Birmingham

Introduction

Birmingham City Council is the largest Local Authority in Europe and has undergone a process of devolution, with significant service provision and funding devolved to 10 Constituency Partnerships. Birmingham has a history of manufacturing, but has seen significant diversification of the economy within the last 30 years. A substantial business and financial services sector has developed, supported by a strong city centre and growing creative industries.

Recent Visits

• 12 September 2007 Parmjit Dhanda (Communities and Local Government)  - Preventing Extremism Unit  Pathfinder launch
• 12 September 2007 John Shaw (DEFRA) - Visit to Gas Street Basin 
• 13 September 2007 Barbara Follet (Communities and Local Government) Harriet Harman attending European Year of Equal Opportunities Event at the NEC
• 4 October 2007 Stephen Timms (BERR) - Launch of the National Review of Enterprise Policy event at Advantage West Midlands
• 18 October 2007 Sir Digby Jones (BERR) visit to Longbridge- Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
• 18 October 2007 Iain Wright (Communities and Local Government) visit to Youth Homelessness conference /St Basils Birmingham
• 19 October 2007 Ian Pearson (DIUS) - Launch of the Birmingham and Solihull Life Long Learning Network
• 19 October 2007 Joe Montgomery (Communities and Local Government), Director General meeting with Stephen Hughes Birmingham City Council - followed by keynote speech at the West Midlands Regional Observatory Annual Conference in Kenilworth

Demographics for Birmingham

Mid-2006 Population Estimates

Children and Learners

• Over £10m has been allocated to Birmingham for the development of extended schools between 2005-2008.
• Nearly £200m has been spent on school renovation projects between 1998-99 and 2002-03, with a further £85m during 2003-04. Examples include over £3m to relocate Braidwood School for the Deaf onto the Hodge Hill Secondary School site; over £1.5m for essential building maintenance at Great Barr Secondary School, and £4m for the co-location of Fox Hollies Special School on the Queensbridge School site.
• Birmingham is in Wave 2 of Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Due to the size of the undertaking, it will also be spread through some of the later wave stages. The Birmingham BSF Strategic Plan is currently awaiting approval and includes plans for seven City Academies.

Health and Well Being

• The total value of PFI schemes across the Birmingham is nearly £1.2bn, including the University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust receiving £520m, and West Birmingham receiving £591m.
• Birmingham has two NHS foundation trusts hospitals, these are the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.
• Additional treatment centres were opened in 2005 at Birmingham City Hospital, Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield, and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham. These provide safe, fast, pre-booked surgery and diagnostic tests for patients by separating scheduled treatment from emergency pressures.

Crime

• Birmingham has been named as one of 40 priority Respect Action Areas in England, for being a Council who has a strong record in tackling anti-social behaviour. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is also backing the scheme with £6m of funding in 2007/08 for parenting classes in the 40 areas.
• Nearly £2m was awarded in 2006/07 to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) from the Stronger Safer Communities Fund, as part of the Local Area Agreement to tackle crime, drug issues and anti-social behaviour.
• Nearly  £1.7m was allocated from the Basic Command Unit Fund 2006/07, providing resources to front line officers who tackle crime and disorder in the community and addressing crimes that undermine communities feelings of safety, including street crime, anti-social behaviour and burglary.

Transport

• The £500m New Street Station redevelopment will increase station passenger capacity and provide a gateway to Birmingham and the region.
• The £50m Selly Oak New Road has been granted full approval for a contribution of £21.4m of public funds. It will provide a new bypass to Selly Oak Centre and enable access to the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital development. Work will start in Summer 2007 and is due to finish in 2011.
• The £22m Local Transport Plan (LTP) funded Outer Circle Bus Showcase Scheme was completed in April 2007 and comprises 25 major junction improvements, 15km of new bus lane and new branded buses. 
• The £20m LTP funded Northfield Regeneration Scheme will provide a new bypass to Northfield Town Centre and help regenerate the retail area. It was opened by the Secretary of State in May 2007.
• The proposed £380m Midland Metro extensions have received Transport and Works Act approval. A bid is due to be made for funding from the Transport Innovation Fund.

Regeneration
• Birmingham’s Neighbourhood Renewal Fund allocation for 2006/07 is £32.3m, 10% of this amount was initially withheld subject to satisfaction of certain conditions by the end of April 2006. These have been satisfied and the retained funding has now been returned to Birmingham. The indicative allocation for Birmingham for 2007/08 is £37.6m. However, this allocation is again dependant  on achieving the certain milestones.
• £1.3m of Single Community Programme funding in 2005 has been made available to support community involvement in neighbour-level partnerships.

European Funding

• Over £400m of European Structural Funding (ESF) has been invested in Birmingham projects.
• £5.5m has been allocated from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under Objective 2 for the Enterprising Communities Action Plan, to reduce the differing levels of prosperity within the Enterprising Communities areas, including Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Nechells, Saltley, and Hodge Hill.
• Over £400,000 has been allocated for the Aston Broadband Community Project, a combined ERDF/ESF project that will deliver innovative community ICT based regeneration activities for the Aston Pride Partnership.