Focus on…The Midlands

Welcome to Community Care’s Midland’s focus, the final instalment in our series of supplements looking at developments in social care across the nations and regions of the UK.

The Midlands has for centuries been an industrial powerhouse. Although its borders are open to debate, the region’s location gives it a vital role in the UK’s economy and has delivered prosperity.

Birmingham, the country’s second largest city, is the hub around which much of the region revolves. Although saddled for some time with a reputation for being a cultural backwater, recent years have seen major regeneration. A vibrant nightlife and restaurant culture, benefiting from the influence of a large ethnic minority population, sports and music facilities, and museums drawing on its rich heritage all make it a more appealing place to live and visit.

As with any major city, there are social problems. These came to the fore last year with violent clashes between ethnic communities. Trying to bring the different cultures that make up this city closer together has been a task the city council has tried to address.

The region also has several medium-sized cities such as Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and Coventry. All have undergone major social and economic changes in recent decades which have affected the needs of the populations.

Outside these main urban centres there are rural areas with their own distinct characteristics and needs. This highlights the region’s diversity, which in turn poses a challenge for providers to deliver services that meet the needs of very different communities.

Welcome from Sallyanne Johnson, Nottingham adult services director and chair of ADSS East Midlands.

Birmingham Council explains how it reacted to the clashes between ethnic minority communities and the death of a child under its care

Warwickshire Council has come up with a novel way of tackling the social worker shortage.

How one Midlands council is leading the way in trialling needs self-assessments for people with long term conditions.