suit the needs of the service being delivered;
Business continuity | Is your business ready? | Birmingham City Council
Business continuity plan for care providers | Birmingham City Council
The following are useful links to guidance relating to cold weather;
Weather-Health Alert:
BCC guidance on:
Staying safe during severe weather
NHS:
Vaccination and Winter Heath Guidance
Age UK guidance on:
Government advice on:
supporting vulnerable people before and during cold weather
Department of Health and Social Care:
2. Birmingham City Council - Self Funders and Changes in Funding - New Escalation Process (Information for all Care Home Providers)
During recent provider engagement, it has been identified that some care homes are struggling with the amount of time it takes for a social worker to be allocated when care home resident assets fall below the funding threshold (£23,250), or when funding changes from FNC/CHC to Council funding. ; This can lead to delays in payment for providers and can cause confusion for families and citizens.
The Council will continue to focus our operational efforts on; managing the demand we face and right-sizing our workforce to deal with things in a more timely way and ensuring we communicate with providers and families. ; However, with immediate effect the following new escalation process has been established for the above two scenarios ONLY:
Care homes to advise families to contact the Council at least 3 months in advance of funds falling below the threshold or as soon as a change from NHS to Council funding is known
Either families or care homes can raise the request for a review/financial assessment using the link below:
contact details on the Council’s website
Once a request is made to the Council, if the care home has not heard from us within 4 weeks, care homes can contact their allocated area commissioner using the link below:
Area Commissioners will escalate within the Council’s operational teams as needed to try and reach timely resolution
If the issue is not resolved within 8 weeks, this will be escalated by the Area Commissioner or provider to the Head of Commissioning for resolution.
For changes in funding, the Council are likely to receive notification from the NHS directly, however the above process may still be followed by care providers to speed up the change in funding.
Care homes are reminded that before invoicing citizens or families in these circumstances, that the above process should be followed. ;
Please contact your Area Commissioner with any specific questions you may have, but we do hope this will help improve the process for all involved.
3. Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – January 2026 – DEADLINE 23 January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Contracted Care Homes)
Please click this link to access the questionnaire:
The deadline for completion is Friday 23 January 2026
This questionnaire is issued quarterly. Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
Completion of the questionnaire is part of the terms of the Care Homes 2023 contract, for contracted providers, but we ask all Birmingham care homes to take part in the process to help us meet our responsibilities to all Birmingham citizens.
Many thanks to staff at the care homes who completed the previous questionnaires. If this did not include your care home, please ensure that you complete this and subsequent editions.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to collect information to assist our market shaping and development role, the production of our Market Position Statements, fulfil our Care Act duties around ensuring a quality and sustainable market, to help us direct resources, identify areas of risk, and monitor progress towards our strategic aims. It has been co-produced with health colleagues to reduce duplication in data collection, and has been streamlined so that we are only collecting information that is not available to us from elsewhere e.g. the Capacity Tracker.
4. SURVEY Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - Improve Safety in Adult Social Care - Share Your Views – DEADLINE 9 January 2026 (Information for all Providers)
The CQC are working with IFF Research (Independent Fieldwork and Feedback Research) to better understand how adult social care providers approach risk and safety across the sector.
In January, they will invite providers from across England, of all sizes and service types, to complete a 10-minute survey about your organisation’s approach to risk and safety. They are looking for people who can speak about this in detail, such as registered managers, operations managers, compliance or health and safety officers, or anyone with general safety responsibilities.
Your input will help the CQC to understand how they can support improvements in safety across adult social care, ensuring people who use services receive safe care that meets their needs. Responses will remain anonymous and reported in aggregate, not at organisation or individual level.
If you’d like your organisation’s voice heard, please email safetyinascresearch@iffresearch.com ;by 9 January 2026 ;to opt in. IFF Research will then send you the survey link.
You can request a copy of your data, make changes, withdraw from the research, or stop the survey at any time. For more details, including privacy and GDPR, see below:
5. Care Quality Commission (CQC) 'Make Care You Career' campaign (Information for all Providers)
The Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC’s) successful 'Make Care You Career' campaign connects passionate people with rewarding roles in care. Running until March 2026, the campaign will feature real care workers and recipients, showcasing the rewarding nature of care work and career progression opportunities. To make the most of the campaign:
Post your vacancies on the campaign website so jobseekers can find your roles easily.
;Align recruitment activities such as job fairs or open days with the campaign period.
Use free campaign resources, including posters and social media templates.
Add the ‘Make Care Your Career’ logo to your materials to link with the national campaign.
Find out more at:
adultsocialcare.co.uk/recruit.
6. REMINDER CONSULTATION Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - Fair Pay Agreement Process in Adult Social Care – DEADLINE 16 January 2026 (Information for all Providers)
As part of the Employment Rights Bill, the government intends to implement an Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement negotiating body and process. The Department of Health and Social Care has opened a consultation about the process which will close on 16 January 2026.
You can access further details about the consultation including how to respond to it using this link:
Fair pay agreement process in adult social care - GOV.UK
7. Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Update - Infection Prevention and Control for Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in Adult Social Care Settings (Information for all Care Home Providers)
This guidance is for staff and managers working in adult social care settings (ASC). It gives information on multidrug-resistant organisms and principles on how to prevent the spread of these pathogens. Please use this link for further information:
8. Skills for Care – Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) – Don’t Miss out on Funding Opportunity for Training (Information for all Birmingham Providers)
Currently, Birmingham has one of the lowest uptake rates nationally for the ;Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) ;See below - ;a free service commissioned and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS)
By signing up using the link below ;your service will gain access to:
Funding for staff training access eligibility for funding opportunities ;through the:
Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS)
Safe and free storage of staff and training records. Define mandatory training for each role and receive alerts when training expires. ;
Easy inspection readiness – securely share data with CQC and your Local Authority ready for inspections.
Benchmarking tools to benchmark your service against similar providers, help you stay competitive on pay, retention, and workforce planning.
Exclusive ASC-WDS Benefits Bundle to support your service further (including discounts on CQC focused seminars and eLearning modules from Skills for Care)
An ASC-WDS support team, available Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. ;You can reach them by calling ;0113 241 0969 ;or emailing ;ascwds-support@skillsforcare.org.uk
Useful links below:
Video to find out more and read case studies from other enrolled care providers, as well as register and set up an account, using this link: ;
www.skillsforcare.org.uk/ASCWDS
Invite to online session to find out about the benefits of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) ;- Wednesday 14 January 2026 10:30am – 11:30am
Take a virtual tour of the Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set
Eligible training courses and qualifications - GOV.UK
Learning and development funding for adult social care
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
One of the primary benefits to care provider organisations is that it provides eligibility to make claims under the Learning and Development Support Scheme (LDSS). Please use this link the lkink below ; for more information and how you can benefit.
9. Skills for Care Updates for January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
News items include:
- ASC-WDS webinars
- Upcoming Registered Manager Network meetings
- Birmingham and Solihull ICS Social Care and Independent Sector Faculty information- YOUR INVITE TO CHAIR AND REPRESENT ADULT SOCIAL CARE
- Skills for Care National and Regional Events
10. REMINDER NHS Birmingham and Solihull (BSOL) Training Hub January 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Providers)
The Birmingham and Solihull Training Hub Website is for those working in a primary or social care role in the Solihull / Birmingham area. The information is for students looking for support with career development or a visitor wanting to find out more. ;
Please use this link for training, further information and booking: ; ;
Social Care – BSol Training hub
All training events are listed in the calendar section. You can also contact the training hub by email bsol.traininghub@nhs.net.
The next sessions are:
12 January 2026 Safeguarding adults - for managers and newly appointed safeguarding leads 9:30 am - 13 January 2026 @ 5:00 pm
15 January 2026 From Good to Outstanding: Presenting Evidence to the CQC That Tells Your Story 1:00 pm ;- ;2:00 pm
15 January 2026 Continuing Health Care Fast Track Pathway Training (January 2026) 2:00 pm ;- ;4:00 pm
19 January 2026 Exploitation in International Recruitment: “Spotting the Signs: Early Identification and Intervention” 2:30 pm ;- ;4:00 pm
20 January 2026 Managing Continence 2:00 pm ;- ;4:00 pm
20 January 2026 Review and Republish your DSPT 3:00 pm ;- ;4:00 pm
11. REMINDER West Midland Care Association – Data Security & Protection Toolkit Webinars January 2026 (Information for all West Midlands Care Providers)
West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) have been successful in securing further DHSC funding support via the Better Security Better Care Programme ;(see link below) to support care providers with a variety of free resources to help develop and embed their digital and cyber security processes/best practice. They have created a series of four short virtual workshops/webinars which are mapped to the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) the first - Staffing & Roles – took place on 7 January 2026 with one each week thereafter, same date/time
DHSC funding support via the Better Security Better Care Programme
- Staffing & Roles
- Policies & Procedures
- Data Security
- IT Systems and Devices
WMCA are also offering Digital Health Checks that take place on the provider’s premises. Although not yet ‘fully’ launched, you can view full details here: ;
12. Birmingham Community Healthcare (BCHC) NHS Foundation Trust - Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) - IPC Champions Training Day for new IPC Champions – 30 January 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)
The bookings for the next IPC Champions Training Day for new IPC Champions are now live!
Infection Prevention and Control will be hosting an IPC Champions Training Day (for new IPC Champions) on Friday, 30 January 2016.
This is a full day event taking place at Blossomfield College Campus between 9.00am – 5.00pm. Numbers are currently limited to 1 space per care home; further spaces will be made available shortly.
Please book in a nominated member of staff to attend this event by
For further information about this event please contact Infection Prevention and Control via bchc.ipcdata1@nhs.net or 0121 466 6550.
13. Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board BSAB - Safeguarding Adults Practitioner Forum 10 February 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Providers)
Booking is now available for the next BSAB Safeguarding Adults Practitioner Forum.
- Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026
- Location: West Midlands Fire Service HQ, 99 Vauxhall Road, Birmingham B7 4HW
- Time: 12:00 pm – 3:30pm
- Cost: Free
The Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board are holding a frontline Practitioner Forum about ;Multi-disciplinary Meeting & Risk Escalation ;(see link below) - SAR Adam ;and obstacles front line Practitioners may face in Birmingham when working with adults with care and support needs, with a particular focus on prevention and safeguarding.
Multi-disciplinary Meeting & Risk Escalation
Places are limited and the BSAB are asking that you only book if you are committed to attending this face-to-face session. ;
If you do book and then not able to attend, please cancel the booking on Eventbrite.