FAQs

No. What the Council is trying to do is highlight that the way all local authorities are funded needs to be reformed as it is no longer fit for purpose. Without any changes, more and more councils – and Coventry is one – will increasingly struggle to meet its requirements to set a balanced budget meaning a section 114 notice might have to be issued in the future.

Our priority is to protect essential services, jobs, the most vulnerable and continue to deliver key Council priorities. Anything that does not meet these criteria could either be reduced or stopped all together. Services that we are required by law to deliver – such as social care, housing and homelessness and emptying bins – will continue but the way they are delivered may change.

Doing nothing is not an option because of the financial pressures we face. We need to find ways of reducing non-critical spending, the demand on services and review assets to reduce costs and maximise income. All proposals will be subject to full consultation and final decisions will not be taken until February 2024. 

No. We genuinely want to hear people’s views as well as any other ideas you many have on how we can save money. However, doing nothing is not an option because rising demand in services along with a sustained reduction in funding means we will not be able to set a balanced budget – as we are required by law – in the very near future without doing something.

No. We’ve lost more than £100m in government funding ever year but we are restricted to increase Council Tax by 2.99% (not including a 2% social care precept in 2023 and 2024) but a 1% increase approximately means a £1.5m monetary increase in Coventry’s case. That’s well below the more than £100m lost each year. However, we’d rather our core government funding was increased rather than being forced to put up our Council Tax if given the choice. 

Students do not have to pay Council Tax by law and the Council is not allowed to collect Council Tax revenue from properties occupied solely by students.

We have already used reserves to bridge the shortfall in the past, including spending more than £6m from them last year. We are currently predicting an overspend of £12m this year which will have to come from reserves. As things stand, we have £33m in reserves that are uncommitted and can be spent on this but a £12m overspend this year means that figure is down to £21m and we are predicting an £30m overspend for next year. Using reserves is a sticking plaster but does not provide a long-term solution that we need.

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. Similarly, regeneration projects such as Friargate and City Centre South are almost exclusively funded by such grants. This was also the same for the work in Spon End, which also meant the city did not have a congestion charge imposed that some drivers would have had to pay.

It is important that we continue this work as it is not costing Council Taxpayers anything but is helping the city meeting its ambitions over being greener, promoting health and wellbeing and promoting economic prosperity or the city – key priorities of the One Coventry Plan.

Our investments in businesses gave us a collective return of 6.5% return on our investments last year. This income has been critical in funding frontline services and helping us overcome the lack of funding in previous years. Indeed, without it, further cuts to services would have had to be made in the past.