Issue - meetings

Report of the Executive Director of People

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director of People, which set out proposals for Phase 2 of the Connecting Communities programme.

The report indicated that the central proposals within Connecting Communities were bringing together children’s centres and youth services into integrated early help family hubs for 0-19 year olds located in the area of greatest need and reshaping the Council’s library service.  This would enable the Council to target resources to greatest need in response to the very challenging financial situation it faced because of central Government reductions in the resources it was making available to the Council.

It was noted that the grant Coventry received from central Government had reduced by 44% since 2010/11 to 2016/17 and by 2020 it was estimated to reduce further to 55%.  The budget for the People Directorate was 70% of the Council’s net budget and so the services provided needed to contribute significantly towards those savings.

The scale of the grant cuts meant that current delivery of services was no longer sustainable and as a result of the Council’s financial position and the needs of residents, there needed to be a radical change in the delivery of services.  This meant working closely with residents and partners in new ways to maximise the total public funding that remained to support the most vulnerable in the City.  The delivery of the savings programme outlined within the report would contribute to the total savings requirement of £35m by 2017/18.  The Cabinet were advised that it was also likely that further savings across Council services would be needed in the future, requiring more work to reshape how to achieve better outcomes for people in Coventry.

The Connecting Communities programme focussed on how services might be delivered differently in the communities and neighbourhoods where there is most need and within the resources available.  In February 2016, the Cabinet approved implementation of Phase 1 savings of £1.2m full-year effect in relation to libraries, play centres, community centres, youth services, commissioning and public conveniences (Minute 121/15 refers).  These proposals were on track to deliver the £1m savings target set for 2016/17 (and £1.2m ongoing) as part of the original £5m savings target for City Centre First set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Coventry’s long term strategy was to focus on avoiding crude cuts through closer partnership working with statutory and voluntary agencies and communities.  The Connecting Communities approach was to work with others to redesign services that could be delivered within the resources available, focussing on supporting those areas most in need.  Connecting Communities was the overarching transformation change programme for the People Directorate, which delivered a wide range of key frontline services to Coventry residents and, as such, it was anticipated that further phases would be forthcoming at a later point.

In early July 2016, outline proposals for Phase 2 were published with a view to proactively seeking feedback and suggestions from key stakeholders on how the proposals could be developed or improved.  Since  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24