A report on Coventry City Council’s budget plans for April 2025 to March 2026 will recommend that fewer savings are needed than first feared.
Councillors will hear that the Local Authority has received a better than expected funding package from the government and that, coupled with the Council’s rigorous and careful approach to its financial planning, means not all of the cutbacks consulted on will be needed.
There will also be £2.2m of one-off investment to boost services covering highways, street cleansing, community safety and community events.
However, financial challenges are still there as the Council tries to deal with the impact of chronic historical underfunding.
Cllr Richard Brown, Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, said: “I have always said that we should hope for the best but prepare for the worst and the settlement from the government is better than expected.
“We have always been very careful with our financial management, and ongoing work has put us in a better financial position than many other local councils. It means that many of the savings identified won’t be needed, which I’m really pleased about.
“We’ve listened to the consultation feedback from the public and stakeholders and have identified areas that we are recommending should not now be included in the budget setting process.
“At the same time, looking at the years ahead, the same challenges are still here. A combination of higher demand on services, inflation, and historical underfunding leaves us still well below the national average of government funding compared to other councils.”
Savings proposals that are no longer needed include:
- Voluntary Sector Review in adult social care
- Reductions in funding of street cleaning
- Plans to increase War Memorial Car Park charges
- Changes to The Council Tax Support Scheme
- Reductions in funding to parks and open spaces
Despite the improved financial position, the Council will still be forced to announce an increase in Council Tax.
Cllr Brown added: “We still have to increase Council Tax to achieve a balanced budget, and this is an expectation that the government places on all local authorities. In future years I hope that reforms to the Council Tax system can be introduced that reduce the burden on local residents.“The additional money we are receiving is welcome and it is good to know that the new government is listening to what we have been saying and the lobbying we have been doing on a fairer funding deal for local authorities for the last two years is being heard.
“That work will continue because if the city received the national average, then we’d have an additional £17m for our services for the residents in the city and we would be talking about investment in services rather than savings.
“We are not asking for special treatment but just that funding more accurately reflects the levels of need, demand and deprivation the city has overall.”
The Council is already investing £10m in new, LED streetlights that more efficient than the lights they will replace. It means that eventually lights will be kept on overnight through the savings made.
The Council is also proposing setting aside more than £2m in additional one-off funding to improve services. It includes £700,000 extra for road and pavement defects and £500,000 for tackling fly-tipping – two of the issues highlighted by residents during the recent consultation.
The Council report will be considered at its full Council meeting by all Council members on Tuesday 25 February before a final decision is made.
Financial pressures facing the Council include:
- Approximately 83 per cent of the Council’s net budget is spent on three areas – homelessness, adult social care and children’s social care – up from just over 50 per cent in 2010. It leaves less than 17 per cent to pay for hundreds of other services the Council delivers every year.
- This year the Council is already having to make £30m savings, on top of savings in previous years.
- In the past 14 years there have been significant reductions in staff employed by the Council from 10,000 to 5,000, yet the city’s population has grown by 18 per cent in that time.
- Over the past 14 years, Coventry’s core spending power has fallen in real terms by £1.6bn. That’s more than £100m (one average) every year.
- In real terms, Coventry’s core spending power has fallen on average by over £100m every year or, in other words, we have £653 less to spend on every Coventry household.
- Coventry’s spending power is also one of the lowest funding per head at £46 less per head compared to other councils nationally. The equivalent of £17m of a year.