FAQ's
Who is my Councillor?
There is a list of Solihull Councillors available on the website. You can find out which ward you live in with our Ward Search.
How do I apply for a school place for my child?
Application forms for primary and secondary schools are available during the autumn prior to the year your child would be due to start school. All applications received by the closing dates will be considered equally against the Authority's published admission criteria. Further advice and information is available from School Admissions at the Education Department on 0121 704 6693 or 0121 704 6663 or admissions@solihull.gov.uk.
Further information: Primary and Junior School Places Secondary School Places
What do I do if I think my child is being bullied?
If you have any reason to believe your child is being bullied, you should contact the school. Make an appointment with an appropriate member of staff to discuss your concerns and find out what support the school can offer. The school should be your first point of contact, but further support is available from the Education Welfare Service on 0121 788 1505 or educationwelfare@solihull.gov.uk
What services/support is there for Children and Young People in Solihull?
CIS (Childrens Information Service) enable children and young people(aswell as families and professionals) to access the right service or support to meet their needs. Contact: Solihull CIS, Keepers Lodge, Chelmsley Road, Chelmsley Wood, B37 7RS. Tel.: 0121 788 5351 (or 0800 389 8667 for children), email: mailto:cias@solihull.gov.uk, website: http://www.4u2dosolihull.org/
Help! I've got an emergency and the Council's offices are closed
The Council has arrangements in place to respond to emergencies that arise outside office hours. The hours of operation are:
- Housing: for further information see below
- Social Services: 0121 605 6060
- All other Services: 0121 704 8000
Bank Holidays:
- New Years Day
- Good Friday and Easter Monday
- May Day
- Spring and Autumn Bank Holiday Monday
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Anchor Point:counciltenantI am a council tenant and I have an emergency with my housing
When Solihull Community is closed arrangements are for tenants and leaseholders to report emergency repairs or housing.
The Emergency Contact Number for evenings, weekends and bank holidays is 0121 717 1515
Orbit Housing Group provide the out of hours telephone response service. Advisors receive calls, take details from you and if necessary will liaise with the repairs contractor or duty manager to resolve the emergency.
What is an out of hours emergency?
The out of hours service deals with housing related emergencies such as Housing Repairs and Homelessness.
Emergency Repairs
A service exists for Council tenants and leaseholders to report emergency repairs (for example those which might affect the structure of the building or Health & Safety), such issues may relate to:
- Gas leaks.
- Electrical faults.
- Burst or leaking water pipes.
- Broken door locks or insecure properties.
- Fire damage.
- Heating failure during cold weather, for elderly or disabled people or families with young children.
If your repair is not an emergency the out of hours service will take the details and pass them back to SCH next working day to be processed,
Other ways to report a non emergency repair when Solihull Community Housing is closed are:
By ringing 0121 717 1515 and leaving a message
By emailing info@solihullcommunityhousing.org.uk
Or by reporting the repair via the Solihull Community Housing website.
Homelessness Services
People can become homeless at any time. If this occurs outside office hours and you have nowhere else to stay, you can call our emergency service on 0121 717 1515.
Orbit Housing Group handle these calls on our behalf and advisors will take your details and will liaise with our duty managers who will consider your circumstances and advise you want they can do to help.
Dependant on your circumstances you may be offered temporary emergency accommodation. When our offices re-open arrangements will be made for specialist homelessness staff to meet with you and make a full assessment of your circumstances as well as offering you advice and guidance.
If you are threatened with homelessness but have accommodation until our offices reopen, please telephone us on 0121 717 1515 or call into the Chelmsley Wood Area Office on the next working day:
Emergency Alarms Service for Older or Disabled People
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council provides an emergency alarm service for older and disabled residents in our specially designated Council properties.
We also provide individual alarms linked to the same service, to older and disabled people who live in Council and non-Council properties. We collect and hold information on alarm user's individual circumstances (for example health details, doctors contact numbers, keyholders, next of kin etc.) which helps us to determine the type of assistance needed in emergency situations.
This ensures that we have information at hand to help us to call the people who can assist in emergency situations.
Out of hours our call centre staff will determine what help is required. This could range from calling a doctor or the emergency services, to contacting keyholders or next of kin.
Where a call for assistance is received and there is no keyholder available, a member of our duty staff will attend and if necessary will arrange a forced entry to gain access.
If a forced entry has been made an emergency repair will be arranged. We do not charge Council tenants for repairs in these circumstances.
If you would like to know more about our emergency alarms service please contact 0121 717 1515.
What should I do if I have difficulty paying my council tax?
Please don't ignore our letters and notices – telephone the Council Tax and Benefits Help line on 0121 704 8100 where our staff will be happy to help with payment problems. Remember – action to recover Council Tax is taken through the courts and results in extra costs so don't delay phone the help line today.
More information about Council Tax
Can the Council tell me what the boundaries to my property are?
You will need to contact the Land Registry who hold all details about properties. They can be contacted on 02476 860864 or at
Leigh Court
Torrington Avenue
Tile Hill
Coventry
CV4 9XZ
Where can I park my car in Solihull Town Centre?
There is a map of the town centre which includes car parking.
What can I do about a street lamp that is not working?
Either telephone 0121 704 8360 and tell us the location of the light or you can tell us about this on line.
Where does the name "Solihull" come from?
In Solihull A Pictorial History, Sue Bates writes
The name 'Solihull' was first recorded c.1170-80 in the Red Book of the Exchequer, and means muddy, or miry, hill. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon and has had several variant spellings…the traditional pronunciation is sol as in 'sole' not as in 'solitude'. A once popular variation recorded in West's Directory of Warwickshire (1830) as the 'general pronunciation' was Silhill…but this version is little used today. The hill is the present Church Hill, once much steeper than the modern road and extremely muddy in wet weather due to its composition of stiff, red clay. The town was founded in the late 12th century by the lords of the manor of Ulverlei, in which the new town was situated. Before that time the centre of the manor was about two miles away at Olton.
I am thinking of visiting the area - how can I find out more?
Various Tourist Information and introductory material about Solihull is available on this website.