1.  Birmingham City Council - Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – July 2026 – DEADLINE 31 July 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Contracted Care Homes)

2.  Birmingham City Council - Home Support and Supported Living Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – (Information for all Providers Holding the Home Support 2024 and Supported Living 2023 Contracts)

3.  Birmingham City Council - New Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Guide - Now Available (Information for all Providers in Birmingham)

4.  Birmingham City Council – Change of name for our Commissioning Teams (Information for all Providers)

5.  Birmingham City Council Public Health and James’ Place (Information for all Providers)

6.  REMINDER Birmingham City Council - Contractual Requirement to Use Secure Email (Information for all Contracted Providers)

7.  REMINDER Skills for Care Updates for July 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)

8.  Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) - Harmful Practices in Birmingham Webinar - Day of Memory for Victims of Honour-Based Abuse 14 July 2026 (Information for all Providers)

9.  REMINDER Birmingham City Council - Learning Disability, Autism (LDA) and Mental Health (MH) Provider Forum – 16 July 2026 (ONLINE via Microsoft Teams) (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)

10. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Training Hub – Training Dates in July 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)

11. Change, Grow, Live - Free Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training 11 August 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Providers)

1.  Birmingham City Council - Care Homes Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – July 2026 – DEADLINE 31 July 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Contracted Care Homes)

Please click this link to access the questionnaire:

Care Home MIQ July 2026

The deadline for completion is Friday 31 July 2026

Please note that a new system is being used to collect the data. This is explained in the attached briefing. Because of the change, three weeks is being allowed for completion on this occasion.

This questionnaire is issued quarterly. Details of the questions are included in the attached briefing a long with how the information we collect is used.

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.

Please see attached further information about our approach and how the data we are asking for will be used. A PDF version of the questionnaire is also attached for review in advance of starting to complete the on-line questionnaire

2.  Birmingham City Council - Home Support and Supported Living Market Intelligence Questionnaire (MIQ) – (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 – July 2026

The deadline for completion is Friday 24 July 2026

A pdf copy of the questionnaire is attached for reference, and to assist in collecting the data required. It must not be used to submit your answers to us.

The questionnaire is issued quarterly. The attached briefing gives details of the questions, information about our approach, and how the data we are asking for will be used.

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.

3.  Birmingham City Council - New Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Guide - Now Available (Information for all Providers in Birmingham)

We are pleased to share our new Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Guide co-produced with members of the Birmingham City Council (BCC) Dementia Citizen Group. You can access the guide on the BCC Dementia Hub in the

Carers Support section

The guide reflects lived experience and has been shaped directly by citizens with dementia and carers to ensure it is clear, practical, and meaningful for those navigating CHC. We hope this co-produced resource will support better experiences and understanding across the system.

Please share this resource with your teams and service users.

4.  Birmingham City Council – Change of name for our Commissioning Teams (Information for all Providers)

To align our way of working with social work colleagues and a move towards locality based working, the name of your area commissioning teams have changed for contract management purposes. Your area commissioners remain the same.

The Shaping the Market webpages have been updated to reflect this change:

Information for care providers | Birmingham City Council

Constituencies	Previous Commissioning Area	New Locality
Sutton & Erdington	Area 1	North
Perry Carr & Ladywood	Area 2	Central
Hodge Hill & Yardley	Area 3	East
Hall Green & Selly Oak	Area 4	South
Edgbaston & Northfield	Area 5	West

To find contact details for your area commissioners, please see the following web page:

Area Commissioning Teams

5.  Birmingham City Council Public Health and James’ Place (Information for all Providers)

The new Birmingham centre of suicide prevention charity – James’ Place – was opened on 11 May 2026 by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales. The centre will provide rapid, life-saving support to men experiencing suicidal crisis, through therapy which helps them to understand how they came into crisis – and how they can move through it.

Public Health has worked closely with James’ Place to support the opening of the Birmingham service.

James’ Place is now open to referrals from:

• Healthcare and community professionals
• Family and friend referrals
• Self-referral from men directly.

To refer, simply submit a form through their or call the centre (0121 269 9400).

website

Please familiarise yourself with referral critiea prior to referring to minimise inappropriate referrals.

referral criteria

Other James’ Place centres are in Newcastle, Liverpool and London.

6.  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

Use of any other email account is not compliant with Birmingham City Council contracts.

More information on NHS mail accounts for care providers is available here:

WMCA NHS Mail

If you already have an NHS mail account but are experiencing difficulties with it, you can use the:

NHS Mail Contact Form

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.

7.  REMINDER Skills for Care Updates for July 2026 (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)

Please find attached Skills for Care updates for July 2026 with local and national updates.

Headlines include:

• NEW: The Training Hub by Skills for Care
• NEW: 25/26 Size & Structure of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England report
• Birmingham and Solihull Registered Managers Network meeting
• BBCS ICS Social Care & Independent Sector Faculty information
• Skills for Care National and Regional Events in July
• Other Partner News

8.  Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) - Harmful Practices in Birmingham Webinar - Day of Memory for Victims of Honour-Based Abuse 14 July 2026 (Information for all Providers)

We would like to invite you and your colleagues to join us for a special webinar marking the Day of Memory for Victims of Honour-Based Abuse. This important day provides an opportunity to remember those who have lost their lives to so-called "honour"-based abuse, raise awareness of harmful practices, and strengthen our collective response to protecting women, girls, and those at risk.

The webinar will bring together partners from across Birmingham to explore harmful practices within the context of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), share learning, and discuss how organisations and communities can work together to support victims and prevent harm.

Date: Tuesday 14 July 2026
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Location: Online via Microsoft Teams

Please see attached for further details.

Topics will include:

• Harmful practices and VAWG in Birmingham
• The significance of the Day of Memory for Victims of Honour-Based Abuse
• Recognising and responding to Honour-Based Abuse
• Community perspectives and support pathways
• Making Every Contact Count (MECC)
• A reflective moment to honour victims
• Opportunities for questions and discussion

Register for the webinar here:

Day of Memory – Harmful Practices Awareness Webinar

We would be grateful if you could share this invitation widely across your networks, teams, partnerships, newsletters, and relevant communication channels. Raising awareness of Honour-Based Abuse and other harmful practices is a shared responsibility, and wider participation will help ensure that more professionals and community members are equipped with the knowledge and confidence to recognise concerns, support those at risk, and signpost individuals to appropriate help and resources.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. We hope you will be able to join us for this important event and help us amplify the message across Birmingham and beyond.

9.  REMINDER Birmingham City Council - Learning Disability, Autism (LDA) and Mental Health (MH) Provider Forum – 16 July 2026 (ONLINE via Microsoft Teams) (Information for all Birmingham and Solihull Providers)

The next LDA and MH provider forum will take place on Thursday, 16 July 2026 12:00pm – 2:00pm online via Microsoft teams.

Items for the agenda will include a focus on:

• Housing needs and demand/trends
• Developing Market position statements for LDA and MH

If you would like to book a place, please complete the following

registration form

If you need to cancel your booking, please email Rebecca Claridge, Senior Commissioning Officer rebecca.claridge@birmingham.gov.uk

REMINDER – we have now held four LDA and MH provider forums this year and we are keen to have your feedback on these as a whole – we would be grateful if you could fill out this very short feedback survey, as this helps us to plan and improve future forums:

feedback survey

10. REMINDER Birmingham and Solihull Training Hub – Training Dates in July 2026 (Information for Birmingham and Solihull Care Homes)

Have you visited the Birmingham and Solihull training hub website yet?  You can view information as someone working in a primary or social care role in the Solihull / Birmingham area, as a student looking for support with career development or as a visitor wanting to find out more.

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:

24 July 2026 IPC Champions Training Day 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

11. Change, Grow, Live - Free Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training 11 August 2026 (Information for all Birmingham Providers)

Health and social care workers, volunteers, and professionals working in Birmingham are invited to attend a free in-person Drug and Alcohol Awareness training session at the Newtown Shopping Centre on Tuesday 11 August 2026, 10am - 1.30pm.

The session aims to provide up-to-date information on substance use, build confidence, and support participants in having informed, compassionate conversations with people who may be experiencing substance-related harm.

What will be explored:

Signs someone may be experiencing difficulties

Drug families, effects and examples

Nitazenes – what they are and why they matter

Physical health impacts

Alcohol – understanding its effects

Emerging drug trends

Who Change Grow Live are and the support we offer in Birmingham

Places are free but must be:

booked in advance via Eventbrite