Principle B: Ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement
1. Openness
Meetings are open to the public and information is displayed on our website. A weekly public notice is published and displayed at the Council House. Papers are published on the website five working days before a meeting and wherever possible, items are discussed in public. If items are discussed in private, a reason is given for this.
Key Decisions (those which involve financial implications of over £1m or impact substantially on two or more Wards) are published.
Decisions taken by Cabinet and Member Committees are available on the website.
2. Engaging with citizens and stakeholders
The Council engages with citizens/residents and stakeholders in a variety of ways including our website and social media. We also publish a magazine, Citivision, which is delivered to every house in the city and includes news, views and features about the work of the Council and life in Coventry. The magazine includes information about how you can get in touch with your local councillors and reports on the many events taking place in the city.
The Let’s Talk Coventry website is an online platform designed for residents to engage with the Council. You can use it to take part in consultations and surveys, share ideas and join in with discussions. We also use the site to keep residents and stakeholders up to date with how your feedback has led to action from the council.
Information on comments, compliments and complaints is on our website on the speak up, we’re listening section. The Council is committed to putting local people and their needs at the heart of what it does. We want to ensure that people have a positive and trouble-free experience with us in all transactions and interactions. However, sometimes things go wrong. When things go wrong, we encourage people to speak up, so that we can make things right.
The Council has a network of Community Messengers who share information with community and resident groups, as well as a Community Resilience Team, whose role is to develop community initiatives with local people.
The Council has a Faith Partnership which is a joint commitment between faith communities and Coventry City Council to a set of principles that guide engagement, aiming to improve collaborative partnerships, and to promote open, practical working at all levels.