The One Coventry Plan - Print version

Introduction

Coventry City Council’s ‘One Coventry Plan’ sets out our vision and priorities for the city, based on our commitments to the people of Coventry and the things that residents have told us are most important. It is more focused on the needs and aspirations of our communities than ever before. The Plan builds on the progress that has been made since it was last updated in 2016, the challenges faced and anticipated; and emerging opportunities.

For many residents, the Council represents the people who empty their bins, maintain the parks and roads, keep the streetlights on, look after older people, vulnerable children, and support people who are homeless, etc. These are all essential services and a significant part of what we do. However, we also play a key role in improving the city and making it a better place to live and work – this plan sets out how we intend to do this in the decade ahead.

The role of the Council is changing; and the narrative of this Plan sets out clearly the things that we can and cannot do, as well as the things that can only be delivered if we all play our part and work together to ensure that Coventry continues to be a great city.

Our strengths, challenges, and opportunities

In refreshing the One Coventry Plan for 2022-2030, we have sought to respond to and build upon the following strengths, challenges and opportunities.

The Coventry economy

Coventry has seen strong economic growth over the past few years and is recognised as a national centre for a number of growing business sectors, including advanced manufacturing and engineering; energy and low carbon; connected autonomous vehicles;
business, professional & financial services; digital, creative, and gaming. These have all resulted in the creation of high-quality jobs for in growth sectors. However, there are a number of challenges, Coventry’s economic growth and prosperity lags behind the England average and the city has fewer people in work compared to both regional and national figures.

The impact of the pandemic

The impact continues to be felt, as furlough and income support measures stifled the economic impact. The Office for Budget responsibility’s reference scenario predicts that because of the nature of its economic base, the West Midlands is likely to be one of the worst-affected regions.

An ageing population

Historically, Coventry has been one of the youngest cities in the UK, with a fast-growing population of young adults aged 18-29 and a median age of 32 years compared to the UK average of 40. In the coming years, this is expected to change rapidly, with the 65+ age group expected to become the fastest-growing demographic over the next 15 years. As of 2020, people aged 75+ represent just 6% of the city’s population, compared to the UK average of 9%; but by 2043, the proportion of people aged 75+ is expected to grow to nearly 8%. This has implications for many services, especially the rising demand for health and social care services. At the same time, there are major opportunities to draw on the experience and talents of older people.

Health inequalities

The challenge of reducing health inequalities in Coventry remains – that is, reducing the avoidable differences in health outcomes for our residents. Life expectancy at birth in Coventry for 2017- 19 was 82.2 years for females and 78.7 years for males, both of which were notably lower than the England average; not to mention the wide gap which means someone living in amongst the city’s more
deprived neighbourhoods die on average 10 years younger than a person living in amongst the city’s least deprived neighbourhoods. The impact of investment in housing, services and public realm over the life of the previous Plan is evident but there is more to do to enable everyone to contribute to and benefit from, social and economic development so that growth is truly inclusive.

Environment

People value the quality of the environment in Coventry. The city boasts five parks which have been awarded the Green Flag Award for nine consecutive years. We want to continue to promote the use of our parks and green spaces, helping to create connections between communities and promoting physical activity. However, air pollution is a significant problem in Coventry and contributes to
poor health. This disproportionately affects the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities – things that can be addressed only by working with partners to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, and by nudging changes in behaviour such as promoting active and greener travel.

Skills and education

Although there has been an improvement in the number of residents who now have a qualification level 4 or above, there still
remain pockets of deprivation which limit people’s opportunities to succeed in life, with 7% of the city’s working-age population having no qualifications at all. This may limit their ability to gain more rewarding employment in the city or push them to be redeployed as the economy rapidly changes, and the city’s new jobs increasingly require qualified people. Alongside this, we need to improve digital inclusion to empower local people to access further opportunities through digital means, whilst also developing their digital skills to be able to meet the needs of businesses expanding in our city.

Children and young people are key to the future of the city, and we want Coventry to be a place where every child can thrive and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

One Coventry Plan 2022-2030

Vision

One Coventry - working together to improve our city and the lives of those who live, work and study here.

We will create:

• a city with a strong and resilient economy, where inclusive growth is promoted and delivered, businesses are enabled to innovate and grow and new local jobs are created.
• a city where our residents get the best possible start in life, experience good health and age well, in a city that embraces diversity, protects the most vulnerable and values its residents and communities.
• a city, that leads the way and invests in the green industrial revolution. Ensuring the future well-being of our residents by embedding environmentally friendly behaviours and exploring opportunities to lessen the pressures caused by climate change.

We will do this by being:

• a council with a strong and sustainable financial position, with resources and assets that are aligned with our priorities
• a council that plays a key role as a civic leader, working in genuine partnership with local residents, communities and partners.

Approach

One Coventry describes how we work and collaborate with our partners and our communities to ensure that our residents get the very best that the city can offer and the approach that we will take as individuals, teams and services across the Council.

It includes the Council’s priorities and enablers, our values, new ways of working, and core areas of focus to deliver the One Coventry Council Plan objectives, key strategies, and approaches. It focuses on enabling people to live their best lives in a vibrant and prosperous city. This can only be achieved by listening to and collaborating with, those who live, work, visit and do business in our city, by having different conversations and building on the great things that are already happening.

This Plan sets out how we will deliver these priorities and outlines our key enablers, our measures of success and the role that residents and partners will have in delivery.

Priorities

Building on key Council and partnership strategies, our One Coventry Plan sets out three interconnected priorities:

• Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region
• Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities
• Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change

Enablers

Underpinning and essential to the delivery of our priorities are two key enablers:

• Continued financial sustainability of the Council
• Council’s role as a partner, enabler and leader

Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region

Developing and building on the strength of our city’s economy to deliver inclusive growth, supporting businesses to innovate, grow and scale up. Capitalising on the green technological revolution to create more local jobs.

We will do this by:

• Working with the existing businesses in the city to grow and expand, creating new jobs and becoming more resilient to fluctuations in the economy.
• Working to secure new inward investment in the city, businesses looking to grow and expand in the UK. Marketing Coventry as an attractive place to invest and create new jobs.
• Actively supporting residents through tailored programmes and initiatives to improve their skills (targeting skills as required) and secure better jobs and help people out of work into work.
• Working with the education system to ensure an understanding of the future job market and implement appropriate pathways to employment for adults with mental ill health, disabilities, carers and new migrants to the city, young people from diverse backgrounds and all young people aged 14+.
• Working with businesses investing in new technologies and innovations across the city, providing public investment, knowledge, and expertise.
• Working with our businesses and communities to deliver a strong and tangible legacy of opportunity from UK City of Culture 2021 and the Commonwealth Games 2022.
• When delivering projects across the city we will, where possible, prioritise jobs and skills for local people, use local small businesses and source materials as locally as possible to try to ensure inward investment into the local area.
• We will create a sustainable, inclusive transport infrastructure, attracting businesses to invest. This will focus on a substantially improved public transport network, an environment that is much more suited to walking and cycling and harnessing transport links at the forefront of innovation.
• Continuing to improve the city and develop projects that enable local neighbourhoods to play their part in our economic success.
• Working with partners to ensure the continued provision of high-quality affordable housing throughout the city.
• Working with registered providers, charities, and community organisations to deliver more social housing for those who need it most. We will explore options around community-led housing projects, putting meaningful community involvement at the heart of new housing development.
• We will continue to ensure our city centre remains clean and tidy and offers a diverse range of experiences for residents and visitors to enjoy. By ensuring a high standard of city centre we will continue to attract investment and development making the city a liveable, green and safe place to thrive.
• Including Social Value qualitative criteria in its tender activity to capture social value commitments specifically offered in relation to the city of Coventry and the tender opportunity advertised. The commitments sought through tender activity will align to the Council’s Social Value & Sustainability Policy [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/strategies-plans-policies/social-value-1/1], including but not limited to; number of apprenticeships offered, increased diversity of employees, working with SMEs, and reduction of carbon footprint.

We want our residents and communities to help us deliver this plan by:

• Taking up training opportunities available to develop skills
• Participating in job opportunities and projects to play a part in the economic success of the city
• Support local businesses by buying locally

If we are successful, the difference you can expect to see is:

• A sustainable, growing and prosperous economy
• A vibrant city centre with increasing visitors
• People accessing training opportunities and getting into and remaining in employment
• More education and training opportunities available for young people aged 16+
• Levels of poverty and deprivation in the city decreasing
• More housing in the city
• Increased investment in the city, attracting more new businesses

Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities

Focusing on improving outcomes for local people and tackling inequalities in order to build prosperity across the city, protecting
the most vulnerable and supporting and valuing the contribution of our residents.

We will do this by:

• Effectively delivering the essential services that matter most to our communities.
• Strengthening our Marmot City approach to ensure it remains at the heart of what we do.
• Working with NHS partners to encourage healthy lifestyles and provide quality healthcare to all communities across the city.
• Working with business, residents, partners, and education providers to ensure that all our communities’ benefit from job opportunities created by investment in the city.
• Tackling inequalities through a collaborative approach, with our residents, communities, and partner organisations and through alignment with our Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
• Tackling violence and abuse in all forms, including sexual assault and abuse, serious violence and domestic abuse.
• Addressing the needs of those on low incomes with affordable access to quality housing, heating, and insulation. 
• Protecting children and supporting families to give children the best start in life. Raising their aspirations through integrated early help, education partnership work and implementing the Family Valued programme.
• Improving the educational attainment of our children and young people, aspiring for excellence within all academic institutions to ensure all our children and young people are in good or outstanding schools and settings.
• Continue to narrow and close the gap in education performance measures for vulnerable groups at each phase, including supporting children and young people who were most affected by disruption to their learning due to the pandemic.
• Increasing Special Educational Needs and Disability places in the city.
• Improving social, emotional, and mental health and well-being of our residents by enabling people to live independently where possible.
• Supporting our most vulnerable – including people who are street homeless, experiencing mental ill health and the integration of our refugee and migrant communities.

We want our residents and communities to help us deliver this plan by:

• Engaging in opportunities to improve your health and wellbeing
• Supporting their children to get the best out of their education. Discuss their aspirations and tell us how we can help to make it happen
• Using the local, free, early years and childcare offer
• Accessing skills and training opportunities which can broaden employability and further aspirations

If we are successful, the difference you can expect to see is:

• A reduction in inequalities, including health inequalities, between our most deprived and most affluent wards
• More residents in employment, education, or training, including school leavers, and people facing significant disadvantages
• Improvement in life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, and wellbeing
• Reduction in crime and violence including domestic abuse and sexual violence, drug and alcohol, youth justice
• Adults with care and support needs supported to gain, or regain, as much independence as possible
• Social care will have a positive impact on the quality of life for Adults with care and support needs and their carers
• Children and young people will be protected, enjoy the best start in life, and have good health, and emotional wellbeing
• Improvements in educational achievement and progress to destinations of choice of our children and young people
• A reduction in people who are homeless
• Better integrated communities
• Cleaner streets with a reduction in fly tipping

Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change

Having a relentless focus on tackling the causes of climate change and mitigating the inevitable consequences of this, to ensure the well-being of our residents and position Coventry as a leader and pioneer of the green industrial revolution.

We will do this by:

Establishing an independent Coventry Climate Change Board to address the major challenges of climate change, development of a circular economy and loss of biodiversity by adopting the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (I.C.L.E.I.) 5 Development Pathways:

1. Low Emission Development

Investing in the development of technology solutions with businesses, universities, and partners to increase the adoption of new efficient, zero carbon renewable energy generation technologies. Promoting and supporting inward investment of zero
carbon technologies in making the city a global market leader in a clean and green transport e.g., Very Light Rail and encouraging residents, communities, and businesses to take up active and green forms of travel.

Encouraging green behaviours from everyone that lives, works or visits the city, and working with schools to implement sustainability into the curriculum in a holistic way.

2. Nature-based Development

Promote biodiversity and the natural heritage and greenspace across the city. Protecting and developing existing and new biodiversity and habitats for current and future generations.

Ensuring that we protect wildlife, communicate awareness and engage communities and developers on the conservation of natural habitats.

3. Equitable and People-centered Development

Address inequalities exacerbated by the effects of climate change such as unemployment, fuel and food poverty, air quality and access to open space with associated impacts on health and wellbeing.

4. Resilient Development

Address the impacts and consequences of Climate Change by ensuring we have the right infrastructure in place to cope with the effects of extreme weather events such as flooding and extreme heat.

5. Circular Economic Development

Actively support businesses, schools, and partners in the minimisation of waste and the development of a circular economy which moves away from the traditional business model of consumption production and disposal to extending the life of products, re-use,
and recycling.

We want our residents and communities to help us deliver this plan by:

• Being aware of personal carbon footprint and consider energy efficiency options to reduce this
• Reusing and recycling more
• Taking pride in our city by not dropping litter, fly tipping or posting and cleaning up after your dog
• Using greener travel options - walking, cycling, public transport, car sharing and low-emission vehicles

If we are successful, the difference you can expect to see is:

• Improved air quality
• Lower carbon emissions
• Increased use of zero-carbon transport, active travel, and public transport
• Increase in the numbers employed and the commercial success of businesses which seize the opportunities climate change presents
• Improvements in energy efficiency and the use of zero-carbon technologies
• Increased biodiversity and areas of natural vegetation and open space
• Reduced incidence of floods and levels of flood damage as a consequence of climatic effects
• Improved health and wellbeing for the population and a reduction in the health inequalities
• Reductions in the levels of waste and greater levels of re-use and recycling

Continued financial sustainability of the Council

Ensuring the Council’s financial resources are aligned with key priorities in a way that enables us to maintain a strong and sustainable financial position.  

We will do this by:

• Balancing future budgets and identifying financial plans that can meet the needs of residents and communities and manage the cost of services that have a high financial risk.
• Managing new expenditure pressures by challenging traditional service delivery methods in the first instance.
• Pursuing a balanced portfolio of commercial activities and financial support to external programmes that are aligned to
  our priorities.
• Maximising external funding opportunities, including capital investment and collection of income.
• Implementing a prioritised programme of change to enhance our digital offer.
• Establishing an engaged, inclusive workforce in collaboration with our employees. To be an employer of choice that is diverse, reflective of our communities, that together works with partners to improve working lives and experience.
• Retaining and developing talented staff with effective succession planning including the development of an agile, flexible, and responsive workforce that is representative of our local communities, to meet service needs.
• Focus on ways that involve teams working collaboratively across service boundaries and optimising a whole Council approach.

We want our residents and communities to help us deliver this plan by:

• Accessing services digitally where possible

If we are successful, the difference you can expect to see is:

• A balanced budget, minimising the level of service savings and reserve contributions required
• Growth in commercial income
• An engaged workforce that is representative of our communities

Council's role as a partner, enabler and leader

Ensure the Council plays a key role as a civic leader. Recognise that our relationships with local residents, communities, and partners (public, private, and voluntary sectors, schools, colleges and universities) and as an employer have never been more critical.

We will do this by:

• Playing a leading role in responding to national and regional policy for local government, leading on innovative approaches to working differently and offering opportunities for others to learn from the work that we do.
• We will take the time to engage and listen to residents, businesses, communities and partners to ensure, we approach issues and opportunities in a One Coventry way. We will demonstrate our values in every interaction we make with people.
• Acting as a system leader across the children's system to galvanise partners to enable better-integrated outcomes for children.  Particularly with Health Partners, the education partnership, and the Police.
• Working with residents and communities, listening to their ideas, and coming together to find solutions to challenges faced, making a positive difference to their lives and environment, such as cleaner and liveable neighbourhoods.
• Leading and co-ordinating Coventry's response on how the city tackles challenges and opportunities associated with climate change and the necessary transition to a zero-carbon economy and benefitting from ongoing public investment.
• Leading the delivery of aspirational investments through regional partnerships including the Gigafactory in Coventry and the investment and diversification of the Automotive and advanced manufacturing supply chain to move towards the requirements of an electrified industry.
• Working with partner organisations to improve the quality of the lives of local residents, enabling them to live in the community wherever possible by investing in community support and building community capacity. Improving services through listening to our residents and partners, investing in digital provision and making the most effective use of collective resources through integration.
• Driving inclusive growth and support healthier, better connected and more prosperous communities. 
• Ensuring Coventry delivers a lasting legacy from the opportunities as UK City of Culture 2021 and host city for the Commonwealth Games 2022.
• Enabling residents to grow their resilience and capacity, so local people can determine solutions that best support the lives they want to live. Ensuring residents are able to access the right support, in the right place, at the right time, and are well placed, equipped, and able to access the opportunities of the future.
• Being a lead partner and applicant for new public funding opportunities to support business investment, skills development, and employment support.
• Working with partners to increase access to a range of online and community-based activities for children and young people within the city.

We want our residents and communities to help us deliver this plan by:

• Engaging with the Council and partners on key issues and work collaboratively, using city-wide resources to overcome them
• Taking responsibility for your area by working closely with others in your communities to resolve local issues
• Telling us if anything in your area is concerning you

If we are successful, the difference you can expect to see is:

• Strong and effective partnerships that enable the successful delivery of our One Coventry Plan priorities:
  • increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region
  • improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities
  • tackling the causes and consequences of climate change
• Regional and national recognition of the city, and its approach to partnership working

Our values

Our One Coventry Values are at the heart of our approach to delivery, defining us as an organisation, and underpinning how we will work with others.

Delivery requirements

Our priorities are ambitious and challenging in equal measure, but we believe that our One Coventry approach puts us in a strong position to deliver; if we are focused, committed and work together to make a difference. This will require radical change for resources to be redirected in order for progress to be made. We will also seek to share resources and support with our communities and partners – taking a One Coventry approach.

Our workforce

Our workforce is essential to the delivery of our priorities. As an agile workforce (flexible working offer for our workforce), we are better able to respond to the needs of residents while providing a better work/life balance for our people. Combined with delivering our Workforce Engagement Plan to support a motivated and engaged workforce, our Workforce Diversity & Inclusion Strategy will ensure a diverse and inclusive organisation representative of the community it serves.

Our commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion

Coventry City Council is committed to making a difference to the lives of the people of Coventry by improving equality of access to our services; achieving a culture of respect for people from different backgrounds, challenging harassment and discrimination; ensuring that our employment opportunities are fair, and our workforce is representative of our city. The Council's approach to equality is to focus on the things that really make a difference to people's lives and this is embedded in the One Coventry Council Plan's objectives.

We will continue to ensure that the Council meets its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, building on our successes at fostering good relations between Coventry’s communities of identity and maintaining fair and equal access to Council functions. Through ongoing customer monitoring, satisfaction, and engagement approaches, we will strengthen and utilise our growing evidence bases at both Corporate and service levels to identify the differential experiences of individual groups in Coventry accessing Council services, and proactively respond to make these as fair and equitable as possible.

We will strengthen the methodology and governance around our approach to undertaking Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs), ensuring that all Council functions are engaging with, and assessing the impact of their services for Coventry’s communities as appropriate, as well as considering any potential health inequalities on these communities.

We will also continue to monitor progress against the Council’s equality objectives; these are the identified equality priorities for the Council and the areas which we believe will help deliver improvements on policy-making, service delivery and employment.

Communication, engagement and collaboration

We recognise the importance of communication, engagement and collaboration with residents and communities, putting resident and community voices at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to working together with organisations in Coventry, listening to and working more closely with communities to identify and respond to the challenges faced by the city. Striving to ensure communities are not only well-informed about the work we are doing but have an opportunity to influence and be part of what we do.

Using insight and evidence

We will use insight from the information and data that we collect to understand the needs of our city and its residents. We will use this as evidence to inform decision-making; drive conversations with communities and to ensure that we target Council resources in a way that ensures we are in the best possible position to improve outcomes for local residents and deliver our priorities.

Policy and partnership working

The Council is committed to playing a leading role in responding to national and regional policy for local government. We also recognise our own role in local policy setting, leading on innovative approaches to working differently, testing new ideas and offering opportunities for others to learn from the work that we do. The role of local government has changed significantly over recent years and we must be a part of that change, taking every opportunity to learn, develop and improve.

Coventry has a strong history of partnership working, and the Council plays a key role in promoting collaboration across public, private, and voluntary and community sectors in the city. At a time when resources are scarce, it is even more important that organisations work more collaboratively and that our efforts are focused on the right things. Working more seamlessly across organisational boundaries and delivering services differently that are designed with residents is at the heart of our ambitions. We will continue to use our convening capacity to improve the quality of the lives of residents, working with partners and communities to build capacity and making the most effective use of city-wide resources.

Measuring success

We will track the delivery of our priorities and identify opportunities for improvement to ensure that we deliver the Council's vision for the city. We will continue to monitor Council performance against a comprehensive set of performance indicators and publish our findings. See further details on our performance [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/performance].

The delivery of the One Coventry Council Plan is supported by a range of policies and strategies, each with its own delivery plan. See further details on our key policy and strategy documents [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/policy].

Progress against key programmes of work included in this plan will be reported on an annual basis. The plan will be subject to an annual review process. The process is set out in our Performance Management Framework [https://edemocracy.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s50961/2020-21%20One%20Coventry%20Plan%20Annual%20Performance%20Report%20-%20Appendix%20II%20-%20Performance%20Management%20Framework.pdf].