Two free drop-in events on 9 and 12 October, no booking. Up to 16 stalls on care, money, housing and staying at home. Times, venues and who is there.

Solihull Council is running two free drop-in events in October. You can sit down with local experts and work out what later life is going to cost, where you might live and who will help.

There is no booking. You turn up and talk to whoever you need to.

  • Friday 9 October, 12pm to 5pm, at The Loft, Bluebell, Chelmsley Wood, B37 5TN. It is on the second floor, above Asda.
  • Monday 12 October, 12.30pm to 3.30pm, at The Core Library, Solihull town centre, B91 3RG.

The subjects on offer are finances and planning, vaccinations and health advice, community support and activities, housing and care choices, staying independent at home, and support for carers (Solihull Council).

The two events are not the same, and the council’s page shows it

If you are choosing between them, the stall lists differ. Both are published in full on the council’s later life page.

Fourteen organisations are listed for the Chelmsley Wood event. Sixteen are listed for the town centre one. The two extra are both health services:

  • Grove Surgery, part of Solihull Healthcare Partnership
  • NHS Birmingham and Solihull Cancer Screening

Neither appears on the Chelmsley Wood list. If a screening or GP conversation is the reason you are going, the Monday event at The Core is the one with those stalls.

Everything else is at both. The full common list:

  • Aids and adaptations: Solihull Council Occupational Therapy; Solihull Council Technology Enabled Care
  • Carers: Carers Trust Solihull; Solihull Council Older People Team; Solihull Council Reablement
  • General advice: Citizens Advice Solihull Borough; Solihull Council Community Development Team; Solihull Safeguarding Adults Board
  • Health and wellbeing: Alzheimer’s Society; Envolve Well; Healthwatch; Social Care Prescribers; Solihull Council Public Health
  • Housing: Solihull Independent Living Service

The Chelmsley Wood event runs for five hours and the town centre one for three, so the Friday is the easier of the two to drop into around other commitments (Solihull Council later life events).

Why the borough puts these on

Solihull is older than England as a whole, and it is at the oldest end that the gap is widest.

At the 2021 census, 45,599 Solihull residents were 65 or over, out of a population of 216,239. That is 21.1%, against 18.4% across England.

The 85-and-over figure is the one that shapes social care demand. Solihull had 6,700 residents aged 85 or over, 3.1% of the population, against 2.4% in England (ONS Census 2021, age by broad age bands, via Nomis).

Behind them is a bigger group again: 44,042 Solihull residents were aged 50 to 64 at the census, 20.4% of the borough. They are the people these events are really aimed at, the ones with time to plan rather than decisions to make this month.

Share of the population aged 65 and over, Solihull and England, 2021 census Grouped bar chart comparing Solihull with England at the 2021 census. Aged 65 to 74: Solihull 10.6 per cent, England 9.9 per cent. Aged 75 to 84: Solihull 7.3 per cent, England 6.1 per cent. Aged 85 and over: Solihull 3.1 per cent, England 2.4 per cent. All ages 65 and over: Solihull 21.1 per cent, England 18.4 per cent. Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS007B, age by broad age bands, via Nomis. Solihull is older than England, and oldest at the top end Share of all residents in each age band, 2021 census Solihull England 0% 6% 12% 18% 24% Aged 65 to 74 10.6% 9.9% Aged 75 to 84 7.3% 6.1% Aged 85 and over 3.1% 2.4% All aged 65 and over 21.1% 18.4% Source: ONS Census 2021, table TS007B, age by broad age bands, via Nomis. Solihull population 216,239; England 56,490,047. Graphic by The Solihull Post
Solihull has a higher share of residents in every band above 65 than England does, and the gap widens with age.

What the council says

Councillor Tony Dicicco, cabinet member for adult social care and health, framed the events around planning early rather than in a crisis.

“Later life will look a little different for us all, but we all need to plan and prepare for it,” he said. “You might not know what things to consider when thinking about your later years, or you might be looking for tailored advice on a certain topic such as care options or staying independent in your own home.”

“Everybody is welcome and there is no need to book, just drop in and speak to our friendly stallholders.”

You can also help shape the next ones

The council is putting together a “co-production group” of residents to review how past events went and plan future ones. You register your interest through the Your Voice Solihull consultation portal, linked from the council’s later life page.

There is also a Later Life bulletin you can sign up to on the same page.

What it means for you

  • Going to one of them? Take anything you already have: a pension statement, a care assessment, a letter about adaptations. The stalls are advice desks, not a booking system, so specific questions get further than general ones.
  • Want the health stalls? Choose Monday 12 October at The Core. Grove Surgery and NHS Birmingham and Solihull Cancer Screening are only on that list.
  • Caring for someone? Carers Trust Solihull and the council’s Older People Team and Reablement service are at both events, which is three conversations in one room.
  • Cannot make either date? The council’s adult social care pages cover the same ground, and the co-production group is open to anyone who wants a say in the next round.
  • Getting there. The Core is in Theatre Square in the town centre. Parking charges and station car park prices are on our parking in Solihull page, and current road closures are on our roadworks and travel page.

Sources