Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests.

(a)  To agree the minutes from the meeting of Cabinet on 9 June, 2026

(b)  Matters arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9^th June 2026 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no matters arising.

Report of the Director of Finance and Strategic Resouces

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer) that would also be considered at the meeting of the Audit and Procurement Committee on 27^th July 2026 and the meeting of Council on 8th September 2026. The report outlined the final revenue and capital outturn position for 2025/26, and reviewed treasury management activity and 2025/26 Prudential Indicators reported under the Prudential Code for Capital Finance. Appendices to the report provided: a detailed breakdown of Directorate Revenue Variations; Capital Programme Changes and Analysis of Rescheduling; and Prudential Indicators.

The overall financial position included the following headline items:

·  An underspend of £3.2m, balanced by a contribution to earmarked reserves.

·  Capital Programme expenditure of £154.3m.

·  An increase in the level of available Council revenue reserves from £119m to £145m.

The Council had faced significant pressures within Adults Social Care, City Services and Regeneration and Economic Development. These financial pressures were caused by a combination of continued service demand, complexity and market conditions in social care, legacy inflation impacts and income shortfalls due largely to the economic climate.

The underlying revenue position has improved by £4.8m since Quarter 3 where an overspend of £1.6m was being forecast.  The majority of the improved position relates to improvements in City Services within both Environmental Services and Highways, as well as an improved position in Property Services and Development following the recognition and removal of City Centre South demolished properties from the National Non-domestic Rates rating by the Valuation Office, and finally significant improvements realised in demand for Temporary Accommodation.  These improvements were set out in section 2.1.4 in the report.

The Cabinet agreed to:

1.  Approve the final balanced revenue outturn position after a contribution of £3.2m to reserves.

2.  Approve the final capital expenditure and resourcing position (section 2.3 and Appendix 2 of the report), incorporating expenditure of £154.3m against a final budget of £180.9m; and £26.5m expenditure rescheduled into 2026/27.

3.  Approve the outturn Prudential Indicators position in section 2.4.4 and Appendix 3 of the report.

4.  Recommend that Council approves the contribution to reserves of £3.2m for the purposes described in Section 5.1 of the report.

RESOLVED that Council be recommended to approve the contribution to reserves of £3.2m for the purposes described in Section 5.1 of the report.

Report of the Director of Strategy and Performance

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Strategy and Performance, that sought approval for the Council to act as the accountable body in respect of the Government’s Pride in Place programme.

The Government’s Pride in Place programme, led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a long-term investment and capacity-building programme, designed to strengthen social and civic infrastructure and support renewal in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.  Each neighbourhood would receive up to £20m over 10 years, with funding split 63% capital and 37% revenue, in line with Government requirements.

MHCLG guidance required the programme to be community-led, with local priorities set through Neighbourhood Boards, whilst the Council acts as accountable body for the public funds and compliance.  

Coventry had been selected for the programme in three of it’s neighbourhoods:

·  Willenhall (Phase 2, announced in September 2025)

·  Tile Hill (Phase 2 extension, announced in March 2026)

·  Hillfields (Phase 2 extension, announced in March 2026)

The neighbourhood boundaries were defined by the MHCLG using Middle Layer Super Output Area geographies, which were detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

Details of the MHCLG’s requirements for the programme and for the Neighbourhood Boards were set out in the report, including:

·  A requirement for Neighbourhood Boards to have an independent Chair, jointly approved by the local authority and MP.

·  Coventry’s Proposed Governance Model.

·  Each Neighbourhood Board would be community-led, with the majority of members living or working in the neighbourhood.

·  The Council’s role as accountable body.

·  Management of funds.

·  Funding and support.

·  Changes to Boundaries.

·  Reporting and Accountability.

The Cabinet agreed to:

1.  Approve the Council’s participation as Accountable Body in the Pride in Place Programme for each of the three neighbourhoods and to accept funding of up to £2.5m per neighbourhood.  This approval includes, but not limited to, the Council undertaking the roles and responsibilities allocated to it by the MHCLG as Accountable Body and the adoption of the Pride in Place Programme governance arrangements, receiving the geographical boundary for the Pride in Place Programme as determined and delegation of authority to the Director of Strategy and Performance following consultation with the Director of Law, Governance and Safer Communities, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, appropriate MP and Chair of the Board to make any necessary representation to Government to amend the boundary following consultation with the newly established Neighbourhood Boards.

2.  Note that in 2025/26, the following actions have been undertaken by the Council (working with the relevant MP):

a.  Receipt of £585,000 of revenue funding across the three neighbourhoods, with further payments of both capital and revenue funding to be received in subsequent years over a ten-year period in line with the Pride in Place funding profile and timelines, set out in the MHCLG Prospectus.

b.  Acceptance of the sum of £285,000 in relation to Willenhall neighbourhood under delegated authority afforded to officers under Paragraph 4.5 of Part 3F (finance Procedure Rules) of the Council’s Constitution.

c.  Appointment of the Neighbourhood Chair for the Willenhall Neighbourhood Board  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director of Children’s and Education Services

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Children’s and Education Services, that sought approval to accept the Music Hub Revenue Grant for the strategic area of Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull.

On 25^th June 2022, the Departments for Education (DfE) and for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) published a refreshed National Plan for Music Education: The power of music to change lives, which set out the Government’s priorities until 2030 for music education.  Subsequently, the Music Hubs programme changed from hosting 119 Hubs to 43 larger, more strategic Hubs in place for September 2024, managed by Arts Council England (ACE).

From September 2024, Coventry City Council has acted as the Hub Lead Organisation as part of a consortium for the region of Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, including three Local Authority Music Services and 30 additional Music Hub member organisations. 

The arrangements were to continue for the 2026/27 academic year, with the report containing the estimated grants and at the meeting it was reported that since publication of the report, ACE had confirmed the expected grants.  The revenue grant for the Hub was £1,717,162, which included ringfenced funding for each Local Authority.  It was noted that Coventry’s allocation was £550,530, with £345,395 allocated to Solihull and £812,236 allocated to Warwickshire.  Historically, funding levels vary only marginally year on year. 

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet:

1.  Approve acceptance of the revenue grant for the academic year 2026/27 from ACE of £1,717,162 and by way of such, acceptance that Coventry City Council will continue as the Music Hub Lead for the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire region.

2.  Approve the allocation of the necessary grant funds (derived from recommendation 1 above) to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwickshire County Council, together with such further allocations to other Hub member organisations as determined by the Music Hub Independent Board, provided that the total aggregate allocation shall not exceed the sum approved under recommendation 1, and with the allocations of £345,395 for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and £812,236 for Warwickshire County Council.

3.  Approve entering into the necessary grant arrangements and other required legal documentation with ACE and Coventry City Council’s delivery partners to deliver upon the requirements of recommendations 1 and 2.

4.  Delegate authority to the Director of Children’s and Education Services, following consultation with the Director of Law, Governance and Safer Communities, to enter into such contractual arrangements to give effect to the above recommendations.

There are no outstanding issues

There were no outstanding issues.

There were no other items of public business.