Agenda

From the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, 24 June 2026

From the Ethics Committee, 25 June 2026

From Cabinet, 7 July 2026

From Cabinet, 7 July 2026

From the Audit and Procurement Committee, 27 July 2026

Report of the Director of Law, Governance and Safer Communities

Report of the Director of Law, Governance and Safer Communities

(a)  Written Question – Booklet 1

(b)  Oral Questions to Chairs of Scrutiny Boards/Chair of Scrutiny

Co-ordination Committee

(c)  Oral Questions to Chairs of other meetings

(d)  Oral Questions to Representatives on Outside Bodies

(e)  Oral Questions to Cabinet Members and Deputy Cabinet Members on any matter

This Council notes:

1.  Social Care is one of the biggest issues of our time and the system is unsustainable – for patients, their families, communities and councils.

2.  The Prime Minister has committed to fixing the broken social care system by finding common ground across party lines, setting out a new approach to politics based on problem-solving rather than point-scoring, and drawing a line under decades of governments leaving this issue unaddressed.

3.  Baroness Louise Casey, who chairs the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, has launched the Big Conversation on Care, a new online platform giving the public the chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England, starting with what values and principles a care system should be built on.

4.  The scale of the challenge is significant: there are an estimated 1.46 million adult social care workers and 4.7 million unpaid carers in England; in June 2026 an average of 13,600 people a day were medically fit to leave hospital but unable to do so, partly due to the availability of social care; and around 3,000 instances of corridor care are occurring daily as a result of pressures on hospital capacity.

5.  The number of A&E attendances by people aged 65 and over has risen from 3.3 million in 2011/12 to 5.8 million in 2024/25, growth far outstripping the increase in the older population, and cuts to social care funding between 2010 and 2018 are estimated to have driven around half a million additional A&E attendances a year among people aged 65 and over.

6.  In Coventry, we have recently been awarded ‘good’ from the CQC inspection, but our aim is to consistently improve. We recognise the issues and barriers inherent in the service nationally, and we are already seeking to resolve them by using innovatory measures with partners, but we welcome the opportunity for further and wider engagement.

This Council welcomes:

7.  The pace and drive shown by the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care in working to bring forward its reporting timetable by a year, recognising the urgency felt by residents, carers, care workers, Unions and Local Government who cannot afford to wait for lasting reform.

8.  The Prime Minister's willingness to reach across party lines, and the engagement of the opposition parties with this process, in the belief that a problem of this scale and longevity can only be solved through a settlement built to outlast any single Parliament.

This Council resolves to:

9.  Promote the Big Conversation on Care to residents, staff, carers, providers, Unions and local partners, and encourage the fullest possible local participation in it.

10.Offer this Council's full support and participation in the national conversation in whatever way is most useful to the Commission and the Government — whether that is through local engagement events, sharing local data and case studies, or any other means the Commission considers helpful.

11.Continue to work constructively with all political groups represented  ...  view the full agenda text for item 15.1

This Council notes with concern that:

The Labour Government is seeking to abolish local Healthwatch organisations and remove their statutory powers.

This Council recognises that:

Healthwatch Coventry & Warwickshire plays an essential role in ensuring that the voice of the patient is heard and acted upon by both the NHS and Coventry City Council.

In his previous capacity as Mayor of Greater Manchester, the current Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Andy Burnham, wrote to the then Health Minister, the Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, in November 2025, noting that:

“Healthwatch plays a vital role in ensuring that the voices of our residents, particularly those who are seldom heard, are captured and acted upon. They are uniquely positioned to act as a bridge between people and the system, offering insight that is grounded in lived experience. People speak to Healthwatch because they are outside the system – they are impartial, trusted, and provide a safe space for concerns to be shared.”

This Council resolves to:

Call on the Rt Hon Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, to withdraw Clauses 64 and 65 of the Health Bill.

Work with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to maintain funding from both Coventry City Council and the ICB for an independent and local organisation to represent the voice of the patient in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Develop voluntary ‘Enter and View’ arrangements through a local protocol for NHS and local authority care providers should Clauses 64 and 65 remain in the Health Bill and the Bill be passed into law.

This Council Notes:

The escalating frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across the West Midlands, including repeated record-breaking temperatures, wildfires, and droughts.

The TUC heat campaign calling for the urgent modernisation of Health and Safety standards, specifically:

• A requirement for employers to introduce cooling measures when indoor temperatures exceed 24°C.
• A legal maximum working temperature of 30°C (27°C for strenuous work), above which non-essential work is paused or adapted.
• Recognition of high SPF sunscreen as standard PPE and mandatory task rescheduling during peak sun (11:00 AM – 3:00 PM).

This Council Recognises:

The work underway through the One Coventry Plan and the Coventry Climate Change Strategy to begin to address flooding, drought, and urban heat.

The practical steps already taken, such as adapting bin collection windows during the recent extreme weather and updating the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol to support vulnerable residents and rough sleepers during heatwaves.

This Council Believes:

The worsening climate crisis requires permanent, institutionalised safeguards that evolve and adapt to increasingly dangerous working conditions.

Council staff deserve clear, enforceable thresholds to safeguard their health during high temperatures and drought conditions.

Coventry City Council should model best practice in workforce climate adaptation.

This Council Resolves To:

Request the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, in consultation with recognised trade unions, strengthen the enforceable items in the Working in Extreme Temperatures Policy so that it mandates:

• Trigger points for mitigating action at 24°C.
• Safe working thresholds and task re-allocation protocols for strenuous work above 27°C and general work at 30°C.
• The designation of high-SPF sunscreen as standard PPE.
• A robust framework for heat-based risk assessments that can be tailored for each council employee scenario.
• The strict enforcement and measurement of these thresholds for children in school settings, workers with additional health needs and vulnerable adults.
• The provision of lighter summer workwear for outdoor physical work
• Flexible shift patterns to avoid peak heat periods.

Investigate the availability of water for outdoor workers and residents across the city and provide a plan that ensures everyone has convenient access to drinking water during periods of intense heat.

Report on the effectiveness of air-conditioning in council vehicles to ensure operators safety and comfort at work and provide options for remediation if found to be insufficient.

Implement passive cooling, shade, and improved ventilation standards into new and existing council and school buildings.

Instruct the leader of the council to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions support the TUC recommendations for statutory maximum workplace temperatures at a national level.

Work through local business partnerships to promote guidance helping local employers adapt their workplaces for rising temperatures.

Council notes:

• Residents and Cllrs regularly report anti-social behaviour to the Council, Police and social landlords. It often involves persistent nuisance, intimidation, harassment, vandalism, drug-related activity and other behaviour that damages quality of life.
• Residents need to know that when they report a problem, their concerns are recorded, shared appropriately and acted upon.
• Effective action depends on closer partnership working between the Council, Police, housing providers and other relevant agencies, with clear ownership of cases and appropriate information sharing.
• Residents can lose confidence when they repeatedly report ASB but receive little or no feedback about what has been done.

Council believes:

• Residents should receive clear, timely and meaningful feedback on the progress and outcome of their ASB reports, subject to confidentiality and data protection requirements.
• No single organisation can tackle persistent ASB effectively in isolation. Stronger partnership working, information sharing and joint interventions are essential.
• Consistent recording of reports, actions and outcomes will allow the Council and its partners to identify repeat problems, hotspots and cases requiring a coordinated response.
• Residents should be able to see that their reports have resulted in appropriate action and that their concerns have been listened to.

Council resolves to:

1. Strengthen partnership working between the Council, Police, housing providers and other relevant agencies to ensure ASB reports are appropriately shared, coordinated and acted upon.
2. Establish a consistent approach to recording ASB reports, detailing the nature of the complaint, location, responsible agency, actions taken, referrals and outcomes.
3. Use ASB data and feedback from residents to identify repeat incidents and hotspots and to coordinate targeted interventions.
4. Provide regular performance reports to councillors, detailing the volume of ASB reported, partnership activity, response times and outcomes respecting confidentiality and data protection requirements.

This will build confidence with local people as they will know their reports have been heard, acted upon and followed through.

The Council further resolves that progress of these measures is reported to scrutiny within six months, including evidence of improved partnership working and resident feedback.