Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2022 and the Special Meeting held on 13 September 2022 were agreed and signed as a true record.

The City Council noted the return of Jackie Gardiner, elected as a Conservative Councillor for Sherbourne Ward in the City, on 22 September 2022, for a term of office expiring in 2026.

To consider whether to exclude the press and public for the items of private business for the reasons shown in the report.

RESOLVED that the City Council agrees to exclude the press and public under Sections 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 relating to the private report in Minute 72 below headed ‘Loan for Material Recycling Facility’ on the grounds that the report involves the likely disclosure of information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as it contains information relating to the financial affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

In accordance with the Constitution, it was moved by Councillor M Mutton, seconded by Councillor G Lloyd, and agreed that the agenda be re-ordered so that item 71 below relating to “Statements” be taken before item 70 relating to “Question Time”.

To be presented by the Lord Mayor and Judge Lockhart, Honorary Recorder

On behalf of the City Council, the Lord Mayor presented Rene Whitlock with the Good Citizen Award. Her citation read:

“Rene has been Chairperson of Coventry Spires U3A for the last 9 years. U3A stands for University of the Third Age and the organisation’s aim is to encourage older, retired people with spare time to share knowledge, skills and experience with each other. There is a wide scope of groups including walking, bridge, gardening, geography and more, several of the groups are run by Rene.

Rene works tirelessly in her role, and even organises day trips and holidays for the group members. Rene has invested so much time and effort to engage with older people and make them feel part of a caring, supportive community, her commitment is unwavering and what she does is extremely valued by so many people.

Members feel very looked after by Rene and it is clear she goes beyond the call of duty in her role. She is tremendously selfless, always putting the members first and ensuring they are having a good experience in whatever activity they are taking part in. Her attitude is always very positive, cheerful and caring, which creates a very welcoming atmosphere for members. She has been referred to as a breath of fresh air who lifts spirits. This dedication and person-centred approach has been vital throughout recent difficult times resulting from the pandemic.

Rene does not expect thanks, but the members of Coventry Spires U3A are incredibly grateful for what she does and the kind and thoughtful way she conducts her work. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to acknowledge her efforts and feel she is certainly worthy of receiving a Good Citizen Award”.

(a)  Death of Alison Quigley

The Lord Mayor referred to the death of Alison Quigley who sadly passed away on 28 August 2022.

Alison was a valued member of the Horizon Team, working with them since 2018 as a Harm Reduction and Victim Support Worker, however Alison’s work history with the Council dates back much further than this.

Alison was a Councillor in the Sherbourne Ward from 1987-1995, spending four years as the Chair of the Environmental Services Committee. She was also the Lead Member on the Community Action Against Crime Policy Team and worked tirelessly to bring safety and harm reduction to the residents of Coventry.

The Lord Mayor indicated that Alison’s contribution to the service and the lives of those she touched will always be remembered.

Members paid tribute to Alison and the work she did.

The City Council noted that a letter of condolence had been sent to Alison’s family from the Lord Mayor and the Leader on behalf of the City Council.

RESOLVED that the following petitions be referred to the appropriate City Council bodies:

(a)  Residents of Hen Lane, Roland Avenue and surrounding area request a traffic volume and speed survey in a minimum of two locations on these roads with a view to introducing traffic calming measure - 54 signatures presented by Cllr R Lancaster

(b)  Petition requesting the Council to investigate which road safety measures could be introduced to calm traffic on Evenlode Crescent – 74 signatures presented by Councillor J Gardiner

(c)  Petition requesting the Council to support 20mph zones by the Primary Schools in Allesley Park and Whoberley – 140 signatures, presented by Councillor P Akhtar

(d)  Petition requesting the Council to support a 20mph zone by All Saints School in Chapelfields – 47 signatures, presented by Councillor P Akhtar

(e)  Petition requesting the Council to reconsider the proposed location of a 5G phone mast on Nod Rise – 80 signatures, presented by Councillor P Male

(f)  Petition requesting the Council to reconsider the proposed location of a 5G phone mast on Sutton Avenue, Eastern Green – 366 signatures, presented by Councillor P Male

(g)  Petition requesting the Council to consider traffic calming measures on Alderminster Road – 172 signatures, presented by Councillor P Male

(h)  Petition requesting a Pegasus Crossing on the Coundon Wedge Road – 269 signatures, presented by Councillor B Singh

(i)  Petition requesting traffic calming measures on Lawrence Saunders Road, between Poole Road and Coundon Library to prevent speeding and accidents at junction of Crampers Field and Lawrence Saunders Road – 65 signatures, presented by Councillor M Ali

(j)  Residents of Wasperton Close do not want Citizen Housing to convert the Wasperton Garages to houses as it will have a massive impact on parking – 24 signatures, presented by Councillor S Agboola

(k)  Petition requesting the City Council and Citizen Housing to erect and make safe from illegal encampments the land off Nickson Road and the land strips between Tile Hill Lane and Bramston Crescent/Gravel Hill – 22 signatures, presented by Councillor M Lapsa

(l)  Petition requesting the City Council to install double yellow lines opposite the electric charging bays on Beech Tree Avenue – 87 signatures, presented by Councillor M Lapsa

There were no declarations of interest.

Further to Minute 33 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services which sought endorsement to the Youth Justice Plan.

The Crime and Disorder Act also imposed a duty to complete and submit a Youth Justice Plan each year. The Plan provides an update against the 2021-23 strategy. For the first time this year, the Youth Justice Board (YJB) mandated a template for the plan as part of their grant agreements with Youth Justice Services and thus the plan was presented in this format.

The plan demonstrates, in line with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) grant requirement, the continued delivery of statutory responsibilities as described in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 part 111 (section 38). CYJS has submitted the plan in line with the mandated YJB structure. The plan demonstrates the delivery of the Service’s statutory functions and the methods for achieving this in line with the grant requirement. This plan provides an updated picture on how the vision is being realized, priorities addressed, and provides a Service analysis and overview. It further outlined: how we engage/work collaboratively with children, families, and victims of crime; governance arrangements; partnership resourcing into the Service; our performance against key priorities; current challenges and risks; our emerging evidence base of best practice; and, how we continue to build on the developmental activities across the city in 2022/23.

RESOLVED that the Council endorses the Coventry’s Youth Justice Strategy and Plan 2021-23 (Update 2022).

Further to Minute 37 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Director of Children’s Services which set out proposals for the Family Hub and Start for Life Programmes and the Trailblazer programmes and sought approval to accept grant funding.

The Council currently operated 8 Family Hubs to deliver place-based integrated offer to families across the city.  They bring together services to improve access, build connections between families, practitioners, services and providers and put relationships at the heart of family support. Family hubs offer universal and targeted support to families with children of all ages up to 19 years and should provide support to families with young people with SEND up to 25 years. A comprehensive and effective Start for Life offer (0-2 years) should be at the core of the offer.

Coventry City Council has been selected to apply to join the national Family Hub and Start for Life Programme (first 1001 days), with financial investment to strengthen its offer to babies, children and families building on the achievements to date.  This programme would attract between £4.06m - £4.25m grant funding across the 3 years 2022/23 to 2024/25 to deliver the programme objectives.

In addition to this the Council could bid for additional trailblazer funding of £183k during 2022/23 allowing Coventry to be one of the first 15 Local Authorities to lead the way in delivering the programme.  Trailblazers would be expected to make the quickest, most ambitious and innovative progress in delivering the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. This would include going faster and harder in delivering new or improved services for at least one of the following areas funded: perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships; infant feeding; and parenting support.  Whilst trailblazers may be selected if applying for just one or two programmes, priority will be given to trailblazers that are ambitious and innovative across all three areas.  It was therefore proposed that Coventry apply for all three aspects of the funding.

The report included an overview of the Family Hub and Start for Life Programme and the funding that the Council would be eligible for. It also included a description of key service priorities, including a focus on community outreach and engagement with communities to ensure the coproduction of the maturity and expansion of family support services.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1.  Accepts the grant funding for the purposes outlined in the report in respect of the Family Hub and Start for Life programme and the Trailblazer programme, in the event that that the City Council is successful in its grant bid the City Council.

2.  Delegates authority to Director of Children’s Services, following consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer, to agree and sign any grant agreement.

3.  Agrees that the Director of Children’s Services is named as the Single Accountable leader for the Start for Life Offer.

4.  Agrees that future reports on this grant and the Family Hub and Start for Life programme are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

Further to Minute 41 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered a joint report of the Managing Director of Coventry Municipal Holdings Limited and the Chief Operating Officer, which set out preferred options to finance the development of the material recycling facility (MRF) by seeking funding to Tom White via a commercial loan.

A corresponding private report detailing confidential financial matters was also submitted for consideration (Minute 74 below refers).

The Business Plan for Tom White (TW) for 2022/23 was approved by the Shareholder Committee in March 2022 which supported Tom White business growth and ongoing development.

The business plan outlined proposals to redevelop the Tom White recycling infrastructure at Longford Road site.  Once completed, the redevelopment would improve the environmental performance of Tom White, dramatically increase the recycling rates for commercial waste and help to increase the financial dividend payable from Tom White back to the Shareholder (the Council).

The recycling facility redevelopment was core to these growth objectives, and the diagram at Appendix C showed how the new MRF sits in the context of overall waste management and recycling in Coventry and the sub-region.

The current recycling plant and equipment used by Tom White has historically suffered from lack of planned maintenance under previous ownership and was now experiencing significant breakdowns, with plant availability reducing considerably.  During April to December 2021, the facility experienced 72 days of plant downtime.  The impact of this was an increased cost of maintenance (plant and vehicle repairs and spares) and increased plant hire in the financial year 2021/22.  There was also an increased cost of disposal due to more material going to landfill due to the plant not being available to sort material for an alternative, cheaper and environmentally sustainable disposal route as a fuel source for onward processing.

The existing plant performance was causing significant cost pressures in Tom White, such that month to month the business is currently operating at about ‘break even’.  Accordingly, the new plant solution would remove the cost pressures that undermine profitability and allow the business to get back on track for profit and dividend availability.

In the short term the Tom White management team have hired new resilient mobile equipment to compensate for the poor performance of the plant.  This meant that the old unreliable plant did not need to be operated, thereby cutting significantly the maintenance costs and subsequent impacts.  However, this was not a long term solution for the volume of waste processed through the facility, nor would it provide the opportunity to enhance recycling rates and improve financial returns to the shareholder. 

The management team at Tom White have been working with its preferred supplier to design the new facility to move away from waste disposal but focus on treating commercial waste as a commodity from which the maximum environmental and economic benefit should be extracted. Therefore the solution was focused on creating zero waste to landfill. 

The business plan would increase economic stability with the business case for the recycling facility  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The City Council considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance which sought to make changes to appointments to Council bodies in accordance with the political balance calculation. 

At the Annual Meeting on 19 May, 2022, the City Council noted the allocation of seats to Political Groups in accordance with the political balance rules and made appointments to Council bodies accordingly.

Following by-elections and the self- suspension of two Councillors, the political balance of the Council has changed which needs to be reflected in the allocation of seats to the Political Groups.

RESOLVED that, the City Council:

1)  Notes the allocation of seats to Political Groups in accordance with the political balance rules, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report

2)  Approves the following appointments in accordance with the revised political balance calculation: -

Councillor J Clifford as Acting Chair of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee

Councillor L Bigham as Acting Deputy Chair of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee

Councillor A Hopkins to the Licensing and Regulatory Committee

Councillor N Akhtar as Acting Deputy Chair of the Planning Committee

Councillor L Bigham to the Ethics Committee

Councillor J Gardiner to the Communities and Neighbourhoods Scrutiny Board (4) in place of Councillor T Khan

Councillor J Gardiner to the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5)

Councillor J Gardiner to the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in place of Councillor A Jobbar

Councillor J Gardiner to the Planning Committee in place of Councillor M Heaven

Councillor F Abbott as Acting Chair of the Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities – Disability Equality Action Partnership – Advisory Panel

3)  Delegates authority to the Director of Law and Governance, following consultation with the appropriate Group Leader, to make any further amendments required to the appointments to Council bodies arising from 1) and 2) above.

(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

Councillor R Brown provided a written answer to the question set out in the Questions Booklet.

The following Members answered oral questions put to them by other Members as set out below, together with supplementary questions on the same matters:

The Leader, Councillor G Duggins, made a Statement in respect of the current situation at the Coventry Building Society Arena and the recent news regarding Wasps Rugby Club going into administration.

Councillor G Ridley responded to the statement.

(a)  To be moved by Councillor R Simpson and seconded by Councillor J Gardiner

“This Council believes that the farmland east of Brown's Lane, owned by this Council and which has always been known as Coundon Wedge, should not be sold for development.”

(b)  To be moved by Councillor AS Khan and seconded by Councillor P Akhtar

“This Council believes that this Government is on a crash course to another period of austerity

Their policies yet again favour those that have and, as usual, ignore those that have not.

This winter the brunt of those fiscal policies will be borne not just by the most vulnerable, the old, the young and the disabled, but also by ordinary hard-working families. Record numbers of people using foodbanks and record numbers falling into fuel poverty. All this in a so-called advanced society.

This Council urges the Government to do the right thing and ensure that funding is targeted to those people and small businesses that need it and not to those companies and individuals that clearly do not”.

The following debate was moved by Councillor R Simpson and seconded by Councillor J Gardiner:

“This Council believes that the farmland east of Brown's Lane, owned by this Council and which has always been known as Coundon Wedge, should not be sold for development.”

RESOLVED that, the Motion as set out above, be not adopted.

Note:  A recorded vote was taken, in accordance with the Constitution, in respect of the Motion.

The Councillors voting for and against the Motion were as follows:

Result: Lost

For: 13

Against: 32

Abstentions: 0

The following Motion was moved by Councillor AS Khan and seconded by Councillor P Akhtar:

“This Council believes that this Government is on a crash course to another period of austerity.

Their policies yet again favour those that have and, as usual, ignore those that have not.

This winter the brunt of those fiscal policies will be borne not just by the most vulnerable, the old, the young and the disabled, but also by ordinary hard-working families. Record numbers of people using foodbanks and record numbers falling into fuel poverty. All this in a so-called advanced society.

This Council urges the Government to do the right thing and ensure that funding is targeted to those people and small businesses that need it and not to those companies and individuals that clearly do not”.

RESOLVED that, the Motion, as set out above, be adopted.

(Listing Officer: P Mudhar, Email: parminder.mudhar@coventry.gov.uk)

Further to Minute 68 above, the City Council considered a private report of the Managing Director for Coventry Municipal Holdings Limited and the Chief Operating Officer, which set out the commercially confidential matters relating to a loan for a material recycling facility.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1)  Approves a loan up to the sum indicated within the report on commercial market terms for the purposes of delivering the recycling infrastructure.

2)  Approves the addition of up to the sum indicated within the report to the Councils approved capital programme for the purposes of entering into the loan.

3)  Approves the increase in the Commercial Investment Strategy limit for investment in service loans as indicated within the report for 2022/23.

4)  Delegates authority to the Chief Operating Officer (S151 Officer) and the Chief Legal Officer, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, to finalise and agree the detailed terms of the transaction with Tom White. The authority under this delegation shall also include the power to enter into the necessary legal agreements and subsequently the power to negotiate and agree any such variations as is deemed necessary to the terms of the loan facility and ancillary documents.