What's New Bulletin 281 - 15 January 2026
This is edition 281 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. Home Support and Supported Living Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – January 2026 (Information for all Providers Holding the Home Support 2024 and Supported Living 2023 Contracts)
2. REMINDER Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – January 2026 – DEADLINE 23 January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Contracted Care Homes)
3. REMINDER Birmingham City Council - Contractual Requirement to Use Secure Email (Information for all Contracted Providers)
4. REMINDER Ensuring Your Current Insurance Documents are Uploaded to the CareMatch Portal (Information for all Birmingham City Council Contracted Providers)
5. Birmingham City Council – Key Safe Reminder (Information for all Home Support Providers in Birmingham)
6. SURVEY Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) - Self-Neglect and Hoarding Survey (Information for all Birmingham 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. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - New Pilot: Exploring Ambient Voice Technology in Inspections (Information for all Providers)
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - Research on Safety Management Systems in Adult Social Care (Information for all Home Support Providers)
10. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Digital Social Care messages (Information for all Providers)
11. REMINDER Skills for Care Updates for January 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)
12. Oliver McGowan Training via West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) (Information for all West Midlands Care Providers)
13. REMINDER NHS Birmingham and Solihull (BSOL) Training Hub January 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Providers)
14. Digital Care Hub and Care England - Upcoming Digital Care Hub Webinars: January and February 2026 (Information for all Providers)
15. REMINDER West Midland Care Association – Data Security & Protection Toolkit Webinars 21 and 28 January 2026 (Information for all West Midlands Care Providers)
16. 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)
1. Home Support and Supported Living Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – January 2026 (Information for all Providers Holding the Home Support 2024 and Supported Living 2023 Contracts)
If your service holds either or both of the Home Support 2024 and Supported Living 2023 contracts, you are requested to complete and submit this questionnaire by clicking this link:
Home Support and Supported Living MIQ – January 2026
The deadline for completion is Friday 30 January 2026
The 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 Home Support 2024 and Supported Living 2023 contracts
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.
2. REMINDER 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.
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.
Further information about this subject has been circulated to providers. If you don’t have a copy, please email marketintelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
3. REMINDER Birmingham City Council - Contractual Requirement to Use Secure Email (Information for all Contracted Providers)
All care providers holding contracts with Birmingham City Council are required to use NHS-approved secure email accounts for all correspondence which includes citizens’ personal data. NHS mail accounts are available free of charge to all CQC registered providers. As an alternative, providers can apply to NHS to have their mail systems approved as secure (see below). Use of any other email account is not compliant with Birmingham City Council contracts.
providers can apply to NHS to have their mail systems approved as secure
More information on NHS mail accounts for care providers is available here:
If you already have an NHS mail account but are experiencing difficulties with it, you can use the:
this doesn’t in itself resolve the matter, but by using the drop-down menus, it identifies the issue you are experiencing, and provides guidance. You then receive an email with the required information to send to the NHS mail helpdesk for resolution. More information about how to use the Contact Form can be found here:
NAS contact form – NHSmail Support
You can also phone the NHS mail helpdesk on 0333 200 1133.
Please note that if you don’t use your NHS mail account for 90 days it stops working.
4. REMINDER Ensuring Your Current Insurance Documents are Uploaded to the CareMatch Portal (Information for all Birmingham City Council Contracted Providers)
It is an important part of your contractual obligations to Birmingham City Council, and a legal requirement, to ensure you have valid insurance at all times. It is important that when you renew your insurance documents you remember to upload a copy to the CareMatch Portal following the instructions in Section 8.8 of the Care Match Portal User Guide:
If you are experiencing technical issues uploading the documents, email market.intelligence@birmingham.gov.uk
Reminder alerts are sent from CareMatch Portal to inform you when your insurance documents were coming up to their expiry date and when they had expired to assist you to remain compliant with your contractual obligations around insurance. To ensure you are receiving these alerts, check your email alerts are switched on (see section 4.5 of the User Guide for how you can check and change user settings).
No evidence of current insurance cover on the CareMatch Portal at the levels required by your contract will be treated as a breach of contract until evidence of cover is provided.
Providers are finding the cost of insurance has risen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and as such it is important you allow enough time for finding an alternative insurance provider, if needed, before your current insurance expires. Contact your Care Association to see what support and advice they can offer. It is important that you inform you area commissioners if you are having difficulty arranging future cover before the expiry of your current insurance.
Who to contact in the Commissioning Team?
5. Birmingham City Council – Key Safe Reminder (Information for all Home Support Providers in Birmingham)
Please can we request you to take care when using a key safe at a person’s home. We are seeing an increase in the requests for repairs and replacements due to excessive force being used when opening and closing key safes This is an additional cost to the council that could be avoided. Where there is a key safe there should be no more than 2 keys and 1 key fob within the unit to reduce the chance of any damage or issues arising.
Thank you for your support.
6. SURVEY Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) - Self-Neglect and Hoarding Survey (Information for all Birmingham Providers)
Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board are keen to understand the level of awareness of the Birmingham Self-neglect and Hoarding Multi-Agency Guidance and Procedures among all relevant organisations.
They would greatly appreciate it if you could share your experiences and insights by completing their survey on MS Forms:
Self-Neglect and Hoarding Survey
The feedback from the survey will feed into the process of reviewing the:
Birmingham Self-neglect and Hoarding Multi-Agency Guidance and Procedures
which were implemented in winter 2022 across Birmingham.
Thank you for your time and cooperation. Your input will be invaluable in shaping the future of our practices.
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)
New national guidance on multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) for the Adult Social Care (ASC) sector in England has been published. This guidance provides updated, evidence-based infection prevention and control (IPC) recommendations for managing MDROs such as:
- Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase producing organisms (ESBLs)
- Carbapenemase Producing Enterobacterales (CPE)
- Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE)
MDROs are pathogens that can cause infections which are difficult to treat because they do not respond to common treatments such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics. With fewer treatment options available, infections caused by MDROs can lead to severe illness or death.
This guidance is for staff and managers working in adult social care settings (ASC) Please use this link for further information
8. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - New Pilot: Exploring Ambient Voice Technology in Inspections (Information for all Providers)
The CQC is piloting new technology to make inspections more efficient and consistent. They have secured over £480,000 from the Government’s Regulators’ Pioneer Fund to explore ambient voice technology (AVT) – artificial intelligence software that captures and transcribes conversations during inspections.
This eight-month project (October 2025 – May 2026) will test whether AVT can reduce administrative tasks, improve evidence gathering, and support our goal of completing 9,000 inspections by September 2026.
The pilot will begin in January 2026, when they will work with a select group of providers and inspectors to trial AVT in real inspection settings. This is an important step in rebuilding CQC and reflects their commitment to smarter, more effective regulation.
They will engage with selected providers in the new year.
Please use this link for further information
Projects selected for the Regulators' Pioneer Fund (2025) - GOV.UK
9. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Update - Research on Safety Management Systems in Adult Social Care (Information for all Home Support Providers)
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has developed a simple fire risk checklist to help domiciliary care providers assess and review the needs of people they support. The checklist includes practical advice, guidance, and links to further resources.
Although accidental fires in UK homes have reduced significantly over recent decades, fire and rescue service statistics show around 29,000 still occur each year, causing approximately 230 fatalities and 5,300 injuries. Many of these fires share common causes and are often linked to long-term health conditions, reduced mobility, or vulnerabilities related to age and physical or mental health. A notable proportion happen in the homes of people receiving care visits.
The growth of care at home and commitments made in the 10 Year Health Plan for England will see more healthcare delivered in people’s homes or community settings. Multidisciplinary teams will provide in-person and technology-enabled care for people living with frailty, as well as cardiac, respiratory and other conditions. NFCC supports this development but highlights the need to promote fire safety in home settings and recognises the benefits of fire and rescue service support to health and social care. Providers can access the:
10. Care Quality Commission (CQC) Digital Social Care messages (Information for all Providers)
Digital Care Hub welcomes the Government’s renewed focus on making health and care data accessible to authorised roles. To be considered fully digitised, providers must now achieve ‘Standards Met’ on the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT). DSPT adoption has risen sharply—from 15% in 2021 to 76% in 2025—reflecting the sector’s commitment to secure digital record-keeping.
Digital Care Hub, alongside the Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCOE) and Care England, warns that weak passwords and public Wi-Fi leave organisations exposed to cyber threats. Experts urge providers to:
- Strengthen password policies
- Train staff on cyber risks
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA)
11. REMINDER 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
12. Oliver McGowan Training via West Midlands Care Association (WMCA) (Information for all West Midlands Care Providers)
WMCA now offers
Tier 1 and 2 Oliver McGowan Training
along with a range of regular training courses centred around the Care Certificate to ensure new and existing members of staff are well equipped to carry out their roles.
Further details and bookings via our website
13. 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:
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
21 January 2026 Cyber in care webinar series: The deep, the dark and the hidden dangers 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
27 January 2026 A Mile in My Shoes – Dementia Awareness 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
29 January 2026 Ask the Experts: IR Changes & Workforce Compliance 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
29 January 2026 Palliative Care Emergencies 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
14. Digital Care Hub and Care England - Upcoming Digital Care Hub Webinars: January and February 2026 (Information for all Providers)
Cyber in Care: The Deep, the Dark and the Hidden Dangers, 21 January 2026, 12:00 pm, Zoom. Understand attack surfaces, dark web risks, and practical steps to protect your organisation.
Smarter Social Care: AI in Action, 4 February 2026,11:00 am, Zoom. Explore safe, practical uses of AI in adult social care and dispel common myths.
Cyber in Care: Resilience, Recovery & Incident Response, 25 February 2026,12:00 pm, Zoom. Gain templates and checklists for continuity planning and incident response.
15. REMINDER West Midland Care Association – Data Security & Protection Toolkit Webinars 21 and 28 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
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.
Data Security – 21 January 2026
IT Systems and Devices – 28 January 2026
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:
16. 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.