The Singh family live on the north east side of Coventry. The family define their ethnicity as Asian British and have been in and out of health and social care services for several years.
Dad, Jas, is 43 and is long term unemployed as a result of being made redundant from his job working on the track in the motoring industry. He has a BMI of 35kg/m2, has back problems which intermittently affect his mobility and he has recently experienced a heart attack.
Mum, Suki, is 41 and has a history of depression and works part-time in the local Cost Cutter store. Despite trying to make ends meet, Suki’s mental health has recently been affected through increased pressure on the family budget. This has led her on a couple of occasions to access the local Food Bank.
They have 3 children: the eldest, Bal, is 19 and is classified as a NEET (not in employment, education or training). He left school at 16 with few GCSE’s and has had numerous voluntary job experiences of which none has resulted in employment.
Their second child Amita is 17 and left school at 16 to become an apprentice hairdresser in a local salon. She became pregnant, however, 6 months into her apprenticeship and now has a baby girl aged 5 months who lives with her in her parent’s home.
The youngest child, Naz, is aged 14 and has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities. He attends a special school which is part of the local special educational provision in the city. He has recently been a victim of mate-crime and this has led him to become very withdrawn. He rarely wants to go out of the house after school because of the constant threats in the neighbourhood.
The family is currently living in a housing association four bedroom house and will soon have to consider moving into a 3 bedroom house due to recent benefit changes. This will mean that Bal and Naz will need to share a bedroom.