One Coventry Plan Annual Performance Report (April 2024 to March 2025) - Print version

Foreword

As we present this year’s One Coventry Performance Report, I reflect on both the significant progress we’ve achieved and the challenges that continue to shape our city’s journey toward 2030.

This report demonstrates our unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability. While we celebrate successes – such as our record-breaking visitor economy worth £855 million, doubling the number of residents we’ve helped into employment through our Job Shop, and achieving a 51% reduction in our carbon emissions – we also acknowledge where we must do better.

The data shows that 67% of our performance indicators have improved or remained stable, reflecting real progress across the majority of our commitments. Our approach to setting deliberately ambitious targets means we don’t always meet every goal, but this drives the excellence our residents deserve. From supporting 2,560 people affected by domestic abuse to helping 772 children access Free School Meals they were entitled to but not receiving, these numbers represent transformed lives.

Our economic foundations are strengthening. Employment rates have risen to 74.7% while unemployment has fallen to 4.9%, outperforming national trends despite challenging economic conditions. The £400 million City Centre South regeneration and our pioneering all-electric bus fleet position Coventry as a leader in sustainable urban development.

However, we face persistent challenges. Like elsewhere in the country, child poverty affects too many families, recycling rates need improvement, and some of our most vulnerable young people still need better support. These issues cannot be solved by the Council alone – they require the continued partnership approach that defines the One Coventry vision.

The role of local government continues to evolve, and we’re adapting accordingly. Our strategic partnerships, from the ground-breaking joint venture with E.ON to our collaboration with universities and businesses, demonstrate how we’re leveraging every resource to benefit our communities.

As we look ahead, major investments in housing retrofit, transport infrastructure, and skills development will deliver lasting change. But our success ultimately depends on working together – Council, partners, businesses, and residents – as One Coventry.

This report shows we’re making progress, but there’s more to do. I’m confident that by maintaining our ambition, transparency, and collaborative approach, we’ll continue building a city where everyone can thrive.

Cllr George Duggins

Leader, Coventry City Council

Overview

What is One Coventry?

One Coventry is a values-based approach that describes how we work together with our communities and partners to improve the city and the lives of all who live, work and study here.

It is a way of working that enables us to focus on the things that people value most, helping us to make the biggest possible impact on the lives of local people.

Our One Coventry approach focuses on enabling people to live their best lives in a vibrant and prosperous city an ambition that can only be achieved by listening to and collaborating with, those who live, work, visit, and do business in our city, by having different conversations and building on the great things that are already happening.

What is the One Coventry Plan?

Coventry City Council’s new corporate plan: The One Coventry Plan 2022 to 2030 was informed by Coventry residents and outlines the vision and priorities for the next 8 years. The plan describes the way that we bring people and organisations from across the city together, to work as one; to make the biggest positive difference to the lives of those who live work and study here.

The One Coventry Plan sets out the strategic vision for the city of Coventry to 2030 and our approach to increasing the economic prosperity of both the city and region by improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities; and tackling the causes and consequences of climate change.

These are things that the Council cannot do alone. We must continue to work in a way that ensures we maintain continued financial sustainability of the Council, as well as strengthening the Council’s role as a partner, enabler, leader and as an anchor organisation in Coventry.

Our refreshed plan is more focused on the needs and aspirations of our communities than ever before. We have listened to and reflected on what people have been telling us and considered the key issues facing the city.

In summary, our 3 delivery priorities are:

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

The 2 enabling priorities are:

1. Continued financial sustainability of the Council.
2. The Council’s role as a partner, enabler and leader.

How we measure our progress

This year-end report sets out our progress made against each of our 3 key priorities and 2 enabling priorities for where we are as at 31 March 2025. For indicators where the year-end data is not yet available, progress up to the last available data is shown. It identifies trends, provides performance metrics, with supporting qualitative information via case studies, to enable an assessment of the progress made. It also includes contextual insight and comparison with regional and national benchmarks where applicable.

Metrics

The Council uses agreed metrics to show progress against its priorities. This is supported by a wider set of metrics including equality and perception metrics that help explain the trends and story behind the headlines.

Metrics are selected from key strategies and aligned to directorate priorities and equality and health inequalities objectives. Further information including infographics, open data, maps, and the Coventry citywide intelligence hub are available on our Local information and statistics pages [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/infoandstats].

Symbols used

Symbols used throughout report

Symbol	Progress	Target status
Tick	Improved (or target already achieved)	On target
X	Got worse	Off target
=	Similar, unchanged or statistically insignificant	-
?	Cannot say; no clear direction of travel	-
Barrier	Not available or no updated data	No target set

Abbreviations used

Abbreviations used throughout report

Abbreviation	Progress	Target status
WMCA	West Midlands Combined Authority	-
CIPFA	Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy nearest neighbours	-

Headline progress - The One Coventry Plan 2022 to 2030

The One Coventry Plan 2022 to 2030 is measured against 74 metrics. Seven are unable to be reported for this year (or at the end of 2024 to 2025) as information is not available. Also, 1 has not been fully developed – these 8 are recorded within the ‘progress not available' indicators.

Of the 66 metrics currently available, for 5 of them we cannot say whether they have improved or not because there isn’t a clear desirable direction of change or because we only have data for this year.

In summary 67% (41 out of 61) of the ‘directional’ indicators available, improved or stayed the same.

Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region

14 headline indicators for 'Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region', of which

Tick	9
Cross	3
Barrier	2

Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities 

21 headline indicators for 'Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities', of which

Tick	10
=	2
Cross	7
?	1
Barrier	1

 Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change

22 headline indicators for 'Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change', of which

Tick	9
=	1
Cross	6
?	2
Barrier	4

Continued financial sustainability of the Council

17 headline indicators for 'Continued financial sustainability of the Council', of which

Tick	6
=	4
Cross	4
?	2
Barrier	1

There is 1 indicator which is not fully developed, within the ‘Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change’ priority:

• biodiversity net gain (measure of tree planting and biodiversity), has recently been incorporated into national planning policy and, in future, registration of offsetting sites with Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs will be available to measure this. Data on biodiversity units and habitat enhancement will be provided from next year

Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region

Increasing the economic prosperity of the city and region has resulted in:

• £35,719 regional GDP (per head, 2023)
• £34,994 median annual pay for Coventry residents in full-time work (2024)
• £97,956 apprenticeship levy transferred to support non-levy paying firms (2024 to 2025)
• 1.2% annual increase in footfall (2023 to 2024, to 2024 to 2025)
• 11,390,000 visitor trips (2023)
• 7,911 estimated jobs supported by the visitor economy (2023)
• 16,242 residents supported by the Job Shop on their journey to accessing employment and training during 2024 to 2025
• 1,633 get jobs (Job Shop customers going on to get jobs during 2024 to 2025)
• 9,970 active enterprises, with 345 enterprises per 10,000 residents (2024)
• 74.7% resident employment rate (January 2024 to December 2024)
• 4.9% unemployment rate (January 2024 to December 2024)
• 4.1% 16- to 17-year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) including not knowns (2024)

An overview of performance

Metric	Previous	Current	Comparators	Progress	Target	Status
Regional gross domestic product (pound per head)	£33,278 (2022)	£35,719 (2023)	West Midlands Region £32,077, (2023), England £40,382 (2023)	Tick	To increase	Tick
City centre footfall (Index, 2019 to 2020=100)	69.1 (2023 to 2024)	69.9 (2024 to 2025)	Leicester city centre 84.0 (2024 to 2025)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Visitor trips	11.05m visitors (2022)	11.39m visitors (2023)	England N/A (No data)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Resident employment rate (proxy for new jobs)	72.2% (April 2023 to March 2024)	74.7% (January 2024 to December 2024)	West Midlands Region 74.1% (January 2024 to December 2024), England 75.7% (January 2024 to December 2024)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Unemployment (model-based)	5.5% (April 2023 to March 2024)	4.9% (January 2024 to December 2024)	West Midlands Region 4.3% (January 2024 to December 2024), England 3.9% (January 2024 to December 2024)	Tick	To increase	Tick
16- to 17-year-olds not in education, employment, or training (NEET) including not knowns	3.5% (NEET 2.2%, Not Known 1.3%) 2023	4.1% (NEET 3.0%, Not Known 1.1%) 2024	Statistical Neighbours 6.1% (NEET 4.4%, Not Known 1.8% 2024), England 5.4% (NEET 3.2%, Not Known 2.2%) 2024	Cross	Below (better than) national average and Statistical Neighbours	Tick
Destination of school leavers aged 16+ (% continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship of employment destination)	92.1% (2021 to 2022 cohort in 2023)	91.2% (2022 to 2023 cohort in 2024)	Statistical Neighbours 91.5% (2022 to 2023), England 93.1% (2022 to 2023)	Cross	Above or equal to national average	Cross
Destination of school leavers aged 18 after reaching the end of 16 to 18 study	82% (2021 to 2022 cohort in 2022 to 2023)	Latest data is 2021 to 2022	Statistical neighbours 79.5% (2021 to 2022), England 82.6% (2021 to 2022)	Barrier	Above or equal to national average	Barrier
Apprenticeship levy transferred to support non-levy paying businesses’	£32,459 Transferred 2023 to 2024 Total pledged - £445,477	£97,956 Transferred 2024 to 2025 Total pledged - £672,487	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Job Shop Customers Going on to Get Jobs	818 (2023 to 2024)	1,633 (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Active enterprises number (and rate per 10,000 pop aged 16+) (proxy for new businesses)	10,335 (363) (2023)	9,970 (345) (2024)	WMCA 391 (2024), Warwickshire 528 (2024), England 503 (2024)	Cross	To increase	Cross
Change in Council Tax Base (change from 2009 base) (proxy for number of new houses in the city)	113.27 (2023 to 2024)	114.79 (2024 to 2025)	CIPA 114.31 (2024 to 2025), England 115.98 (2024 to 2025)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Proportion of neighbourhoods amongst the 10% most deprived in England (measure of deprivation)	14.4% (28 of 195 Coventry LSOAs) 2019	Not available	WMCA 26.4% (2019), England 10% (2019)	Barrier	Below national average	Barrier
Investment income secured	£5.3m (2023 to 2024)	£5.8m (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Tick	Above budget	Tick

 

Ongoing challenges of low economic growth

The West Midlands economy has remained relatively strong despite weak UK-wide growth. In 2024, UK GDP grew slowly - 0.5% in Q2, and just 0.1% in Q3 and Q4, ending the year with 1.1% overall growth. Growth is expected to stay modest in 2025 and 2026, with forecasts ranging from 0.9% to 1.5%.

Inflation has been falling - from a high of 11.1% in October 2022 to 2.6% in March 2025. However, global conflicts (especially in Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine) continue to keep energy and supply chain costs high, affecting trade and business confidence. Uncertainty over possible U.S. trade tariffs has also made businesses more cautious.

Despite these challenges, business activity in the West Midlands grew slightly in late 2024, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which stayed just above 50 for much of the year. Growth slowed by the end of the year, with the PMI dropping to 47.2 in January 2025, but a slight recovery to 49.6 in March suggests improvement.

Main concerns for local businesses include falling demand and high operating costs (energy, labour, borrowing, and taxes). Recruitment and skills shortages remain a major issue, even as more businesses and jobseekers use support services like the Coventry Job Shop.

Trade remains difficult due to post-Brexit import checks, especially with the EU. Still, the West Midlands outperformed the UK in exports for the year to September 2024, with exports to the EU up 3.5% and to the rest of the world up 5.9%. Potential trade deals with the U.S., India, and the CPTPP group may boost future export opportunities.

Local economic performance

The most recent local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data is from 2023. That year, Coventry businesses generated £12.9 billion in value. GDP per resident rose to £35,719—still below the England average of £40,382.

Since the pandemic, Coventry’s economic output has grown in line with national trends. However, once inflation is factored in, real growth in 2023 was flat - mirroring the national picture.

Business surveys (PMI and Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce) show a small but steady increase in business activity. Wages have also been rising. In 2024, the average full-time annual salary in Coventry was £34,994, close to the West Midlands average (£35,000), but still behind the England average of £37,617.

Gross Domestic Product per head (1998 to 2023)

Year	England	Coventry	WM region
1998	£17,390	£17,656	£14,967
1999	£18,116	£18,138	£15,492
2000	£18,933	£18,760	£15,979
2001	£19,632	£19,609	£16,511
2002	£20,367	£20,025	£17,044
2003	£21,403	£20,979	£17,825
2004	£22,335	£22,131	£18,642
2005	£23,389	£23,365	£19,337
2006	£24,405	£23,573	£19,913
2007	£25,469	£24,745	£20,419
2008	£26,006	£25,327	£20,864
2009	£25,186	£24,967	£19,976
2010	£25,933	£26,006	£20,707
2011	£26,528	£26,249	£21,365
2012	£27,202	£26,713	£21,934
2013	£28,099	£27,112	£22,783
2014	£29,259	£28,903	£23,671
2015	£30,045	£30,018	£24,333
2016	£31,003	£32,394	£25,215
2017	£32,166	£31,619	£26,260
2018	£33,018	£31,903	£26,942
2019	£34,103	£32,560	£27,409
2020	£32,153	£29,962	£25,668
2021	£34,714	£32,390	£27,873
2022	£37,774	£33,728	£29,921
2023	£40,382	£35,719	£32,077

There is a continued need to build on Coventry’s strengths to create more high-quality jobs. This can help reduce inequalities, especially if local residents are supported with the right skills for future jobs.

It’s also important to strengthen the local business support system to boost the number of high-growth companies. Currently, only 3.5% of businesses in Coventry are classed as high growth, compared to 4.9% nationally.

Supporting Coventry businesses to grow and expand

In 2024, the number of businesses in Coventry fell slightly by 365, bringing the total to 9,970 enterprises. Most of these are small businesses. However, Coventry has a lower rate of small businesses compared to other areas:

• 345 businesses per 10,000 adults in Coventry
• 391 across the West Midlands Metropolitan area
• 528 in Warwickshire
• 503 across England

This drop reflects ongoing business challenges, including high operating and borrowing costs, increased taxes from April 2025, and weaker consumer demand due to the cost-of-living crisis. These pressures are also limiting business investment. Coventry businesses have shown strong and growing demand for support services throughout 2024 to 2025.

Supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Business Growth West Midlands has delivered:

• Account Management to help businesses overcome growth barriers
• tailored support on decarbonisation and energy efficiency
• help for start-ups, social enterprises, and investment readiness from specialist partners

Business Support outcomes

• 480 businesses received in-depth support in 2023 to 2024, rising to 561 in 2024 to 2025
• 151 businesses received energy efficiency audits
• £2.39m in capital grants awarded to 150 businesses, which unlocked £3.42 million in business investment for growth and net zero projects

Impacts on the Local Economy (2024 to 2025)

• 93 businesses reported increased productivity (more expected as benefits continue)
• 53 firms launched new products and/or services
• 40 firms introduced new business processes
• 32 businesses entered new markets (expected to grow over time)
• 88 new jobs created, and 39 jobs safeguarded

This integrated approach, combining financial and expert support, is delivering meaningful results for both Coventry’s businesses and its wider economy.

Supporting the creative and cultural sectors

To help local innovative businesses grow using creative and immersive technologies, we’ve partnered with Warwickshire County Council, Innovate UK, and CWX (Cluster Lead Body) to award £3 million in funding to 33 projects across Coventry & Warwickshire.

More projects are expected to receive funding in the first half of 2025, following the latest round of applications which closed in December 2024.

Regeneration opportunities

While there is still intense international competition from countries including the USA and the EU in securing new Foreign Direct Investment in key sectors, positive progress continues to be made with the Coventry & Warwick Gigapark Investment Zone site.

Twenty-three million pounds of capital funding has been approved to deliver an enhanced power supply to make the proposed West Midlands Gigafactory site development ready to go and confirmed tax relief incentives and updated marketing collateral should incentivise investors in Electric Vehicles, batteries and associated advanced manufacturing supply chains.

Regeneration work continues around the city, with preparation work underway and construction work due to start in Summer 2025 for the City Centre South scheme. The £400m+ scheme will transform the south side of Coventry city centre, with new homes, retail and restaurants, along with fantastic new public spaces.

The Council also continues to promote Two Friargate, with occupation levels continuing to increase. The Council is preparing to attend at UKREiiF (the UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum) in May 2025 and build on last year’s launch of the city’s Investment Prospectus to further promote the city’s development sites to investors, developers and property professionals.

City centre footfall

In 2024 to 2025, footfall in Coventry city centre - the estimated number of people visiting - increased by 1.2% compared to the previous year. Early 2025 data suggests this upward trend may continue, with footfall from January to March 2025 up 11.7% year-on-year.

Visitor behaviour insights

• average dwell time increased, with:
  • Fewer short visits (under an hour)
  • More long visits (4 hours or more)
• Footfall by day of the week:
  • Fridays: up 19%
  • Mondays and Tuesdays: down 2%
  • Sundays: down 16%

These patterns suggest a shift toward more leisure-focused visits, and less commuting and shopping activity—potentially influenced by more people working from home and fewer students on campus.

Growing the visitor economy

Coventry had another record year for tourism in 2023, following a strong performance in 2022. The city welcomed 11.39 million visitors in 2023, an increase of over 1 million visitors since 2019. The visitor economy is now worth £855 million and supports approximately 7,911 jobs in the city.

Full-time jobs in tourism increased by 7.5% from 2023 and 17% over the last 4 years. Coventry’s visitor economy is growing faster than the overall West Midlands metropolitan area in visitor numbers, economic impact, and jobs.

Community engagement remains strong, with the Go CV membership scheme continuing its impressive growth. The Go CV card provides residents with valuable discounts on a wide range of events, activities, attractions, and local businesses.

In the year April 2024 to March 2025, 12,980 new members joined the scheme, bringing the total membership to 124,553.

Go CV+ members enjoy even greater savings and exclusive benefits, and membership of this scheme grew by 2,678 to a total of 8,952.

Supporting local residents to progress in the labour market

Employment rate

Employment among Coventry residents increased in 2024, despite a challenging economic climate and cautious business investment. The employment rate rose from 72.2% (April 2023 to March 2024) to 74.7% (January to December 2024) and is now above the West Midlands average (74.1%) however it remains below the national average (75.7%).

The economic inactivity rate fell from 22.4% in 2023 to 20.3% in 2024. Coventry has historically had lower employment rates than the national average, partly due to its large student population.

Employment rate amongst Coventry residents compared to England

Reporting period	Coventry %	England %
January 2006 to December 2006	70.3%	72.6%
January 2007 to December 2007	71.4%	72.6%
January 2008 to December 2008	66.8%	72.3%
January 2009 to December 2009	67.1%	70.8%
January 2010 to December 2010	66.4%	70.3%
January 2011 to December 2011	62.9%	70.0%
January 2012 to December 2012	64.9%	70.8%
January 2013 to December 2013	66.7%	71.5%
January 2014 to December 2014	64.3%	72.5%
January 2015 to December 2015	64.3%	73.8%
January 2016 to December 2016	68.9%	74.2%
January 2017 to December 2017	70.3%	75.1%
January 2018 to December 2018	71.6%	75.4%
January 2019 to December 2019	73.0%	76.0%
January 2020 to December 2020	71.4%	75.6%
January 2021 to December 2021	71.5%	75.1%
January 2022 to December 2022	72.1%	75.8%
January 2023 to December 2023	71.9%	76.0%
January 2024 to December 2024	74.7%	75.7%

Unemployment rate

Coventry’s unemployment rate fell from 5.5% (April 2023 to March 2024) to 4.9% (January to December 2024). While this is an improvement, it remains higher than the West Midlands average of 4.3% and higher than the national average of 3.9%.

Key issues to note

• youth unemployment (ages 16 to 24) remains significantly higher than among older age groups
• the unemployment claimant count has risen in recent months
• many businesses are still facing challenges, including:
  • high operating costs
  • concerns over taxation
  • uncertainty around potential U.S. trade tariffs

These factors could impact future job creation and business confidence, so the situation will need ongoing monitoring.

Unemployment rate amongst Coventry residents compared to England

Reporting period	Coventry %	England %
January 2006 to December 2006	6.6%	5.4%
January 2007 to December 2007	6.6%	5.2%
January 2008 to December 2008	7.9%	5.8%
January 2009 to December 2009	9.9%	7.7%
January 2010 to December 2010	9.1%	7.6%
January 2011 to December 2011	10.2%	8.0%
January 2012 to December 2012	8.8%	7.9%
January 2013 to December 2013	8.3%	7.5%
January 2014 to December 2014	7.5%	6.2%
January 2015 to December 2015	6.1%	5.1%
January 2016 to December 2016	5.4%	4.8%
January 2017 to December 2017	5.2%	4.4%
January 2018 to December 2018	4.6%	4.1%
January 2019 to December 2019	4.6%	3.9%
January 2020 to December 2020	5.8%	4.7%
January 2021 to December 2021	5.5%	4.5%
January 2022 to December 2022	4.9%	3.6%
January 2023 to December 2023	5.8%	3.7%
January 2024 to December 2024	4.9%	3.9%

Supporting local residents into work

Following the opening of the new Job Shop in West Orchards Shopping Centre on 10 July 2024, the number of residents engaging with this element of our Skills, Employment and Adult Education Service continues to increase.

Over the 2024 to 2025 financial year, the Job Shop supported 16,242 residents on their journey to accessing employment and training in the 2024 to 2025 financial year to date, with 9,221 of these entering positive destinations such as paid work, volunteering, work experience or training.

One-thousand, six-hundred and thirty-three Job Shop customers gained employment during 2024 to 2025 because of the support they had received, a notable increase from 818 in 2023 to 2024.

Other highlights of the work to support residents:

• the Launch of Coventry’s Job Rotation Pilot in August 2024, which provides employed individuals with an opportunity to step away from their current roles to upskill, offers employers a replacement for the staff who will be absent for training, and provides a temporary paid placement for jobseekers to gain experience and better prepare for the labour market. Over 20 employers attended the Launch event, with flagship businesses having already taken on placements thereafter
• working with the NHS Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board and Warwickshire Skills Hub, we have been a deliverer of the Coventry & Warwickshire WorkWell Pilot, which connects people that been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and who are unemployed or at risk of unemployment due to their condition, to local support services to help them overcome barriers to employment
• a “New Beginnings” Jobs Fair in September 2024, which attracted over 20 employers and training providers, and enabled over 500 local residents to learn more about vacancies and training opportunities
• we hosted an exclusive event for female customers at Coventry Job Shop on 5th March 2025 as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations that was attended by over 200 women. The “I Can” event highlighted women’s roles in male-dominated industries such as construction, logistics, and digital software engineering, and featured established female leaders from various fields, aiming to motivate Coventry residents to explore new sectors

Young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET)

In 2024, 4.1% of Coventry’s 16- and 17-year olds were classified as NEET (either confirmed or unknown status). This is an increase from 3.5% in 2023 but remains a low proportion compared to regional and national averages. Coventry’s NEET rate has been better than both the England and West Midlands averages for 7 years in a row.

Coventry City Council works with Prospects (part of Shaw Trust) to track and engage NEET young people. This partnership supports young people to achieve positive outcomes through:

• systematic tracking and follow-up
• strong partnerships with schools, colleges, the Coventry Job Shop, and training providers
• high-quality careers education, advice, and guidance in schools and colleges

These efforts help Coventry’s young people access the right education and training, seize opportunities, and reach their full potential.

Percentage of 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET)

Year	England total (%)	WMR total (%)	Coventry total (%)
2017	6.0%	7.3%	6.8%
2018	6.0%	6.4%	5.4%
2019	5.5%	5.3%	5.4%
2020	5.5%	5.3%	5.0%
2021	5.5%	5.7%	4.4%
2022	4.7%	5.0%	3.9%
2023	5.2%	5.2%	3.5%
2024	5.4%	6.1%	4.1%

The amount transferred in 2024 to 2025 increased to £97,956 from £32,459 in 2023 to 2024. This amount may reduce for 2025 to 2026 following a government change to extend fully funded apprenticeships from 16- to 18-year olds to 16- to 21-year olds.

Levy Transfer case study – CMC Partnership Consultancy Ltd

One company that has recently accessed the apprenticeship levy funding is CMC Partnership Consultancy Ltd, an SME consultancy firm that specialises in delivering change and transformation services for public and private sector organisations. The levy was used to fund a Business Analysis apprenticeship.

Since starting the apprenticeship, the apprentice has seen a significant boost in her confidence, both professionally and personally. It has provided her with the opportunity to deepen her understanding of business analysis and helping her to flourish in her consultancy career. Her recent work on a public sector client project was so highly regarded that she received a commendation, with the client calling it “the most thorough and well put together piece of work they've ever seen”.

Her journey exemplifies the power of apprenticeships in bridging skills gaps, building confidence and boosting personal growth. It also highlights how the impact of apprenticeships extends beyond the personal and professional growth of the individuals participating in them – in this case contributing towards positive change within key public sector organisations.

Commenting on her apprenticeship experience, she said:

“This apprenticeship has been an incredibly stimulating experience. It’s helped me to grow as a business analyst and provided opportunities for professional development that I hadn’t imagined when I first joined.”

The Head of Business Analysis at CMC Partnership Consultancy Ltd, added:

“The apprenticeship programme has been a fantastic opportunity for her to expand her skills further while supporting our clients with high quality business analysis services. We are excited to see how she continues to grow in her role.” 

Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities

Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities has resulted in:

• 77% adult social care met through short-term reablement (2024 to 2025)
• 688 Children in Care (March 2025)
• 1,161 homeless cases prevented & relieved (2024 to 2025)
• 77.4 male life expectancy at birth (2021 to 2023)
• 81.7 female life expectancy at birth (2021 to 2023)
• 6,428 fly-tips reported in the city (2024 to 2025)
• 99.2 crime rate per 1,000 population (2024 to 2025)
• 50 first time entrants to the youth justice system (2024 to 2025)
• 2,560 people received commissioned support for Domestic Abuse (2024 to 2025)
• 3,721 people receiving long-term adult social care support That is a rate of 1,345 per 100,000 (31 March 2025)
• 67.1% satisfied with care support people who use adult social care services (2024 to 2025)
• 56.7% Key Stage 2 pupils achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2024)

A review of performance

Metric	Previous	Current	Comparators	Progress	Target	Status
National Highways and Transport Network (NHT) resident satisfaction surveys - accessibility: a - For Ease of Access overall b - For Ease of Access (for those with disabilities)	a-68% b-59% (2023)	a-69% b-58% (2024)	England a-71% b-62% (2024)	=	To increase	=
Crime (rate per 1,000 population and number of crimes)	106.8 (38,509 crimes) (April 2023 to March 2024)	99.2 (35,793 crimes) (April 2024 to March 2025)	Wolverhampton 107.9 (28,881 crimes) Birmingham 117.8 (136,407 crimes) (January to December 2024)	Tick	To decrease	Tick
First time entrants to youth justice system - rate per 100,000 young people aged 10-17 (& count)	103 (38) (2023 to 2024)	138 (50) (2024 to 2025)	Family group average of 197 (January to December 2024), England 161 (January to December 2024)	Cross	To decrease	Cross
Number of people receiving commissioned support for Domestic Abuse	2,064 (2023 to 2024)	2,560 (2024 to 2025)	N/A	?	None set	Barrier
Good level of development at age 5	63.9% (2023)	63.3% (2024)	Statistical Neighbours 64.8% (2024), England 67.7% (2024)	Cross	Better than Statistical Neighbours	Cross
Key stage 2 expected standard in reading, writing & maths	55.6% (2023)	56.7% (2024)	Statistical Neighbours 58.0% (2024), England 61.3% (2024)	Tick	Better than Statistical Neighbours	Cross
Key stage 4: attainment 8	43.8 (2023)	44.3 (2024)	Statistical Neighbours 43.2 (2024), England 46.1 (2024)	Tick	Better than Statistical Neighbours	Tick
Key stage 4: progress 8	-0.05 (2023)	0.01 (2024	Statistical Neighbours -0.14 (2024), England -0.03 (2024)	Tick	Better than Statistical Neighbours	Tick
Overweight or obesity among children in Year 6	40.5% (39.0%- 41.9%) (2022 to 2023)	40.8% (39.3%- 42.3%) (2023 to 2024)	West Midlands Region 38.4% (2023 to 2024), England 35.8% (2023 to 2024)	Cross	To decrease	Tick
Children in Care (rate per 10,000 population under 18 & number	83.7 (674 children) (March 2024)	85.5 (688 children) (March 2025)	Statistical Neighbours 88 (2023 to 2024), 70 England (2023 to 2024)	Cross	<89	Tick
Repeat referrals to children’s social care	20.9% (March 2024)	18.6% (March 2025)	Statistical Neighbours 22.3% (2023 to 2024), England 22.4% (2023 to 2024)	Tick	<23.6%	Tick
Percentage of new children in care who were previously in care (rolling 12 months)	5.3% (March 2024)	4.5% (March 2025)	N/A	Tick	<6%	Tick
Homelessness cases prevented and relieved	1,164 (2023 to 2024)	1,161 (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Cross	>1250	Cross
Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care support	64.6% (2023 to 2024)	67.1% (2024 to 2025)	West Midlands Region 66.3% (2023 to 2024), England 65.4% (2023 to 2024)	Tick	>62%	Tick
Overall satisfaction of carers with social services	33.2% (2023 to 2024)	Not available for 2024 to 2025	West Midlands Region 38.6% (2023 to 2024), England 36.7% (2023 to 2024)	Barrier	>32%	Barrier
Adult social care service users receiving long term on-going support	3,650 people (1319 per 100,000) (31 March 2024)	3,721 people (1345 per 100,000) (31 March 2025)	Peer Group 1444 per 100,000 population (31.03.23), 1405 England per 100,000 (31 March 2023)	=	<1380	Tick
Adult social care outcomes met through short-term reablement service	76.7% (2023 to 2024)	77.2% (2024 to 2025)	West Midlands Region 77.9% (2023 to 2024), England 79.4% (2023 to 2024)	Tick	>65.1%	Tick
Percentage and (number) of children (aged under 16) living in relative low-income families	28.2% (19,700) (2022 to 2023 revised)	28.4% (20,404) (2023 to 2024 provisional)	West Midlands Region 29.2% (2023 to 2024 provisional), England 22.1% (2023 to 2024 provisional)	Cross	To decrease	Cross
Male life expectancy at birth	76.8 years (2020 to 2022)	77.4 years (2021 to 2023)	West Midlands Region 78.4 (2021 to 2023), England 79.1 (2021 to 2023)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Female life expectancy at birth	81.6 years (2020 to 2022)	81.7 years (2021 to 2023)	West Midlands Region 82.5 (2021 to 2023), England 83.1 (2021 to 2023)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Fly-tips reported in the city	5,925 incidents 6,176 Enforcement activity (2023 to 2024)	6,428 incidents 6,680 Enforcement activity (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Cross	To reduce fly-tipping by a further 5%	Cross

Delivering services that can respond to the needs of residents across all communities in Coventry

There are deep rooted inequalities experienced by our communities which are not easily or quickly addressed. We are making progress in some areas; life expectancy for men and women has increased although the proportion of this spent is good health is falling, and satisfaction with care services provided has also increased; rates of crime overall are decreasing and less children are being re-referred to social care. These are small but significant changes.

Education for young people is showing encouraging signs of improvement and whilst children at age 5 have less good levels of development that average across the country, after progressing through education to Key Stage 4 our children’s outcomes are increasing and are better than comparable areas and close to the national average.

There are areas where progress has not been made. Childhood obesity continues to increase and the proportion of children living in low-income households has increased as the cost of living continues to bite.

We know that to address inequalities, we must continue to think differently about our services, how we deliver, how easy it is for all residents to access these services and how our most vulnerable residents experience these services.

Refreshing our Marmot city approach to reduce health inequalities

For more than 10 years, Coventry has proudly held Marmot City status, reflecting our deep commitment to tackling health inequalities at their root. These inequalities are shaped not just by healthcare, but by the broader social determinants of health— education, housing, employment, and more.

Residents working long or irregular hours, those with caring responsibilities, limited English, or poor transport links often face barriers to accessing services. These barriers affect not just access, but also the quality of experience and outcomes.

We recognise there is more to do and we are refreshing our approach with Marmot 2.0, a renewed, targeted commitment across public health and council services to reduce inequalities by design.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy at birth of the average person in Coventry is 77.4 years for males and 81.7 years for females. Following a year-on-year decrease for both males and females since 2017 to 2019, this most recent figure represents an improvement which is in line with both West Midlands and England measures.

Male life expectancy at birth

Reporting period (3-year inclusive)	Coventry (age in years)	West Midlands region (age in years)	England (age in years)
2001 to 2003	75.5	75.6	76.2
2002 to 2004	75.4	75.9	76.5
2003 to 2005	75.2	76.1	76.8
2004 to 2006	75.5	76.5	77.2
2005 to 2007	75.9	76.8	77.5
2006 to 2008	76.2	77.1	77.8
2007 to 2009	76.6	77.4	78.1
2008 to 2010	77.0	77.8	78.4
2009 to 2011	77.5	78.3	78.8
2010 to 2012	77.9	78.6	79.1
2011 to 2013	78.1	78.7	79.3
2012 to 2014	78.4	78.8	79.4
2013 to 2015	78.4	78.7	79.4
2014 to 2016	78.5	78.8	79.5
2015 to 2017	78.3	78.8	79.5
2016 to 2018	78.5	78.9	79.6
2017 to 2019	78.6	79.0	79.7
2018 to 2020	77.8	78.6	79.3
2019 to 2021	77.2	78.2	79.0
2020 to 2022	76.8	78.1	78.9
2021 to 2023	77.4	78.4	79.1

Female life expectancy at birth

Reporting period (3-year inclusive)	Coventry (age in years)	West Midlands region (age in years)	England (age in years)
2001 to 2003	80.0	80.4	80.7
2002 to 2004	80.2	80.5	80.9
2003 to 2005	80.5	80.7	81.1
2004 to 2006	80.5	81.1	81.5
2005 to 2007	80.6	81.3	81.7
2006 to 2008	80.7	81.4	81.9
2007 to 2009	81.0	81.7	82.1
2008 to 2010	81.2	82.0	82.3
2009 to 2011	81.7	82.4	82.7
2010 to 2012	82.0	82.6	82.9
2011 to 2013	82.3	82.7	83.0
2012 to 2014	82.2	82.8	83.1
2013 to 2015	82.3	82.7	83.1
2014 to 2016	82.4	82.7	83.1
2015 to 2017	82.4	82.7	83.1
2016 to 2018	82.4	82.7	83.2
2017 to 2019	82.2	82.9	83.3
2018 to 2020	82.1	82.5	83.1
2019 to 2021	81.8	82.4	82.9
2020 to 2022	81.6	82.2	82.8
2021 to 2023	81.7	82.5	83.1

Whilst improved, the overall life expectancy for the city masks significant inequalities. The gap between the local area (MSOA) with the highest life expectancy and the area (MSOA) with the lowest life expectancy is 14.9 years for males and 8.5 for females (2016 to 2020 data).

For males, the area with the highest life expectancy is Finham Park (86.2) and the area with lowest is Willenhall (71.3). For females, the area with the highest life expectancy is Stivichall & Finham (86.6) and the area with lowest is Naul's Mill & Bishopsgate Green (78.1).

Life expectancy at various points along the number 7 bus route illustrates the health inequalities that exist in the city.

Life expectancy along Coventry bus route number 7

The life expectancy at birth of the average person in Coventry is 77.4 years for males and 81.7 years for females (2021 to 2023). However, this masks significant health inequalities across the city.

Coventry bus route number 7 runs between Brownshill Green in the north-west and Bell Green in the north-east of the city. It crosses some of the city's most affluent areas, as well as some of the most deprived areas.

The graphic below sets out the bus route (in black) across the city; and the base map sets out the neighbourhoods (known as MSOAs) of Coventry. The colours represent the average life expectancy at birth of residents in each of Coventry's neighbourhood areas (MSOA) in 2016 to 2020.

On the lower part of the graphic, the height of each bus stop represents the average life expectancy at birth of residents in each area in 2016 to 2020. Life expectancy serves as useful summary measure of mortality, as it quantifies the differences between areas in the years of life lived; and, therefore, illustrates the stark health inequalities across the city.

Life expectancy along Coventry bus route 7

Area	Male (in years)	Female (in years
Brownshill Green	80.06	84.43
Allesley Green	80.37	86.60
Allesley Park	80.36	82.78
Sherbourne	80.91	85.59
Meriden Street	74.57	78.10
Pool Meadow	75.01	79.60
Gosford Green	75.01	82.54
Stoke Heath	75.55	79.00
Barras Heath	78.65	84.18
Blackberry Lane	79.99	84.37
The White Horse	73.52	78.98
Riley Square	74.49	79.00

Healthy life expectancy

Healthy life expectancy is a measure of the average number of years a person would expect to live in good health based on contemporary mortality rates and prevalence of self-reported good health, an estimation.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently published updated Healthy Life expectancy data for local areas of Great Britain. The most current data is for combined years 2021 to 2023.

In contrast to life expectancy, healthy life expectancy at birth continues to fall in Coventry, this is in line with measures from West Midlands and England.

This means that the number of residents living in good health has been falling since 2018 and continues to fall, resulting in increased demand for health and care services.

Female healthy life expectancy at birth

Reporting period	Coventry (age in years)	West Midlands Region (age in years)	England (age in years)
2011 to 2013	63.1	62.9	63.9
2012 to 2014	62.6	62.5	63.9
2013 to 2015	63.5	63.0	64.2
2014 to 2016	62.3	63.2	64.1
2015 to 2017	63.6	63.1	64.0
2016 to 2018	61.8	62.7	64.1
2017 to 2019	61.8	62.5	63.7
2018 to 2020	62.2	62.8	64.0
2019 to 2021	61.0	62.5	63.7
2020 to 2022	59.9	61.3	62.8
2021 to 2023	58.1	60.0	61.9

Male healthy life expectancy at birth

Reporting period	Coventry (age in years)	West Midlands Region (age in years)	England (age in years)
2011 to 2013	62.1	62.1	63.0
2012 to 2014	62.3	64.4	63.2
2013 to 2015	62.6	62.2	63.2
2014 to 2016	61.6	62.4	63.3
2015 to 2017	62.2	61.9	63.3
2016 to 2018	61.2	62.0	63.3
2017 to 2019	61.3	61.7	63.2
2018 to 2020	61.0	61.6	63.1
2019 to 2021	60.4	61.9	62.7
2020 to 2022	59.3	60.9	62.3
2021 to 2023	58.5	60.3	61.5

Good development at age 5

By the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage (5 years old), a child is defined as reaching a 'good level of development' if they have attained the expected learning outcomes in a number of key areas of learning.

Following a 3 year improvement trend, there has been a small decrease in performance in Coventry in 2024. 63.3% of all the city’s 5-year-olds achieved a good level of development at age 5 in 2024, down from 63.9% in 2023.

Case study – Early Years workforce development

Speech, Language and Communication is a crucial area of development within a child's early years, shaping their ability to learn, integrate and interact with the world.

However, some children experience delays in developing communication skills, which limit their progress and hinder social skills and learning. Coventry Speech and Language Team and the Early Years Advisory Team have implemented a series of 3 training courses to improve practitioner knowledge and skills.

This supports earlier identification of speech, language and communication difficulties and ensures timely intervention. In the first 9 months of this programme, 165 early years providers have accessed the first level of the training, amounting to 55% of all early years providers in the city, with 72 (24% of all providers) going onto complete tier 2, which was launched in November 2024.

Overweight and obese children

Coventry has seen a small increase in the proportion of children being overweight or obese in both reception and Year 6 pupils.

In 2023 to 2024, 22.2% of reception year children were measured as being overweight or obese, up from 20.7% the year before and 40.8% of year 6 children were measured as being overweight or obese, up slightly from 40.5% the year before. Rates remain higher than the regional and national average.

Coventry continues to take part in a national research study evaluating the impact of providing additional resources for parents as part of the National Childhood Measurement Programme. Overall response to the project has been positive.

Year 6 prevalence of overweight (including obesity)

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	West Midlands Region (%)	England (%)
2015 to 2016	37.5%	36.6%	34.2%
2016 to 2017	38.2%	37.1%	34.2%
2017 to 2018	37.9%	37.1%	34.3%
2018 to 2019	38.2%	37.5%	34.3%
2019 to 2020	40.6%	38.2%	35.2%
2020 to 2021	45.8%	44.2%	40.9%
2021 to 2022	41.1%	40.8%	37.8%
2022 to 2023	40.5%	39.3%	36.6%
2023 to 2024	40.8%	38.4%	35.8%

Tackling inequalities collectively

Community Resilience in Action: supporting grassroots initiatives across the city

The Council’s Community Resilience Team continues to champion impactful partnerships with grassroots organisations, strengthening the social fabric of our city through practical support, funding guidance, and shared learning:

Inclusive support at Dominion Grace Community Breakfast Club – Willenhall

Dominion Grace’s weekly breakfast club welcomes over 120 residents, offering more than a meal—it provides dignity, companionship, and purpose. A standout feature is the supported volunteer programme, where individuals with learning difficulties deliver friendly waiter service, enhancing inclusion and skill-building.

Council Officers have bolstered this initiative by:

• securing external funding to support growth
• facilitating digital connectivity through #CovConnects
• supporting public health-focused grant applications, including resources for smoking cessation

This cross-sector backing has enabled Dominion Grace to expand services, bridging social care, digital inclusion, and community wellbeing.

Empowering Neurodiverse Individuals: Autism and ADHD Advocates CIC

With guidance from Council Officers, Autism and ADHD Advocates CIC secured £20,000 from the National Lottery, empowering the organisation to extend its reach across schools, Family Hubs, and digital platforms. Their work supports individuals across the neurodiversity spectrum—those awaiting diagnosis, confirmed diagnoses, their families, and professionals.

Interactive school workshops are driving:

• awareness and empathy
• stigma reduction
• early prevention of mental health challenges and addiction risks

Through early education and community engagement, the CIC is cultivating a more inclusive future for neurodiverse populations.

Building skills and community at Cheylesmore Community Centre Cheylesmore

Community Centre, supported by Council Officer expertise, secured over £60,000 from the Severn Trent Community Fund for major kitchen refurbishment and building improvements.

The upgraded facilities will host:

• Cooking on a Budget courses
• Healthy Cooking with Air Fryers sessions
• free community lunches to combat isolation and promote social connection

These developments are expected to boost footfall to Cheylesmore Library, integrating practical skills training with increased access to local services.

Supporting low income families

We use data held within the Council’s council tax and benefits systems to identify some of our most financially vulnerable households and the additional council and government support which they’re not currently receiving but might be entitled to. The initial project was hugely successful and helped to identify several million pounds in unclaimed benefits and pension credits for Coventry residents.

In 2024 to 2025 some of the highlights are:

• we have successfully used this tool to identify and 'auto enrol' 772 children eligible, but not in receipt of Free School Meals. This has brought £1million of revenue to schools, as well as potentially saving families over £350,000 per year
• we have continued to work with partners at Central England Law Centre to identify residents who may have been incorrectly subjected to a cap on the total amount of benefits they can receive. To date £90,000 in backdated and uplifted housing costs has been achieved for those residents

In 2025 to 2026 we are building on this success, by continuing with our current campaigns. Additionally, we are supporting residents who have not migrated successfully to Universal Credit, as well as looking to identify and assist 'hidden' carers who may be eligible but not receiving Carer’s Allowance.

Household support fund

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, we supported 13,398 individual households through our application-based process, ensuring timely access to essential support.

Breakdown of the support included:

• 5,155 households receiving food support via our local food network
• 10,788 households awarded energy support (top-ups or vouchers)
• 604 households receiving essential energy and water-related items (e.g. white goods, boiler repairs)
• 3,432 households given clothing vouchers
• 471 households receiving other essential items not linked to food, energy, or water (e.g. beds, curtains where none existed)

Roughly 44% of the households that applied throughout the year required a single award to support them through a particular period of financial hardship. Around 24% of households received more than 3 awards reflecting the complexity of the need. We work creatively with partners to ensure people can access the support they need and reach out to individuals and families facing complex challenges to enable us to bring partners together to secure a long-term solution.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme aims to support children eligible for benefits-related free school meals through the holiday periods through activities and experiences coupled with healthy food and support to families.

Our full-year 2024 to 2025 programme helped approximately 5,580 eligible children and young people (including approximately a third of these with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)) plus thousands of other family members. Our 2024 Christmas school holiday programme benefitted 2,114 eligible beneficiaries (excluding other family members) – up from 1,991 (Christmas 2023).

Families loved the activities, giving them an average of 4.4 out of 5 in our family feedback survey. We partnered with Stellantis [https://www.stellantisandyou.co.uk/] for their staff to be involved in activity boxes for children who couldn't get out to activities. These staff delivered the boxes and wrote personal messages to families.

Our diverse range of SEND family experiences continued to develop and were positively received by families, with a rating of 4.6 out of 5. We introduced a Coventry City Football Club experience where children could have a stadium tour as well as activities.

We introduced our new more accessible booking system (Eequ). This received positive feedback from parents and/or carers and providers. Some providers are now using this for non-HAF activities, enabling a more joined-up approach.

Meeting the public sector equality duty

The Council has continued to deliver on its obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty and advance the growth of its diversity and inclusion agenda more broadly. A new set of Equality Objectives for the Council for 2025 to 2028 were launched in April 2025; these objectives outline how the Council will meet requirements to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people of different groups.

Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, Coventry City Council completed 72 Equality Impact Assessments (EIA), of which 3 were internally focused EIAs and 42 were external EIAs relating to service provision. An additional 21 EIAs were completed as part of the budget setting process for 2024 to 2025, and 6 EIAs were completed for the One Coventry proposals.

The Council’s Disability Equality Action Partnership (DEAP) continues to work on equality and inclusion for people with disabilities - bringing together Coventry residents, charities, voluntary organisations, service users and public sector partners from across the city and region.

The DEAP meetings held during 2024 to 2025 considered a wide range of issues including those relating to transport and accessibility.

Tackling violence, including domestic abuse and sexual assault and abuse

Decrease in crime

In 2024 to 2025, compared to the previous year (April 2023 to March 2024) there has been a 7% decrease in the total number of recorded crimes in Coventry. Crime data has been generated from quarterly reports produced by West Midlands Police during the year.

Data can fluctuate so these figures should be treated as provisional. The neighbourhoods with the highest levels of Total Recorded Crime (TRC) were St. Michael’s (23.3% of Total Recorded Crime), followed by Foleshill (8.0% of Total Recorded Crime) and Henley (7.9% of Total Recorded Crime).

Coventry ranked 4th lowest out of 15 areas in its ‘Most Similar Group’ (MSG) for Total Recorded Crime (TRC) rate, with 99.2 crimes per 1,000 population (MSG average – 106.4) during this reporting period.

Coventry accounted for 11.1% of the TRC for the West Midlands force area, ranking 2nd highest out of the 7 local policing areas (LPA). With Coventry being the second largest LPA, this is expected.

The total crime rate in Coventry for April 2024 to March 2025 at 99.2 per 1,000 population was lower than in Birmingham (117.8) and Wolverhampton (107.9) (the most recent data available for these areas, January to December 2024).

The most common offences were ‘Common assault and battery’ with 4,390 offences accounting for 12.3% of TRC, ‘Theft from Shops and Stalls’ with 3,600 offences accounting for 10.0% of TRC and ‘Assault occasioning Actual Bodily Harm’ with 1,902 accounting for 5.3% of TRC.

Total annual recorded crime - rate per 1,000 population

Reporting period	Coventry rate	Wolverhampton (data for Jan-Dec 2024) rate
2017 to 2018	75.5	82.2
2018 to 2019	81.8	-
2019 to 2020	83.2	94.4
2020 to 2021	90.8	101.2
2021 to 2022	116.4	131.5
2022 to 2023	121.5	130.8
2023 to 2024	106.8	114.3
2024 to 2025	99.2	106.0

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is largely a hidden crime with only 20% of incidents being reported to the police.

There is evidence that independent specialist support and advocacy is vital to the ongoing safety of victim-survivors providing emotional support, safety planning, reducing the risk of harm and improving recovery and outcomes.

Coventry recognises the importance of these services in tackling domestic abuse and that interventions at the earliest opportunity improve outcomes. Ensuring more victim-survivors are receiving the right help at the right time and accessing support from the specialist services is a priority for Coventry.

Coventry now has an Early Intervention Team based at Coventry Central Police station offering support, at the earliest opportunity, to victim-survivors reporting to the police. There is a growing multi-agency network of domestic abuse champions supporting survivors of domestic abuse across Coventry to access specialist support.

The commissioned specialist domestic abuse services have continued to see increased numbers of victims-survivors accessing support including short term and long term interventions and court support.

Since April 2024 there has been an increase in the number of officers investigating Domestic Abuse Crimes in Coventry, an increase in the number of suspects arrested, an increase in positive outcomes and an increase in the use of Domestic Violence Protection Orders.

Case study

A child became known to the exploitation team, Horizon, due to concerns they were being criminally exploited. The child was at significant risk due to an adult whom they were being exploited by having access to firearms.

In addition, there were significant concerns regarding the child’s mothers’ ability to understand said risks and to take appropriate action. Through close work with the Police, Youth Justice Service (YJS), Horizon Team, and the child’s school, a thorough supportive plan was developed.

The plan saw an interim schooling arrangement with the child educated outside of the city, intense work with the child’s mother, allocation of a mentor through St Giles, and intensive disruption by the Police that has seen the perpetrator receive a lengthy custodial sentence.

This plan supported the child to engage with intervention initially via their mentor and then through the YJS, awareness raising work about exploitation was undertaken with the child’s mother, the immediate risks managed through enforcement, and the child was supported back into their main education site.

Cleaner streets, supported by action against fly-tipping

Following a 13% reduction in reported incidents in 202 to 2024, last year saw an increase from 5,929 to 6,428 in 2024 to 2025.

It is positive that the number of fly-tipping referrals has gone up as we want people to report incidents so we can investigate and where possible take enforcement action. It is also therefore positive that the number of enforcement actions has also increased and exceeded the number of referrals received.

We are determined to reduce fly-tipping through a combination of education and enforcement, focussing our efforts on the streets that are causing the most issues. This year the team carried out 6,680 enforcement actions, these include warnings – verbal and written, proactive inspections of businesses, service of notices and fixed penalties, and taking cases to court.

We have an active enforcement presence, deploying several CCTV cameras to locations identified as hot spots for fly-tipping and related offences. These cameras assist in supporting our investigations and have led to positive outcomes in identifying those responsible.

Where evidence is insufficient for formal action, our team continues to issue warnings and provide educational guidance to encourage better community compliance. Investigations that remain live are followed up by officers, this includes visiting affected areas and undertaking doorstep interviews.

We anticipate further enforcement actions as these enquiries progress, and our approach is continuously refined in response to ongoing developments and feedback from residents. The Council also increased the fines for environmental offences from November 2024, announced alongside a communications campaign highlighting this issue and asking for residents to let us know who is committing these crimes.

It is believed that this campaign, including the online ‘Wall of Shame’ has produced encouraging results in terms of public engagement and tip-offs, as a result these have led to the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices.

We work alongside many community groups who carry out litter picks and community events highlighting these issues and this army of volunteers and street champions are vital in identifying those responsible. The Council has invested additional funding in this area as it is a key priority.

We will be installing 6 additional cameras in fly-tipping hot spot locations across the city to deter and capture illegal activity. Cameras are strategically deployed to areas with a high incidence of fly tipping, and their locations are regularly reviewed to ensure we are targeting the most problematic sites.

Amounts of fly-tipping incidents reported and enforcement actions taken per reporting period

Reporting period	Fly-tipping incidents reported	Enforcement actions
2017 to 2018	4,704	3,335
2018 to 2019	6,922	3,925
2019 to 2020	6,955	4,841
2020 to 2021	10,727	6,346
2021 to 2022	8,473	6,402
2022 to 2023	6,840	6,662
2023 to 2024	5,925	6,176
2024 to 2025	6,428	6,680

Protecting children and supporting families to give children the best start in life

Reduction in the number of children in care

Since the introduction of Family Valued in April 2021, there has been a safe reduction year-on-year in the number of children and young people in care in Coventry (unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people are not included in these numbers). The overall number of children in care has reduced across the 3 years from 735 in 2021, to 627 in 2024, and by the end of March 2025 it fell to 614.

A key part of Family Valued was reunification and, since June 2021, 52 children and young people have returned home through this focus. The number of families subject to ongoing care proceedings has also reduced year-on-year, from 137 families in March 2021, to 49 families at the end of March 2025.

The introduction of Family Valued in 2021 saw an initial rise in the number of children requiring a Child Protection Plan. However, this also is now decreasing. In March 2021, there were 465 children in Coventry who had a child protection plan.

In March 2025 the number was 398. We know we need to continue to do more, to continue to safely reduce the number of children who require protection. Repeat referrals to children’s social care The continued focus on embedding the Coventry Family Valued Project, alongside a commitment to delivering high-quality support for children and families, has contributed to a positive reduction in the re-referral rate from 20.9% in March 2024 to 18.6% at year-end 2024 to 2025.

This compares to an England average at 22.4%. Through a multi-agency approach to safeguarding, we have been able to focus on re-referrals to improve our understanding of themes and trends and identify areas of practice improvement required to deliver the best outcomes for children and families.

Repeat referrals to children's social care

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	Statistical Neighbours (%)	England (%)	Target (%)
2017 to 2018	20.9%	23.0%	21.9%	19.0%
2018 to 2019	25.2%	23.1%	22.6%	19.0%
2019 to 2020	24.6%	24.7%	22.6%	19.0%
2020 to 2021	25.0%	23.2%	22.7%	24.0%
2021 to 2022	24.7%	21.2%	21.5%	24.0%
2022 to 2023	19.1%	23.6%	22.4%	24.0%
2023 to 2024	20.9%	22.3%	22.4%	24.0%
2024 to 2025	18.6%	-	-	24.0%

Children in care who have previously been in care

The percentage of children entering care, who were previously in care has decreased from 5.3% in March 2024 to 4.5% in March 2025.

Percentage of new children in care who were previously in care in last 12 months

Reporting period	Percentage
2017 to 2018	8.0%
2018 to 2019	8.1%
2019 to 2020	7.7%
2020 to 2021	5.6%
2021 to 2022	9.6%
2022 to 2023	3.4%
2023 to 2024	5.3%
2024 to 2025	4.5%

Reunification example – Lilly’s Story*

At 17 years old Lilly had a long-standing history of Childrens Services involvement in her and/or her family’s life. The concerns related to neglectful parenting and that Lilly’s mother was not able to meet her needs or keep her safe.

Lilly was made subject to a Child Protection Plan in May 2022 for neglect and Childrens Services sought to support the family to try and help Lilly remain in her family home at this stage. Despite the work and support provided through the Child Protection plan, the concerns continued and in January 2023 Lilly came into Local Authority care in agreement with her mother under Section 20 – she moved into a foster home.

At this stage, Lilly’s father Dave was not working with services, and it was known that he was struggling with substance misuse issues and homelessness. However, following efforts to locate him, Dave accepted support and shared he would like to do whatever was necessary to care for Lilly and for her to live with him.

Dave committed to working with services to address his substance use and a Parenting Assessment was completed which was positive - housing however remained a significant issue. A plan of Reunification was put in place and a referral to the Reunification Team was made.

It was felt that to secure the best possible outcome for Lilly, the family would need all of the support that was available. The Reunification Team offered intensive support and completed intervention with both Dave and Lilly, to build relationships and help them see that a return to Dave’s care could be possible.

The team provided advocacy for Dave in relation to housing and made it a priority to help him secure appropriate housing so that Lilly could return home. Through effective partnership working, Dave was offered appropriate housing and following planning meetings and further support, a transition plan was devised. This involved Lilly having overnight stays initially with her father, before increasing in line with her wishes and feelings before a return to her father’s care permanently in March 2024.

The Reunification Teram remained a constant support following Lilly’s transition home and Dave has always known that he can call his Support Worker at any time for advice, and this would always be responded to. Whilst working with Lilly, she would say that she has always wanted to live with her father, and they have a very close relationship.

Lilly settled well into her father’s care and has remained with him ever since. She has returned to school, to sixth form and is sitting her exams which is a huge achievement given her experiences. The involvement of the Reunification Team ended in January 2025, but the team still often get texts or calls to update on good news and progress.

Dave also engaged in a promotional video for Childrens Services to share his experiences with the Reunification Team and express gratitude for all of the support he was given. The intervention and support offered has made a real difference for this family and highlights how with belief in families, valuing them and their strengths - the right support, at the right time with the right people, shows how change is possible, and reunification can be achieved.

*All names have been changed.

Integrated early help, education partnership work and implementing the Family Valued programme

Supporting families through offering the right help at the right time with the right people

The Early Help Partnership’s Strategy for 2023 to 2025 outlines our shared vision and ambition for Coventry to be “the best city in the UK for all our children, young people, and their families, to live and grow up in".

We aim for children to be valued, feel safe, be healthy, and have opportunities. Through our Early Help offer, we connect people to provide the right help at the right time with the right people, enabling all children and families to thrive.

Early help is primarily delivered through the 8 Family Hubs across the city. The early help offer operates on a connected partnership basis that brings together statutory services, voluntary and community sector and faith-based organisations.

More recently local businesses have offered support. Integrated working to tackle inequalities and their effect on children, young people and families is mobilised across a wide range of partners by multi-agency Early Help outcome groups - assurance around the collective impact of this work is provided regularly to relevant partnership boards including Coventry Safeguarding Children’s Partnership, Health and Wellbeing Board and Marmot Partnership.

Over 2024 to 2025, targeted early help support provided through the Supporting Families programme helped 1,309 families. The relationship between Early Help and Education continues to be strengthened with joint efforts focusing on activating earlier help across early years, schools and further education. The Family Hub Offer continues to be a national trailblazer with Coventry included in an independent national evaluation of best practice and the work receiving national acclaim.

Improving the educational attainment of our children and young people

School performance

From September 2024, Ofsted no longer makes overall effectiveness judgements in inspections of state-funded schools. Therefore, previous data regarding the proportion of pupils in good or outstanding schools is no longer calculated.

All state-funded schools receive individual judgements regarding:

• the quality of education
• behaviour and attitudes
• personal development
• leadership and management

Where relevant, schools will also be judged on their Early Years or Sixth Form provision. As a Local Authority, we are developing systems to monitor performance according to these categories, but national comparison data is not currently available. We will also be considering upcoming changes to the Ofsted inspection framework in monitoring school performance.

Pupil attainment

Key Stage 2

In Summer 2024, 56.7% of children attained the expected standard in the combined measure reading, writing and maths by the end of Key Stage 2. This is a 1 percentage point improvement from 2023, just below our statistical neighbour average, and maintains pace with the national upward trend which also increased by 1 percentage point to 61.3%.

Key Stage 2: % expected standard in reading, writing and maths

Year	Coventry (%)	Statistical Neighbours (%)	England (%)
2016	49.0%	50.0%	53.0%
2017	58.0%	57.0%	61.0%
2018	61.8%	61.6%	64.4%
2019	62.2%	62.0%	64.9%
2020	-	-	-
2021	-	-	-
2022	53.6%	56.2%	58.7%
2023	55.6%	57.1%	59.6%
2024	56.7%	58.0%	61.3%

There has also been a continuing focus on improving Careers Education in our schools with ongoing engagement in the Coventry Careers Hub, delivered in partnership with Think Higher (part of the University of Warwick).

All Coventry schools and Further Education (FE) colleges are engaged with the Coventry Careers Hub, supporting them to improve their achievement against the 8 Gatsby benchmarks (national measures for assessing the quality of careers activity provided by schools).

Support from the Coventry Careers Hub helped schools in the city achieve an average of 6.4 benchmarks being attained (compared to a national average of 5.8). 100% of schools achieved at least 3 benchmarks with 87% achieving at least 4 benchmarks and 35% achieving all 8 benchmarks.

The Local Authority continues to work with schools within the Coventry Education Partnership to identify impactful opportunities for collaboration in school improvement. One such area is the Primary Aspirations Strategy where a steering group oversees a number of projects including the flagship Coventry Primary Aspirations Week event.

Case study

March 2025 saw the second Coventry Primary Aspirations Week take place and it was even bigger and better than in 2024.

Over 3,000 primary school children took part in the week’s events, with volunteers from businesses and organisations across Coventry visiting schools and/or hosting events to talk about job roles, what the organisations do, and to encourage the children to think about their possible careers in the future.

The children, aged between 7 and 11, were given the opportunity to learn about things in a fun way. For example, National Grid gave an insight into their world of work using an interactive app “Now Press Play” which provided a really engaging way of getting children to live the experience of a National Grid employee.

Councillor Dr Kindy Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said:

“It’s really great to see how Primary Aspirations Week has expanded so much for this year. Once again, the feedback we’ve received from schools and children has been nothing but positive. We really wanted to give more children an opportunity to think about their futures and imagine the types of careers they might want to pursue. We know that children’s aspirations are shaped by their life experiences, so we wanted to create an event that gave children an insight into what they could go onto do after school.”

The Primary Aspirations week was launched to coincide with National Careers Week, which aims to support young people in their awareness of future career pathways.

Jo Stanley, the headteacher at Little Heath Primary School, which played host one of the events, said:

“It was a fabulous opportunity for primary children to hear from external speakers who brought their own experiences and skillset to inspire the children. The morning had an immediate impact on the children to think about their own skills and future aspirations outside of the classroom too. Providing opportunities for children to see and hear that they can set goals for their future career, and they do come true, is invaluable for all Coventry pupils.”

Key Stage 4

In 2024 we saw an improvement in the Key Stage 4 results closing the gap with the national position for all attainment measures. Attainment 8 score is the average measure of an individual student's attainment across their 8 best performing subjects taken at GCSE level.

The Attainment 8 score of individual students is then used to help calculate each school and the local authorities’ overall Attainment 8 score. In Summer 2024, the Attainment 8 score for schools in Coventry was 44.3. This is an improvement from 2023, is above statistical neighbours (43.2) and the gap with the national average has closed (England 46.1).

Progress 8 is a 'value-added' measure that indicates how much a secondary school has helped pupils improve (or progress) over a 5-year period. In Summer 2024, the Progress 8 score for schools in Coventry was +0.01. This is now better than both the national (-0.03) and statistical neighbour (-0.14) averages.

Enabling people to live independently

People receiving support from adult social care and their carers

Adult Social Care provides a wide range of services to people across the city. Where people require support from social care, we work with people to maximise their independence and to ensure they receive the right level of support in the right place.

As of 31 March 2025, there were 3,721 people receiving long-term ongoing support from adult social care (a rate of 1,345 per 100,000). Even though the service works in a way that promotes people’s independence, the number of people referred to the service for care and support continues to rise.

This is placing increasing demand on a workforce, which is facing recruitment challenges. Consequently, a risk management prioritisation system is applied to ensure that available resources are targeted appropriately. The percentage of annual reviews completed for 2024 to 2025 was 66% which is an improvement from 2023 to 2024 which was 56%.

In addition, 88% of people in long term support had a review or assessment in 2024 to 2025. Satisfaction with adult social care Satisfaction with Adult Social Care (ASC) in 2024 to 2025 - 67.1% of care and support service users responding to a survey expressed satisfaction in the service they received.

This compares with 64.6% from the last survey conducted in 2023 to 2024. The most recent data we have to compare to elsewhere is for 2023 to 2024 and it indicates satisfaction levels are similar to the national average (England 65.4%).

In addition, we continue to seek views of those in receipt of services and listen to feedback from people throughout the year, not just via the annual survey. Adult Social Care has an equal responsibility for anyone providing unpaid care within the city. Anyone providing necessary care to another adult is entitled to a Carer’s assessment.

We continue to increase our engagement with the community and have held a number of ‘ASC engagement events’ in various locations across the city. This engagement activity has enabled the council to raise awareness of the Adult Social Care offer and how it can be accessed.

Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care and support

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	CIPFA peer group (%)	England (%)
2016 to 2017	62.0%	63.5%	64.7%
2017 to 2018	60.1%	64.0%	65.0%
2018 to 2019	63.4%	64.0%	65.0%
2019 to 2020	63.1%	63.2%	64.2%
2020 to 2021	-	-	-
2021 to 2022	62.0%	63.2%	63.9%
2022 to 2023	60.5%	61.7%	64.4%
2023 to 2024	64.6%	61.5%	65.4%
2024 to 2025	67.1%	-	-

Overall satisfaction of carers with social services

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	CIPFA peer group (%)	England (%)
2016 to 2017	34.3%	37.0%	39.0%
2017 to 2018	N/A	N/A	N/A
2018 to 2019	40.1%	37.0%	39.0%
2019 to 2020	N/A	N/A	N/A
2020 to 2021	N/A	N/A	N/A
2021 to 2022	32.0%	35.9%	36.3%
2022 to 2023	N/A	N/A	N/A
2023 to 2024	33.2%	33.3%	36.7%

Short-term reablement services

As of 31 March 2025, 77.2% of adults who used social care services received short-term help and needed little or no ongoing support. This shows a positive trend over the past 2 years - up from 75.0% in 2022 to 2023 and 76.7% in 2023 to 2024.

This year, we worked closely with health partners through the Improving Lives programme. By co-locating teams and working together, we have shown that care can be better coordinated and more responsive when delivered directly in people’s homes especially during urgent or emergency situations.

The programme focuses on providing joined-up care based on individual needs, rather than fitting people into existing services. It also aims to help Coventry residents stay in their communities for as long as possible, only using hospital care when truly necessary. Early results from the implementation of these local integrated teams are showing positive outcomes for those receiving support.

Case study

Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub is a place where people with dementia and their families can come for information, support and engagement from pre diagnosis onwards, with an emphasis on partnerships and promoting independence and peer support. At the heart of the hub is a social café, offering a space for people to meet and share experiences in a welcoming and comfortable environment.

Hilda's story

Hilda and her niece Pauline tell us in their own words about the impact the service is making:

"I enjoy the company of others, chatting and reminiscing about the past, sharing tea and snacks (I have a sweet tooth). I am independent with personal care, but at times need the reassurance of someone watching me go up and down stairs.

I was born in Coventry and lived on Lentons Lane until I married John and moved to where I currently live. I am a widow, and despite having no children have an incredibly supportive and caring family. My niece Pauline, along with her husband Paul and family help with domestic issues e.g. shopping, laundry etc.

I had a busy working life, I was employed at Lucas Aerospace as a Wirer and Chargehand and was also a Union Rep until retirement. I come from a large family of 10 and have fond memories of childhood and into adulthood, remembering the enjoyable parties and social gatherings. I still enjoy music and can recall the happy times dancing with my husband John.

I had many hobbies and interests during married life; fishing, going to support Coventry City Football Club with family, going to watch Brandon Bees at the Speedway. I love to reminisce about past family holidays and holidayed abroad every year with my husband and sister. As recently as 2000 I went to Florida with Pauline and her family."

Hilda’s outreach sessions started in June 2023 and have proved to be of benefit to Hilda and her family. The feedback from Pauline, Hilda’s niece is testament to this as they messaged the team to say:

“On behalf of Paul and myself we would like to thank you so much for your kindness to Hilda and you made her feel so happy. All the family would like to say thank you”. 

Preventing and relieving cases of homelessness

In 2024 to 2025, the Council supported 1,161 households to avoid becoming homeless or to move out of homelessness. This is very similar to the previous year, when 1,164 households were helped, showing that our support remains consistent.

This was achieved at a time when around 156 households a week contacted us for help regarding a housing issue. This year, we were able to help a higher proportion of households when compared to 2023 to 2024. Over half (51%) of those at risk were able to stay in their current home or move into another suitable place. This is an improvement from 43% the year before.

We also helped more people who had already lost their homes. One in 4 (25%) were supported into suitable accommodation, up from 22% the previous year. We continue to face serious challenges, especially due to the limited supply of affordable homes, both for rent privately and through social housing.

Integrating our refugee and migrant communities

Coventry reinforces its commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive city for all. Building on a legacy of success, we seek to adapt and evolve to address the unique challenges faced by our refugee and migrant communities. Our efforts continue to align with the One Coventry Plan.

Responding to global humanitarian crisis

Coventry, as a city of peace and reconciliation, remains a place of sanctuary for high numbers of those seeking refuge from global crisis in the UK. We continue to extend our support to Afghan, Ukrainian, and Hong Kong communities, prioritising long-term integration and self-sufficiency.

UK Resettlement Scheme - building on a decade of success

Celebrating 10 years of our Migration Team and resettlement programme, we proudly reflect on welcoming 1,469 refugees since 2014.

Adapting to policy shifts

Coventry City Council continues to navigate an evolving national policy environment by proactively engaging with new legislation and calls for evidence, such as the Asylum Accommodation Delivery and Impact inquiry.

In doing so, the Council seeks to strengthen safeguarding provisions and foster deeper collaboration with voluntary and community sector partners to ensure responsive and joined-up services for those impacted. In response to the Carers Act 2022, the Council has worked in partnership with Central England Law Centre to support migrant care workers affected by employment uncertainties.

This collaboration ensures individuals are informed of their rights and entitlements and promotes fair working conditions across the sector. The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains a significant area of delivery.

As of 2 May 2025, Coventry has welcomed 641 Ukrainian nationals displaced by the ongoing conflict. Through housing pathways and effective coordination, the Council has minimised homelessness presentations, supporting the city’s commitment to inclusive resettlement and integration.

Migration in numbers: April 2024 to March 2025

• over 1,500 asylum seekers supported including assistance with signposting and referrals to key integration services such as housing support, civic orientation, language, welfare benefits
• 41 women helped to improve wider integration outcomes i.e. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), digital and financial literacy skills
• 112 refugees resettled. This includes 55 adults and 57 children
• 91 refugees completed intensive English language course linked to employment support provided by Adult Education Service and the Migration Team
• 90 clients supported into employment
• 37 volunteers trained some of whom are actively contributing to City Council projects and services
• 109 Hong Kong (British National Overseas) received
• 1,493 dispersed asylum seekers in Coventry
• 180 Ukrainian new arrivals under the Homes for Ukraine scheme

Empowering new arrivals to thrive

We have developed an enhanced support package for new arrivals including our specialist intensive English Language course with vocational specific language training, to increase the employment opportunities that refugees and newly arrived communities can access.

Our employment support has expanded to include a volunteer placement programme, offering diverse opportunities for valuable work experience and community and integration.

Case study - Nataliya Korovina

Nataliya and her loved ones faced great difficulty, but despite their uncertain future, they worked to construct successful, new lives for themselves here in Coventry. Below, Nataliya explains her story and her approach to finding employment.

"My name is Nataliya Korovina. I'm 42 years old and from Ukraine, the most beautiful and incredible country for the Ukrainian people! I had the happiest life in Ukraine, enjoying work as an interpreter and guide for foreign guests. Touring guests in one of the most attractive Ukrainian cities, Lviv, was a joy! I have three children who studied in the best schools. They had kind teachers and wonderful friends. Two of them were even preparing for their proms.

But one day, on 24 February 2022, everything changed forever. Our plans and dreams were destroyed because of one word, war. Consumed with shock during the first few days, we watched as our neighbours fled with their children, carrying only one bag. It was as if they tried to put their whole life into this one bag.

A terrible siren sound echoed through the streets, waking us up. We had then spent numerous days and hours in our house's cold, wet basement.

However, our so-called 'bomb shelter' couldn't drown out the whistles of missiles and the loud sounds of explosions. Our children were exhausted by this dreadful lifestyle, and so was I. So, we decided to migrate to the UK.

In Coventry, we started a new life. We were lucky to get the best sponsor, our dearest friend, priest Father Stephen. My next effort was to find employment. I tried to find a job as an interpreter to allow me to help other Ukrainian refugees.

I got considerable help from Coventry City Council and my job coach, who helped me to write my CV and prepare for interviews. I applied for the job of Multilingual Educational Assistant. It was my second application. I was invited to an interview and got a job! I love my job and am delighted to support Ukrainian school children by translating for them!"

 Reflecting on her admirable journey, Nataliya added:

"Thank you to the people of Britain for their invaluable help and support of Ukrainian refugees! And thank you to the staff at Coventry City Council, who supported us in every step of building our new life!"

Coventry City Council remains committed to creating a welcoming environment and shared prosperity, where everyone can thrive, contribute to our community, and build successful futures.

Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change

Tackling the causes and consequences of climate change have resulted in:

• 21.7% of energy for Council buildings from renewable sources (2024 to 2025)
• 61% of planning policies in line with the Global Goals for climate action (2024 to 2025)
• 32.0% Household waste recycled & composted (2024 to 2025)
• 97% of principal roads in a good/acceptable condition (2024 to 2025)
• 86% of unclassified roads in a good/acceptable condition (2024 to 2025)
• 2,133 Electric vehicle charging points in the city (2024)
• 75 Council vehicles that are zero carbon emission (from 4 in 2021) (2024)
• 273 Car occupant road casualties (2024)
• 44 Cyclist road casualties (2024)
• 98 Pedestrian road casualties (2024)
• 18 Powered two-wheeler casualties (2024)

An overview of performance

Metric	Previous	Current	Comparators	Progress	Target	Status
Carbon dioxide emissions from local authority operations	8,239 tonnes (-0.4%) (2023 to 2024)	Not available	N/A	Barrier	To decrease	Barrier
Increased use of renewable energy and heat decarbonisation (Household Survey respondents, score out of 35 based on answers to 7 questions, high is good)	New metric, no data available	23 out of 35	N/A	?	To increase	Barrier
Air quality Nitrogen dioxide levels (NO2) - number of diffusion tubes monitored where average annual concentrations exceed 40 µg/m3 (the legal limit)	1 out of 75 (2023)	Not available	N/A	Barrier	To decrease	Barrier
CDP carbon disclosure score	A- (2023 to 2024)	B (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Cross	A	Cross
Proportion of trips into/ out of central Coventry made by light vehicles (Survey)	78% (2023)	Not available (data collected bi-annually)	TfWM 62% (2021)	Barrier	To decrease	Barrier
Road casualties by road user type - car occupant	295 (out of 498, 59%) (2023)	273 (out of 467, 58%) (2024)	TfWM 66% (2023)	Tick	To decrease	Tick
Road casualties by road user type - pedestrian	89 (out of 498, 18%) (2023)	98 (out of 467, 21%) (2024)	TfWM 17% (2023)	Cross	To decrease	Cross
Road casualties by road user type - cyclist	62 (out of 498, 12%) (2023)	44 (out of 467, 9%) (2024)	TfWM 7% (2023)	Tick	To decrease	Tick
Road casualties by road user type - powered two-wheeler (includes pillion passengers)	23 (out of 498, 5%) (2023)	18 (out of 467, 4%) (2024)	TfWM 5% (2023)	Tick	To decrease	Tick
Electric vehicle charging points in the city	1,277 (2023)	2,133 (2024)	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Usage of electric vehicle charging points in the city	1,063,197 kWh (2023)	1,096,504 kWh (2024)	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Principal roads (A roads) in a good/ acceptable condition	98% (2023 to 2024)	97% (2024 to 2025)	England 96% (2022 to 2023)	Cross	95%	Tick
Non-principal roads (B and C roads) in a good/acceptable condition	98% (2023 to 2-24)	98% (2024 to 2025)	England 94% (2022 to 2023)	=	95%	Tick
Unclassified roads in a good/acceptable condition	87% (2023 to 2024)	86% (2024 to 2025)	England 83% (2022 to 2023)	Cross	85%	Tick
Pavements without defects present	48% (2023 to 2024)	46% (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Cross	50%	Cross
Council vehicles that are zero carbon emission	73 (31 March 2024)	75 (31 March 2025)	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Household waste recycled and composted	34.2% (2023 to 2024)	32.0% (2024 to 2025)	WMCA 33.4% (2023 to 2024), England 42.3% (2023 to 2024)	Cross	To increase	Cross
Biodiversity net gain (measure of habitat creation and conservation)	Metric to be defined, no data available	Metric to be defined, no data available	N/A	Barrier	To increase	Barrier
Advice on carbon reduction and green measures to schools	46	88	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Advice on carbon reduction and green measures to businesses	67 Coventry businesses supported	151 Coventry businesses supported	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Number of planning policies in line with the Global Goals for climate action	Local Plan adopted Policies 2017 Local plan review developing further policies	61% (38 out of 62 planning policies are totally in line with the Global Goals for climate change) Local Plan review promoting higher building standards – subject to ongoing process	-	?	To increase	Barrier
New funding for environmental technologies and management	£12.373m	£21.5m	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick

 

Climate Change - Climate Change Strategy

Coventry is aiming to become the UK’s leading sustainable green city. We want to take a central role in the Green Industrial Revolution and improve life for everyone who lives and works here.

This means helping local people gain the skills they need for new green jobs, creating more parks and green spaces to support nature and wellbeing, and making homes and buildings more energy efficient to help cut bills and reduce emissions.

We know that climate change is a serious challenge, but it’s also a chance to make things better—for our health, our environment, and our economy. By taking action now, we can create a cleaner, greener and more prosperous future for Coventry.

The Council has a key role to play in this. Tackling climate change is one of the top priorities in the One Coventry Plan, and we’re committed to leading the way.

Community involvement

It’s important that we understand the views of residents, businesses, and organisations across Coventry when it comes to climate change and sustainability. Their input helps shape our approach and make sure it reflects the priorities of the people who live and work here.

While the Council has a leading role in tackling climate change and building a more sustainable future, we can’t do it alone—we need to work together with communities and build widespread support. When consulted, over 80% of people said they were ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ about climate change. Many also said they were worried about the future, especially for younger generations.

Some of the most common concerns raised included a call for the Council to be more ambitious, more chances for communities to get involved in projects, protecting green spaces and trees, and greater support for making homes more energy efficient. We’ve listened to this feedback and made changes to the Strategy to reflect what matters most to local people.

At the same time, around 19% of respondents told us they don’t see climate change and sustainability as major concerns. We recognise that not everyone is motivated by environmental issues, but many of our key actions— like making homes warmer, lowering energy bills, creating greener streets, improving air quality, and generating new job opportunities—will benefit everyone, regardless of their views on climate change.

Route to net zero pathway

As well as net zero by 2050, the Council is also striving to achieve a 68% reduction by 2030 in line with government targets. This will require national drivers and significant investment from government, coupled with activity at a local level.

The Council have entered into a 15-year Strategic Energy Partnership with E.ON to take a bold and innovative approach to decarbonising the city at pace and scale – more of which is detailed below.

Analysis of carbon emissions per sector, identified homes and transport as 2 priorities as the 2 biggest sources of emissions (30% and 29% respectively). Industry (16%), commercial buildings (15%) and waste (10%) are also key sectors where action needs to be focussed.

Council’s carbon emissions

The Council’s carbon footprint includes emissions from activities that are directly under its control. This covers things like energy use in Council buildings, fuel used by fleet vehicles, staff travel for work, street lighting, and emissions from services the Council outsources.

In 2024 to 2025, energy use across Council buildings fell by 3.8%, even though the number of buildings increased. However, overall carbon emissions went up by 2%. This was due to unexpected changes in the carbon impact of grid electricity and the city’s Heatline system, which cancelled out the energy savings.

Despite this small rise in emissions, the Council’s operational buildings have still achieved a 51% reduction in emissions compared to the 2017 baseline. This means the Council has already exceeded the UK’s public sector target of a 50% reduction by 2032.

The Council remains committed to cutting emissions even further. It will continue to secure funding and work with the Strategic Energy Partnership to help reach the next target - a 75% reduction by 2037.

The Council continues to invest in projects to boost energy efficiency, reduce the use of fossil fuels, and increase the amount of renewable energy linked to its operations.

In 2024 to 2025, £1.87m was invested in building upgrades, including installing LED lighting, low carbon heating systems, and solar panels. Key headline statistics for the operational property estate are as follows:

• number of solar systems installed - 37
• total solar PV capacity installed - 1,462 kWp
• 2024 to 2025 electricity generated from solar PV - 849,154 kWh
• 2024 to 2025 waste heat used via district heating – 1,728 MWh
• 2024 to 2025 proportion of energy used from renewable sources - 21.7%
• 2024 to 2025 proportion of energy used from local renewable sources – 14.5%
• number of buildings with low carbon heating – 42 (out of 175)

Please note: that more may be added when the 2024 data becomes available.

Carbon disclosure

CDP is a respected global non-profit organisation that runs the world’s largest system for tracking and reporting environmental impact. It is recognised by the UK Government and provides a platform for cities, companies, and regions to understand their environmental performance, compare with others, and follow best practices.

In 2024, Coventry City Council received a “B” score from CDP. This is slightly lower than the “A-” score achieved the previous year, but still matches the average score for cities in the region and around the world. Despite this, the Council remains fully committed to improving its performance and aims to achieve an “A” score next year.

With the new Climate Change Strategy now in place and publicly available, the Council is confident it can build on its progress and strengthen its environmental leadership.

Strategic Energy Partnership

Coventry City Council joined forces with E.ON in 2023, to launch an innovative 15-year joint venture partnership, the first of its kind in the UK. This is an important partnership for the city to help us achieve our ambitions to lead the Green Industrial Revolution.

The first 20 months of the Strategic Energy Partnership has seen a huge amount of activity, laying the foundation for significant impact in future years. The interventions will support a reduction in carbon emissions across the city by up to 65% by 2038, from the baseline year of 2021.

There are a number of projects in development which include energy efficiency initiatives in schools, council buildings, homes and electric vehicle charging vehicles. The Council’s electricity supply contract now has an increased proportion from renewable sources compared to the previous supplier and flexibility to increase the proportion of renewable energy in future years.

The Strategic Energy Partnership are also developing a pipeline of potential innovation projects, working with start-ups and technology firms to use Coventry as a “living lab” to benefit from new technology.

Examples of recent innovation activity include:

• a pilot a scheme targeted at customers in fuel poverty, by helping them to manage energy costs through battery storage and time of use tariffs. This has allowed 17 homes to reduce their energy bills and as a result EON has won a Utility Week Flexibility Inclusion Award
• a drone survey allowed us to measure the energy efficiency of thousands of homes in Hillfields, our first Net Zero Neighbourhood. This in turn will help identify residents who are eligible for grant programmes and target energy improvements in their homes
• the partnership is also delivering significant social value an estimated £1.3 million worth of social benefit was committed from September 2023 to March 2025. Some of the initiatives that have taken place include:
  • engaging with school pupils on energy efficiency, and a sustainability workshop with 880 young people in the city was held
  • working with child social care leavers on work experience placements focussing on communication skills and career opportunities

Residential retrofit

Thirty percent of the city’s emissions come from residents’ homes. Over 100,000 homes across the city are estimated to have energy performance certificates (EPC) below C, where A represents most efficient, and G least efficient.

Retrofitting domestic properties is key to addressing this as well as tackling inequalities; by reducing fuel poverty, energy bills and carbon emissions, and improving climate resilience, especially for the most vulnerable residents in our community.

The importance of this cannot be understated, with 22.2% of Coventry households currently living in fuel poverty.

Some of the developments in this area include:

• accelerating action on domestic we have successfully attracted almost £30m external grant funding to support residents across 2500 homes across all housing tenures in the city
• maximising employment opportunities from this perspective, a partnership with Citizen, Coventry College and the employers Westdale and Dyson Energy Services has resulted in more than 30 residents moving into employment within the Retrofit sector to date
• Year 5 children were engaged through a pilot ‘Retrofit Rocks’ project at St Augustin’s School in Radford to raise awareness of improving insulation and retrofit funding to encourage increased participation levels. The University are now supporting the development of resources to be made available to schools across the city [https://warwick.ac.uk/research/partnerships/place-based-research/our-projects/placebasedresearchandculture/housingretrofitting]
• development of the use of virtual reality headsets to illustrate and explain what retrofitting a home looks and feels like, as a tool to help sell the benefits of retrofit to the public being developed with benefitting residents and Warwick University

Case study - Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) is a government-funded scheme aiming to improve the energy efficiency of social housing in England. It is designed to bring social houses up to an energy performance certificate (EPC) Band C, delivering warmer homes with reduced carbon emissions and fuel bills, helping to tackle fuel poverty.

The Council is nearing the end of delivery of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 2 programme, working in partnership with Citizen Housing to support retrofit measures in over 2,000 social housing properties across Coventry.

Wave 2 of SHDF started in April 2023 and is on target to complete works to over 2,000 properties before the scheme end date in September 2025, with over 1,500 homes completed by March 2025 and over 1,800 started.

The work, which is co-funded by Citizen Housing, follows a fabric first approach, installing external wall insulation, energy efficient doors and windows, increasing loft insulation and improving ventilation to reduce the potential for mould growth.

Supporting businesses to reduce their carbon footprint

A significant part of the Authority’s support offer to Coventry businesses entails helping firms to adapt to climate change and reducing their carbon emissions. In 2024 to 2025, the Authority delivered a series of Energy Audits which were funded through UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Business Energy Advice Service (BEAS), and capital grants to support businesses to invest in energy and resource efficiency measures.

During 2024 to 2025, 151 Coventry businesses received Energy Audits, and 64 businesses received £1.171m in capital grants to make investments to improve their energy and resource efficiency (e.g. solar panels, LED lights) which resulted in a cumulative saving of 235 tonnes of carbon. The Green Business Network’s membership had also expanded to 4,306 members across the WMCA area and Warwickshire.

Circular economy

In 2024 to 2025, Coventry generated approximately 115,000 tonnes of municipal waste, with just 3.2% sent to landfill. The majority of Coventry’s non-recyclable waste is processed at the Bar Road Energy-from-Waste facility, located near the city centre.

Over the years, this facility has undergone significant upgrades to enhance its efficiency. It now not only generates electricity but also supplies heat to several key buildings across the city through the Heatline network. Beneficiaries include the Council House, The Wave leisure centre, Coventry Cathedral, and soon, the Coventry University campus.

A major milestone in the city’s recycling efforts was the opening of the Sherbourne Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in 2023. This £58 million, state-of-the-art facility, developed in partnership with 8 local councils, is situated alongside the existing Bar Road site on London Road. In 2024 to 2025, it processed over 140,000 tonnes of recyclable materials, significantly boosting regional recycling capacity.

Equipped with AI-powered robotic sorting technology, the MRF ensures high-quality recyclate, which is sold exclusively to UK-based manufacturers. This not only supports the circular economy but also helps Coventry expand the range of materials it can recycle, an essential step toward meeting the city’s environmental goals. In 2024 to 2025 alone, over 24,000 tonnes of recyclable materials collected from Coventry households were treated at the new facility.

The city’s recycling rate reduced from 34.2% in 2023 to 2024 to 32.0% in 2024 to 2025 and continues to remain below the national average of 42.3%. Efforts are ongoing to identify and overcome barriers to recycling participation and to encourage more residents to engage with recycling services.

To support these efforts, all recycling collection vehicles are now equipped with in-cab data collection systems. These devices gather detailed, service-specific information about the waste collected, enabling the council to better understand recycling behaviours and target education and support to areas where it’s needed most.

Household waste recycled and composted

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	WMCA (%)	England (%)
2015 to 2016	30.3%	36.7%	43.0%
2016 to 2017	29.9%	36.9%	43.7%
2017 to 2018	32.9%	36.1%	43.2%
2018 to 2019	34.1%	34.7%	43.5%
2019 to 2020	33.4%	34.8%	43.8%
2020 to 2021	34.0%	32.7%	42.3%
2021 to 2022	28.6%	31.6%	42.5%
2022 to 2023	30.5%	32.7%	41.7%
2023 to 2024	34.2%	33.4%	42.3%
2024 to 2025	32.0%	-	-

The #CovConnects programme is creating a new circular economy in the city through repairing and refurbishing laptops that are distributed to members of the public who would otherwise be digitally excluded.

Affordable access to heating and insulation - keeping Coventry warm

Fuel poverty remains a serious issue in Coventry, affecting 22.2% of households -  and in some areas, the rate is as high as 60%. The cost-of-living crisis combined with many older, energy inefficient homes means that there is an urgent need to support struggling households.

Keeping Coventry Warm is the Council’s main affordable warmth programme, run by local energy charity Act on Energy. It’s funded by the Council’s Public Health team, the Better Care Fund, and the Disabled Facilities Grant. The scheme offers a wide range of support, including advice and guidance on energy efficiency and fuel poverty, as well as grants for physical improvements in the home.

The scheme focuses on helping those most at risk—particularly low-income residents and people with long-term health conditions or other vulnerabilities who are affected by living in cold homes. Grants are available for things like first-time central heating, boiler repairs and replacements, and wall and roof insulation, all aimed at making homes warmer, more comfortable, and healthier to live in.

In 2024 to 2025, the advice service supported over 1,600 residents across the city. The grant funding also delivered 61 energy-saving measures to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of homes. Every household that received physical improvements reported better health and wellbeing and lower energy bills— highlighting the real, lasting impact of the scheme.

Air quality

Like many towns and cities throughout the UK, roadside pollution levels, especially those resulting from Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) emissions from traffic, and Particulate Matter (PM), are a concern.

NO2 levels measured across various roadside locations in Coventry have been improving. However, poor air quality affects different communities disproportionately. More detailed information about current and historic mean annual NO2 levels across Coventry’s diffusion tube sites can be found on the Council’s website.

The Environmental Protection (EP) Team is collaborating with Public Health and external partners including other local authorities, the University of Birmingham and the West Midlands Combined Authority. This work on air quality monitoring and research includes the installation of 10 Particulate Matter (PM) air quality sensors and a newly launched West Midlands air quality data platform.

Research on wood burning stoves, indoor air quality and resident’s behaviour has also been undertaken. Air quality has been prioritised within the latest Public Health, Health Protection Joint Strategy across Coventry and Warwickshire. Please note that we are unable to report on the Indicator for this section as the data wasn’t ready to be included.

Transport

The Council adopted the Coventry Transport Strategy in December 2022, setting the Council’s objectives and vision for transport within the city. Core objectives are:

• support the city’s economic recovery and enable long-term growth
• deliver a sustainable, low-carbon transport system
• ensure equality of opportunity x Maximise health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities

The metrics contained within this report reflect progress being made towards achieving these objectives, including the increase in both electric charging points (1,277 in 2023 to 2024 to 2,133 charging points in 2024 to 2025) and the usage of these charging points as well as the increase in Council vehicles with zero carbon emission while acknowledging there is more to be done.

Implementation of the strategy is advancing with funding secured from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) and sources such as the Active Travel Fund to bring forward a range of schemes aimed at delivering a safe and sustainable transport network within the city.

All electric bus city

Implementation of the £130 million project (£50 million Government grant, the remainder from the bus companies) to fully electrify the bus fleet operating in Coventry is close to completion, with 140 electric buses being operated by National Express and 64 being operated by Stagecoach, making 204 electric buses operational by Summer 2025, and orders being prepared by National Express, Transport for West Midlands and Warwickshire County Council for the final buses required to operate contracted services in the city.

Electric vehicle charge point network

Coventry City Council is continuing to grow the city’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network using a mix of Government grants and private sector investment. As a result, there are now 2,133 publicly available EV charge points across the city.

To put this into perspective, Coventry has 586 charge points per 100,000 people— the highest number in the region and the highest in the UK outside of London.

This major investment is helping to support the shift to cleaner transport. As of July 2024, around 4,300 battery electric vehicles and 3,000 plug-in hybrids were registered in Coventry—numbers that continue to grow as more residents make the switch to electric.

Cycling infrastructure

The delivery of a safe core cycle network that enables cyclists to complete the bulk of their journey without sharing road space with cars is essential to support the Transport Strategy and One Coventry objectives of achieving a healthier population.

Sharing road space with traffic is identified as one of the key barriers to cycling when our residents have been surveyed, with many people wanting to cycle more, for environmental and fitness reasons, but being put off by the prospect of having to cycle in traffic.

Progress has been made with the delivery of the cycle network, with the Coundon Cycleway now planned for extension to Keresley SUE (Sustainable Urban Extension) during 2025, the completion of the Binley Cycleway programmed for 2025 to 2026, and sections of the London Road cycleway opening in Spring 2025.

Routes have also been completed in and around the University of Warwick, with further extensions planned improving connectivity between the campus and the city centre. The West Midlands Cycle Hire (WMCH) scheme continues to be successful in Coventry with, on average, around 2,600 journeys per week being completed (for May 2025, a 10% increase against May 2024) in Coventry, this representing just over half of all WMCH trips made across the WMCA area.

Road safety

Reducing the number of people killed or injured whilst using the transport network remains a core priority and progress continues to be seen in reducing the number of casualties, with 467 casualties in 2024 compared to 498 in 2023. There was also a reduction in serious injuries and fatalities from 96 to 78.

Casualties by road user

Year	Powered 2-wheelers	Cyclists	Pedestrians	Car occupants
2020	31	42	86	318
2021	26	64	97	311
2022	28	54	113	288
2023	23	62	89	295
2024	18	44	98	273

The Average Speed Enforcement programme continues to be implemented on the routes across the city with next phase of the programme, covering three corridors of Engleton Road, Moseley Avenue and Four Pounds Avenue, Wheelwright Lane and Holbrook Lane and Alderman’s Green Road including Parrotts Grove, were planned for the Spring of 2025.

Research shows a clear connection between speed and serious collisions, which is why the Council has made Average Speed Enforcement a key focus of its road safety efforts in recent years.

The first School Streets schemes are now in place. These involve roads being closed outside 5 schools during the times of day when children are arriving at or leaving school to improve the safety of road users, and especially vulnerable road users.

The impact of these schemes is currently being monitored and will determine how and where further schemes could be introduced in the future. The Earlsdon Liveable Neighbourhood project has also now been implemented following an extensive community engagement that saw the scheme co-designed with residents.

The scheme aimed to re-purpose streets to make it easier and safer for people to walk around their local community, whilst retaining access for those who need to use a car and for service traffic. Work also continues to upgrade traffic signals to make them operate more efficiently and to provide improved crossing points for pedestrians, further funding was secured to deliver improved crossings during 2024 to 2025.

Maintenance

Road and footway condition data indicates that Coventry’s network is in good condition, with the road network being in a better condition than the national average for most types of Roads.

In 2024 to 2025, 97% of our principal roads (A roads) are in good or acceptable condition – higher than the England average of 96%. A similar trend for Non-principal roads (B and C roads) with 98% of these roads in good or acceptable condition.

With pavements without defects, we have seen a reduction in performance from 48% last year to 46% this year (2024 to 2025). It is important to note that we continue to have high volumes of defective footways compared to other authorities. This is because we have a much greater percentage of paved footways, prone to cracking and lifting. Most other authorities have mainly asphalt footways.

Public transport

Whilst the Council does not operate bus or rail services, it is an active participant in both the West Midlands Rail Executive and the Bus Enhanced Partnership covering the WMCA area.

The Council is also actively engaging with the Bus Reform Panel, which is overseeing the review of how bus services are managed within the WMCA area, which has resulted in the WMCA Mayor taking the decision to progress with the franchising of bus services within the WMCA area. For Coventry, this means that bus services will be operated under direct contract to the WMCA from 2027, and the City Council will work closely with regional colleagues to secure the best outcome for city residents and businesses.

Whilst bus patronage remains below pre-COVID levels, the Council has worked closely with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) to ensure that the bus service network has been retained at broadly the previous level of service. Rail patronage across the four stations in Coventry saw just under 7.5 million passenger journeys made during 2023 to 2024, but this is only 83% of the figure for 2019 to 2020.

Coventry Station remains the second-busiest station within the West Midlands, whilst patronage at Canley Station has returned to a higher level than the pre-COVID figure, but financial challenges within the rail industry remain a significant issue.

Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR)

The City Council has been leading a major research and development programme to bring forward an innovative new public transport system for the city, using a light-weight, battery powered, vehicle operating on a track form that is cheaper, easier and quicker to install than a conventional tram system.

In recent years, the vehicle and track form have been undergoing rigorous testing at various locations, with a key milestone being achieved in May 2025 with the construction of the first section of track on public highway in Coventry city centre.

This demonstrator, in Greyfriars Road and Queen Victoria Road, saw the installation of a 220 metre long section of track in just 8 weeks, without the need for costly utility diversions.

The CVLR vehicle operated on this section of track in June 2025 as a demonstration of the technology, and funding has been secured to commence the design of the next section of demonstration route in the city.

Continued financial sustainability of the Council

Continued financial sustainability of the Council has resulted in:

• £341m Business rates total rateable value (2024 to 2025)
• 94.3% Business rate collection rate (2024 to 2025)
• 93.4% Council tax collection rate (2024 to 2025)
• 4,195 full-time equivalent employees in the Council (March 2025)
• 13.7 days of staff sickness per full-time equivalents (2024 to 2025)
• 14% staff turnover rate (2024 to 2025)
• 570,077 transactions completed through self-service channels (2024 to 2025)
• 95.7% of households can access full fibre internet (2024)
• 69 National Databank hubs in Coventry, supporting digital inclusion, championed by #CovConnects (March 2025)

An overview of performance

Metric	Previous	Current	Comparators	Progress	Target	Status
Business rates total rateable value (and collection rate)	£342m 95.6% (2023 to 2024)	£341m 94.3% (2024 to 2025)	WMCA 95.9% (2023 to 2024), England 97.2% (2023 to 2024)	Cross	≥ 97%	Cross
Council tax collection rate	93.7% (2023 to 2024)	93.4% (2024 to 2025)	WMCA 94.2% (2023 to 2024), England 95.9% (2023 to 2024)	Cross	≥ 94%	Cross
Core employee headcount (full-time equivalents, fte)	4,188 (March 2024)	4,195 (March 2025)	N/A	?	None set	Barrier
Council staff sickness absence (rolling twelve-month period)	13.5 days per fte (2023 to 2024)	13.7 days per fte (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Cross	To decrease	Cross
Spend on agency staff	£11,111,652 (2023 to 2024)	£9,556,560 (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Tick	To decrease	Tick
Participation in the staff survey	2,173 (40%) (October 2023)	No update available	TfWM 66% (2023)	Barrier	To increase	Barrier
Workforce representative of the citywide population compared to Coventry population (2021 Census, ONS) - 5 parts (ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation as the under-represented groups in CCC)					To be more representative of the city	Barrier
Part 1 - % of workforce aged 16-34 (compared to Coventry population aged 16-67)	19.20% (March 2024)	19.00% (March 2025)	43.88% (Coventry Census 2021)	=	To be more representative of the city	=
Part 2 - Legal sex profile of workforce (compared to Coventry population aged 16- 67)	Female - 68.23% Male - 31.77% (March 2024)	Female - 68.1% Male - 31.9% (March 2025)	Female - 49.7% Male - 50.3% (Coventry Census 2021)	=	To be more representative of the city	=
Part 3 - % of workforce that is Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (compared to Coventry population aged 16- 67)	22.61% (March 2024)	24.5% (March 2025)	34.9% (Coventry Census 2021)	Tick	To be more representative of the city	Tick
Part 4 - % workforce declaring a disability (compared to Coventry population aged 16- 67)	6.91% (March 2024)	7.00% (March 2025)	15.45% (Coventry Census 2021)	=	To be more representative of the city	=
Part 5 - % % workforce from LGB+ community (compared to Coventry LGB+ population aged 16-64)	3.12% (March 2024)	3.60% (March 2025)	3.76% (Coventry Census 2021)	Tick	To be more representative of the city	Tick
Number of transactions completed through self-service channels	455,612 (2023 to 2024)	570,077 (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Tick	To increase	Tick
Households with access to full fibre internet	95.4% (2023)	95.7% (2024)	England 67% (2024)	Tick	To increase	Tick
Households at risk of digital exclusion (% of adult residents - Coventry Household Survey respondents)	Metric in development no data available	16% (2024 to 2025)	N/A	?	To decrease	Barrier
Sustainable medium-term financial position	Balanced budget 2024 to 2025 – future years show a deficit	Balanced budget 2025 to 2026 – future years show a deficit	N/A	=	Sustainable	Tick
Savings targets met	99% delivered £13.4m out of £13.5m	73% delivered £22.18m out of £30.38m	N/A	Cross	To increase	Cross
Balanced budget position in year	£1.8m overspent (2023 to 2024)	£1.8m underspend (2024 to 2025)	N/A	Tick	To improve	Tick

 

Digital inclusion

Residents are increasingly able to access services and information from the Council digitally. During 2024 to 2025 a total of 570,077 transactions related to Council services were completed through self-service channels, up from 455,612 during 2023 to 2024.

We recognise that not everyone can or wants to interact digitally. The 2024 to 2025 Coventry Household Survey asked several questions of adult residents about their digital skills and confidence and use of services. Across 4 of these questions, using a 4-point scale from ‘Not confident at all’ to ‘Very confident’, 16% of respondents said, ‘Not confident at all’, for at least 1 of these.

While we cannot measure the complexity of digital exclusion with a single statistic, this provides a useful estimate of how many Coventry residents may be at risk of digital exclusion.

#CovConnects

#CovConnects is a city-wide, partnership approach to provide Coventry residents with support and opportunities to access digital technologies, services and support in a way that helps them in their daily lives.

#CovConnects Device Bank

The #CovConnects Device Bank was launched June 2023 to enable voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and internal council services to access end of corporate life Coventry City Council devices for digital inclusion activity.

A boost was received via the WMCA Connected Services programme, which enabled a range of brand-new devices to be added to the Device Bank. By the end of March 2025, the #CovConnects programme had distributed over 4,100 digital devices to more than 150 local charities, community groups, Council teams, and NHS services.

In partnership with the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), we’ve improved how we gather feedback, helping us better understand the long-term impact of the programme. The Digital Reuse and Repair proof of concept is now fully underway, following successful funding from the Virgin Media O2 Time After Time Fund in 2024.

Devices at the end of their corporate life from the NHS ICB Coventry and Warwickshire are now being refurbished and redistributed to digitally excluded residents and communities across the city.

Case study - #CovConnects Device Bank

Migrant Help UK

Migrant Help UK support those in need and least likely to find support elsewhere, whilst aiming to bridge community gaps and bring services and support together.

They received devices from the #CovConnects Device Bank in 2024 to support a wide range of residents. One recipient received a laptop which enabled them to enrol in college, support their English language skills and search for employment, with the support from Migrant Help UK:

“I’m grateful for the support I have received from Migrant Help. They have encouraged me to enrol in College – I am now making really good progress learning English. Most recently as my teacher said she needs to meet us and teach us on teams and I have no way of doing this to progress with my course she was able to support me with a Chromebook also she gave us data, I feel unbelievable blessed and don’t know how I can thank her and Coventry City Council for this kind donation allowing me to learn and look for Jobs, write my CV as I just got Refugee status.”

Community Connectivity

#CovConnects champions the national Good Things Foundation ‘National Databank’, which enables frontline services to gift free sim cards pre-loaded with up to 6 months-worth of data, texts and calls to digitally excluded residents in Coventry.

As of March 2025, there are 69 National Databank hubs in Coventry issuing data. These span council services and VCSE organisations. Over 10,000 SIM cards have been accessed by Coventry residents to date.

We now have a #CovConnects map that shows where digital support, free public access wi-fi, device access and access to sim cards via the National Databank.

In partnership with Jangala, VM02, and Good Things Foundation, we have been able to connect 200 temporary accommodation households.

Collaborating with 12 delivery partners across Coventry, including a mix of charities, community organisations, social housing providers, and specialist health services, households were supported to access up to 12 months of connectivity via ‘Get Box’ connectivity devices, alongside devices.

The full report launched this year identified many and varied outcomes for residents, further demonstrating the importance of focusing on holistic and person-centred digital inclusion initiatives.

Case study: Findings from the #CovConnects and Jangala Get Box Pilot report - ‘Digital lifelines: how Wi-Fi impacts the lives of residents in temporary accommodation’

Meet Pete*

Pete* was recently rough sleeping and is trying to rebuild his life. He went from having a successful career to losing a lot and becoming homeless. He feels digitally excluded and relies on email through public libraries as his main form of communication:

“The cost is always the big thing. I went from a good career and paying my bills to not having any money for a device or the internet. The only place I would know is a library that is free. For someone who has been through a lot, being in a big public library doesn’t help with anxiety.”

In his temporary accommodation, Pete has access to communal computers which use the Get Box Wi-Fi. Pete describes how now he doesn't have to plan how he's going to access the internet, he has internet accessible as and when he needs.

This has been incredibly beneficial for Pete. He's at a point where he's looking up information about future jobs, housing options, areas he might want to live. He says when he's online he's 'part planning, part fantasising' - dreaming about what's possible in the future and building a sense of hope.

Pete has recently found and applied for a drug rehabilitation centre through the internet. He's proud to have been able to have done this himself independently rather than rely on support services:

“Having computers eases that digital poverty a bit. The internet has helped me massively with access to rehab and going to rehab. I’ve researched rehabs, done self-referrals by having the internet and I’ve been accepted into a rehab. Googling and looking at options and doing referrals, it provided me the opportunity to be more proactive.

I use [the internet] to look at how I can get my life back on track. I’d say I use the internet predominantly for a development of a blueprint of how I can get my life back on track. It’s how to keep the flame of hope burning”

*names and key details have been changed to protect anonymity.

Community Skills

The #CovConnects Embedded Digital Champion programme was re-launched in May 2024 to provide Coventry specific digital inclusion awareness training to ensure frontline teams have the knowledge and awareness of the barriers faced by digitally excluded residents. We trained 140 champions by March 2025. #CovConnects has partnered with Digital Unite to continue the work and will now offer to 700 more people.

Finally, #CovConnects facilitate 3 dedicated Digital Inclusion Networks across sectors, with core themes of Older Adults, Homelessness, and more recently, a dedicated English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) digital inclusion network.

These spaces foster opportunity for partners to share best practice, explore funding opportunities, collaborate, but equally explore and understand the often unique and complex barriers to digital inclusion different communities may experience.

Partners and guest speakers are invited periodically to ensure an environment of continuing learning and understanding is created. From March 2024 to April 2025, #CovConnects recorded 180 attendees across the various network meetings.

The Adult Education service, and the Libraries service continue to support residents to gain digital skills. During 2024 to 2025, 509 residents were enrolled on Digital Skills courses, covering a total of 1,389 different courses.

Coventry libraries hosted 653,781 digital sessions involving access to PCs and Wi-Fi, Libraries ran 313 digital events attracting an audience of 2,365 people.

Gigabit internet connectivity coverage

Ninety-nine point eight percent of Coventry households can access good quality fixed internet connectivity, defined as a data service that provides fixed download speeds of at least 10Mbit/s and upload speeds of at least 1Mbit/s.

The telecoms regulator Ofcom measures access to and the performance of fixed internet connectivity and the mobile network in its Connected Nations reports. In terms of gigabit internet connectivity, Coventry is the top-ranked local authority in the West Midlands region and is ranked 5th in the UK.

In December 2024, gigabit availability covered 97.2% of households in Coventry with 95.7% of households able to access Full-Fibre. This is an improvement on the local position in December 2023, where gigabit availability covered 97.0%% of households and 95.4% had full-fibre access.

For context, only 83% of residential premises across England can receive gigabit and only 67% of homes have access to Full-Fibre. Decent internet connectivity can also be accessed through the mobile network using 4G services.

As of December 2024, 95.73% of all premises have a reliable signal for 4G services while indoors from all four network operators (EE, O2, Three & Vodafone), an increase from 95.39% in December 2023.

Our workforce

Workforce Profile

All workforce data is as of 31 March 2025. Whole workforce figures are used, based on headcounts, excluding schools.

Key metrics

Sixty-eight point one percent of Coventry City Council's workforce is female and 31.9% is male, compared to a population of roughly 50/50.

Twenty-four point five percent of the Council’s workforce is from a Minority Ethnic background, which is lower than the 34.9% of Coventry’s population (% of Coventry residents aged 16-67 from 2021 ONS Census). Nine point six percent of the ethnicity of the Council’s workforce is currently unknown, although we are working hard to address this.

Seven percent of the council’s employees have declared a disability compared to 15.5% of Coventry’s population (% of Coventry residents aged 16 to 67 from 2021 ONS Census). For 11.8% of the workforce this is unknown.

Three point six percent of Coventry City Council's workforce is LGB+, compared to 3.8% of all Coventry’s residents (% of Coventry residents LGB+ aged 16 to 64 from 2021 ONS Census). The sexual orientation of 23.2% of the Council's workforce is currently unknown. Currently we have diversity data for 77.4 % of employees.

Change in employee headcount (Full time equivalent (FTE))

The size of the workforce has fluctuated slightly over the last 5 years with a marginal increase in the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number since 2021 but no significant change from 2024 to 2025. The 2025 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number of 4,195 covers the whole of the workforce as of 31 March 2025 (excluding schools).

Employee full time equivalent (fte) count

Year	Total
2021	4075.7
2022	4209.5
2023	4134.0
2024	4188.8
2025	4195.0

Sickness absence

In the 12 months to 31 March 2025 the average days lost due to sickness absence per employee (FTE) was 13.7 compared to 13.5 last year, in the 12 months to 31 March 2024.

Average days lost per employee (fte)

Reporting period	Average amount of days
2019 to 2020	12.7
2020 to 2021	10.5
2021 to 2022	13.0
2022 to 2023	13.3
2023 to 2024	13.5
2024 to 2025	13.7

The top 3 reasons for absence in the 12 months to 31 March 2025 were:

1. Stress, depression and anxiety
2. Musculoskeletal problems
3. Infections, cold and flu

This is the same as the previous year.

Reasons for absence in the 12 months to 31 March 2024

Sickness reason (12 months to selected date)	FTE days lost 12 months	Employees 12 months
Stress, depression, anxiety	20,528.2	658
Other musculo-skeletal problems	8,577.5	424
Infections, colds and flu	4,353.8	1,077

Reasons for absence in the 12 months to 31 March 2025

Sickness reason (12 months to selected date)	FTE days lost 12 months	Employees 12 months
Stress, depression, anxiety	20,444.2	663
Other musculo-skeletal problems	8,240.3	453
Infections, colds and flu	5,850.2	1,335

We continue to support the reduction of absence through targeted interventions utilising the Enabling Attendance Policy, utilising the data we have available and supporting managers with the process.

We aim to support our employees wellbeing in the workplace, focusing on supporting the management of stress, depression, anxiety and musculoskeletal problems, and to continue to build a happy and healthier workforce. We have a number of programmes and initiatives in place including:

• the Mental Wellbeing Support Clinics aimed at supporting employees with mental health issues, addiction and those with neurodiversity, signposting people to access external and internal resources to support their wellbeing
• Healthy Lifestyle clinics, which carry out body metrics and advise on reducing lifestyle-based risk factors
• Menopause Advice Service, supporting those experiencing symptoms to overcome barriers and access the most appropriate treatment and adjustments, including clinics, training and advice to managers, working with the Women’s Network to meet the Menopause Pledge
• the Reasonable Adjustment Programme consisting of webinars for managers, the Personal Adjustment Passport, workplace assessments, case conferences and clear documentation to achieve improved outcomes
• the provision of Occupational Health advice at sickness absence summits to ensure joined up working with managers and the Employee Relations team
• training managers and employees on mental health support, resilience, difficult conversations, preventing suicide and managing stress
• supporting managers with stress risk assessments and stress audits
• the Musculoskeletal (MSK) Programme, including the ergonomic support clinics, early interventions and investigations, pain management service and exercise classes
• neurodiversity training for managers
• work with the Carers Support Network
• 1-to-1 counselling, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), trauma support, and group work for stress and anxiety
• Occupational Health assessments with advice and support for managers and employees

Our Occupational Health and Wellbeing Service has now been awarded the highest status, which is the Gold Award from Thrive [https://www.wmca.org.uk/what-we-do/health-wellbeing-and-prevention/thrive-at-work/].

Workforce equality diversity and inclusion

We are proud of our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion at Coventry.

In April 2024, the Council celebrated the completion of Amplify, a talent development programme specifically for LGBT+ employees and our third positive action programme. A working group was also established to develop our first Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard action plan, this action plan was submitted to the National SC-WRES network in July 2024.

New Accessible Recruitment pages launched in May 2024. They include a summary of available reasonable adjustments and the option for candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions to be matched with employees with similar disabilities to discuss their experience at the Council.

In June 2024, we achieved Disability Confident Leader status. The Council demonstrated we provide an inclusive environment and support for staff, clients and customers to manage their disabilities or health conditions and that we record and report on disability, mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.

The Council’s first Allyship group was formed in July 2024, bringing together 50 colleagues from multiple service areas united in their passion to foster safe and inclusive workplaces and become active allies. In July, we also marked the one-year anniversary of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter with a public progress update.

In September 2024, we launched the Inclusive Interview Panels project to diversify the shortlisting, interviewing and assessment process for all interviews for posts Grade 8 and above. We marked National Inclusion Week for the third time, holding events on psychological safety, courageous conversations and sustainable change in challenging times.

We continued the roll out of bespoke Disability Inclusion Training for Council managers, upskilling colleagues to feel confident to have effective and appropriate conversations about disability and reasonable adjustments.

To date, 172 managers have completed the training, this is 20.11% of Council managers and training will continue throughout 2025.

In October 2024, we launched a new Allyship in the Workplace e-learning module. The training is designed to help us understand the meaning of allyship in the workplace and recognise the impact that a culture of allyship can have in fostering a more inclusive environment overall.

In January 2025, the Council’s second accessibility guide was launched, designed to support colleagues, visitors and candidates with navigating the Council House. We also launched a series of engagement workshops introducing over 600 colleagues to our realigned Council values and behaviours.

We continue to the use the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) calendar to mark a variety of cultural and religious events throughout the year, celebrating events like Disability History Month and International Day of Persons with Disabilities in December 2024, Race Equality Week & LGBT+ History Month in February 2025 and International Women’s Day in March 2025.

Since updating the Council’s Equality Monitoring questions in March 2023, the number of unknowns across Council data has gradually reduced, though there is still work to do to reduce these further and increase the robustness of our workforce data:

Workforce equality diversity and inclusion: unknown data

Category - unknowns	April 2020	March 2025
Ethnicity	15.99%	9.58%
Sexual orientation	44.60%	23.18%
Disability	18.25%	11.8%
Religion	40.57%	21.0%

The Council’s 6 employee networks also continue to grow, offering support and networking for over 850 employees and providing vital challenge to the organisation as we progress with our D&I aspirations.

Employee recognition

Between April 2024 and March 2025, we received 206 Spire Awards nominations; 159 of which were for individuals and 47 for teams. Based on our One Coventry Values, the Spire Awards acknowledge the hard work and dedication of colleagues who have gone that extra mile to support residents, partners and others within the Council.

Council tax collection

The Council Tax collection rate for 2024 to 2025 was 93.4%, slightly down from 93.7% in 2023 to 2024. The collection of in year council tax liabilities remains below historic levels as the legacy of COVID-19 and cost of living crisis continues to impact debt recovery profiles.

The collection of prior year council tax remains strong but the Council acknowledges that some of the debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis will lead to an increase in debt written off in the medium term.

Council tax collected

Reporting period	Coventry (%)	England (%)	Target (%)
2017 to 2018	95.9%	97.1%	96%
2018 to 2019	95.7%	97.0%	96%
2019 to 2020	95.5%	96.8%	96%
2020 to 2021	94.4%	95.7%	96%
2021 to 2022	94.0%	95.9%	95%
2022 to 2023	94.3%	96.0%	95%
2023 to 2024	93.7%	95.9%	95%
2024 to 2025	93.4%	-	94%

Business rates collection

The overall business rates base remains relatively stable despite the impact of redevelopment work around city centre south. The business rates base was £341m for 2024 to 2025 and the collection rate was 94.3%, slightly down on 95.6% in 2023 to 2024.

The in-year collection of business rates has been heavily impacted by a number of companies experiencing insolvency events which has resulted in the Council having to write off several significant business rates liabilities.