Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director for People

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director of Resources, which set out progress made since February 2015 on the Council’s commitment to keep Council facilities like libraries open during 2015/16 and proposed a period of consultation on proposals to deliver the Medium Term Financial Strategy target of £1m proposed by the City Centre First programme.

Since 2010 the Council had seen a huge and unprecedented reduction in its resources as Government Policy to balance the public sector budget led to massive grant cuts to Councils.  In 2016/17 the Council’s grants would be £94m per annum less than in 2010/11 and by 2020 this was predicted to rise to a reduction of £140m per annum.

It was clear that the Council needed to take a new approach to delivering and enabling services in the new and challenging financial context.  The new approach would ensure that the best possible services were delivered within the resources available.  Closer partnership working with statutory and voluntary agencies and the community would need to be part of this approach.

The Connecting Communities Programme was an ambitious and wide reaching programme focussed on a radical redesign of Council services so they were delivered together in one place in the communities and neighbourhoods where there was most need and within the resources available.  It replaced the City Centre First Programme and had been renamed to reflect more effectively the need for communities and other organisations to connect with the Council and others to deliver services.  Council service included within the scope of this programme included libraries, youth centres and services, children’s centres, play centres, community centres, public conveniences and adult education.

The Cabinet noted that the new approach presented an opportunity to trial more collaborative and participatory ways of working with Coventry people to strengthen relationships across communities.  As the approach developed, it would become the major transformation change programme for the Council’s People Directorate, which delivered a wide range of key frontline series to the City’s residents.

The report submitted proposed a period of public consultation on a set of ten specific proposals relating to play centres, Arena Park Library, Willenhall Library, mobile library services, library media fund, Central Library opening hours, community library opening hours, you services commissioning budget, public conveniences and community centres, to deliver the Medium Term Financial Strategy target of £1m proposed in the original City Centre First programme for 2016/17 and exceed this target on a full year effect by an additional £0.2m.  Proposals to achieve a further £3.8m savings needed for 2017/18 would be developed following engagement and further consultation.  In addition, it was recommended that a wide-scale engagement programme using innovative engagement methods should take place with residents, community groups and partner organisations over the next six months.  The focus of this work would be to co-produce and develop detailed proposals on the future of public services in neighbourhoods.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Approve a period of consultation from 7^th December 2015 to 1^st February 2016 on a set of ten proposals for changes to some services in order to achieve savings of £1.2million for 2016/17 as required by the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) original City Centre First Programme (now Connecting Communities Phase 1). The proposals for change for 2016/17 are:

  a.  For the Council to stop providing play activities at Edgewick and Eagle Street Play Centres and to explore the option for them to be used for nursery provision for two, three and four  year olds instead.

  b.  To end delivery of library services from the Arena Park Library facility (and not renew the lease) and to enter into discussions to relocate reduced library provision at an alternative community location in Holbrooks.

  c.  To end delivery of library services (and not renew the lease) from the current Willenhall Library facility and to continue discussions with the Haggard Centre about a more cost effective community library being located within the Centre.

  d.  To end the mobile library service

  e.  To cut the library media fund of £658,000 to £558,000 for 2016/17 

  f.  For Central Library to continue to open seven days per week, but to close one hour earlier on weekdays – closing at 7pm instead of 8pm.

  g.  To standardise opening hours across all community libraries. All community libraries will be closed on Wednesdays and Sundays. This will mean Caludon Castle, Earlsdon and Foleshill libraries closing on Wednesdays and Bell Green, Earlsdon, Foleshill, Stoke and Tile Hill closing on Sundays. In addition to these reductions in opening hours, to pursue alternative ways of running the libraries working with other statutory and/or voluntary sector organisations and groups.

  h.  Withdraw the youth services commissioning budget for 2016/17 and work with the community and voluntary sector to explore the best way that youth services for young people should be delivered across Coventry.

  i.  To close six public conveniences located outside the city centre, keeping open the two city centre public conveniences. 

  j.  Asset transfer remaining community centres to community organisations on a full responsibility basis.

2.  Approve a period of engagement, conducted jointly with key partner organisations, from 7 December to May 2016 (Connecting Communities Phase 2) to include:

  a.  Trialling new collaborative and participatory engagement methods in local neighbourhoods, across the city, in organisations and using digital communications.

  b.  Engagement with stakeholders (including community groups and voluntary organisations) to identify existing community strengths, resources and aspirations and the potential in communities to deliver services more collaboratively

  c.  Exploring the extent to which complementary community provision can be developed to support the Council and partners in the delivery of core integrated services

  d.  Co-designing and developing options for future delivery models from emerging ideas.

  e.  Delivery of a further £3.8million saving as per the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

3.  Authority be delegated to the Executive Director of Resources to:

a)  Invite formal expressions of interest from stakeholders in using the Transition Fund, to enable them to take an increased role in providing Council services;

  b)  Where appropriate, seek submission of a formal application or business case from interested stakeholders.

  Decisions on award of Transition funding will normally be made by Cabinet unless the matter is urgent or where lower risk/value opportunities are identified, when the Executive Director of Resources will have delegated authority in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.