Agenda and minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 9 July 2024 were agreed and signed as a true record.

Merchant Navy Day

The Lord Mayor highlighted the Council to the flag of the Merchant Navy flying outside the council house for Merchant Navy Day, recognising the courage and sacrifice of seafarers from the Merchant Navy past and present.

International Children’s Games

The Lord Mayor congratulated all the young athletes who participated in the International Children’s Games which took place in León, Mexico from 17^th to 20^th July. The athletes secured 10 medals marking their best performance for a number of years.

Team GB – Paris Olympics and Paralympics

The Lord Mayor similarly congratulated Team GB for their achievements in the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. A special mention was made to Kare Adenegan, a former Coventry Good Citizen Award Winner, on achieving a Silver Medal in the T34 100m at the Paralympics.

Southport

The Lord Mayor referred to her shock at the recent tragic events in Southport on Monday 29^th July. A letter of condolence has been sent on behalf of the City of Coventry to the Mayor of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council expressing our deepest sympathy to all those who have been affected by this tragedy.

Paul Desson-Baxter

The Lord Mayor expressed her sadness at the death of Paul Desson-Baxter, one of the co-founders of Coventry Pride and Chair of the Chairity for 6 years. A letter of condolence was to be sent on behalf of the Council.

Former Councillor David Welsh

Lastly, the Lord Mayor referred to the resignation of Councillor David Welsh. Former Councillor Welsh represented St Michael’s Ward for 14 years, having first been elected in 2010 and was currently the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities.

Various other councillors including Councillor G Duggins, Councillor G Ridley and Councillor S Gray shared their memories and appreciation for former Councillor D Welsh and wished him well in his new career.

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

1.  Petition requesting residents only parking and the need for Webster Street to become a one-way street with entry via Broad Street – 43 signatures, presented by Councillor S Nazir.

2.  Petition to prevent Coventry City Council from implementing residential parking fees on Farren Road or cancel the scheme – 89 signatures online and 86 written signatures, presented by Councillor F Abbott.

3.  Petition to scrap the WR zone residents’ parking permit zone – 18 signatures online and 190 written signatures, presented by Councillor F Abbott.

4.  Petition objecting to the enforcement of parking permits on the Gleneagles Road and Nortan Hill Drive Estate (Zone WG) – 39 signatures online and 322 written signatures, presented by Councillor F Abbott.

5.  Petition requesting the council to install some form of traffic calming measure on Bredon Avenue – 95 signatures, presented by Councillor S Agboola.

6.  Petition requesting the council to protect the World War 2 artefacts within the developments planned for Keresley – 7 signatures, presented by Councillor B Christopher.

There were no declarations of interest.

From Audit and Procurement Committee, 22 July 2024

Further to Minute 15 of the Cabinet, the City Council considered the annual report of the Audit and Procurement Committee that provided an overview of its activity during 2023/2024.

The report included an introduction by the Chair, Councillor R Lakha, and indicated that the Audit and Procurement Committee was a key component of the Council’s governance framework, supporting good governance and strong public financial management. Over the last year, the Committee had continued to discharge its key responsibility effectively, namely providing independent assurance on the adequacy of the risk management framework, the internal control environment and the integrity of the Council’s financial reporting and governance processes. The report demonstrated the vital role carried out by the Committee and the contribution that it made to the Council’s overall governance arrangements.

The Committee received a range of routine reports based on the clearly defined expectations of services / functions that reported to it, e.g. internal / external audit and financial management. It also received ad-hoc reports which focussed on either a specific concern or developments that impacted directly on the Committee.

The report detailed the Committee’s activity in 2023/24 in the following areas: Governance; Financial Management and Accounting; External Audit; Internal Audit; Fraud and Error; and Procurement. Reports considered during this period which were linked to risk management, internal control and governance, included: Whistleblowing Annual Report 2022/23; Complaints to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman 2022/23; Corporate Risk Register; Information Governance Annual Report 2022/23; and Coventry Municipal Holdings Group Accounts.

The report also detailed priorities for the Committee for 2024/25 which included:

·  The Council’s risk management, governance, internal control and financial management arrangements continue to operate effectively, especially in light of the financial pressures caused by inflation, increasing service demands and difficult conditions within social care markets.

·  Matters relating to the publication of the Council’s Statements of Accounts were resolved as soon as practicable, with an objective that outstanding years accounts were published in line with the expectations of the Governments consultation once the outcome of that was known.

RESOLVED that the Council recieves and notes the Audit and Procurement Committee Annual Report.

From Cabinet, 27 August 2024

The City Council considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance which provided the results of a statutory consultation carried out in relation to the future of additional licensing in Coventry and which sought approval to designate the whole of the City as subject to additional licensing under section 56(1)(a) of the Housing Act 2004 in relation to the size and type of Houses in Multiple Occupation  specified in the recommendations of this report for a period of 5 years commencing on the 4th May 2025.

The report indicated that HMOs are properties that are occupied by a least 3 people in two or more households who share at least one basic amenity i.e. a kitchen, bathroom or toilet.  The definition of a HMO includes bedsits, shared houses, flats, lettings with their own facilities and some types of poorly converted self–contained flats.

The Housing Act 2004 provides a power to the Council to introduce an Additional Licensing Scheme in its area. The power was intended to address the impact of poor-quality HMOs that fall outside of the mandatory licensing HMO definition and address management issues and poor property conditions.

On the 4th May 2020 the Council introduced a citywide Additional Licensing Scheme which required all HMOs in Coventry to be licensed. The scheme runs for a period of 5 years and as such will cease on the 4?? May 2025.  Within the Act there is a legal requirement to review the scheme “from time to time”. To fulfil this requirement a consultation exercise was undertaken between July and October 2023 to seek views from all stakeholders on the progress of the scheme so far.

The review showed that the licensing scheme has made good progress in improving standards in a large number of HMOs, for example, the Council has added around 11,598 conditions to licences that has resulted in approx. £1.6m being invested into improving conditions. This investment would not have happened without the scheme, but there are still a significant number of properties that remain unlicensed and there continues to be issues with non-compliance and poor management.

The Council has been proactive in its approach to enforcement of unlicensed HMOs and non-compliance, so much so that this was recognised by the National Residential Landlord Association (NRLA) in their paper - the Enforcement Lottery: civil penalty usage by local authorities, which acknowledged that Coventry ranked first for issuing the most civil penalties for HMO offences in England.

It is clear however, that more needs to be done as a significant proportion of HMOs in the Council`s area are still being managed ineffectively, and unlicensed properties are still present. The focus of this scheme will therefore be to proactively target those unlicensed and non-compliant properties whilst ensuring that those properties that are already licensed continue to provide the standards required under the requirements of the licensing regulatory framework. 

Cabinet considered a report on the 13th February 2024 (Minute 69/23 refers) and approved recommendations to proceed with a statutory consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The City Council considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance which sought an amendment to the allocation of executive functions within Cabinet.

At the Annual General Meeting of the Council on 16 May 2024, the Leader informed Council of the allocation of Executive Functions within Cabinet for the Municipal Year 2024/25. Councillor David Welsh was appointed by the Leader as the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, however following his indication of his intention to resign as a St Michael’s Ward Councillor with effect from the end of August 2024, in accordance with the Constitution, the report informed Council of a change to the allocation of Executive Functions made by the Leader of the Council to appoint Councillor Naeem Akhtar as Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities with effect from 2 September 2024.

The Lord Mayor congratulated Councillor N Akhtar on his new appointment.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The City Council considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance which sought an amendment to the appointments to Council bodies 2024/25.

The report sought approval to amendments to appointments to Council bodies which have arisen as a result of the notification by Councillor David Welsh of his intention to resign as a St Michael’s Ward Councillor with effect from the end of August 2024 and the Leader’s decision to make changes to the allocation of Executive Functions, by appointing Councillor Naeem Akhtar as the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities with effect from 2 September 2024.

RESOLVED that the City Council:

1)  Notes that, following his appointment as Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, effective from 2 September 2024, Councillor Naeem Akhtar is no longer Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee or a member of Planning Committee.

2)  Moves the following appointments to vacancies on Council bodies, effective from 3 September 2024:

·  Councillor Gavin Lloyd be appointed as Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee and therefore no longer Deputy Cabinet Member for City Services.

·  Councillor Shakila Nazir be appointed as Deputy Cabinet Member for City Services and therefore no longer Deputy Cabinet Member for Adult Services.

·  Councillor David Toulson be appointed as Deputy Cabinet Member for Adult Services.

(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

Councillors Hetherton, Brown and N Akhtar provided written answers to the questions set out in the Questions Booklet, together with oral responses to supplementary questions asked 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:

The Leader, Councillor G Duggins, made a Statement in respect of a number of matters including the tragic recent events of Southport

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

“Coventry City Council resolves to treat care experience as if it were a Protected Characteristic and formally call upon all other bodies it partners or contracts with to treat care experience as a Protected Characteristic until such time as it may be introduced by legislation.”

RESOLVED that the Motion be adopted.

The following Motion was moved by Councillor G Ridley and seconded by Councillor R Bailey:

“This Council regrets the decision by the Labour Government to end universal winter fuel payments which could push up to 45,000 people in the city into fuel poverty.

We call on the Leader of the Council to write to the Chancellor urging a review of the decision to restrict eligibility to those in receipt of pension credits and other benefits.

This is to ensure vulnerable pensioners, particularly those that do not claim pension credits, are protected from financial hardship.

Council notes that many pensioners eligible for credits do not apply for them and will lose winter fuel payments as a result. Therefore, we resolve to undertake an awareness campaign to encourage residents in Coventry to check their eligibility. This includes the use of social media, promotion in the local press and Citivision.”

The following amendment was moved by Councillor A Tucker and seconded by Councillor L Bigham and carried:

After the words “This Council regrets” delete the rest of that paragraph and insert the following :-

'the £20 billion black hole left in the public finances left by the last Conservative Government. With the Winter Fuel Allowance set to remain in place for the poorest pensioners (those in receipt of Pension Credit), this Council urges all those eligible to apply, as take-up is still far too low.” 

Delete paragraphs 2 and 3

In paragraph 4 delete the words “Council notes that many pensioners eligible for credits do not apply for them and will lose winter fuel payments as a result. Therefore, we resolve to undertake an awareness campaign to encourage residents in Coventry to check their eligibility. This includes the use of “and replace with the following words “This Council also commits to continue its work on awareness campaigns to encourage residents to check their eligibility including on” and leave in the rest of that paragraph.

The amended Motion now to read:

“This Council regrets the £20 billion black hole left in the public finances  by the last Conservative Government. With the Winter Fuel Allowance set to remain in place for the poorest pensioners (those in receipt of Pension Credit), this Council urges all those eligible to apply, as take-up is still far too low. 

This Council also commits to continue its work on awareness campaigns to encourage residents to check their eligibility including on social media, local press promotion and within Citivision.”

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

The following Motion was moved by Councillor S Gray and seconded by Councillor E Reeves:

“Council notes that the Cost-of-Living crisis is not over.

Between April 2022 and April 2024 the cost of a basic weekly food basket has increased by 25%.

The Ofgem price cap is expected to rise again by around 10% in October, meaning bills stay 50-60% above pre-crisis levels. We further note that bills could have already been lowered through an adequate programme of home insulation in line with net zero commitments.

Rents in the private housing sector, where many of the most vulnerable households live, have continued to increase at a rate above headline inflation.

Council calls on the new Government to:

•  Extend and increase the Household Support Fund as an interim measure, enabling councils to help those in the most need this coming winter.

•  Give the power to local authorities to control rents if the local rental market is overheated.

•  Bring forward a simple and accessible system for homeowners to access property-linked finance to pay for the work needed to decarbonise heating and reduce energy costs.

•  Expand available funding for the social housing decarbonisation fund and so all local authorities and social housing providers can maximise their work to shift to cleaner and cheaper energy in homes.

•  Integrate these, and schemes to encourage private landlords to insulate their properties to minimise the overall cost by, for example, insulating an entire street at the same time.”

The following amendment was moved by Councillor J O’Boyle and seconded by Councillor N Akhtar and carried:

In paragraph 5, after the words “The Council calls on the new Government to” add the words “follow Coventry City Council’s example and work with us and local authorities to”

Then delete the first bullet point which starts “ Extend and increase”

Amend the second bullet point by deleting the words “give the power to local authorities to” 

Then add the following final sentence at the end of the Motion :-

“We welcome the announcement that the Household Support Fund will be extended to March 2025”

The amended Motion now to read:

“Council notes that the Cost-of-Living crisis is not over.

Between April 2022 and April 2024 the cost of a basic weekly food basket has increased by 25%.

The Ofgem price cap is expected to rise again by around 10% in October, meaning bills stay 50-60% above pre-crisis levels. We further note that bills could have already been lowered through an adequate programme of home insulation in line with net zero commitments.

Rents in the private housing sector, where many of the most vulnerable households live, have continued to increase at a rate above headline inflation.

Council calls on the new Government to follow Coventry City Council’s example and work with us and local authorities to-

•  Control rents if the local rental market is overheated.

•  Bring forward a simple and accessible system for homeowners to access property-linked finance to pay for the work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.