The Finance and Corporate Services Scrutiny Board (1) of Coventry Council met on Wednesday 10 September 2025 to discuss the revenue and capital outturn for 2024-25, proposals for a task and finish group, and the work programme and outstanding issues. The board was also scheduled to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2025.

Revenue and Capital Outturn 2024-25

The board was scheduled to discuss the council's revenue and capital outturn for 2024-25¹, which had previously been reported to the cabinet, the Audit and Procurement Committee, and the council. The report pack included a briefing note and the council report on the topic.

The report pack stated that the overall financial position included:

• An underspend of £1.8m, balanced by a contribution to earmarked reserves.
• Capital Programme expenditure of £128.8m.
• A small increase in the level of available council revenue reserves from £118m to £119m.

According to the report pack, the council had faced significant pressures within both adult and children's social care, and city services, reflecting national issues in most cases. Other overspends were also reported in regeneration and economic development, legal and governance and people and organisational development. These financial pressures were reportedly caused by a combination of continued increases in service demand, complexity of cases and social care market conditions, legacy inflation impacts, income shortfalls due to reduced activity, and slippage in the delivery of some service savings.

The report pack noted that the underlying revenue position had improved by £8.8m since Quarter 3, where an overspend of £7.0m was being forecast. The majority of the improved position reportedly related to increased one-off dividend income within contingency and central budgets. The additional dividends came from Birmingham Airport and Coventry & Solihull Waste Disposal Company (CSWDC).

The report pack included a recommendation that the Finance and Corporate Resources Scrutiny Board note the financial position of the council as shown in the Revenue and Capital Outturn 2024/25 Report, identify any points for further discussion, and identify any further recommendations for the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources, Councillor Richard Brown.

Proposals for Task and Finish Group

The board was scheduled to consider a briefing note regarding the proposal to establish a task and finish group² to look at the support offered to councillors to tackle and mitigate the impact and risk of abuse and intimidation. The Ethics Committee had reportedly been monitoring the work of the Local Government Association (LGA) programme around Civility in Public Life and Digital Citizenship. This work is in response to the increasing concern about intimidation and toxicity of debate and the impact this has been having on democratic processes.

The Ethics Committee was scheduled to receive a report recommending that they request the Finance and Corporate Services Scrutiny Board (1) to establish a task and finish group to provide a member-led approach to developing the council's approach to abuse and intimidation.

In May 2024, the LGA designed a self-assessment tool kit designed to aid local councils in tackling and mitigating the impact and risks of abuse and intimidation that councillors may encounter as part of their role, supporting them to be safe. The initial self-assessment was considered by Ethics Committee and it was proposed that a scrutiny task and finish group provide a member-led approach to delivering the actions and outcomes identified in the self-assessment and to identify further recommendations to support the council's approach in supporting all members of the council against abuse and intimidation.

The report pack included a recommendation that the Finance and Corporate Services Scrutiny Board consider the briefing note and agree in principle to establish a task and finish group to look at the support offered to members to tackle and mitigate the impact and risk of abuse and intimidation.

Work Programme and Outstanding Issues

The board was scheduled to review its work programme for 2025-26. The following items were listed for future meetings:

• Council Investment Portfolio
• Outturn Performance for the Tax year 2024/25
• Diversity and Inclusion, and Community Inclusion
• Workforce KPI's
• Staff Survey Results
• Recruitment and retention
• Distribution of Government funding
• Update following Implementation of the Spending, Saving and Council Tax Proposals 25/26
• Learning & Development
• Home to School Transport – August 2025