Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary Interests.

The minutes of the meeting held on 30^th October 2025 were agreed and signed as a true record.

Further to minute 27/25 headed ‘Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee One Coventry Plan Deep Dive Recommendations’, Members noted that the recommendations to Cabinet on the One Coventry Deep Dive KPI’s were agreed. The next step was to pick up the recommendations specifically for Scrutiny.

Briefing Note of the Director of Law and Governance

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee received a briefing note of the Director of Law and Governance that provided a progress report on the action taken in relation to the City Centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) further to the Order being amended on 21st November 2023 to include restrictions to e-bikes and e-scooters in the city centre. An Appendix to the briefing note PSPO set out detailed enforcement results for the period August - October 2025. Councillor AS Khan, Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, and Councillor P Akhtar, Deputy Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, had been invited to the meeting for this item but were unable to attend.

Cabinet approved the renewal of the City Centre PSPO on 13th June 2023 (their minute 3/23 referred), and also the submission of a progress report to the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee to enable them to monitor the impact of the Order. Cabinet, at their meeting on 7th November 2023 (their minute 44/23 referred), considered a report on the amendment of the City Centre PSPO which included the requirement for e-bikes and e-scooter riders to dismount when entering the designated area in the city centre. They noted Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee’s concerns regarding enforcement of the amendment in terms of police capacity and priority within the city centre. A briefing note was circulated to Scrutiny Coordination Committee in August 2024 outlining the actions taken to engage and educate e-bike and e-scooter riders as well as the general public about the Order, and to ensure it could be adequately managed and enforced. Actions proposed, and implemented included an education campaign, signage, training for officers, joint patrols, and larger multi agency operations to bring in regional resources as needed.

Progress on enforcement included:

·  A new role of Community Warden in the Community Safety Team, predominantly city centre based and providing availability at weekends and early evening, with primary duties to provide a reassuring presence by engaging, educating and enforcing all aspects of the PSPO’s that are live in the city centre.

·  A dedicated Police officer acting as a point of contact for partners and to co-ordinate ongoing joint patrols and operations at a local level.

·  A City Centre Case management meeting enabling greater joint partnership working, to discuss problematic individuals/issues.

·  Joint operations in the city centre with the Police, that had included local agencies as well as regional and national resources, and West Midlands wide Police force resources including traffic support, pursuit riders, drones and similar.

·  Engagement with community groups including regular contact with the Disability Equality Action Partnership and attendance at their meetings.

·  Elected Members attended multi-agency operations in the city centre. 

·  Engagement with the Council’s Migration Team and key third sector partners to reach out to asylum-seekers to warn about the dangers of being exploited by working illegally for food delivery firms.

·  Alongside the Business Improvement District, sought feedback from businesses and stakeholders in the city centre regarding matters affecting them.

·  Continued monitoring and renewal of signage around the City Centre - no single  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

Briefing Note of the Director of Finance and Resources

Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee received a briefing note of the Director of Finance and Resources that set out the activities undertaken by the Council to maximise the take up of financial support for Coventry residents. Councillor R Brown, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources had been invited to the meeting for this item but was unable to attend.

The Council was directly responsible for the provision of various forms of financial assistance to residents which included:

•  Council Tax Support – means tested support which could reduce council tax payments for working-aged people by 80 per cent and by 100 per cent for people of pension age.

•  Discretionary Housing Payments - a Government scheme administered and partly funded by the Council that provided financial assistance to support low-income households with the cost of housing.

•  Housing Benefit – a means tested statutory benefit for people of pension age and for people of working age who resided in temporary or supported accommodation.

•  Household Support Fund – a Government funded scheme to provide emergency financial support to assist with the costs of utilities, essential household goods and food.

•  Community Support Grants – a Council funded programme of assistance to support people with the cost of goods to assist them in setting up a new home.

•  Administration of Free school meals.

The Council also provided advice, signposting and various resources to support benefit take-up and income maximisation. Council officers were active members of various multi-agency anti-poverty forums including the Poverty Alliance and the Coventry Inclusion Forum.

In response to the COVID pandemic and the subsequent cost of living crisis, the Council worked collaboratively with third sector partners to establish a single, central online resource for people looking for financial and wellbeing support. The resource covered a range of themes from benefits take-up to help with utility bills, from specialist money advice signposting to credit unions and, clothing and employment. The Council’s website included an intuitive and interactive benefits calculator which allowed residents to identify types of support. The Council also employed two Welfare Benefits Advisors who undertook reactive and proactive income maximisation work with customers.

Council tax support:

·  Nearly 24,000 Coventry households benefitted from council tax support at an annual cost to the Council of £28million.

·  Support was recognised to be one of the most underclaimed benefits: people weren’t aware that they could get help with their council tax payments; people didn’t prioritise claiming; residents didn’t notice any  practical consequences if they didn’t make council tax payments - people in this circumstance often had a range of debts and council tax liability was not a priority for them.

·  Underclaiming of council tax support had become an increasing problem with the migration of housing benefit to Universal Credit for people of working age - people would claim Universal Credit but neglect to or fail to realise they could, claim council tax support.

·  The Council had established a proactive approach to awarding council tax support using the minimum level of information to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Briefing Note of the Director of Planning and Performance

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee received a report of the Director Transformation and Planning that updated Members on the One Council Change Plan for 2025/26, summarising progress since the last Transformation Programme report to the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee in November 2024 (minute 45/24 referred). Appendices to the report provided the Transformation Plan 2024/25 Update, and the 2025/26 Change Plan Key Deliverables. Councillor R Brown, Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, had been invited to the meeting for this item but was unable to attend.

The 2024/25 Transformation Plan comprised seven programmes and 23 projects. Eleven projects had been completed or transitioned to business as usual, while twelve continued under the 2025/26 Change Plan. The 2024/25 plan delivered £4.65 million in savings and resulted in: faster service response times through automation in Council Tax billing; improved customer satisfaction, with a 28% reduction in formal complaints following the creation of a centralised service in January 2024; and increased community engagement, such as higher attendance at Rhymetime sessions after relocating Holbrooks Library to the Dementia Partnership Hub.

The 2025/26 Change Plan was developed with input from the Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Network, emphasising organisational resilience, staff engagement, and a strong, inclusive culture. The plan identified eleven priority areas, grouped into four categories:

•  Service Redesign: Customer-focused improvements across teams and departments.

•  Transformational Change: Fundamental changes to systems, services, and processes.

•  Continuous Improvement: Ongoing enhancements to ways of working and organisational structure.

•  Enablers: Core tools and systems supporting change.

Programme leadership was distributed, with Directors leading specific programmes to foster shared ownership. Details of the programmes, aims, and officer point of contacts were set out in the briefing note. The Council was focusing on the key areas where it was believed there was the greatest opportunity for impactful change or where change was necessary through reform.

Overseeing and supporting delivery of change - a streamlined Change Board, chaired by the Chief Executive, met weekly to oversee progress, strengthen accountability, and address issues. The Board monitored financial savings and overall delivery, supporting Council-wide savings targets. Regular updates were provided to the Leadership Board, and an internal communications plan ensured staff and residents were informed of changes and impacts.

In considering the briefing note, the Committee asked questions and received responses on matters in the following areas:

·  Members recognised the impact on the delivery of services resulting from the budget cuts over a number of years which included the reduction in staffing levels to deliver services, and the difficulty finding further ways to make savings

·  Enabling AI was an essential tool for the future to assist with service delivery where appropriate and would result in efficiency and also identified savings

·  Discussions with an AI service provider would shortly be concluded and the outcomes would be reported to the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources

·  The Change Plan was an internal programme that would provide an opportunity for impactful change or where change was necessary through reform.

·  The outcomes from the Task  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Report of the Director of Law and Governance

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance that provided information regarding the Committee’s Work Programme and Outstanding Issues for 2025/26.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee notes the Work Programme attached as an Appendix to the report and agrees that the following be added to the Programme:

a)  A further update on the on the actions taken in relation to the City Centre Public Spaces Protection Order, to be submitted to the Committee in 6-months’ time.

b)  A further progress report on the Change (Transformation) Programme, to be submitted to the Committee in the Municipal Year 2026-27.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no other items of public business.