One Coventry Plan annual performance report 2020-2021 - Print version

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Highlights

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Overview

What is One Coventry?

Our One Coventry approach helps to shape the way the Council works with its partners to improve the city and improve people’s lives. It includes the Council’s vision and priorities, new ways of working, and core areas of activity to deliver the One Coventry Plan objectives, key strategies, and approaches.
The current plan sets out our vision to be:

Globally connected

Promoting the growth of a sustainable Coventry economy by:
•    supporting businesses to grow;
•    developing the city centre;
•    creating infrastructure for the city to thrive; and
•    raising the profile of Coventry.
And ensure that residents share in the benefits by:
•    helping local people into jobs;
•    increasing the supply, choice, and quality of housing;
•    reducing the impact of poverty; and
•    increasing access to arts, sports, and cultural opportunities.

Locally committed

Improving the quality of life for Coventry people by:
•    creating an attractive, cleaner, and greener city;
•    improving educational outcomes;
•    making communities safer; and
•    improving health and wellbeing.
Especially for our most vulnerable residents by:
•    protecting our most vulnerable people; and
•    reducing health inequalities.

Delivering our priorities with fewer resources

Making the most of our assets and work closer with partners and residents to enable people to do more for themselves.

About this report 

This annual performance report sets out the progress made towards the One Coventry Plan in 2020-21. For each objective, this report sets out the trends, actions taken, and performance metrics to provide an assessment of the progress made against previous years and with other places. This year’s report sets out the progress made against an incredibly challenging year where the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our health and wellbeing, jobs and employment, and business and economy.

Indicators

The Council uses indicators to show progress made towards its priorities. This is supported by a wider basket of measures such as equality and perception measures that help explain the trends and story behind the headlines. Indicators are selected from key strategies and aligned to directorate priorities.

Open data

Further details including infographics, raw data, maps, and open data is available on Facts about Coventry [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/factsaboutcoventry] and the Citywide Intelligence Hub.

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Executive summary

The Covid-19 pandemic has made the past year one full of difficulties for everyone around the world. In Coventry, Covid-19 directly resulted in the deaths of 682 residents; caused long-term health conditions affecting the day-to-day activities for thousands of residents; and the associated lockdowns and restrictions have caused disruption to the daily lives of all 379,000 residents in the city. To put this in perspective, more residents have died from Covid-19 than from the city’s darkest hour when much of the city centre was devastated during the night of the Coventry Blitz on 14/15 November 1940.The Covid-19 pandemic has made the past year one full of difficulties for everyone around the world. 
The social and economic upheaval associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions has had a negative effect on a number of indicators, with the city facing increases in unemployment; increases in crime (particularly violent crime, and domestic abuse); and decreases in the size of the city’s economy (as measured by gross domestic product). While business support grants and furlough schemes have provided some limited relief, economic activity has collapsed over much of the year; and this is reflected in a significant drop in the in-year council tax and business rates collection rates.
All of these factors have contributed to an unprecedented level of demand for all kinds of Council services; for example, worries about money, school closures and other pandemic-related stresses on families increasing demand for children’s services; increase in online deliveries leading to large increases in the demand for household waste and recycling services; and limits on social contact impacting on the effectiveness of a wide range of services to our most vulnerable residents.
To address these challenges, the Council has significantly transformed the way it works, resulting in more than doubling of transactions completed through self-service channels to reducing sickness absence despite the pandemic; not to mention the leading role it has taken in supporting residents through the pandemic from supporting the city’s most residents through deliveries of essentials and supporting businesses to re-open safely; to going full steam ahead with transformation projects from the rail station developments to city centre public realm works. As the city recover from the pandemic, echoes of the city's Phoenix-like resurgence after the Blitz can be seen everywhere, from the global coverage of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccination outside of clinical trials at the city’s University Hospital; to a year of the city in the spotlight as the UK City of Culture 2021.

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The One Coventry Plan is currently measured using 75 indicators, of which 29 indicators improved; 8 stayed the same; 16 indicators got worse; can’t say for 8 indicators; and progress is not available for the remaining 14 indicators.
This means, 70% (37/53) of directional indicators (excluding cannot say or not available) improved or stayed the same. This is lower than the performance seen in previous years: 79% (50/63) in 2019/20, 78% (52/67) in 2018/19, 71% (42/59) in 2017/18, and 75% (43/57) in 2016/17; reflecting the significant pressures the city and Council services are facing.
A large number of indicators are not available this year compared to before. This is because there is limited data on school performance as a result of exam cancellations last summer, and limited data on some survey-based adult social care measures.

Globally connected: promoting the growth of a sustainable Coventry economy

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The challenging economic climate has resulted in fewer active enterprises and higher unemployment, particularly for men.
Our housing stock has grown, with a slight increase in larger family and aspirational homes in line with our objectives.
Difficulties faced by households and businesses have resulted in a drop in the in-year collection of council tax and business rates.

Locally committed: improving the quality of life for Coventry people

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Fly-tipping has increased by 62%. While we have investigated many more fly-tips, this massive increase puts pressure on our ability to respond.
There has been a 9.5% increase in crime, with increases in assault, harassment, and domestic abuse.
More residents have taken up walking and cycling for leisure this year, particularly during the lockdowns.
After the first lockdown, the city saw a sustained and considerable increase in the number of looked after children.

Delivering our priorities with fewer resources

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Self-service transactions has increased nearly three-fold – as more processes moved to online and virtual.
Carbon emissions decrease – with the exception of transport emissions as the Council delivered essentials to shielding residents.
Staff sickness absence decreased from 12.71 to 10.47 days per year.

Globally connected Promoting the growth of a sustainable Coventry economy

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Supporting businesses to grow

A challenging economic outlook

The pandemic has had a strong, negative impact on the economic wellbeing and vitality of countries and cities around the world – and Coventry is likely to be no exception.
In the past thirty years, given its size, Coventry has performed below average. However, in the mid-2010s growth in a number of internationally significant business sectors in the region including advanced manufacturing and engineering; energy and low carbon; connected autonomous vehicles; business, professional & financial services; and digital, creative, and gaming have created good jobs for local residents. Unfortunately, progress appears to have now stalled.
Coventry’s regional gross domestic product (GDP) per head stood at £29,608 in 2019, down from £29,681 in 2018. This new figure, replacing the previous gross value added (GVA) figure, considers the effect of taxation including VAT, and subsidies; but, the latest figure, for 2019, obviously does not consider the effect of the pandemic. Coventry fares better than the West Midlands figure of £27,574 but perform worse than the England average of £33,809.

In 2019, Coventry’s total GDP grew by 1.0%, but the total population of the city grew faster meaning that GDP per head actually fell (-0.2%). This compares unfavourably to the overall England annual growth in GDP per head in 2019 of 3.0% and the average growth amongst similar places to Coventry (CIPFA nearest neighbours) of 2.7%.
Note that ONS estimates suggest that Coventry has been one of the fastest growing population centres outside of London in recent years, so the reduction could be partly a side-effect of the growth of the local universities – many students are economically inactive, even though they contribute in other ways to the life and vitality of the city’s economy.

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Supporting businesses through difficult times

The Council has gone to great lengths to support businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions imposed on society to help reduce the spread of the virus has meant many businesses have had to close and many of those that stayed open have suffered significantly reduced trade.
To support those businesses, the Council’s economic development service has:
•    awarded over £18.5m in direct cash grants to more than 1,500 businesses that were forced to close in Coventry; and
•    awarded over £13.4m in discretionary cash grants to over 2,000 businesses in Coventry.
Discretionary grants have also been disbursed in more creative ways:
•    a new one-to-one business support programme, run in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce;
•    supporting the Coventry Business Improvement District (BID) to help increase footfall;
•    bespoke support for market traders who might have otherwise missed out on grants; and
•    specific support for nightclubs that have remained closed since the start of the first national lockdown.
Alongside the large-scale Covid-19 response to support businesses in need, the service has also continued to run the three European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) business support programmes, with many switching to a digital format to provide remote support via video conference, alongside a popular series of online webinars. These programmes secured a further £8.12m this year to extend them to June 2023. This financial year the three programmes combined have paid out grants of £1.45m to 108 companies. When taking matched funding into account, this represents a total investment of £5,052,331 to the Coventry and Warwickshire economy. Overall, when non-financial support is included, the three programmes have supported 264 businesses and created 117 new jobs.

Less business rates collected

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Business rates total rateable value reduced to £317m in 2020/21 from £319m in 2019/20. The total rateable value of Coventry businesses has been relatively stable for several years and in overall terms the movement observed represents a variation of only 1%. There are multiple events and trends that can affect this figure including the overall health of the local economy and trends within different sectors including those which may not have a need for a traditional property base. At present, it is difficult to assess the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on business rates, as much of the full impact on businesses has been cushioned by measures taken nationally to ‘freeze’ the economy; and it could be some time before any medium-term trends are clear.
What is clear, however, is that the pandemic, and associated restrictions and economic impact have resulted in a significant reduction in business rates in-year revenue. 91.3% of collectable business rates were collected in-year, a reduction from 98.0% in 2019/20. This is below the target in-year collection rate of 98%.
 

 

Creating the infrastructure

Number 1 in the West Midlands for digital accessibility

Coventry is the top-ranked city in the West Midlands and comes eighth out of 379 locations in a report on full-fibre coverage throughout the UK.
The report by the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, ‘Connected Nations 2020' measures access to high quality internet connection to properties. Over half (54.7%) of properties in Coventry have access to full-fibre broadband, typically offering speeds of at least 300Mbps, and often up to gigabit speeds; far above the UK urban area average of 18%.

Improving transportation

Coventry railway station

The £131m Coventry and Warwickshire local growth fund allocation to Coventry in 2015-2021 has delivered major transport, skills, and cultural infrastructure schemes, including the Coventry Station Masterplan, Very Light Rail scheme, and infrastructure works and venue upgrades as part of preparations for City of Culture.
The £82m renovation of Coventry Train Station is nearing completion. The project includes a new station building, five retail units, and a new 633-space multi-storey car park.
Below: new railway station building and car park

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Very light rail

Very light rail seeks to revolutionise affordable public transport in towns and cities. In May 2020, the project secured £1.5m funding to explore the creation of a low-cost trackform.
Below: very light rail vehicle prototype on the streets of Coventry

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In March 2021, the Coventry City Council’s prototype Very Light Rail vehicle, which has the potential to transform how people move about the city, moved ready for real on track testing. The vehicle moved from NP Aerospace in the city for some static software testing before moving to a dedicated track at the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation in Dudley. The prototype vehicle completed a tour of Coventry after leaving the vehicle production site. It stopped outside the Co-op building and the Transport Museum so that the public could get a better view.

Developing the city centre

£1.5 million makeover for Pool Meadow

Coventry's Pool Meadow bus station’s £1.5 million upgrade includes eye-catching artwork and murals for the 2021 City of Culture. The bus station's facelift saw the installation of new electronic passenger information screens, new LED lighting and colour scheme, refurbished public toilets, new benches, bins, and planters.

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A transformed city centre experience

Coventry’s pedestrianised shopping precinct was the first pedestrianised shopping centre in Europe when it was created in the 1950s by the then Chief Architect for Coventry City Council, Sir Donald Gibson CBE. It was heralded for its pioneering design, featured in architectural journals, and attracted architectural students from around the world.
Subsequent developments in the 1980s-1990s departed from Gibson’s original vision; and the UK City of Culture in 2021 presented Coventry with an opportunity for the city to restore the city centre to its design goals and transforming the shopping and visitor experience for the city.
As part of a wider £44m city centre programme, the Council secured an additional £11m of funding this year for investment in the City Centre and public realm. This has led to improvements including:
•    Upper Precinct public realm transformation;
•    Market Way public realm improvements;
•    city centre public arts programme including Hertford Street, Pepper Lane, Pool Meadow;
•    Bull Yard fountains and picnic benches; and
•    lighting of Coventry’s three spires.

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Above: Pepper Lane

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Above: Hertford Street; below: Upper Precinct fountains

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Investment in skills infrastructure

The Getting Building Fund (GBF) is a programme to support the recovery of UK regions after COVID-19. Coventry and Warwickshire have received a GBF allocation of £19.825m across 11 projects. At the end of March 2021 all 11 projects had signed Grant Aid Agreements and final funding contracts. Most of the projects have begun construction work and have begun spending the GBF grant allocation. They include a major refurbishment of the Ricoh Arena in preparation for hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022, advancement of the Very Light Rail R&D stage, capital works at host venues for UK City of Culture 2021, and the Catalyst project at the former Art Deco building on Abbey Street in Nuneaton to support the creation of flexible office and workshop space for new creative SMEs.

A new boutique hotel on the Friargate Boulevard

One of the Council’s key corporate priorities is the realisation of high-quality new hotels within the city to support its economic development, inward investment, and visitor economy ambitions. In Autumn 2020, an Agreement for Lease was signed between Castlebridge and the Council that will result in a 100 bed Hotel Indigo being delivered in the Friargate business district. As well as being a fantastic new hotel in its own right (alongside a high-quality restaurant and bar open to the general public), the hotel will play a key role in enhancing the city’s reputation, be a catalyst for the wider Friargate scheme and provide approximately 40 permanent jobs.

In order to take forward the construction of the hotel, Castlebridge need to secure the necessary development financing and their ability to do so has, unsurprisingly, been affected by the COVID-19 crisis over the past 12+ months which has had a significant impact on the leisure and hospitality sector as well as all other sectors of the economy. In March 2021, Council approved the principle of a repayable loan agreement with Castlebridge to provide gap funding for part of the cost of developing the hotel.

Delivering Two Friargate

The Council is working with the Friargate Joint Venture to realise the delivery of the next commercial office building within the Friargate business district, Two Friargate. Two Friargate will provide 134,000 square feet of high-quality commercial office space which will be on a par with the best the region has to offer and will play an important part in the Council delivering its economic development and inward investment objectives for the city.
In September 2020, Coventry City Council approved funding worth £17m to support the development of Two Friargate (this funding is in addition to the £51.2m grant that the Council received from the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2018 to support the delivery of the first phase of Friargate).
Two Friargate started on site in November 2020 and will be complete during the Autumn of 2022. A second office building at Friargate is part of the wider plans to expand the Friargate development and to make it and the city an even more attractive place for businesses to invest in.
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Above: site preparation for Two Friargate   

It is estimated that the scheme will create 700 jobs during the construction phase of the scheme, with many more jobs created when the building is operational.

City centre south 

City centre south is the Council’s key regeneration priority for the city centre and will transform seven hectares of the city through a new, mixed use development scheme that will provide hundreds of new homes, a high-quality public realm environment and modern, forward looking commercial, leisure and retail spaces. The Council has been working with its development partner, Shearer Property Group, to prepare a planning application for the scheme and, following public consultation, this was submitted to the Council in November 2020 with a Resolution to Grant Planning Consent achieved in April 2021. One of the key enabling projects for City Centre South, the demolition of Coventry Point, was completed in Autumn 2020.

Visits to the city centre

Unprecedented decreases in city centre footfall

Footfall in the retail area of Coventry city centre, the volumes of people walking around pedestrianised parts, were at unprecedented low levels. This is unsurprising given the various states of lockdown local residents were in during this time due to the pandemic and that retail and hospitality were forced to be closed for long periods during 2020/21. Overall, the volume of footfall in 2020/21 (April 2020 to March 2021) was 60.7% lower than it was previous year 2019/20. The data that gives indications of the picture across the country overall shows the Coventry drop in footfall to be in line with the average in other places.
Footfall was down significantly and to a similar extent across all locations in the prime retail areas of the city centre. Footfall was down by most in April to June; 84% lower compared to April to June 2019. Footfall across the period July to September 2020 was down by 38% compared to the same period in 2019, it was year-on-year down 49% in October to December 2020, and in January to March 2021 footfall was down 78% compared to 2020. So, footfall changed as restrictions on movement, government advice and restrictions on retail, leisure and hospitality changed throughout the year. The advice to work from home will also have had a significantly negative impact on footfall. It was at record low levels throughout the whole year, for no single week in the preceding 10 years over which footfall has been measured in this way was footfall anywhere close to such low levels nor have the year on year % change for any single week been anywhere near the % reduction for any of the whole quarters of 2020/21.
Footfall hit its lowest level during April 2020, 90% lower than normal levels at the same time in 2019. It grew gradually and very slowly up until June when it was about 80% down, and when retail reopened during June footfall jumped, almost doubling in a week but still at levels more than 50% lower than in the year before. Footfall gradually increased, reaching levels about 30% lower than in the year before by the end of October; the November lockdown then meant levels were low again. When restrictions were relaxed in December footfall recovered but remained 30% to 40% lower than during the same Christmas period in 2019. The January 2021 lockdown brought footfall levels down to extremely low levels again, about 80% lower than normal and they increased gradually and slowly up to the end of March 2021.
Coventry footfall had been falling a little last year, 6.5% down from the previous year (part of this fall was due to the significant drop in the last weeks of March 2020) but the fall this year was unprecedented and on a totally different way and scale than in any time previously measured. It is difficult to use this year's data, or trends from previous years, to predict what footfall will be like in the coming year; particularly because predicting the path of recovery is almost impossible given there is no president but also combining this with the fact that we are entering Coventry's year as the UK City of Culture and the attractions and events that will take place in the city centre during the year. Also, the remodelling of the public realm that has taken and is taking place will change the way people experience the city centre and how they walk around it.
Note that city centre demolition works have resulted in some technical difficulties in the collection of footfall data – for instance, demolition of Coventry Point has meant that there is no data available for Market Way; while the opening up of the vista between Upper Precinct and Broadgate Square means that the Upper Precinct footfall counters is unable to count all pedestrians passing through.

High streets recovery tracker

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Above: Centre for Cities overall recovery and spend index
The Centre for Cities and presented in their high streets recovery tracker allows us to track the ups and downs of footfall in Coventry's ‘high street’ area to how other cities have fared. By the end of February 2021, Coventry has an index of 24, meaning footfall was 76% lower than normal at this point; in this measure we rank relatively poorly compared to other cities; amongst the lowest quarter of all English cities in terms of how much city centre footfall has recovered.
They estimate the ‘spend index’ for Coventry ‘high street’ at 79 between February and April 2021, implying spending levels in retail in the area were 21% lower than normal levels; this ranks Coventry amongst the bottom half of city centres in this respect. Recovery in footfall has been relatively better at the weekend with an index of 24, compared to a lower recovery at the night-time, with an index of 15 and the level of footfall amongst people who usually work in the city centre, which was still incredibly low by the end of February with an index of 6. 

Google mobility data 

Google mobility data gives us a picture of people's movements more generally across a wider area of the city. It shows that movement of Coventry residents in workplace areas, retail, and recreation areas and around transit stations had remained at significantly lower levels than before the pandemic throughout 2020/21 (against a baseline period of January to February 2020). Movement levels around these three types of location were gradually recovering during the first few months of 2021 after lows in early January 2021; lows at levels similar to those in late March 2020 during the first lockdown. However, by the end of March 2021 movement levels remained significantly lower than normal; 35%, 43%, and 52% lower than in January to February 2020, respectively. On the other hand, perhaps due to people doing their daily exercise and people being less likely to travel distances by car, movement levels in Coventry residential areas were consistently higher than normal throughout the year and in Coventry parks they spiked at levels much higher than normal in spring and summer 2020 and spring 2021; but came down to lower levels than normal during the colder months in the autumn and winter of 2020.
Below: Google mobility data – percentage change in movement compared to the baseline (seven day moving average).

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Perceptions of the city centre

Provisional results from our biennial household survey, conducted in February 2021, suggest nearly three in ten residents did not visit the city centre in the past year; with just over half of residents giving the city centre a negative rating. This is, however, to be expected and in this particular case, should not be a cause for concern at this stage, given the waves of pandemic-related lockdowns resulting in closure of much of the leisure and retail offer, as well as office-based workers working from home; and significant disruption to the city centre offer during this period as a result of the infrastructure and public realm works across much of the city centre. 

Raising the profile of Coventry + arts, sports & cultural opportunities

UK City of Culture 2021

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Coventry is the UK City of Culture 2021. The City of Culture Trust's story of change sets out how it will ensure the City of Culture programme leads to lasting impacts for the city:
•    Coventry citizens positively influence and shape the city they want to live in;
•    Coventry's culture contributes to the social and economic prosperity of the city and region;
•    Coventry is a global and connected city; and
•    Coventry is recognised as a future facing pioneering city.
In 2020-21, the City of Culture Trust experienced a challenging year alongside the rest of the regional and national cultural sector, given that coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions have decimated audiences, participation and income for arts and cultural organisations; and associated jobs in all sorts of creative industries.
Nevertheless, 2020-21 saw the launch of the official branding for the UK City of Culture; and the Trust continuing with lively and innovative online engagement and events in advance of the main programme delivery.
In particular, in 2020-21, the Trust saw efforts to increase and widen participation from all areas of Coventry, in particular, areas with historically lower levels of participation and higher levels of multiple deprivation; developments of and launch of the Cultural Place Profiler to help arts and cultural organisations to plan and deliver programmes to meet the needs and wants of audiences; launch of the official City of Culture branding and initial programme; and the delivery of its first major test event, Coventry Glides, at the Cathedral ruins.

Encouraging investment 

Coventry continues to strengthen its position as a key player in the UK's automotive industry. In February 2021, the Council announced its intention to seek funding and planning permission for a new Gigafactory in Coventry. With the automotive industry accelerating its transition to electrified vehicles, battery production is going to be a critical factor in maintaining the UK's competitiveness in the marketplace. And with the new Rules of Origin EU trading regulations set to come into place in the coming years, it is critical for battery production to take place inside the UK. A Gigafactory in Coventry has the potential to create thousands of new jobs, both in the factory and the wider supply chain. And with the development of the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) - the funding for which was successfully secured by CCC in 2017 - as well as additional battery research centres at the University of Warwick and elsewhere in the region, Coventry is the logical choice for a Gigafactory. Coventry Airport has been identified as the site for the new proposal, and up to £500m of government funding is being sought, as well as a key commercial partner for the project. If successful, a Gigafactory in Coventry will make it a global player in the automotive industry for years to come.

Hosting major events

Coventry's Rugby League World Cup fixtures

The Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) comes to England in 2021, and tournament organisers revealed in July 2020 the much-anticipated fixture schedule for what promises to be the biggest and best World Cup in the history of the sport. The men's, women's and wheelchair teams all compete at the same time in a major sporting first.
Coventry will be hosting the current men's World Cup holders, Australia as they take on Scotland at The Ricoh Arena. The game will take place on Friday 29 October 2021 and will kick off at 7.30pm.

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Helping local people into jobs

Providing personalised job support during a pandemic

The Job Shop has worked hard to adapt our services and provide customers with the same levels of personalised 1 to 1 support. Since March 2020, the shop has achieved:
•    1,898 new customers registrations;
•    1,116 supported in to work;
•    99 virtual events hosted with wide range of employers and training providers; and
•    3,551 face-to-face and virtual appointments booked through the new online booking portal.

Supporting young people into work

The youth hub provides an integrated service for all young people aged 16-24 and claiming Universal Credit, enabling job shop advisors and Jobcentre Plus staff to support Coventry’s young people to re-engage with training and the labour market. Since its launch in late July the hub has supported 1,009 young people.

Kickstart

In September 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions Kickstart Scheme [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme] was launched. Since its launch, the job shop has been acting as an official ‘gateway’ organisation to support local businesses through the Kickstart application process. The job shop provides funding to employers to create six-month paid job placements for 16-24 years old on universal credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment. As a gateway, the job shop secured over 330 vacancies with 15 companies for local young people. Presently there are another 85 live vacancies with over 100 to be released in 2021/22.

Virtual jobs and skills fairs

The job shop has adapted to host regular virtual jobs fairs. These started in May 2020 and have ran every month since except for December 2020 and January 2021. The virtual jobs and skills fairs have involved 22 employers and 20 training providers; reaching some 8,154 video views and 200 customers booked on to Q&A events.

Training for accredited qualifications

The Skills 4 Growth European Social Fund programme has helped 64 small and medium-sized enterprises, leading to accredited training and qualifications for 221 employees meeting their identified skills needs.

Apprenticeships

The apprenticeship levy, imposed on larger businesses including the Council, helps businesses support their employees’ professional developments, as part of the Government’s levelling up agenda to increase productivity.
This year, the Council has transferred £292,146 of unspent Council apprenticeship levy funds to support smaller, non-levy paying businesses with apprenticeship training costs. This has supported 48 apprentices in 16 businesses in the city.
Discussions have taken place with other large local employers to share practice on how the scheme was developed and set up to achieve the reported results.

Levels of employment maintained

The full impact of the pandemic on the economy has been cushioned by Coronavirus job retention schemes and self-employment income support schemes. As a result, data for Jan-Dec 2020 suggests that 181,400 residents, that is, 71.3% of Coventry residents remain economically active in employment, compared to 73.7% for West Midlands and 75.4% for Great Britain. This is a decline from 73% in Jan-Dec 2019.
There appears to be a gender-divide in this with the pandemic affecting male employment more than female employment: male employment declined sharply from 78.7% in Jan-Dec 2019 to 73.9% in Jan-Dec 2020; compared to a small increase in female employment from 67% to 68.6% in the same period. The decline in male employment diverges from regional and national trends, which only saw a small decline.

Increase in unemployment

There has been an increase in unemployment from 8,800 in Jan-Dec 2019 to 11,300 in Jan-Dec 2020; an increase from 4.6% to 5.9%. This is bigger than the increase regionally and for Great Britain, from 4.8% to 5.3% and 3.9% to 4.6% respectively. At 5.9% the Coventry unemployment rate is now higher than average compared to a group of similar local authority areas (CIPFA near neighbours). Government support schemes will have mitigated the pandemic impact on unemployment, it is hard to predict what the full impact on unemployment will be once support schemes end. From Coventry workplaces there were 57,000 employments on furlough by April 2021 (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme). Statistics in May 2021 count 6,800 claims from Coventry residents made to the fourth grant of the self-employment income support scheme amounting to £17.6m in total. Some of these individuals may become unemployed once the schemes end.
As with employment levels, there is a gender divide – male unemployment has increased from 4,600 to 6,300 (from 4.2% to 6.3%), while female unemployment has decreased, from 6.5% to 5.3%. This contrast regional or national trends, where female unemployment has also increased.
The gendered change in unemployment does not appear to be due to women dropping out of the workforce and becoming economically ‘inactive’. Indeed, in 2020, the city saw an increase of 5,200 women becoming economically active (from 71.8% to 72.5%). In contrast, 7,300 men dropped out of the workforce in Coventry entirely (from 82.3% to 79.1%).
The gendered differences may possibly be because of the continuation of a lot of essential key worker jobs where women work, in particular, in health and social care throughout the pandemic. Additionally, national opinion and lifestyle surveys suggests that women have been disproportionately affected during the pandemic, with women spending significantly less time working from home, and more time on unpaid household work and childcare.

Increasing qualification levels

In Jan-Dec 2020, 38.1% of Coventry residents (93,900) were qualified to higher education level (NVQ level 4 or above), up from 36.4% in 2019. This compares to 37.1% regionally, and 43.1% for Great Britain.

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At the other end of the spectrum, 7.1% of Coventry residents (17,500) have no qualifications; compared to 8.2% for West Midlands and 6.4% for Great Britain. This marks a decrease from 9.1% a year ago.

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Young people not in education, employment, or training

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For the third consecutive year Coventry remains on target below (better than) England, with 5% of young people not in education, employment, or training. This is an improvement on our last two year’s performance from 5.4% to 5.0%. Coventry’s combined figure of 5.0% equates to approximately 370 young people in total.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Council has continued to follow young people’s post-16 destinations. For any young person identified as not in education, training, or employment (NEET), they have been supported remotely. Monthly NEET and destination not known figures continue to be very low.

Reducing the impact of poverty

Growth in median annual pay

Provisional median annual gross pay in Coventry for 2020 was £24,537, up 2.2% from 2019. This rate of growth is slower than the WMCA (up 4.6% to £24,262), Warwickshire (up 8.5% to £27,612), West Midlands region (up 4.2% to £24,634) and England (up 3.6% to £26,055).
Historically the average earnings amongst all Coventry residents in work have been relatively low and has consistently been lower than the average pay by workplaces located in the city; on average, commuters into Coventry get paid more. This remains the case.
However, average Coventry workplace and average Coventry resident earnings are above average compared to similar local authority areas (CIPFA near neighbours).

Gender pay gap

Median gender pay gap in Coventry is 18.8% in 2020 – higher than the 16.5% for WMCA; 15.5 for Warwickshire; 16.1% for West Midlands region, and 16.5% for England. This large gap is mainly explained by more women in part-time work. If we only include full-time work, the gap falls to 5.8% (compared to 8.9% for WMCA; 10.1% for Warwickshire; 7.6% for West Midlands region; and 8.4% for England.
There is a big difference in median annual pay between men and women – at £29,523 for men and £20,602 for women. However, women’s pay has been rising faster than men’s pay – up 4.2% for women compared to 1.0% for men.
If we look only at full-time jobs, the overall full-time pay is £29,102 – and again, there is a gender gap – £31,377 for men and £26,614 for women. However, full-time women’s pay has also risen at a faster rate than full-time men’s pay, up 7.2% for women, compared to just 0.6% for men.
Please note that the gender pay gap measures the overall difference in pay – it does not consider the different types and levels of jobs and occupations undertaken.

Supply, choice & quality of housing

Policy updated to improve housing standards

A new version of policy designed to enforce standards in private sector housing was approved by Cabinet in February 2021.
The Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy outlines the steps that the Council can take to protect tenants from unsafe homes and tackle rogue property owners. Although the policy was originally introduced in 2018, changes to national legislation have meant that it needs to be updated for the Council to better protect residents.
The new version of the policy will allow the Council to issue civil penalties against property owners who have acted irresponsibly against tenants or who have failed in maintaining legal standards for housing. In addition to this, the updated policy will also enable the Council to undertake enforcement actions on letting agents when needed.

Increase in the number of higher-banded properties as a percentage of all properties

The overall number of properties increased by 1,120 from 146,882 in March 2020 to 148,002 in March 2021. The number of properties in the higher Council tax bands of C to H, increased by 381 from 43,391 in March 2020 to 43,772 in March 2021. As a result, there has been a slight increase in the percentage of higher banded properties relative to the overall tax base, now at 29.58%.

Reduction in council tax collected

Despite the economic impact associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has experienced only a small reduction in the percentage of council tax collected in-year in 2020/21. In 2019/20 95.5% of council tax was collected in-year; this reduced to 94.4% in 2020-21.

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The tax base remains buoyant with increases in the number of properties and the amount of council tax available to collect. The base increased from £157.7 million in March 2020 to £162.4 million in March 2021.  

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Globally connected indicators

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Locally committed Improving the quality of life for Coventry people

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Create an attractive, cleaner and greener city

City air quality plan taking shape

In July 2020, Cabinet approved a local air quality action plan to comply with the Environment Act 1995 (Coventry City Council) Air Quality Direction 2020 [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/867248/air-quality-direction-coventry-city-council-2020.pdf]; and this was followed by approval of the full business case in December 2020. Coventry has been awarded grant funding of £24.5m to implement the scheme.

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The package of measures includes:
•    capacity improvements on the B4106 through Spon End and Junction 7 of the Ring Road, including improved routes for pedestrians and cyclists;
•    opening Upper Hill Street onto the Ring Road, giving left in/left out access to the Ring Road via the anti-clockwise on-slip road at Junction 8;
•    closure of Barras Lane between the A4114 Holyhead Road and Coundon Road/Upper Hill Street allowing the removal of the signals at the Barras Lane / Holyhead Road junction;
•    reducing the number of polluting vehicles by introducing restrictions on the eastern section of the A4114 Holyhead Road on the approach to Junction 8;
•    construction of a segregated cycle route linking Coundon with the city centre along Coundon Road and Upper Hill Street;
•    engagement initiative (travel planning) for schools, businesses, and communities along Holyhead Road Corridor;
•    banning the right turn from Cash's Lane onto Foleshill Road;
•    HGV ban on part of Foleshill Road; and
•    assigning electric buses to Foleshill Road.

Improvements in the footway network and overall road network quality maintained

The 2020/21 survey shows 99% of A roads, 98% of B & C roads, 81% of unclassified roads and 50% of footways to be in a good/acceptable condition.

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A larger sample of footway condition data was analysed for 2020/21 compared to smaller samples used in previous years. National reporting requirements only analyse a small sample of the footway network, however this year we collected and analysed data on a much large proportion of footway; this showed an apparent improvement in the footway network.

Fewer priority potholes reported

1,339 “priority 1” potholes were reported in the financial year 2020/21, down from 1,528 in 2019/20. This is a decrease of 189 over the 12-month period.
In 2020/21, 18 miles carriageway treated miles of carriageways were treat and 67 footway sites improved.

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£2 million in new funding for footway improvements

A successful bid was made to the Department for Transport for footway improvements along bus routes. This enabled 67 sites to be improved in 2020/21 compared to 35 sites in 2019/20.
Additionally, a further £5.5m of funding was secured for the Swanswell Viaduct of the ring road (A4053), which helped progress the refurbishment and upgrade of this vital road.
The pandemic had little effect on the day-to-day service provided by the Council to maintain its roads and pavements, with inspections, maintenance and repairs continuing throughout. The team have proved incredibly resilient and adaptable to new working regimes and have continued to serve customers throughout.

Number 1 for electric vehicle charging points outside of London

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Coventry received an electric vehicle (EV) boost with 30 new on-street electric vehicle charging points installed in the Holyhead Road area as part of an exciting new pilot project. UK-based EV infrastructure company, Connected Kerb, is behind the project driven by Coventry City Council, funded through grant funding of just under £1.5 million. This brings the total number of EV charging points across the city to 488 – making Coventry the most accessible city for EVs outside of London, overtaking Milton Keynes. Usage data for the charging points are being monitored – while usage during the Covid-19 first lockdown was low, this has recovered after the second national lockdown in November 2020, with usage increasing month-on-month, up 86% from January to June 2021. A map of charging points for EVs in Coventry and elsewhere in the UK is available on Zap-Map. [https://www.zap-map.com/live/]

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The scheme has also installed air quality sensors, which are fitted onto the same posts as the charge points, providing data on pollution levels.

Fly-tipping

Large increase in fly-tipping

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In 2020/21, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a massive detrimental impact the number of fly-tipping reports. The number of reports increased from 6,955 in 2019/20 to 10,727; an increase of 4,119 (up 62%). This is in line with the national trend – with cities and regions elsewhere also reporting a large increase in fly-tipping.

More investigations undertaken into fly-tipping

The Council has responded to the increase in fly-tipping by increasing the number of investigatory actions. In 2020/21, the Council undertook 6,346 investigations against fly-tipping, an increase of 1,505 investigations compared to last year (up 31%). Since 2017/18, the Council has nearly doubled the number of investigations undertaken; but given the large increase in fly-tipping this year, it outstrips the Council’s capacity to respond.

Engaging residents and gathering intelligence to target problem areas

Fly-tipping reports continued to be followed-up with intelligence from citizens and partners including the police and housing associations. ‘Hot streets’ are identified, allowing resources to be targeted on problem areas.

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The street enforcement team has targeted resources towards locations where issues are occurring and at the times that are needed. This will increase the number of front-line patrolling officers, ultimately leading to more community engagement ‘on the street’, which we have found is the best way to reduce fly-tipping. More officers time is also being devoted to investigating the most serious incidents of fly-tipping and focussing on problem locations.

The street enforcement team has targeted resources towards locations where issues are occurring and at the times that are needed. This will increase the number of front-line patrolling officers, ultimately leading to more community engagement ‘on the street’, which we have found is the best way to reduce fly-tipping. More officers time is also being devoted to investigating the most serious incidents of fly-tipping and focussing on problem locations.

Increase in recycling and composting

The provisional data for 2020/21 shows that the percentage of household waste recycled and composted has increased slightly from 33.4% in 2019/20 to 34.0%.
Running an operational service during a pandemic has been challenging but also offered new opportunities. As the country closed food and drink outlets, we have seen a higher volume of recyclable materials being offered for collection through the kerbside blue bins.

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/coventrycc/51436048111/in/dateposted-friend/]                                                                                                                                  Above image: online deliveries have created more packaging materials and the trend for continuing shopping in this way is increasing.

Engaging with public face-to-face was suspended and advice on managing waste was given by phone during the pandemic; although now we are once again able to speak to residents in person.

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The bulky household collection received a boost from the City of Culture fund used for a “spring clean” of the city. This has, amongst other benefits, helped residents to clear away large items at half price. The spring clean funding has allowed us to increase the number of daily collections, and the half price deal has been so successful it has been continued from March into the new financial year. During the final quarter of the year, over four tonnes of items collected through bulky waste were suitable for reuse and will have a new home.

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When restrictions on non-essential travel were relaxed after the lockdown, the Coventry Household Recycling and Reuse Centre (the tip) on London Road reopened on 18 May 2020,with a new booking system introduced to manage capacity. Residents were able to book in advance either online or by phone to book a trip to the tip. The systems enabled the tip to safely reopen and comply with the Government's social distancing rules. Following positive feedback from residents, the booking system at the Household Recycling and Reuse Centre has now been made permanent. Residents are reporting that the booking
system makes a trip to the tip much easier and safer. Residents can book online at www.coventry.gov.uk/recycling. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/recycling]

Trial of electric bin lorries

A successful zero emission electric bin lorry trial was carried out in 2020/21. The bin lorries are fully electric with zero emissions and are able to work a nine-hour shift after just six hours 45 minutes battery charge.

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The Council hopes to gradually replace the diesel fleet to help reduce air pollution in residential areas as well as meeting green targets for carbon reduction.

Streetpride and cleanliness

95% of inspected sites meet Grade B cleanliness standard

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There has been a 3-percentage point increase in sites falling below the Grade B cleanliness standard in 2020/21.

In 2020/21 95% of inspections completed were graded B and none were graded grade A, therefore in 2020/21 the percentage of sites graded B or above reduced from 98% to 95%. The percentage of sites below standard increased from 2% to 5%, with 4% graded C and 1% graded D. Inspections are undertaken on a weekly basis by the supervisory team. These inspections have been developed to measure work undertaken by the Streetpride teams, such as cleanliness, fly tipping, graffiti, grass cutting, hedges and shrub beds of the local environment.

The frequencies of cleansing have been developed and adjusted over time to manage resources to meet a defined standard (grade B, predominantly free of litter and refuse apart from some small items) in the code of practice as far as possible. The pandemic has had an impact on service delivery as a result of operational staff absences due to the requirement to isolate. Measures have been undertaken to reallocate resources to maintain key services.    

Upkeep of parks

Five parks win Green Flags

In October 2020, parks and green spaces across the country were raising their Green Flag
Award with pride in a year when millions of people have seen the value of having great
quality green spaces on their doorstep.
Among them were five parks in Coventry which were raising a Green Flag Award for the ninth
year running:
•    War Memorial Park;
•    Coombe Country Park;
•    Longford Park;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  •  •    Allesley Park; and
•    Caludon Castle Park.

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Above: War Memorial Park
Visit or find out how to volunteer in your local park at: www.coventry.gov.uk/parks [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/parks]

Go Parks: innovative partner delivery in parks

Go Parks, a new initiative for the people of Coventry that helped find new and exciting ways of using parks and greenspaces was introduced in August 2020. This brought everything from sport and physical activity to wellbeing and culture to local parks.

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The Go Parks: Active Schools Challenge was held in February 2021, over 100 schools took part with a total of 384,905 points awarded, winning great prizes for Coventry schools. A video highlight of the Active Schools Challenge is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/t6SCOgibEVo .

 

Make communities safer

9.5% increase in overall crime recorded

Total recorded crime in Coventry increased in April 2020 to March 2021 to 31,309 from 28,592 in 2019/20. This is a 9.5% increase; a much larger increase than in 2019/20 which was only 0.8%. In 2020/21 Coventry ranked fourth out of the eight policing areas, accounting for 11.2% of the West Midlands force's total. Crime has increased throughout the year; however, this may be due to the reduction in recorded crime during the first lockdown experienced at the beginning of the time period. March 2021 recorded the highest number of offences in Coventry for the year.
The top three offences for Coventry in 2020/21 were common assault (accounting for 10.3% of crimes), assault occasioning actual bodily harm (7.1%) and harassment (6.2%). Notably of the top three, both common assault and harassment increased significantly, both seeing an increase of 900+ offences recorded in 2020/21.

Slight increase in youth offending

Coventry has seen a slight increase in the rate of first-time entrants to the youth justice system in young people aged 10-17. This has increased from 224 per 100,000 in 2019/20 to 230 in 2020/21. This reverses a trend since 2016 where the number of first-time entrants has decreased – and the youth offending service will be closely monitoring the trends on a quarterly basis as pandemic-related restrictions ease to assess the longer-term pattern.

55% increase in the number of hate crimes recorded

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This is a year where the death of George Floyd in America has sparked protests and conversations about racial inequalities, not just in the USA, but in the UK and around the world too – and here in Coventry.
In 2020/21, 916 hate crime offences were recorded. This is an increase of 328 (55%) from 588 offences in 2019/20. Racially motivated hate crime continued to be the most common hate strand recorded in 2020/21 with 81% of the total being attributed to this strand. Following this was homophobic hate crime (11%) and disability hate crime (5%). Together, these three accounted for 97% of the year's total.
In October 2020, a video produced in Coventry by local communities highlighted the thoughts and feelings of victims of hate crime and providing details of how people, who experience or witness hate crime, can report it.
The video, titled ‘Together we can stop hate crime’, tells the experiences of people from different communities in the city.
Each person’s story explains the cruelty of hate crime, which is defined by a hostility or prejudice towards someone on the basis of either their race, religion, disability, or as a result of homophobia or transphobia.
It was put together by the Council with support from Together in Action (TIA), plus community and police partners.

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The video is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/kBeQzbnw5aU and anyone experiencing a hate crime can report it at www.report-it.org.uk [https://www.report-it.org.uk/] or go to a library or family hub to get information.

Domestic abuse

37% increase in domestic abuse crimes reported

There has been an 36.7% increase in domestic abuse reported in 2020/21. The number of reports increased from 7,463 in 2019/20 to 10,203 in 2020/21. In 2020/21, there were 6,237 crimes and 3,966 ‘non-crime’ incidents reported over the 12 months.
Domestic abuse has increased across the West Midlands Police force area, with Coventry mirroring activity seen across the West Midlands. Whilst this shows a general increase of domestic abuse in Coventry, consideration is also needed for the service provision changes experienced throughout the last year as access to support and knowledge of what support is available would likely have lessened due to the lockdown imposed at the beginning of the year, therefore an increase may also signal a continued confidence in reporting.

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Females accounted for the vast majority of domestic abuse offences recorded in Coventry in 2020/21, accounting for 78.5%, reflecting the gendered nature of this crime, and the disproportionate impact of violence against women and girls. However, males proportionally increased from recording 18.6% in 2019/20 to 21.5% in 2020/21.

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In November-December, the Council and the city’s domestic abuse services (Coventry Haven, Valley House, Panahghar and Relate) joined global organisations and communities to raise awareness of domestic abuse; reminding communities that, while the consequences of the pandemic and lockdown measures are challenging for all of us, it can pose extra difficulties and risk for those who are living with domestic abuse. Staying indoors is even harder for people whose home is not the haven it should be and enforced isolation may increase abusive behaviour. It reduces victim’s ability to access help and support; and isolation may be used as a tool of coercive and controlling behaviour by perpetrators, as they attempt to shut down victim’s routes to safety and support.

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The city’s Safeguarding Adults Board launched campaigns to ensure people experiencing domestic abuse know they can access help – and demand on the Safe to talk helpline has increased with more than 1,000 calls received since the start of Covid-19.
Additionally, an 18-week perpetrator programme, Choose2Change, has been introduced to try and stop further abuse in the future.
 

Improving educational outcomes

School performance and pupil attainment

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown, school examinations including GCSE and A-level examinations were cancelled in summer 2020. As a result, there are limited indicators available for 2020.
Pupils scheduled to sit GCSE and A-level exams in 2020 were awarded either a centre assessment grade (based on what the school or college believed the student would most likely have achieved had exams gone ahead) or their calculated grade using a model developed by Ofqual - whichever was the higher of the two. The GCSE grades awarded to pupils in 2020 will remain with them as they stay on in further and higher education or enter employment after leaving school. However, the cancellation of summer 2020 GCSE exams and the new method of awarding grades has led to a set of pupil attainment statistics that are unlike previous years.
Each of the pupil level attainment statistics have increased, more than would be expected in a typical year. This reflects the change to the way GCSE grades were awarded rather than improvements in pupil performance. As a result, the 2020 data should not be directly compared to attainment data from previous years for the purposes of measuring changes in student performance.

Key stage 4

The following table sets out the attainment 8 results at key stage 4 for Coventry and England. Progress 8 data was not published. No comparisons are made against previous years as the results are not comparable.

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Key stage 5

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Improve health and wellbeing

Increase in overweight children

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2019/20 has seen an increase in the rate of overweight or obese children aged 10-11 in the city, a 2.3% increase to 40.6%. Covid-19 has resulted in delays to completing the national child measurement programme in 2020/21 – and completing this during the remainder of the school year is a priority. The Council is working with school nurses and health visitors to support to children and families around healthy eating, being active and wellbeing; including supporting healthy behaviours alongside the buggy workout programme for new mums.
During Covid-19, services were adapted, including running live activity and fitness sessions over Zoom; working with schools to provide activities and online sessions; and, when restrictions were relaxed, outdoor face-to-face sessions in-line with government guidance.
The Go Parks challenge, focused on increasing the activity levels of pupils, teachers, and families, saw with excellent results. British Cycling have also delivered sessions with community centres and family hubs during the Easter break and have further sessions arranged with schools across the summer holidays.

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Smoking status amongst mothers at time of delivery

Smoking status amongst new mothers at time of delivery for Coventry in 2019/20 has remained consistent to last year and is statistically similar to England’s.

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In 2019/20, over 300 women sought support from stop smoking services to quit, with 133 who achieved abstinence by the time of delivery. Although the prevalence of smoking has been reducing, the number of women achieving abstinence from cigarettes at time of delivery from a stop smoking service has remained consistent over the last few years. During Covid-19, services moved to an online model of delivery and carbon monoxide verification was paused in line with national guidance. The service saw a significant increase in reaching ‘hard-to-engage’ pregnant women and their family members to quit smoking during this time.
As part of the local maternity and neonatal system across Coventry and Warwickshire, University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) will be leading on embedded stop smoking in pregnancy services in maternity. They will work alongside community stop smoking services ensuring a robust offer for pregnant women and their families to quit smoking.

Slight increase in diabetes prevalence recorded

There were 29,142 people with diabetes registered with GP practices in Coventry in 2019/20. This has increased by 996 cases, from 28,146 in 2018/19. As a percentage, this is an increase from 6.7% to 6.8% of the GP registered population.

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While the prevalence of diabetes in Coventry remains below England and West Midland levels, it has continued to see a gradual rise year on year. Our population health data, demographics and relative deprivation all indicate that Coventry is most probably under-reporting the level of diabetes in the city – meaning that people with diabetes in the city may not be getting the help they need.
The pandemic has had an effect on the ability of the health system to record and support people with diabetes – as routine primary health care work, including health checks, and opportunistic screening were paused; and to date, has not been fully restored as the health system continues to deal with the backlog of unmet health care demand.
This has also significantly impacted on the care delivered to people with diabetes – with just over half (55.2%) of people with type 2 diabetes receiving all eight care processes – meaning that more people will not have received the screening to detect complications of diabetes during the pandemic.
The reduced detection of diabetes, late presentations, and the impact of Covid-19 on people with diabetes receiving their annual review and eight care processes has the potential to adversely impact on the health of our population for a significant time.

Increase in percentage of late HIV diagnoses

The national Sport England active lives adult survey indicates 61.9% of adults in Coventry were physically active in 2019/20. Fewer adults are physically active in Coventry than the West Midlands Region (63.1%) and England (66.4%). This survey took place before the pandemic and therefore does not consider the changes in patterns of behaviour due to the pandemic and associated lockdowns.

There has been a slight increase in the percentage of late HIV diagnoses from 52.8% in 2016-18 to 54.1% in 2017-19. However, the overall count has reduced from 47 to 40, as fewer HIV diagnoses were made overall. Evidence suggests HIV testing coverage has increased in the past few years and the number of new HIV (positive) diagnoses are coming down. Despite this, Coventry remains a high prevalence area for HIV, when compared with other areas in the West Midlands.

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Local data suggests that there has been a significant decrease in the number of individuals accessing HIV testing in pharmacies during the pandemic. To compensate this, the online national HIV test ordering service has been promoted to ensure residents can continue to access HIV tests. In 2020/21, 405 individuals accessed a HIV test from the online service. The Council will recruit new pharmacies to deliver HIV testing in 2021/22.

6 in 10 adults are physically active

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The national Sport England active lives adult survey indicates 61.9% of adults in Coventry were physically active in 2019/20. Fewer adults are physically active in Coventry than the West Midlands Region (63.1%) and England (66.4%). This survey took place before the pandemic and therefore does not consider the changes in patterns of behaviour due to the pandemic and associated lockdowns.

Lockdowns and restrictions associated with the pandemic shifted physical activity

A national survey with around 2000 adults (16+) undertaken via Sport England indicates that during the first national lockdown (March to May 2020), when many activities were unavailable, large numbers of people were walking, cycling, and running – despite worries about leaving home – and working out at home to stay active.
As restrictions eased (May-September 2020), physical activity levels held; but as other parts of society reopened, the number of people active on most days (five or more days a week) declined, and the number active on some days (1-4 days per week) increased, compared to the first lockdown.
As restrictions resumed in September to January, and the weather turning and the rule-of-six and regional tier system introduced, the number of people active on most days fell lower by October, despite stable participation in most activities.
During the third national lockdown, physical activity levels were unchanged – with many other activities unavailable, walking and cycling for leisure have increased, as has activity taking place at home.
Early, provisional results from the Coventry household survey 2021 conducted in February 2021 suggest that three quarters of residents spent some time on active recreation – with half of residents spending at least an hour a week on active recreation. This has increased from the previous household survey in 2018.

Fewer admissions to hospital due to childhood injuries

The city’s Early Help Strategy identified preventing childhood accidents as one of ten key outcomes. A task group, with representatives from the Council, fire service, midwifery, and voluntary sector organisations, have worked to highlight accident hotspots in the household and help advise practitioners on practical steps to help families take on preventative measures.

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There has been a reduction in hospital admissions caused by injuries in children aged 0-14, with the rate per 10,000 reducing from 184.9 in 2018/19 to 138.1 in 2019/20.
Due to school closures associated with the pandemic, children have spent more time at home. Figures are expected to show an increase due to increased exposure to potential household harms and domestic abuse. Additionally, face-to-face workshops run by MAMTA to support migrant families to access childhood accident prevention resources were suspended during the pandemic, meaning there may be more families unaware of the support and resources available.
There are a few organisations who carry out home safety checks, so it is not surprising if a household receives multiple visits from different professionals. The group is looking to map existing safety checks to better align the support and advice offered. Partnering with Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT), the group is exploring the use of pictorial and multi-lingual resources to spread accident prevention messages to families who do not have English as a main language.

Increase in conceptions to under-18s

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Provisional data for October 2018 to September 2019 suggests an increase in the under-18 conception rate to 22.7 per 1,000 girls aged 15-17 in Coventry. This contrasts the data for West Midland Region and England which both show a reduction to 18.6 and 15.9, respectively.
The increase in the under-18 conception rate marks a reversal of a decade-long trend whereby the city’s under-18 conception rate has fallen from a peak of 68.1 in 2008.

Cycle training for children and adults

Over the summer holidays in 2020, free training was available for children at leisure centres with British Cycling. All sessions were free for Coventry residents and Go CV card holders. All the sessions were delivered in small groups with social distancing in line with the government guidance at the time.

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Free cycle training sessions for adults were also available at Xcel Leisure Centre and the Canal Basin where you could learn to ride, develop your skills away from traffic or build your confidence riding on the road.

Better cycling experience

Working with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the Council introduced active travel schemes over the summer months, responding to the additional demand for walking and cycling within the city. Pop-up cycle lanes, wider pavements and bike share schemes are amongst some of the measures introduced to encourage more people to cycle and walk when moving around the city.

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Above: West Midlands cycle hire scheme, and wider pavements and dedicated cycle lane on Hollyfast Road.

 

Protecting our most vulnerable people

The Council helps to keep children and adults safe from harm; provide early intervention for families; and prevent homelessness, while services continue to face significant and sustained pressures.

Breastfeeding

In 2019/20, 94.6% of Coventry infants’ breastfeeding status were known. Public Health England (PHE) requires the figure to be 95% or above before reporting, and so the Coventry’s figures were not published. Of Coventry infants whose breastfeeding status was known in 2019/20, 50% were totally or partially breastfed at 6-8 weeks after birth. This is an increase from 2018/19 rates of 48%. Compared to England’s rate of 48% in 2019/20, Coventry’s is significantly higher.
The city has adopted the UNICEF baby friendly initiative infant training programme. All of the service’s staff, excluding school nurses, have attended relevant training; and audits have been carried out with staff and service users in preparation for the pending UNICEF re-accreditation assessment.
The pandemic-related restrictions meant that, for a portion of 2020/21, face-to-face contact and home visits were not allowed. It was originally estimated that the restrictions would decrease breastfeeding levels, so the service aimed to protect breastfeeding levels – as well as ensure that infant formula was available.
The service received a great increase in the number of calls for support by anxious families in response to pregnancy in lockdown, breastfeeding and queries about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccination. Families have also reported feeling isolated, lonely, and vulnerable; and have raised concerns about their own mental health or that of their family members. In response to restrictions and increased demand, the service adapted, increasing virtual contact. Families in Coventry can now access the service via Zoom breastfeeding cafes and virtual specialist clinics. In addition, Covid-safe face-to-face clinic consultations were carried out in family hubs once restrictions relaxed.

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Provisional data for the first three quarters of 2020/21 suggest that, of the Coventry infants whose breastfeeding status was known, 51% were totally or partially breastfed at 6-8 weeks after birth – maintaining the performance level seen in 2019/20. This may reflect well on the new hybrid virtual and face-to-face delivery model; as well as improved collaboration between health visiting and infant feeding teams.
Building on the learning from the pandemic, the service is looking to continue their hybrid offer of virtual and face-to-face support, including monthly infant feeding workshops for all staff; new training for peer support volunteers; a new-style breastfeeding café at a physical venue; and, recognising the mental health concerns reported, a Mindfulness Day.

Update on children's services transformation

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The ongoing journey to excellence in children’s services has maintained its momentum throughout the pandemic. Services have embraced system change and adopted digital solutions, to make sure the city’s most vulnerable children are getting the best outcomes.
Despite the lockdown restrictions, recent improvements include:
•    redesign of business processes and forms for signs of safety to allow early help for vulnerable children and families before issues become entrenched;
•    continued drive to increase the number of internal foster care placements; and
•    moving to electronic processes for our residential services, through the implementation of a new module in the children’s case management system.

Supporting families through receiving the right help at the right time

Last July, Coventry's Safeguarding Children Partnership launched its Early Help Strategy for 2020-2022.

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The vision is for Coventry children and young people to have supportive families, live safe from harm, fulfil their potential, are healthy, and have positive fulfilling lives.

Increase in the number of looked after children

At the end of March 2021, 747 children were looked after by Coventry City Council. This is an increase of 46 children from March 2020, when there were 701 looked after children. Expressed as a rate per 10,000 children, Coventry’s rate has increased from 88.0 March 2020 to 93.7 in March 2021.

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There was a considerable increase in new children becoming looked after in July and December 2020 – and the number of looked after children peaked at 754 in December 2020. Trends in Coventry reflect wider trends regionally and nationally and may be linked to increased isolation associated with pandemic-related lockdowns.
A total of 304 new looked after children started during 2020/21; the highest number between 2015/16 to 2020/21.
Coventry is launching the Family Valued model in April 2021, a model of system change where training in restorative practice is provided across children's services and partner agencies, with one of the aims of improving outcomes in Coventry by reducing the number of children looked after.

Increase in repeat referrals to children’s social care

Repeat referrals to children’s social care have increased slightly from 24.6% in 2019/20 to 25.1% at March 2021. Throughout the year a responsive ‘dip-sampling’ approach has been employed to help social workers and managers understand the reasons behind the re-referrals, so that actions can be put in place to support improvement and further reduce re-referrals moving forward into the new financial year.

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Fewer looked after children previously looked after

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The percentage of new looked after children who were previously looked after has reduced to 5.6% in 2020/21, from 7.7% in 2019/20. The excellent performance in reducing the numbers of children returned to being looked after is evidence that outcomes for vulnerable and at-risk children are improving in the city.

Digital counselling and support to improve the mental wellbeing of children and young people

Kooth, a new anonymous digital counselling and support service for children and young people went live in Coventry in April 2021.

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Kooth is a safe, free, and confidential way for young people to access emotional wellbeing and early intervention mental health support. The service, funded by Councils and the clinical commissioning group, is open to all young people in Coventry and Warwickshire aged 11-25 years.

Up to 70% off water bills for care leavers

In an industry-first, Severn Trent, the water company, is offering up to 70% discount on water bills for care leavers. This helps provide financial support to care leavers as they move into independent living; and is part of the care leavers covenant, a commitment by local authorities to help support young adults leaving the care system. Severn Trent is the first utility company to join forces with a local authority, in offering this type of support to care leavers. The scheme will give the care leavers up to 70% off their water bill in the first year, and then further discounts until the age of 25.

Adult social care

When the pandemic commenced, adult social care adapted quickly to continue to deliver most of our responsibilities for assessment and safeguarding through digital means while ensuring we continued to undertake face to face work where this was required. As we progress towards recovery from the pandemic, we will increasingly blend the use of technology with face to face work. We did, however, have significant challenges in respect of care capacity and were one of only six local authorities to activate the Care Act easements due to a shortage of care and support staff early in the pandemic. This required us to temporarily reduce our approach to promoting independence and reassign staff from day centre activity to other services.

Stable number of people in receipt of long-term care

As of 31 March 2021, there were 3,404 people receiving long-term ongoing support from adult social care. The number and rate have stayed at a similar level over the last 5 years and remain lower than comparators.

Fewer new people asking for support from adult social care 

In 2020/21, 9,870 adults (a rate of 3,383 per 100,000) contacted social care who had not previously received social care support. This is a reduction of 6% from 2019/20, when 10,367 adults (3,600 per 100,000) requested help.

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The number of adult safeguarding S42 enquiries (476 enquiries) and rate per 100,000 population (163 per 100,000) have both fallen in comparison with last year.

96% of service users placed in adequate social care services

The proportion of adult social care service users placed in regulated adult social care services rated as inadequate has reduced to 3.7%. As of 31 March 2021, 30 people were placed in residential and nursing care within the city that were rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as inadequate, out of 810 people placed. Where a service is rated as inadequate following CQC inspection, adult social care ensures that residents continue to have their care and support needs met and work with the home to ensure remedial actions are put in place.
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Satisfaction measures not available this year

The adult social care survey was paused in 2020/21. This means that data on the proportion of adult social care service users who feel safe; and the overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care and support is not available. We did however undertake a smaller survey of our own, which although was not statistically significant did indicate a high level of satisfaction with the support received from those who responded.
The carers survey has also been paused – so overall satisfaction of carers with social services is also unavailable.

Impact of the pandemic on the care sector

The impact of the pandemic on the care sector and care homes in particular is well reported and Coventry has not been immune from this impact.
The Council has worked with the care sector in Coventry throughout the pandemic supporting with ensuring adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) was in place and additional funding to support infection control, testing and workforce resilience was provided. We have also been supporting the care sector with the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations to care staff. As of 29 June 2021, 80% of frontline care staff have received the first dose of the vaccination, and 66% with both doses.
A full report setting out the performance of adult social care against objectives set can be found in the local account, available at https://www.coventry.gov.uk/localaccount/. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/192/adult_social_care_strategies_policies_and_plans/1399/annual_report_for_adult_social_care]

Housing and homelessness

Less statutory homeless (in priority need) households

The number of households accepted as statutory homeless (in priority need) decreased from 913 in 2019/20 to 722 in 2020/21. However, this is still a significant increase from 388 in 2018/19. The past year has seen an increase in approaches to the service particularly from single people. Like many services, the delivery of the front-line statutory service moved to a telephone-only service at the outset of the first lockdown on 23 March 2020. There has also been a year-on-year increase in approaches to the service:
•    2018/19: 3,789 approaches
•    2019/20: 4,530 approaches
•    2020/21: 4,497 approaches
With the eviction ban due to expire, the service expects an increase in approaches, especially from families, in 2021/22.

More homelessness cases prevented and relieved

The number of homelessness cases prevented and relieved increased from 552 in 2019/20 to 1,083 in 2020/21 against a corporate target of 750. The front-line processes were reviewed, and changes made to how customers can access the service.
The introduction of appointments has seen an increase in cases going onto prevention; giving more opportunity to work with customers to resolve their circumstances before they become homeless.

Temporary/supported accommodation

The Council delivered a number of significant projects during 2020/21, reducing the spend on temporary accommodation. Projects include:
•    implementing a temporary accommodation charging policy;
•    re-negotiating the costs of temporary accommodation, securing better accommodation at cheaper cost; and
•    no family was placed in B&B accommodation in 2020/21, except in an out of hours emergency;
•    the implementation of an agreement with Cornerstone Partnership and Let’s Rent Coventry, the Council’s rent guarantee scheme, increasing the number of private rented properties at local housing allowance rates for homeless households;
•    approval to purchase a range of temporary accommodation, a number of which are now refurbished and providing enhanced support to single people. This includes the conversion of a former student accommodation block, a 26-bed unit on Holyhead Road that opened in March 2021; and
•    newly commissioned housing-related support contracts, which went live in April 2020.
Below: new accommodation secured to support single homeless people (image source: Google Maps)

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Supporting rough sleepers

In March 2020, at the outset of the first national lockdown, the Government issued a directive for Councils to accommodate all people rough sleeping in their boroughs. In Coventry, this coincided with an increase in the city’s rough sleepers team from three officers to nine officers. Working with partners across the city, in particular the Salvation Army, the team accommodated over 350 individuals temporarily and moved over 250 into permanent accommodation. Working with partners, the Council also secured over three million pounds in funding to meet the accommodation needs of rough sleepers in the city. Launched in February 2020, Change into Action is an alternative giving scheme supporting local specialist charities and street teams working to change the circumstances of rough sleepers and those at risk of rough sleeping in Coventry. Next year, the Council will be refreshing the city’s rough sleeping strategy with local experts by experience and working towards our ambition to eliminate rough sleeping in 2022.

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Reducing health inequalities

Life expectancy

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Healthy life expectancy

Healthy life expectancy indicates the average number of years a person could expect to live in good health. Coventry’s healthy life expectancy at birth for males (61.9 years) and females (64.2 years) are both similar to the figures for the West Midlands Region and for England. Trend-wise, England’s healthy life expectancy figures for both males and females have been stable from 2009-11 to 2017-19. While male figures have tended to perform worse than England average between 2009-11 and 2012-14, it has caught up since 2013-15 and has remained statistically similar to England average.

Direct impact of Covid-19

Between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021, Coventry experienced 23,205 cases of Coventry. Women were more badly affected than men – with 46.9% of the city’s Covid-19 cases were amongst men, and 53.1% amongst women.
Coventry North East was the worst hit of the three parliamentary constituency areas of the city. The Wards with the highest number of cases was Foleshill (1,864 cases) followed by Lower Stoke (1,731) and St Michael’s (1,614).The Wards with the lowest number of cases was Earlsdon (774 cases) followed by Whoberley (876) and Woodlands (916).
Accounting for the different population in the wards, the ward with the highest rate of Covid-19 infections was Holbrook, followed by Foleshill, and Longford; and the lowest, St Michael’s.
In terms of ethnicity, of the 23,205 cases:
•    4,020 are of people of an Asian ethnicity (17.3%);
•    1,446 Black (6.2%);
•    611 Mixed (2.6%);
•    754 Other (3.2%);
•    1,310 White Other (5.6%);
•    10,490 White British (45.2%);
•    4,574 Unknown (19.7%).

Hospitalisations due to Covid-19

Up until 30 June 2021, 2,807 patients were admitted to University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) due to Covid-19. This includes 2,527 admissions between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. At the peak of the winter wave in January 2021, 286 beds at UHCW were occupied by Covid-19 patients, and 43 Covid-19 patients were in mechanical ventilation beds; placing obvious and severe pressures on the hospital’s capacity to respond to other illnesses, accidents, and emergencies.

Deaths due to or involving Covid-19

The following table sets out the number of people in Coventry who died due to or involving Covid-19. That is, a person with Covid-19 recorded as a cause of death on their death certificate as certified by their doctor.

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In 2020/21, Covid-19 accounted for nearly one-fifths of all Coventry deaths. Over 90% of Covid-19 deaths are “due to” (caused by) Covid-19; and fewer than 10% are “involving” Covid-19 (where Covid-19 is a contributing factor to the death). Separate data from the Care Quality Commission suggests 200 care home residents in Coventry died due to Covid-19 – this is more than the figure in the table above, because the ONS data shows place of death (some care home residents will have died elsewhere, in hospital, for example.)
To put Covid-19 deaths in perspective with major events in Coventry’s history, the official death toll during the Coventry Blitz on 14-15 November 1940 was 554 people; and around 1,250 people were killed in Coventry by air raids between June 1940 and August 1942.

Wider health impacts of Covid-19

Good health and wellbeing are influenced by multiple factors, such as employment status, living environment, personal relationships, and having a voice in decisions that affect you. During the pandemic, many facets of life that were key to health and wellbeing, also known as the wider determinants of health, were impacted. Nationally, Public Health England reports that, during the pandemic:
•    half of the survey responses of people who had a worsening health condition in the preceding seven days did not seek advice for their condition. The most common reason given was to ‘avoid putting pressure on the NHS’;                                                                                                                                                       •   •    self-reported mental health and wellbeing has worsened;
•    increase in people were helping others more than before; and 
•    increase in snacking, cooking from scratch, eating healthy meals, and eating with family
•    increase in people attempting to quit smoking has increased.
Together, these will have a mixed impact on overall health and wellbeing.
Locally, draft, preliminary findings from the Council’s latest household survey, conducted in February 2021 found:
•    just under three-quarters of a representative sample of Coventry residents said their health was good, a decrease from 2018;
•    fewer residents reported smoking cigarettes or e-cigarettes than in 2018;
•    similar number of residents reported eating the recommended level of fruit and vegetables;
•    fewer residents reported eating takeaways; and 
•    an increase in residents consuming alcohol at least once a week.
Residents were also asked about the impact of the pandemic on various factors. Fewer residents were worried about their relationships with people they live with, their job, connectedness to the local community; but there were greater concerns about the impact on their finances, physical and mental wellbeing, and lifestyles.
The Council worked with Warwickshire on a joint Coventry and Warwickshire Covid-19 health impact assessment. The assessment sought to identify key factors that may affect the population’s health and wellbeing as a direct result of Covid-19.
Key findings include:
•    an integrated recovery: the analysis shows that health and wellbeing has been deeply impacted by changes across the wider determinants of health; health behaviours and lifestyles; the health and care system; and the places and communities we live in. The implication is that recovery must be connected across all four parts to have the biggest chance of success; and
•    the double impact – the harm from Covid-19 itself has been unequally distributed across the population. The analysis shows that the wider impacts from the pandemic and lockdown will fall more heavily on those same communities most directly affected by the disease – with the burden falling on communities who are living in areas of greater deprivation, with less ability to mitigate against the disease.

Local picture for mental wellbeing

The Coventry and Warwickshire Mental Health Needs Assessment survey results have revealed:
•    inequalities regarding access to services for people with protected characteristics (women, ethnic minorities, LGBT+ people); people at financial disadvantage (including digital disadvantage); and people living with or facing multiple complex needs (such as homelessness, substance misuse, offending behaviour, mental ill-health, domestic abuse);
•    service disruptions and an increase in waiting times across a wide range of health and social care services, including mental health services;
•    struggles with isolation; the blanket coverage of the pandemic in social media; and digital exclusion from the shift to digital-only services.
Additionally, the Coventry Safe Haven survey suggest that people experiencing mental ill health have experienced greater levels of social isolation, contributing to an increase in depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Service users have reported struggling with the lack of physical presence and contact; changing the dynamics of their relationships.

Vaccinating Coventry

The coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines are safe and effective. They are our best defence against the virus and gives the best protection against the disease. On 8 December 2020, Coventry’s University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) was the first place in the world where a patient, Margaret Keenan, received a coronavirus vaccination as part of a vaccination programme outside of a clinical trial.
Anyone who gets Covid-19 can become seriously ill or have long-term effects (long Covid). Research has shown that the vaccines significantly reduce the risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19; reduce the risk of getting symptoms of Covid-19; and help reduce the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19.
Current evidence suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses.
In Coventry, we know that people in some of our more deprived neighbourhoods and from some communities are less likely to be vaccinated against Covid. If this were left unaddressed, this would leave some communities at greater risk of preventative death and disease.
The Council has been working with our NHS partners, GP practices and community, faith, and voluntary sector leaders to encourage our residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their family and friends against Covid; this has included opportunities to see how the Covid-19 vaccine is prepared; talks from medics and community and faith leaders to address any concerns or reservations; and pop-up clinics to encourage people to get vaccinated. This has helped address some of the inequality gaps in the city - but still more efforts are required to get everyone vaccinated in the city.
The Covid-19 vaccination is free. Residents can book their Covid-19 vaccination on the NHS website at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-Covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/ [https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/]

Local outbreak management

While the vaccination programme is our best defence against Covid, it is also important to prevent infections via non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and manage outbreaks - along with work to encourage vaccination uptake across all our communities. Our approach is set out in the Coventry Local Outbreak Management Plan. [https://edemocracy.coventry.gov.uk/documents/s49971/Local%20Outbreak%20Management%20Plan.pdf]
This has involved:
•    encouraging uptake of regular lateral flow testing to identify asymptomatic individuals with Covid-19 including running a number of community testing sites and encouraging home testing;
•    Covid-19 advisors working to provide advice, information, and guidance - and enforcement where required - to help businesses and workplaces stay safe;
•    running a welfare service to ensure people who have unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19 to be able to safely isolate as required by legislation;
•    information and communications to remind residents and communities of continued importance of washing hands, covering face; making space; and good ventilation for fresh air; and
•    from March 2021, local operation of the NHS test and trace programme.
Our wider activity, up to the end of March 2021, is set out in the infographic below:
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Reset and recovery

As the pandemic continues, challenges to health and wellbeing are expected to become more acute. Areas of concern include increasing rates of unemployment (which may increase further as furlough and income support schemes ends); residents who are less able to access support due to the digital divide; worsening mental wellbeing for adults and children; continued increase of domestic abuse offences; and young children struggling with the transition to school due to fewer opportunities to develop socially during lockdown. The relationship between the wider determinants of health, and health and wellbeing, is widely understood amongst the city’s organisations. Partner organisations in the city have a strong history of collaboration. This has contributed to a good understanding of residents’ needs, and existing assets to address the needs, at neighbourhood level. Residents’ involvement in decision-making, sharing insights, and operational volunteering have been invaluable as well. The King’s Fund population health model, which is featured in the city’s health and wellbeing strategy 2019-2023, highlights the roles of partners and the community in improving the population’s health and wellbeing, and continues to guide the city’s response to the pandemic.

 

Locally committed indicators

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Delivering our priorities with fewer resources

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Making the most of our assets

Making the most of our assets

The Council has continued to take a balanced commercial approach to meeting its budgetary pressures and maintain an appropriately prudent approach to managing its finances. This approach has helped the Council to avoid some of the worst effects of budget cuts experienced elsewhere across the country in recent years.

One Coventry values

Work to create the ‘One Coventry Values’ commenced in early 2020 with the launch of the HR People Plan. One of its key aims was to develop, introduce and embed a set of organisational values for One Coventry.
Our ‘One Coventry Values’ have been co-created with the support and input of all employees across the Council, so they are reflective of how we want to be represented both as colleagues and to the wider community. We want to ensure there is clarity of purpose through the Council’s vision of our One Coventry values and behaviours; putting diversity and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. Moving forward the values will become an integral part of our reward strategy, appraisals, recruitment, attraction and onboarding, recognition and development and employee engagement.
Our values define us as an organisation and influence everything we do and how we treat each other. We recognise the crucial role each and every one of us plays in helping to achieve our goals. We want Coventry City Council to be an inclusive workplace where people know they are valued and feel empowered in their roles to achieve excellence for our customers and communities.
Our values are ONE COV:
•    Open and fair - we are open, fair, and transparent;
•    Nurture and develop - we encourage a culture where everyone is supported to do and be the best they can be;
•    Engage and empower - we engage with our residents and empower our employees to enable them to do the right thing;
•    Create and innovate - we embrace new ways of working to continuously improve the services we offer;
•    Own and be accountable - we work together to make the right decisions and deliver the best services for our residents; and
•    Value and respect - we put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

Further increase in full-time equivalent employees

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There were 4,075.73 full-time equivalent (fte) employees in the Council at the end of March 2021, an increase of 123.24 fte compared to a year ago. This is the third year there has been an increase and following many years of reducing numbers. Some of the increase this year will be due to the Covid-19 pandemic - where the additional contain outbreak management funding has been used to staff teams supporting people to maintain self-isolation; support businesses and workplaces with Covid-safe measures; and deliver community testing, NHS test and trace and welfare programmes.

Reduction in sickness absence

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In 2020/21, 10.47 days per fte (excluding schools) were lost due to sickness absence - down from 12.71 in 2019/20. The top reason for absence was stress, depression, and anxiety, followed by musculoskeletal problems and stomach, liver, and gastroenteritis; Covid-19 came fourth in the list. Notwithstanding the reduction in sickness seen this year, measures are continuing to be taken to reduce the rate further including improved health and wellbeing support for employees targeted at the most frequent causes of absence. The effects of Covid-19 on Council staff have included a greatly increased number of staff working from home which has placed significant emphasis on mental health and wellbeing.

Towards a more diverse workforce representative of the communities we serve

Improving equality, diversity, and inclusion has been a key priority of the Council’s people plan, and in June 2021, the new workforce diversity and inclusion strategy 2021-2023 was launched. The strategy recognises that Coventry’s strength lies in its diversity, and in order to be able to effectively meet the needs of our communities it is vital that we have a workforce that is reflective of the people we serve. By creating a culture that values diversity and actively promotes inclusion we will be able to harness these various perspectives and experiences to build an atmosphere where differences of opinion and outlook are not only respected but sought out and appreciated.

Increase in self-service transactions

In 2019/20 there was 121,391 transactions completed through self-service channels this increased to 352,751 transactions in 2020/21. There was a significant increase based on new processes being introduced to manage facilities such as tip visits to ensure that services could continue to function during the Covid-19 pandemic. Established services also saw a smaller increase in self-serve. The table below sets out the top ten forms submitted in 2020/21 and 2019/20.

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Improved capture rate

The percentage of customer telephone contact answered [capture rate] improved from 91% in 2019/20 to 94% in 2020/21. Work has continued to improve processes to ensure that they are as efficient as possible, performance is focussed on an individual and team level to ensure that we are able to support residents with their enquiries.

Further reductions in carbon emissions

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Emissions from scopes 1 and 2 in 2020/21 have decreased 8% since 2019/20 and 64% from the 2008/09 baseline. This reduction is partly attributable to the impact of Covid-19 which has resulted in reduction of electricity consumption in some Council offices. There has also been reduced streetlighting consumption, as a result of improvements to the extent to which dimmable controls are in operation across the city, which will now be a permanent change. Although this data only accounts for scopes 1 and 2 emissions, the Council are further developing our reporting of scope 3 data by ensuring we record and calculate additional scope 3 emissions to be used in future reports. The following defines what is meant by Scopes 1, 2 & 3:
1.    All direct emissions from the activities of an organisation or under their control, e.g., fuel consumption on site such as natural gas and fleet fuel.
2.    Indirect emissions from electricity purchased and used by the organisation.
3.    All other indirect emissions from activities of the organisation, occurring from sources that they do not own or control.
Fleet fuel consumption increased by 25% from 2019/20. The increase has resulted from vehicles being added to the fleet to provide Covid-19 support services and to increase economic opportunities. Passenger transport created 28 additional routes for home to school transport and all pool cars, and additional spot hired vehicles, were used to distribute medical supplies to vulnerable people in isolation. Waste significantly expanded the bulk bin vehicles and skips vehicles to manage increased demand, as well as starting a new recycling contract on behalf of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. The addition of these factors caused an increase in scope 1 emissions.
Overall scope 1 building emission have only decreased by 1% from 2020/21 to 2019/20, a slowing of the reduction seen in previous years. However, this is attributable to improved reporting of LPG, causing LPG fuel consumption to appear (308%) higher than in previous years. Gas oil, natural gas, and kerosene both saw drastic decreases in consumption in 2020/21. In the 2019/20 and 2020/21 reports, scope 3 emissions expanded to include liquid fuel, gas, and electricity consumption of scope 3 buildings. This also included business travel, district heat loss and electrical transmissions and distributions as previously reported. However, due to methodological changes, care must be taken with this comparison: scope 3 building emissions are calculated based on data provided by leased or outsourced properties. Currently the data available is incomplete. Work is underway to revise existing procedures to develop a procedure to record more scope 3 building data which we have not been able to capture data for previously. The improved capture of scope 3 data may show an increase in emissions.
The Wave was successfully connected to Heatline in August 2020. Heatline is a lower carbon alternative to traditional fuel heating systems, thus reducing Scope 3 building carbon emissions. Moving The Wave to Heatline saved approximately 347,120 kilograms of CO2 equivalent emissions per year. Further work is also in progress to broaden scope 3 to capture emissions associated with employee commuting, water treatment, waste and procured goods.
The Council acknowledges we have a major role to play in not only setting an example for others to follow but mobilising all that live and work in the city to embrace the challenges that climate change and delivering a sustainable future presents us. This is not seen as a threat but more as an opportunity. We have the opportunity to position ourselves as a leading city in a global market. The Council, with the support of the WMCA and funding from Innovate UK, has set up a Regional Energy Systems Operator project to look at the most environmentally sound ways of generating and supplying heat and power across the city. The outcomes of this action research will provide vital information which builds upon our track record in addressing climate change within the organisation. The Council has set up an independent Climate Change board to mobilise businesses, communities, and voluntary organisations across the city into developing a new citywide climate change and sustainability strategy and action plan. The plan will build upon the great work currently happening throughout the city and will ensure Coventry is a leading driver for sustainable growth and employment, urban innovation and creating a green healthy environment.
Coventry City Council’s action dates back to being a signatory in 2008 for The Covenant of Mayors. We continue our work to a more sustainable future in the new Climate Change strategy which is currently under development. The new strategy will need to set out a path to decarbonising, not just the council’s emissions, but all citywide emissions in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. This is in mind of the WMCA having set a target of carbon neutrality for the region by 2041, as part of the new strategy for the West Midlands. In view of this, the council recently joined 58 cities from across Europe as part of the Eurocities initiative who have signed a letter to the President of the Council of the European Union in favour of an ambitious revision of the EU 2030 energy and climate targets to at least 55% by 2030, up to 65% with the right support, compared to 1990 levels alongside funding to be channelled to a green and just recovery in cities.

Regenerating the economy

In 2020/21 capital grants that have been the subject of grant funding bids to external bodies account for c£119m of funding for projects within the Council's Capital Programme.
 

Active communities & empowered citizens

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Engaging local communities

The Council’s engagement platform “Let’s Talk Coventry” enabled the Council to generate better connectivity and collaboration amongst local communities. This has been particularly useful in gaining insights from the public throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.
Let’s Talk Coventry has also been used to inform residents about the availability of Covid-19 community testing and vaccinations as well as uncovering barriers to the uptake of testing and vaccinations. The findings have had a direct impact on the messaging and communications channels we have used throughout the pandemic.
The platform has improved our online engagement offer using a variety of deliberative tools as well as surveys. The graph below shows the increase in engagement with the platform.

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Keeping residents informed about the pandemic

In order to ensure residents were informed and kept up to date with information regarding the Covid-19 pandemic we delivered 81,000 leaflets city wide encouraging residents to use their local testing centres. The leaflets were also used in mosques, churches, food banks, in local shops, and trade suppliers.
Radio adverts were also used to advertise information and enable access for a range of audiences in a variety of languages.
Use of social media has been an excellent way in transmitting facts and information to large audiences. Coventry City Council’s social media alongside targeted posting to specific groups has enabled us to stay in touch and keep residents informed.
One of the most successful ways in which we engaged citizens was through videos alleviating some of the fear’s residents may feel when going for a lateral flow test and to dispel some of the misconceptions about the testing process. Several videos were made in different languages and promoted through informal channels such as WhatsApp groups as well as our formal social media channels.

A food resilient city where no one goes hungry

Coventry Food Network is a newly formed local multi-agency food partnership involving statutory, voluntary, and private organisations across sectors and researchers from the two Universities in the City. It has evolved from the work carried out by Feeding Coventry, a registered charity set up in 2016 with a vision to make Coventry a “food resilient city where no one goes hungry”.
The Coventry Food Network and Feeding Coventry responded to the pandemic by distributing emergency food supplies to those in food crisis and witnessed a dramatic shift from food bank centred distribution to ‘food hubs’, social supermarkets and other community provision. A great deal of work has been done to co-ordinate the provision of emergency food and ensure no-one in Coventry goes hungry because of the pandemic.
Last summer, the Coventry Food Network and Feeding Coventry worked together to provide breakfast and activity packs to any family that found the prolonged closure of schools during the holidays particularly difficult.

The infographic below outlines some of the achievements over the summer:

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Meeting the public sector equality duty

Over the past year, the Council has continued to demonstrate its commitment to both the public sector equality duty and the growth of its agenda on equality, diversity, and inclusion more widely. A new set of equality objectives were launched in April 2020 as part of our focus to prioritise and deliver on clearly defined equalities outcomes. Also, a comprehensive programme of equality impact assessments (EIAs) was carried out to assess the potential equality impact of the coronavirus pandemic in relation to the schools, Council services and the Council workforce. These service EIAs were collated, analysed, and used to develop an over-arching EIA for the organisation in respect of the local impact of Covid-19. The results of this EIA showed that people belonging to an ethnic minority group and disabled people have been most disproportionately impacted. The information contained in the Council’s Covid-19 EIA has been used to inform policy development and decision-making both within the organisation and through our partnership work in the city.

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Delivering our priorities with fewer resources indicators

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Further information and change log

Further information

The city’s One Coventry Plan is on the Council’s website at www.coventry.gov.uk/councilplan [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/10/performance/2089/council_plan]
Online and previous versions of this performance report is available at: www.coventry.gov.uk/performance [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/performance]
A wealth of additional information and statistics include:
•    Information and statistics hub including open data: www.coventry.gov.uk/infoandstats [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/infoandstats]
•    Facts about Coventry: www.coventry.gov.uk/factsaboutcoventry [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/factsaboutcoventry]
•    Citywide intelligence hub: www.coventry.gov.uk/citywideintelhub [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/citywideintelhub]

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Change log

The following list sets out indicators that are new, revised or deleted, or where data is unavailable for this report.
New indicators:
•    Regional gross domestic product (pound per head)
•    Number of transactions completed through self-service channels
Deleted indicators:
•    Gross value added (pound per head)
•    Transactions done online or self-service
Data not available:
•    Gross disposable household income
•    Visitor trips
•    Pupils attending a good/outstanding primary school
•    Pupils attending a good/outstanding secondary school
•    Pupils attending a good/outstanding special school
•    Primary school pupils with permanent exclusions
•    Secondary school pupils with permanent exclusions
•    Key stage 2 expected standard in reading, writing & maths
•    Key stage 4: progress 8 
•    Good level of development at age 5
•    Gap (in the good level of development at age 5) between the lowest achieving 20% and the rest
•    Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care support
•    Overall satisfaction of carers with social services
•    Proportion of adult social care service users who feel safe

Feedback

Thank you for reading this annual performance report. If you have any feedback or comments about this report, please contact the Insight Team:
Web: www.coventry.gov.uk/infoandstats [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/infoandstats]
Email: insight@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:insight@coventry.gov.uk]
Twitter: @CovCCInsight [https://twitter.com/CovCCInsight]

Insight Team
Coventry City Council

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