SWAN in the West Midlands
West Midlands SWAN was formed in 2009. We have a small steering committee elected from an annual meeting. SWAN West Midlands is Birmingham based but with members in Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Warwickshire and Wolverhampton. Coventry is also part our regional network but now has its own group based at Coventry university – S.W.A.N Coventry University Branch http://on.fb.me/o6KCD3 and on this website here.
Since we have formed we have held several regional meetings, a conference and produced two publications. In April 2011 we hosted the national SWAN conference at the University of Birmingham. Naturally we have been campaigning against cuts in social care as a priority – in alliance with UNISON, ASIRT, and DPAC. In Sandwell we worked alongside UNISON 
to successfully prevent the formation of a private social work practice pilot. In Solihull we worked with UNISON and ASIRT to expose the racist cuts by the council against migrant children and held a protest outside the UK Border Agency. In Birmingham we helped form ‘Hands Off Brum Services’ alongside the Right to Work Campaign, UNISON, and DPAC that focused on cuts in social care following the councils attempt to cut expenditure on adult care by £164m that would mean 4,100 people in the city with ‘substantial needs’ having their care removed.
The following publications from West Midlands SWAN are available to download at the bottom of this page:
- Practice Notes
- Private social work practices: a West Midlands SWAN briefing paper
You can find us on Facebook – Social Work Action Network (SWAN) West Midlands – at: http://on.fb.me/pFuqx8
You can email us by clicking here.
Links to organisations we have campaigned with:
Diasabled People Against Cuts: http://www.dpac.uk.net/
Solihull Unison: http://sites.google.com/site/unisonsolihulllocalgovernment/
ASIRT: http://www.asirt.org.uk/index.htm
