Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 January 2022 were signed as a true record.

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

On behalf of the City Council, the Lord Mayor presented John White with the Coventry Good Citizen Award. His citation read:

Since 2008 John has been the CEO of Coventry's own international children's charity, Global Care. Working tirelessly both behind the scenes and from the front line, to ensure the charity's limited resources are used wisely in supporting the poorest and most vulnerable children from all around the world, through education, vocational training, feeding and welfare care, with results which have been transformative for thousands of needy children over the years.

John is very committed and involved with almost every aspect of Global Care's work. As well as overseeing the management of the charity at home in the UK, and the staff team, he is closely involved with the charity's international partners, spending several weeks each year travelling to often inhospitable places, building connections which allow Global Care to support children in some of the world's most fragile states - including Syria and South Sudan. In addition, John is ultimately responsible for the charity's three shops, in Coventry, Kenilworth and Bulkington, which support the broader work of Global Care, but are also committed to offering opportunities to vulnerable adults here in Coventry and the local areas.

John is highly dedicated, leads by example and is very person-centred in his approach and his dedication is so much encompassed in our Coventry’s commitment to Peace and Reconciliation. He has invested so much his time, efforts, and resources to helping better the lives of young children in Coventry and across the word, his actions truly reflect his character, and he is a worthy recipient of this Coventry Good Citizen Award.

The Deputy Lord Mayor referred to the recent sad death of former Councillor Margaret Lancaster who died on 15^th February 2022.

Margaret represented Holbrook Ward from 1993 until 2008. During this time, she was Chair of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee, Deputy Co-ordinator of the Social Care and Health Policy Co-ordinating Committee, Chair of the Care Policy Team, Chair of Health Policy Team Chair, Chair of the Health and Safety Committee, Chair of the Traffic Panel, Chair of the Social Justice Policy Team and Deputy Chair of Scrutiny Board (3). She was also the Lead Member for the Physical Disability Policy Team.

Members paid tribute to Margaret and noted that a letter of condolence had been sent to her family by the Lord Mayor and the Leader to convey sincerest condolences on behalf of the City Council.

Members then stood for a minute silence in memory of Margaret.

RESOLVED that the following petition be referred to the appropriate City Council body:

a)  Support the bid to plant an avenue of cherry trees in Caludon Park – 196 signatures, presented by Councillor A Hopkins

b)  Request the Council to take action to upgrade the 200m length of Birmingham Road from Neale Avenue and Rye Hill to the same standard as the recently resurfaced part of Birmingham Road. – 601 signatures, presented by Councillor J Birdi

c)  Request to include Cannon Park Road in the City of Coventry (Cannon Hill Road Area) (20mph Zone) Order 22 – 132 e-signatures, presented by Councillor M Heaven

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with the Constitution, a Motion without Notice was moved by Councillor M Mutton, seconded by Councillor G Lloyd and adopted that agenda items 7 (Council Tax Setting Report 2022/23) and 7 (Budget Report 2022/23) be considered together.

It was noted that a recorded vote would be taken in respect of all decisions relating to matters the subject of Minutes 80 and 81 below (including any amendments).

Further to Minute 82 of the Cabinet, the Council considered a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer) which calculated the Council Tax level for 2022/23 and made appropriate recommendations to Council, consistent with the Budget Report 2022/23. 

The report indicated that some of the figures and information set out within the report were identified as provisional, as the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Fire and Rescue Authority precepts had not been confirmed at the time of publication.  Confirmation had now been received in relation to these precepts and that the figures within the report were all confirmed as accurate.

The report incorporated the impact of the Council’s gross expenditure and the level of income it would receive through Business Rates, grants, fees and charges.  This resulted in a Council Tax requirement, as the amount that its expenditure exceeds all other sources of income.

The report included a calculation of the Band D Council Tax that would be needed to generate this Council Tax requirement, based on the City’s approved Council Tax base.  The 2022/23 Band D Council Tax that was calculated through this process had increased by £52.06 from the 2021/22 level.

Each year the Government determined the maximum Council Tax increase that local authorities could set without triggering a referendum.  For 2022/23 the Secretary of State had published a report which proposed that the rise in Coventry City Council’s Council Tax must be below 3% in 2022/23 to avoid triggering a referendum, comprising a 1% precept for expenditure on adult social care and a maximum of 2% for other expenditure.  At the time of writing, the Secretary of State’s report was subject to parliamentary approval.  The recommendations within the Budget Report 2022/23 were based on a proposed increase in Council Tax of 2.9%, including a core Council Tax rise of 1.9% and a 1% Adult Social Care Precept.

The recommendations followed the structure of resolutions drawn up by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, to ensure that legal requirements were fully adhered to in setting the tax.  Consequently, the wording of the proposed resolutions was necessarily complex.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1.  Note the following Council Tax base amounts for the year 2022/23, as approved by the Cabinet on 11^th January 2022, in accordance with Regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the Act”):

(a)  84,264.3 being the amount calculated by the Council as its Council Tax base for the year for the whole Council area;

(b)  Allesley  356.9

Finham  1,524.6

Keresley  237.0

being the amounts calculated by the Council as its Council Tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

2.  That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2022/23 in accordance with Sections 31A, 31B and 34 to 36 of the Act:

(a)  £748,832,629  being the aggregate of the amounts that the Council estimates for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Operating Officer (Section 151 Officer), which set out the proposals for the Council’s final revenue and capital budget for 2022/23.

The report followed on from the Pre-Budget Report approved by Cabinet on 14th December 2021, which had since been subject to a period of public consultation.  The proposals within the report now formed the basis of the Council's final revenue and capital budget for 2022/23 incorporating the following details:

•  Gross budgeted spend of £749m (£25m decrease from 2021/22)

•  Net budgeted spend of £237m (£6 and 3% lower than 2021/22) funded from Council Tax and Business Rates less a tariff payment of £19.3m due to Government.

•  A Council Tax Requirement of £153.4m (£7.1m and 5% higher than 2021/22); reflecting a City Council Tax increase of 4.9% detailed in the separate Council Tax Setting report on today’s agenda.

•  A number of new expenditure pressures and technical savings proposals.

•  A Capital Strategy including a Capital Programme of £145.1m including expenditure funded by Prudential Borrowing of £23.9m.

•  The updated Treasury Management Strategy, Capital Strategy and a Commercial Investments Strategy.

The financial position set out in the Budget Report was based on the Final 2022/23 Local Government Finance Settlement.  Although the core funding position broadly matched that of 2021/22, the Settlement included some significant new one-off grants that will help the Council to manage the pressures it faces, in particular in relation to social care and the wider costs of inflation.  The position after 2022/23 remains uncertain despite the Government’s medium-term spending plans being set out in the Spending Review published in October 2021.  A review of the local government financial allocation model will begin in 2022, although it is not yet certain whether this will be completed in time for 2023/24 Budget Setting.  As a result, it is not possible to provide a robust medium term financial forecast at this stage and the Council has provided some prudent planning figures for future years.  Initial assumptions indicate the likelihood that there will be a substantial gap for the period following 2022/23. The view of the Chief Operating Officer is that the Council should be planning for such a position.

The Pre-Budget Report was based on an increase in Council Tax of 2.9% and this position had been maintained for the final proposals in the report now submitted.  This incorporated an increase of 1.9%, which was within the Government’s limit of 2% above which a referendum would need to be held plus a further 1% Adult Social Care (ASC) Precept in line with Government expectations.  The Precept was trailed in the Autumn Budget Report and Spending Review 2021 and included in the Local Government Settlement as the means for councils to maintain their “core spending power”.  The precept was essential to enable councils including Coventry to manage increases in the costs of care.  In total, the rise in Council Tax bills would be the equivalent of around £1.00 a week for a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.