Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 2 September 2025 were agreed and signed as a true record.

(a)  Synagogue attack, Manchester

The Lord Mayor referred to the recent terrorist attack carried out at a synagogue in Manchester on 2 October 2025, during the sacred observance of Yom Kippur targeting a place of worship and community at a time of reflection, peace and prayer. 

On behalf of the Council, the Lord Mayor expressed extended condolences to all those effected, their families, and the entire Jewish community, both in Manchester and across the country. The Lord Mayor affirmed that Coventry stood united in condemning this violence and reaffirmed our commitment to protecting all faith communities and upholding the values of tolerance, safety, and mutual respect.

Members then stood for a minute’s silence in respect of all those affected and their friends and family. 

(b)  Gaza Ceasefire

The Lord Mayor referred the recent good news in respect of the Gaza ceasefire and expressed the hope that it would bring lasting peace.

RESOLVED that the following petitions be referred to the appropriate Cabinet Member/City Council body/external organisations:

1.  Request for CCTV on the park near Ena Road and to convert the space between Ena Road and Newland Road into a parking area – 88 signatures, presented by Councillor S Nazir.

2.  Request that the concerns of local residents regarding the excessive use of Clifford Bridge Road by HGVs be addressed – 139 signatures, presented by Councillor R Thay (on behalf of Councillor F Abbott).

3.  Request for new play equipment at Eastern Green Park, specifically, although not exclusively, aimed at pre-school children – 268 signatures, presented by Councillor P Male.

4.  Request that the Council install a formalised crossing point for Corley Academy, Church Lane, Corley – 2074 signatures, presented by Councillor L Kelly.

There were no declarations of interest.

From Cabinet, 30 September 2025

Further to Minute 29 of Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Director of Care, Health and Housing which had also been considered by Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) at their meeting on 17th September 2025.  The report detailed the Adult Social Care Performance Self-Assessment and Annual Report (Local Account) 2024/25. A copy of the Adult Social Care Self-Assessment and the Annual Report (Local Account) 2024/25 were attached as an Appendix to the report.

The City Council Adult Social Care produced an Annual Report which covered performance and activity for the previous year along with examples and case studies of where there had been a positive impact to people’s lives.

The Annual Report provided visibility of the key performance, challenges and impact of Adult Social Care in Coventry in the preceding twelve months.  Since the introduction of the Local Authority Assessment Framework by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) the format of the Annual Report had followed each of the four CQC themes for inspection and the quality statements associated with these themes. 

As the CQC self-assessment process also required the provision of a range of operational detail, an accompanying Self-Assessment had also been produced to provide this detail. Adult Social Care produced and published its first Self-Assessment in 2024, and both the Annual Report and Self-Assessment were updated annually.

The production of the 2024/25 report had drawn on the pool of feedback and information that was gathered over the year from a range of sources including social care staff, Partnership Boards, Adult Social Care Stakeholder Group, providers, partner organisations, and people who had been in contact with Adult Social Care along with their families and carers.

RESOLVED that the City Council note the Adult Social Care Self-Assessment and Annual Report (Local Account) 2024/25.

From Cabinet, 30 September 2025

Further to Minute 30 of Cabinet, the City Council considered a report of the Director of Property Services and Development which detailed proposals for the long leasehold disposal of an asset at Binley Business Park in Coventry. A plan of the property for disposal was attached as an Appendix to the report.

Binley Business Park was an established business park in the East of Coventry. The Council held the freehold interest of the park with various parts let on short or long-term leases. The Park totalled approximately 45 acres and offered office accommodation set in landscaped grounds in a strategic location.

The report sought approval for the disposal of an office building, Oakfield House, for continued office use on a long leasehold basis to the existing tenant, Coventry Building Society. The disposal was in accordance with best asset management practice and supported a key existing occupier and employer operating within the city.

The Coventry Building Society would pay to the Council the sum of £3 million by way of a lease premium upon the completion of the new long lease.  Thereafter the annual rent would be a peppercorn alongside the payment of an estate service charge.

The proposed transaction represented best value for the City in terms of financial value and supporting a local business.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1)  Approve the disposal of a new long leasehold interest to the existing tenant Coventry Building Society, for continued office use, at Oakfield House, Binley Business Park, for £3m (three million pounds).

2)  Delegated authority to the Director of Property Services and Development, the Director of Law and Governance, and the Director of Finance and Resources, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change, to conclude the terms of the transaction and legal documentation for the long leasehold transfer and any associated matters.

8.1  Written Question – Booklet 1

8.2  Oral Questions to Chairs of Scrutiny Boards/Chair of Scrutiny

  Co-ordination Committee

8.3  Oral Questions to Chairs of other meetings

8.4  Oral Questions to Representatives on Outside Bodies

8.5  Oral Questions to Cabinet Members and Deputy Cabinet Members on any  matter

Councillors N Akhtar, AS Khan, Brown, Hetherton, provided written answers to the questions set out in the Questions Booklet, together with oral responses to supplementary questions at the meeting. The following Members answered oral questions put to them by other Members as set out below, together with supplementary questions on the same matters:

There were no statements.

This Council welcomes the Labour Government’s plan to offer 30 hours of free, government-funded childcare, saving families up to £7,500 a year.

Council recognises the importance of building a future where children come first and ensuring that every child and young person has the best possible start in life.

Council notes that:

•   From September, 30 hours of government-funded childcare will be available, helping to reduce costs for working families.

•   A new wave of school-based nursery provision is opening this autumn, expanding access to early years education.

•   Since April, over two million breakfasts have been provided as part of the new free breakfast club initiative, improving life chances for children and supporting working parents.

•   From next year, 100,000 children will be lifted out of poverty through a major expansion of free school meal eligibility.

Council resolves to:

1    Publicly support and promote these initiatives to local residents.

2    Work with schools, nurseries, and local partners to ensure the successful delivery of expanded childcare and breakfast club provision.

3   Continue to prioritise policies that improve educational outcomes, reduce child poverty, and support working families across the city.

The following Motion was moved by Councillor L Kelly and seconded by Councillor B Christopher:

“This Council welcomes the Labour Government’s plan to offer 30 hours of free, government-funded childcare, saving families up to £7,500 a year.

Council recognises the importance of building a future where children come first and ensuring that every child and young person has the best possible start in life.

Council notes that:

•   From September, 30 hours of government-funded childcare will be available, helping to reduce costs for working families.

•   A new wave of school-based nursery provision is opening this autumn, expanding access to early years education.

•   Since April, over two million breakfasts have been provided as part of the new free breakfast club initiative, improving life chances for children and supporting working parents.

•   From next year, 100,000 children will be lifted out of poverty through a major expansion of free school meal eligibility.”

The following amendment was moved by Councillor G Lewis, seconded by Councillor S Gray and lost:

“In the second paragraph, add the following after “best possible start in life”:

Council believes that, while the expansion of childcare, free school meals, and breakfast provision represents meaningful progress, these measures are not enough to end child poverty.

Council believes that abolishing the two-child benefit cap could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and agrees with Joseph Rowntree that it would be the single most effective measure to reduce child poverty.

Council therefore calls on the government to go further by abolishing the two-child benefit cap, which continues to push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty and disproportionately impacts low-income families.”

At the end of the Motion under the “council resolves to” add an additional bullet point 4 that reads:

4. Write to the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions urging them to remove this unjust policy and to fully restore child benefits for all children, regardless of family size.”

RESOLVED that the original Motion, as set out in bold above, be unanimously adopted.

“This Council calls upon officers to find ways of working more co-operatively with Citizen Housing to tackle fly tipping that blights the lives of so many residents across Coventry”

The following Motion was moved by Councillor P Male and seconded by Councillor J Lepoidevin:

“This Council calls upon officers to find ways of working more co-operatively with Citizen Housing to tackle fly tipping that blights the lives of so many residents across Coventry”

The following amendment was moved by Councillor P Hetherton, seconded by Councillor S Nazir and accepted by Councillor Male thus becoming the substantive motion (in accordance with paragraph 15.1.7 of the Constitution):

“After the words ‘Citizen Housing’ insert ‘Midland Hear, Orbit, Platform Housing Group, Stonewater and all Housing Associations who operate in the City’

Add the following new paragraph at the end of the Motion:

“Council requests that a copy of this motion by sent to the CEOs and Chairs of each Housing Association.”

The amended Motion now to read:

“This Council calls upon officers to find ways of working more co-operatively with Citizen Housing, Midland Heart, Platform Housing Group, Stonewater and all Housing Associations who operate in the City, to tackle fly tipping that blights the lives of so many residents across Coventry.

Council requests that a copy of this motion by sent to the CEOs and Chairs of each Housing Association.”

RESOLVED that the above amended Motion be unanimously adopted.

This council notes:

·  Part of Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 required public bodies such as Coventry City Council, to consider how their decisions might reduce or increase inequalities resulting from socioeconomic disadvantage but this has not yet been enacted nationally 

·  In Scotland and Wales, Socio-economic duty is already in force, with more than 20% of local authorities in England already having voluntarily adopted it too.

·  Coventry currently uses Equality Impact Assessments to consider protected characteristics but these do not explicitly outline assessment of class or socioeconomic disadvantage as a requirement 

·  That the “Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation of the Socio-Economic Duty” (Published by Just Fair and Resolve Poverty) provides a robust framework for local authorities to adopt this duty voluntarily and embed it in decision making. 

This Council welcomes:

·  the commitment in Labours 2024 General election manifesto to bring Socio-economic Duty into force as part of Section 1 of the Equality Act

This Council believes:

·  That the inequality as a result from socioeconomic disadvantage which exists in Coventry is preventable

·  That socioeconomic disadvantage, along with other intersecting protected characteristics, disproportionally disadvantages many Coventry residents

·  It was a mistake of the previous Conservative-LibDem coalition government to not enact Socioeconomic Duty when the Equality Act was introduced in 2010

·  That with no formal timescale yet outlined nationally for enactment that Coventry would benefit from ‘getting ahead’ of statutory implementation. 

·  That by passing this motion we would see more equitable policy outcomes and increase our councils ability to address poverty, inequality and disadvantaged would be strengthened.

·  That all future decisions, strategy, policy and budget proposals should include explicit assessment of socioeconomic impacts in addition to protected characteristics and this should include the use of both quantitative and qualitative data, along with lived experience 

·  That public accountability and transparency would be improved if reports required Council, Cabinet and Officers to include how socioeconomic inequalities have been considered and what mitigating actions have been taken. 

This council resolves to:

·  adopt the Socioeconomic Duty as a requirement for all relevant new and revised policies, plans, strategies and decisions taken by Coventry City Council

·  To incorporate socio-economic disadvantage as a requirement to be included in the existing inequality impact process thereby ensuring that reports demonstrate how it has explicitly been considered and how any negative impacts have been mitigated against

·  Proactively listen and seek out the voices and experiences of those experiencing economic disadvantage, including young people, in addition to looking at quantitative data when developing new policy

·  Formally call upon other bodies the council partners and contracts with to treat Economic Disadvantage as a protected characteristic

·  Provide training and support for officers and elected members on how to assess socioeconomic impacts and use the revised process effectively 

·  To publish an annual overview of how Socioeconomic duty has been applied in Coventry including examples where is has made a positive difference 

Make representations to the Government asking for a timescale for national implementation and urging them to make it a priority.

The following Motion was moved by Councillor G Lewis and seconded by Councillor S Gray:

“This Council notes:

·  Part of Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 required public bodies such as Coventry City Council, to consider how their decisions might reduce or increase inequalities resulting from socioeconomic disadvantage but this has not yet been enacted nationally 

·  In Scotland and Wales, Socio-economic duty is already in force, with more than 20% of local authorities in England already having voluntarily adopted it too.

·  Coventry currently uses Equality Impact Assessments to consider protected characteristics but these do not explicitly outline assessment of class or socioeconomic disadvantage as a requirement 

·  That the “Practical Guide for Local Authority Implementation of the Socio-Economic Duty” (Published by Just Fair and Resolve Poverty) provides a robust framework for local authorities to adopt this duty voluntarily and embed it in decision making. 

This Council welcomes:

·  The commitment in Labours 2024 General election manifesto to bring Socio-economic Duty into force as part of Section 1 of the Equality Act

This Council believes:

·  That the inequality as a result from socioeconomic disadvantage which exists in Coventry is preventable

·  That socioeconomic disadvantage, along with other intersecting protected characteristics, disproportionally disadvantages many Coventry residents

·  It was a mistake of the previous Conservative-LibDem coalition government to not enact Socioeconomic Duty when the Equality Act was introduced in 2010

·  That with no formal timescale yet outlined nationally for enactment that Coventry would benefit from ‘getting ahead’ of statutory implementation. 

·  That by passing this motion we would see more equitable policy outcomes and increase our councils ability to address poverty, inequality and disadvantaged would be strengthened.

·  That all future decisions, strategy, policy and budget proposals should include explicit assessment of socioeconomic impacts in addition to protected characteristics and this should include the use of both quantitative and qualitative data, along with lived experience 

·  That public accountability and transparency would be improved if reports required Council, Cabinet and Officers to include how socioeconomic inequalities have been considered and what mitigating actions have been taken. 

This Council resolves to:

·  Adopt the Socioeconomic Duty as a requirement for all relevant new and revised policies, plans, strategies and decisions taken by Coventry City Council

·  To incorporate socio-economic disadvantage as a requirement to be included in the existing inequality impact process thereby ensuring that reports demonstrate how it has explicitly been considered and how any negative impacts have been mitigated against

·  Proactively listen and seek out the voices and experiences of those experiencing economic disadvantage, including young people, in addition to looking at quantitative data when developing new policy

·  Formally call upon other bodies the council partners and contracts with to treat Economic Disadvantage as a protected characteristic

·  Provide training and support for officers and elected members on how to assess socioeconomic impacts and use the revised process effectively 

·  To publish an annual overview of how Socioeconomic duty has been applied in Coventry including examples where is has made a positive difference 

Make representations to the Government asking for a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.