FAQs

For more than two years Coventry has been open and transparent that nearly all local authorities – of different sizes and political colours – are facing unprecedented financial challenges due to long-term underfunding in the sector. In Coventry’s case, we have received about £100m less a year every year since 2010. Despite that massive loss, we have prudently managed our budget to ensure we meet our legal duty of setting a balanced budget.  However, in recent years, the collective result of these severe cuts in funding and rising demand in services such as social care and homelessness, as well as inflationary pressures, has brought this to a head, meaning we had to find savings of £30m this financial year and a further £11m next year.  

It is not something we want to do but we have to do so to meet our legal requirement of setting a balanced budget. The current government has promised to look into the wider issue of local authority funding and has promised multi-year settlements for councils in the future but, to answer the question, as things stand we cannot be sure.

No – any organisation that has received more than £100m less in funding for more than a decade and receives £28m a year less than the national average is going to eventually struggle. In fact, to continue to deliver hundreds of services a year over a sustained period of considerable funding cuts demonstrates the prudent decisions taken by the Council over the last 14 years.

This is a genuine consultation, and we haven’t made up our mind. The only thing we are certain of is that doing nothing is not an option. We do not think we have all the answers, so alternative suggestions are welcome as part of the consultation process.  

The law states that being a full-time student classifies you as a "disregarded person" and, therefore, you don't need to pay Council Tax under any circumstances. That is a national law and not in the Council’s gift to change. 

It is important that people who have newly arrived in the city have support services to ensure they are able to integrate and are able to contribute to the wider society. All of these services are grant funded – meaning the money comes from central government sources. No Council Taxpayer money is used to fund any of these services.  

We’d rather not impose any cuts on low-income households, but this change would keep Coventry broadly in line with the majority of other councils across the country. This change would not affect people of pension age.  

Coventry City Council has been very good for many years at successfully applying for external funding for specific projects. However, this money can only be spent on the schemes the funding has been awarded to. Projects such as the Binley and Coundon cycles lanes have been paid for by a number of such grants and not from Council Taxpayers’ money. It is important that we continue this work as it is not costing Council Taxpayers anything and is helping the city meet its ambitions of being greener and promoting health and wellbeing.